New Itineraries OVERPRICED????

[Merion_Mom]

Will you look at the price of a regular GS on Anthem for Oct. 2016 and tell me if it is outrageous? It wasn't much more than the same cruise for Grandeur. I don't know Anthem's "old" prices so having nothing to compare it to.

 

For two?

 

For Canada/New England or for Caribbean/Bermuda?

Edited March 12, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[dz9yvr]

RCCL must be counting on a lot of international passengers to fill their new ships. Perhaps a favorable currency exchange makes these prices look better.

[Merion_Mom]

Will you look at the price of a regular GS on Anthem for Oct. 2016 and tell me if it is outrageous? It wasn't much more than the same cruise for Grandeur. I don't know Anthem's "old" prices so having nothing to compare it to.

 

The Bermuda/Caribbean Anthem is a decent GS price. The Canada/New England GS is outrageous, IMO, but then, I have only done GS when there were 3 of us, so the "math" was different.

 

If you can live with a balcony, those are good prices, actually, on both of those cruises in October 2016.

 

I think that the Grandeur is WAY overpriced for the New England/Canada in October 2016. A friend JUST asked me to join them on that, and I almost had a heart attack. But then I just laughed - it was so absurd.

[crisndeefromde]

I think it is time for land vacations. RCCL is my home...loyal to Royal...but with the increased drink prices, the cutbacks, and the dining changes...hubby is saying we need to try more land vacations....trade the timeshares more...

 

Ehhhh have some of those next cruise certs still to use but not as these prices...yikes

[parrotfeathers]

Thank you so very much!! It was for the GS on the Bermuda 5 nighter. I went ahead and reserved it. Don't get many perks here on the farm and like to do this once a year. Never been on anything larger than Freedom class before!

 

The Bermuda/Caribbean Anthem is a decent GS price. The Canada/New England GS is outrageous, IMO, but then, I have only done GS when there were 3 of us, so the "math" was different.

 

If you can live with a balcony, those are good prices, actually, on both of those cruises in October 2016.

 

I think that the Grandeur is WAY overpriced for the New England/Canada in October 2016. A friend JUST asked me to join them on that, and I almost had a heart attack. But then I just laughed - it was so absurd.

[Coralc]

Yes. The prices are too high Audri. We have 2 cruises that were booked prior to the BOGHO. We have one that we booked onboard, (for September) that is reasonable, but we will have to move or cancel it, because we found out our FL friends can't sail with us that week.

 

With the large price increases...I'm not sure that there is anything for us to move it to.

 

The new itineraries (so far) don't seem to have sailings that are reasonably priced, either.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Coralc

[Aboat1]

Will you look at the price of a regular GS on Anthem for Oct. 2016 and tell me if it is outrageous? It wasn't much more than the same cruise for Grandeur. I don't know Anthem's "old" prices so having nothing to compare it to.

 

We are booked on the 8 day Canada/ New England Oct 1, 2015 in a GS. The price for the 9 day Oct 2016 is $872.00 per person HIGHER!!!!!:(

 

Hope this helps!

[mcatmcat]

And royal said 2016 was a year of no last minute discount. Can't wait to see how this will end :-0

[critterchick]

RCCL must be counting on a lot of international passengers to fill their new ships. Perhaps a favorable currency exchange makes these prices look better.

 

Right now the US dollar is very strong against the Euro, the yen and Canadian & Australian dollars, so I'd say that's not it.

 

RCI is going after first time cruisers who don't know what prices used to be or what you used to get for your cruising dollar, yen or Euro. Those of us who know better haven't been their target market for a couple of years now.

[papaflamingo]

It's a business. They will price whatever the market will bear. If you find them too expensive and move to a different "cheaper" line, so be it. It appears someone else will pay the higher price. Has anyone sailed on a ship that isn't essentially full? I haven't. I'm sure Royal Caribbean will lower prices as necessary. In the meantime, I doubt anyone will get a letter asking why you have switched cruise lines.

I'm curious, exactly what is "fair pricing?" If you compare the cost of a cruise in 1998 (the first year I cruised) using an inflation calculator, you'll find that cruising is extremely cheaper than it was then.

For me, I haven't found another line that will deliver the product I like for a price low enough to switch. I've done Celebrity, Carnival, NCL, and Princess. Still prefer Royal Caribbean. But, that may change.

[roquejo]

That is the reason why I am both upper middle tier for both RCCL and NCL's loyalty program (Emerald in RCCL and Gold in NCL)...

 

To have more flexibility/choices during times like these... but all my cruises this year up to early this year are all booked with Royal, no upcoming cruise yet with NCL so far... go figure.

[BonnieSte]

I am sailing the Adventure next month and have it booked for next year but I am going to be looking around for a different line for next year and cancel the Adventure for next year that I have booked. The drink prices went up way to high. We are not big drinkers so we don't get the packages but the prices have gone up so much that even having 2 glasses of wine with dinner and one later on in the night brings the price up to the price of the package. They went to far this time. Back to Princess or Carnival

[AmandaKaye79]

The price for adventure June 2016 is $2856.02. It claims the price per person is $1831 before the Bogo. This is for d1 balcony. We are on the same exact cruise this June 2015 and we took the same one in 2014. The price was $979pp in 2014 and our 2015 price is $999 pp. Total w taxes is $2107. Do I believe in inflation? Yes. But a $700 increase in one year? No thanks. We will look for a better offer or wait to see if the prices come down. Saying that the price per person to cruise out of San Juan is $1831 per person is a joke. I don't even think a first time cruiser would believe that nonsense.

[Karma5]

The prices are high…….I was going to book two cruises and instead will only book one ……..

[red devil]

2015 Liberty New England & Bermuda inside L 14 days $3000.

 

2016 Anthem New England & Bermuda inside L 14 days $4200.

 

Same time frame.

[Doc Rick]

Right now the US dollar is very strong against the Euro, the yen and Canadian & Australian dollars, so I'd say that's not it.

 

RCI is going after first time cruisers who don't know what prices used to be or what you used to get for your cruising dollar, yen or Euro. Those of us who know better haven't been their target market for a couple of years now.

 

I agree that Royal Caribbean may be looking for a different target market, but I believe this will come back to haunt them. They also think Asia is going to be their cash crop - demanding higher prices than the Caribbean market. Unfortunately, I also believe that Asia may be hot initially, but pricing will not hold and end in disappointment. They have given downward guidance in their last two quarterly reports - maybe sand bagging for a surprise... I don't know?

 

I am going to use an example of a Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City that opened only a few years ago. Some of you may be familiar with the Revel casino. They built a massive, beautiful hotel/casino. It was the Quantum/Anthem of Atlantic City. People couldn't wait for it to open. They also came to market with a "Our brand is better" kind of attitude. They claimed right from the start that they were not going to offer the loyalty rewards that other local casinos offered their regulars. They did not discount rooms - they tried demanding the highest price/room in AC. The entire complex was 100% smoke free - not that I'm a smoker, but it is a casino, right? I liked the non-smoking part, but it was almost like a slap in the face to the local patrons - kind of like a "we're too good for you" attitude. They said they were not going to cater to the companies that brought in bus loads of people to spend money in their casino.

 

Like anything new and glamorous, it attracted people at first, but that diminished quickly. Only a year into business, financial problems started to surface. They tried to change their business model to improve their business. They began to allow smoking in certain areas, they started to discount rooms to loyal patrons that spent real money in their casino. In their last year of business, they were giving away free rooms to anyone with a credit card in desperation. Unfortunately, this failed to stimulate business - because their "Our brand is better" attitude left a bad taste in the mouths of the "regulars" to the AC casino market. It was too late.

 

You see, in any business, there are customers that are the "bread and butter" to the bottom line. These are the customers that return regularly and continue to give business to the brand. They are the customers that ensure the companies have enough cash flow to pay their employees, the electric and fuel bills, keep their lights on to say... These are the Cruise Critic members to the cruise industry !

 

Yes, RC is correct in trying to attract new customers - let's call them "The icing on the cake" customers. These are the customers that will improve the bottom line and make shareholders happy.

 

Royal Caribbean is losing it's bread and butter customers. Will it hurt them in the long run? I think it will...

 

This is all my opinion.

 

- Doc

[Beardface]

Wait til after the BOGO deals and the prices will fall.

 

You have to realize, we're in peak cruise season, when everyone is thinking to him/herself "man, I wish I was on a cruise right now" and the cruise lines know it, so they're increasing prices to match demand. Once peak season ends, and the deals are over (this current one ends in May) the prices will return back to norm.

 

In mid to late February, before the BOGO deals started, you could book a balcony on a late Feb 2016 cruise on the Freedom for $900 a person after taxes and fees. Now, that same setup is nearly 50% more, at around $1300 a person, with all the BOGO stuff.

 

Yes, its annoying how they price to inflate prices to match demand during peak buying season, but if you know how to play the game, and are willing to wait, you can still book at a very good price for the trip you want. You just have to be patient.

[ehfl]

We got a good deal on Celebrity, and are also looking at NCL. Check around and you can still find a reasonable vacation with more transparent pricing.

[AmandaKaye79]

Wait til after the BOGO deals and the prices will fall..

 

 

Does anyone believe the Bogo will end? It's been almost a year. It has nothing to do with "peak" season. It's been BOGO since last May.

[Clarea]

Does anyone believe the Bogo will end? It's been almost a year. It has nothing to do with "peak" season. It's been BOGO since last May.

No, I don't believe the "deals" will end. Apparently, enough people are falling for them.

[Beardface]

Does anyone believe the Bogo will end? It's been almost a year. It has nothing to do with "peak" season. It's been BOGO since last May.

 

Not even remotely correct.

 

There wasn't a deal last year in July when I booked my 2016 cruise. There wasn't a deal in February when I looked this year. The deals are not constant, but you have to be diligent. There have been multiple other times throughout the year where I checked and there was no 'deal' pricing and prices were low. If you don't believe me, that's on you, not me.

[freddyfish]

Sorry ,but the bogo sale started in may and has been extended time after time, throwing in some obc or drink package options maybe , but always second person half price. They like it a lot ;-)

[Paulette3028]

So for those who are disappointed in Royals pricing and think that waiting for a last minute deal will work out well -- if you are not near enough to the port to drive....air fare at the last minute, isn't usually inexpensive -- remember that.

 

For some people, like us who live near ports, it could work out -- even though we probably will not the best choice of cabins.

[ryano]

So for those who are disappointed in Royals pricing and think that waiting for a last minute deal will work out well -- if you are not near enough to the port to drive....air fare at the last minute, isn't usually inexpensive -- remember that.

 

For some people, like us who live near ports, it could work out -- even though we probably will not the best choice of cabins.

 

I thought Mr Fain said there would be no more "last minute deals".

[reney313]

I'm looking to book a cruise for 2016, but have yet to find a reasonably priced one for the Caribbean with RCI. I do jump around on lines so I don't get "bored" with one product. My guess is our next Caribbean cruise will be NCL, it's been years since I've cruised the Caribbean with them and prices are too high on RCI right now.

 

I'll continue to look at RCI first, but if I'm not finding what I want price wise, I have no issue with going to Princess and NCL...or even expanding to Celebrity (I know RCCL product), HAL, or Carnival, if need be.

 

Princess does offer some really good rates for return cruisers which makes it a very attractive option. I am waiting though until all the itineraries are released. I'm scared but hopeful for Harmony pricing out of FLL.