Are other cruise lines as tricky as royal when it comes to price?

[Aquahound]

NCL has been easily the simplest to track; the price has moved up steadily over time (as I would expect), they really haven't done any BOGO/Discount games the only variable has been which "amenity offer" (Beverage Package/Dining Package/Excursion Package) you could select as your free amenity for booking.

 

Oh, I wouldn't say that. NCL is notorious for their "free upgrade" sham wherein you have to book their most expensive Oceanview, which coincidently is the same exact price as the cheapest balcony.

[spookwife]

I was wondering if it's a practice popular for royal to create sales that are not that good making us believe that we are getting a great price? I really like royal and I hate to criticize them but when I see a practice that in a way is not honest I wonder what else are they doing the similar way [emoji20]:-(

 

the entire free market economy is run this way. you don't REALLY think that the Manufacturers suggested retail price of a dress is actually $200 so that when they offer it at 50% off you are getting it at a steal, do you?!

 

 

costume jewelry is notorious for this. that $50 list price necklace you got for $20 on sale? cost the department store $8.

 

in ALL things.. goods,services, etc.. the only price you need to worry about is YOUR limit. if YOU are not sucking air through your teeth when you look at the cost, then it is perceived as a value to YOU.

 

me, I have a limit of approximately $5k for the two us to cruise. most of the time that means we can afford a suite. since I prefer suites, if the cost is outside of my comfort range, I don't cruise.

[LMaxwell]

Cruise pricing could certainly be easier to understand and with less gimmicks and gotchas along the way. The industry can not get away from the constant sales mentality and none of the lines offer real, clear, honest pricing strategies. But I think Royal's sales and marketing promotions are more difficult than many others.

[MADflyer]

While RCI has been testing out their new 'personalized' reservation system and having frequent sales, it is the 'coming soon' that will really shake things up.

 

http://www.cio.com/article/2873553/business-analytics/how-royal-caribbean-personalized-the-customer-experience.html

 

They now have the capability to offer personalized dynamic pricing, which means that not only will the normal variable be in place like age, loyalty membership and residence, but that they will be able to factor in past behavior.

 

That means, for instance, that those that spend more onboard the ship, could be offered the best pricing in the future. Someone living in a certain zip (postal) code could get one price, while others in another would only be offered a 'bundled' deal.

 

Resolution 787 concerning airline pricing has so far only raised alarm in 'political' circles, but when implemented fully, consumers may not be happy.

 

http://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/democrats-take-on-airline-personalized-pricing.html

 

It will be interesting reading these future pricing threads if RCI were to fully make use of their new reservation system and follow the airlines with individual pricing.

[HaraldOslo]

Cruise-pricing is something that really annoys me.

 

Some of the pricing I see, both in the US and in Norway borders on both unethical and illegal, depending on which laws you look at.

 

We have some extra consumer protection laws in europe and scandinavia that are actually helpful. An advertised price should be with taxes and fees. This makes it easier to compare against different TAs and cruise lines. Unfortunately, since the US doesn't have this, it's sometimes hard when seeing offers discussed here on cruise critic as they seem to be the prices before taxes and port fees.

 

Also, we actually DO have RCL brochures, WITH prices. If I remember correctly a week on the Allure was around "from $750/pp". And that has to be including taxes (and perhaps even gratuities as they are mandatory)

 

Now, suddenly I see RCL have a "40% off"-sale. So then, as a consumer, I should be able to expect that the prices should be 40% lower than the actual prices previously advertised. But no.. somewhere in the mean time the price was increased. So it's actually more expensive than the previously announced from-price. Really annoying.

 

We actually have laws in place for exactly this, that state that for there to be a sale, you have to have actually sold the product at the "previous price". There has to be a genuine discount, or not you can't use the word sale.

 

Likewise, you can't just increase the price of person 1 and give you 50% off guest 2.

 

Sorry for the long rant, I _do_ agree that people should look at the actual price they will have to pay and decide if it's worth it - but it should be easier to compare prices between cruise lines.

 

Sales drives traffic to the websites, and it's a powerfull tool that companies shouldn't be allowed to abuse. That's why it's so strictly regulated. You can't always have a 40% discount, because then it's not a discount.

[HaraldOslo]

They now have the capability to offer personalized dynamic pricing, which means that not only will the normal variable be in place like age, loyalty membership and residence, but that they will be able to factor in past behavior.

 

Well, I see one positive side:

 

And there was no automated way for customers to combine of all their personal discounts--say, one for being member of the Crown and Anchor loyalty program, another for being a senior and yet another for being a resident of Florida. Cruisers had to call Royal Caribbean for workarounds. "It was difficult for a guest to decipher the best price we could give," says Abraham

 

If they could simplify that, it would be a good start.

 

I just hope we end up with a new tv show called "extreme cruise couponing" :-D

 

Didn't Adam Goldstein say recently that they would like to stop last minute sales?