bogo sale a farce with RC

[kiek]

Why don,t RC stop the bogo sale because they earn a lot of money with this sale. Price is gone up with 40% this year its a shame they must stop with this farce.

[orville99]

Why don,t RC stop the bogo sale because they earn a lot of money with this sale. Price is gone up with 40% this year its a shame they must stop with this farce.

 

Unfortunately, this sale appears to be part of a multi-pronged strategy to both capture new (inexperienced) cruisers to the brand, and to fulfill Richard Fain's statements at last year's shareholder's meeting that RCL would be raising prices and eliminating last minute price drops.

 

The newbies don't know any better and bite on it because they believe it is actually a sale, and experienced cruisers are becoming numb to the sale and the new higher price model that it reflects. JMHO, YMMV;)

[griffy116]

We got ours for a decent price...still inflated from what it should be. We were able to get a reduction before they started this BOGO. They are just pricing us out. We're Diamond and reaching the next level isn't a goal of ours so after this cruise, we will need to start looking at different lines. We like Royal's product, but not well enough to be blind to what they are doing to long time customers like us. We don't have unlimited money.

[SamFritz]

Unfortunately they just misspelled the promotion. We all thought it would be a fair sale, but turns out it's just a fare for a sail.

 

 

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[Rancher Dave]

Unfortunately they just misspelled the promotion. We all thought it would be a fair sale, but turns out it's just a fare for a sail.

 

 

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well stated!

 

I found a bargain on VOTS in July, but then again it looks like ship was pretty empty so I just lucked out finding it.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I've read a lot of posts about RCI "needing" to stop these sales. From a business (which is what RCI is) standpoint, why? OK, so it's not much of a "sale"? But people are buying. If you don't like the cost, don't purchase. I don't understand the frustration.

[jules815]

We actually did okay with the BOGO sale, but I think we just timed it right. Our upcoming cruise on FOS was booked on board FOS last September, so we were given the BOGO plus some nice obc.

 

This morning I was doing my usual price drop check, and noticed that suites for the first half of our B2B are sold out (except for JS's). No prices are showing for that week now, so that may be it for week one, but I'll continue to check.

 

The second week, however, showed a $107pp price drop. I called to get an adjustment, and she asked me if for the BOGO promotion did I want to keep my $125 C&A discount, or take the $50/pp OBC? In order to get the $100 obc for their current promotion, I'd have to give up $125. ?? I told her I'd like to keep it the way it was, but would like the adjustment, which I received no problem.

 

Just checked my inbox and have two new booking confirmations, one for each week of our B2B. Found that odd since we never really discussed week 1. It only came up when she mentioned "I see you'll be doing a B2B." Turns out somehow I qualified for another $100pp obc for the first week, which makes absolutely no sense, since the obc offered for the second week was definitely $50pp. Anyway, not going to call and question it, because it's another $200 obc on top of the $200 we received when booking. And I didn't lose my C&A discount. :confused:

 

These promotions are always so confusing.

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

They are no different that any other business trying to promote and find differnt ways to sell their products. I would have to agree that we booked in May 2014 for our up coming cruises and got fantastic deals. Some times you get good last minute deals too. The economy is up and down and I like booking early because we can price match up until final payment and if their is lots of availability some times cancel and wait until after final payment and re book a t a cheaper price.

 

Just some thoughts

 

Happy sailijng

 

Brian J

[Paulette3028]

We got ours for a decent price...still inflated from what it should be. We were able to get a reduction before they started this BOGO. They are just pricing us out. We're Diamond and reaching the next level isn't a goal of ours so after this cruise, we will need to start looking at different lines. We like Royal's product, but not well enough to be blind to what they are doing to long time customers like us. We don't have unlimited money.

 

I've read a lot of posts about RCI "needing" to stop these sales. From a business (which is what RCI is) standpoint, why? OK, so it's not much of a "sale"? But people are buying. If you don't like the cost, don't purchase. I don't understand the frustration.

 

The perception of the BOGOHO sales in the minds of consumers amaze me.....and I have to agree with S.A.M.J.R -- if someone doesn't like the price of a cruise Royal is offering.....simply don't book it. On our first cruise back in 2004, we had no idea what we were doing -- friends booked it for us, we just paid and showed up. We had a blast on Navigator and been enjoying cruising every since -- and every since, when we book a cruise we don't do it blindly. We look around and find a price we are willing to pay, for the cruise we want to go on.....and so far, we haven't had to find something that wasn't a Royal cruise. We love the product (and have seen some changes over the years) and still love the product and we seem to find a price that makes sense for us.

 

It doesn't matter to us 'what the marketing people call it' -- we have found pricing that fits what we are willing to pay for a cruise....in the end that is all that matters. We don't get frustrated over something we only have a little bit of control over.....in the end.....either go, or don't go. No one is saying people have 'unlimited money'.

[dplusd]

I don't think Royal will be able to hold the line on their current pricing forever. Right now their prices (even with the current promotion of the day) are substantially higher than Celebrity, Princess and NCL. This is particularly true with you consider that Princess allows "stacking" of OBC credits and Celebrity and NCL have better promotions (OBC, Drink Pkg, etc.) built into their current pricing.

 

All of these are good, comparable cruise lines offering a very similar cruise experience. At least on Royal older class ships (Radiance, Voyager and Freedom class) I don't see the Royal brand being worth the premium price. Time will tell...but until then, we're not booking with Royal.

[kruzerci]

Unfortunately, this sale appears to be part of a multi-pronged strategy to both capture new (inexperienced) cruisers to the brand, and to fulfill Richard Fain's statements at last year's shareholder's meeting that RCL would be raising prices and eliminating last minute price drops.

 

The newbies don't know any better and bite on it because they believe it is actually a sale, and experienced cruisers are becoming numb to the sale and the new higher price model that it reflects. JMHO, YMMV;)

 

Agreed. I hate it. The shareholders love it. Prices raise. Newbies book. Quality drops.

[Paulxyz2004]

I've read a lot of posts about RCI "needing" to stop these sales. From a business (which is what RCI is) standpoint, why? OK, so it's not much of a "sale"? But people are buying. If you don't like the cost, don't purchase. I don't understand the frustration.

 

I wholeheartly agree.

 

Last time I checked they were running a Business and their Point was to make Money for the shareholders and not a charity.

[Beachammo]

I don't think Royal will be able to hold the line on their current pricing forever. Right now their prices (even with the current promotion of the day) are substantially higher than Celebrity, Princess and NCL. This is particularly true with you consider that Princess allows "stacking" of OBC credits and Celebrity and NCL have better promotions (OBC, Drink Pkg, etc.) built into their current pricing.

 

All of these are good, comparable cruise lines offering a very similar cruise experience. At least on Royal older class ships (Radiance, Voyager and Freedom class) I don't see the Royal brand being worth the premium price. Time will tell...but until then, we're not booking with Royal.

 

The TV ads must be working.....can't go more than a hour before I see one. When's the last time you saw a Celebrity or Princess ad on television? Royal buys national ads that cost major bucks. There was one during the NCAA tournament last night.

[kjkrmk]

Living in the Orlando, FL area, we are used to vacation related activities being priced at what the market will accept. Not what we can afford but what the market is willing to pay. Disney is now $105 per person per day! So, for a family of 4, by the time you pay to park, buy tickets, food and crap typically bought during the visit to the park, it is easy to drop $1500. In a day! Using a 7 day trip to the theme parks as reference, cruising, even at the latest prices is a bargain!!

[Scotty G]

Living in the Orlando, FL area, we are used to vacation related activities being priced at what the market will accept. Not what we can afford but what the market is willing to pay. Disney is now $105 per person per day! So, for a family of 4, by the time you pay to park, buy tickets, food and crap typically bought during the visit to the park, it is easy to drop $1500. In a day! Using a 7 day trip to the theme parks as reference, cruising, even at the latest prices is a bargain!!

 

Excellent point. We were just discussing that with a friend today who just booked a week long cruise out of PC. They go to Universal frequently and just one overnight puts it in the short cruise cost category.