30% sale/C&A discount - insulting

[squadron]

But isn't something better than nothing? :D

 

Agreed! You can't have things both ways. Buy a car with 0% financing still costs more than paying cash for example.

[raymar63]

I just booked Adventure for B/B March 2017. Terrific price, balcony discount plus OBC yesterday on Freedom. Can't always have it your way. Book or don't. Some people just always want more.

[love2cruise56]

You are right...

 

Most other industries would make you CHOOSE which discount you wanted and leave the others. You'd get EITHER the 30% off or the $225, but not both. Hotels and car rentals come to mind.... also pizza chains. :rolleyes:

 

Pizza Chains?

[Diplomacy]

Pizza Chains?

Pizza chains, mexican restauraunts, bars... many of these have loyalty programs, and the majority of witch will not allow you to combine multiple offers or coupons with another discount. The fact that RCCL allows you to combine multiple offers in any fasion is incredibly rare across the service industry(s). So yes. Pizza chains ;)

 

And they also delete the OBC part of the offer, so you are getting essentially a minimal discount if you book a balcony:(

I'll admit, that is pretty lame. If they are going to combine the offers, they should be honoring all the terms of the offers, and not leaving chunks by the wayside.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Diplomacy

[Paulette3028]

It is a very common business practice to have dollar discounts applied prior to giving a percentage discount.

 

You are exactly correct...and there is nothing new or bad about it....its business.

[spookwife]

It's been mentioned here already, but it is really pathetic how they are pricing the 30% sale when combined with a C&A balcony discount. How low can RCCL go. They are subtracting the C&A discount BEFORE calculating the 30%. End result:

 

Non C&A (maybe first time customer) gets a 30% discount.

 

C&A Diamond: They subtract your 225.00 balcony discount, THEN give you 30%. You ARE NOT getting a 225.00 discount off the current price of the cruise.... .

 

Pathetic. They never stop looking for ways to play pricing games.......

 

that is a COMMON/NORMAL retail practice. also double percentages are always x percent off full then the second percent off the discount.. a 25 + 10 % off discount is NOT 35% off .

 

it has always been dollars off then percentage off the lower price. when combining any sort of sale or discount it always pays to run spreadsheet.

[Cindy]

I don't understand the endless posts complaining about RCI's discounting/sale policies. I understand what they're doing, and I may not like it, but I'm looking at it from the point of view of my wallet, not the perspective of a corporation looking to make as much money as possible.

 

If I felt that strongly about it, I'd look elsewhere. In the end, every cruise line's business model is set up to extract as much from the passenger as possible. They may all go about it slightly differently, but I think it balances out in the end.

 

Lots of people have mentioned the stockholder OBC that is still combinable on Carnival Corp. lines. If I look at the same 30% deal on Princess and Royal Caribbean I still come out ahead on RCI with my Diamond discount. I also find the discount more valuable than OBC, but your mileage may vary.

 

RCI -- $1,000 - $225 = $775 - 30% = $542.50

PCL -- $1,000 - 30% = $700 - $100 (OBC) = $600.00

 

Edited October 16, 2015 by Cindy

[spookwife]

Like I said, give me an example that is relevant, not that it would even matter because the bottom line is, they are taking away 30% of the 225.00 Diamond Discount. There is NOT a 225.00 discount for Diamond members at current pricing!!!!!! It's a joke and I'm glad you can rationalize it for them.

 

I worked in retail for over a decade. this is standard OP especially in Home Goods. any time we had a double sale/promo. the dollar amount came off first then any additional percentage off 'extra' came off the lower price. there is nothing slimy or underhanded about it. OH and there were ALWAYS items that NEVER went on sale that also NEVER qualified for ANY store wide discount. or you could get the store wide percentage off the regular price, not any current sale price.

 

it is the nature of the free market economy.

 

and FTR, we have YET to actually apply our balcony discount. we have always ALWAYS ended up better bottom line by giving it UP and talking advantage of the prevailing Promo. our upcoming cruise we gave up $150 off to get $250 in OBC.

[orville99]

I checked about 25 cruises I was interested in. 30% off was cheaper than Bogoho on 21 of them.

 

Just checked our March 2016 FOS cruise (D2) Wow, the 30% off price on a D2 is only $2,082 more than I paid with the original BOGO. I think I'll stand pat on this sale:eek:

[Wilson]

Off-topic, but what I don't understand is the "sail again" email we receive a couple of weeks after returning from a Royal cruise. It offers $25-$50 off the next booking but it cannot be combined with the C&A discount. Why the hell would they send that to us knowing the C&A discount far exceeds the "sail again" discount???

[reallyitsmema]

Off-topic, but what I don't understand is the "sail again" email we receive a couple of weeks after returning from a Royal cruise. It offers $25-$50 off the next booking but it cannot be combined with the C&A discount. Why the hell would they send that to us knowing the C&A discount far exceeds the "sail again" discount???

 

Pretty simple, not everyone books a balcony. The sail again bonus is good for those who book insides and oceanviews.

[Wilson]

Pretty simple, not everyone books a balcony. The sail again bonus is good for those who book insides and oceanviews.

 

Ah ok, thx. The wife will not let me book anything but balcony and up so I have never tried applying to inside or OV.

[Retired LEO]

Of the 14 cruises I have booked I was able to get 3 of them repriced under the 30% sale for a total of $255.00. One of them was a holiday sailing which offered OBC in addition to the 30% off. When I asked about it I was told "NOPE" since I had a balcony discount I'd have to give that up to get the OBC. I don't like it but it is what it is.

It won't stop me from booking more. March/April can't get here soon enough.

[riclop]

It's a farce of a sale.

[Big_G]

It's a farce of a sale.

 

 

That farce saved me $235 more than the BOGOHO. Am I supposed to be angry that I didn't get more?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[whitshel]

It's been mentioned here already, but it is really pathetic how they are pricing the 30% sale when combined with a C&A balcony discount. How low can RCCL go. They are subtracting the C&A discount BEFORE calculating the 30%. End result:

 

Non C&A (maybe first time customer) gets a 30% discount.

 

C&A Diamond: They subtract your 225.00 balcony discount, THEN give you 30%. You ARE NOT getting a 225.00 discount off the current price of the cruise.... .

 

Pathetic. They never stop looking for ways to play pricing games.......

 

Just wondering if you called your state treasury as well, have you noticed that most states charge sales tax on the full price of an item, then they take any coupons off? You never notice it on 50 cent coupon, buy a cell phone, and your $200 cell phone is now $250.

 

Same type of practice, they want as much money as possible.

 

If you don't like it, shop or should I say sail else where. Quit your whinny, baby complaining and move on:eek:! Jimmeny Crickets.....We all get it, that you don't get it, and and you feel betrayed by the cruise line.

 

ITS BUSINESS......Quit sailing RCCL and Move on!

[goodycruising]

I like my balcony discount. We often book 10 to 13 nighters over here in Aus, and if you work it out per night...WE ARE SO MISSING OUT!!!! But hey, I add it all up including grats, and then I skim around looking at similar on other companies, and I then book my Royal cruise. :)

 

I do like the Diamond Lounge too. There are a bunch of benefits for Diamond. Overall it is pretty neat for going on great cruises, isn't it?

 

Sometimes the OBC special deal does work out more, and you have to drop the balcony discount. So sad, too bad. You just have to add it up and decide if you want to book.

 

If it makes you so mad, then you are not getting a good start on your holiday. After doing a land based holiday in Melbourne a couple of years ago, it opened my eyes to how good the value is when cruising, and so relaxing. The two bed apartment had no room service, the view never changed, the construction started at 7am next door, and there were no free shows or entertainment. Every bit of food that I had to walk or drive to get cost plenty.

Edited October 17, 2015 by goodycruising

[The_Big_M]

Been the best RCL sail for a while.

 

Insulted, not me. It is what it says (despite the quibble over the extra discount).

[Paulxyz2004]

It's been mentioned here already, but it is really pathetic how they are pricing the 30% sale when combined with a C&A balcony discount. How low can RCCL go. They are subtracting the C&A discount BEFORE calculating the 30%. End result:

 

Non C&A (maybe first time customer) gets a 30% discount.

 

C&A Diamond: They subtract your 225.00 balcony discount, THEN give you 30%. You ARE NOT getting a 225.00 discount off the current price of the cruise.... .

 

Pathetic. They never stop looking for ways to play pricing games.......

 

The only pricing game I can see here is the one constructed by you. You do get a 225.00 Discount of the current Price. The current Price is the one listed and that´s what you get your Discount off. Then the 30% off is applied. If the current cruise Price were the one with 30% off, there´d be no other Price listed.

 

 

 

Just wondering if you called your state treasury as well, have you noticed that most states charge sales tax on the full price of an item, then they take any coupons off? You never notice it on 50 cent coupon, buy a cell phone, and your $200 cell phone is now $250.

 

Same type of practice, they want as much money as possible.

 

If you don't like it, shop or should I say sail else where. Quit your whinny, baby complaining and move on:eek:! Jimmeny Crickets.....We all get it, that you don't get it, and and you feel betrayed by the cruise line.

 

ITS BUSINESS......Quit sailing RCCL and Move on!

 

You summed up my opinion very nicely, especially the last sentence.

[Biker19]

All of these sales can eventually be figured out and understood, but I've yet to figure out partial balcony discounts. For the past 3 bookings, I got a discount but it was never the officially listed amount - it seemed to be some random amount less than $100. The explanation every time has been that the deal I have is too good for the full balcony discount. The first two I might understand because of some special deal my TA has with RCI, but the last one is with RCI directly and they gave me $85 off (the listed discount is $175 for platinum).

[bouhunter]

Just wondering if you called your state treasury as well, have you noticed that most states charge sales tax on the full price of an item, then they take any coupons off? You never notice it on 50 cent coupon, buy a cell phone, and your $200 cell phone is now $250.

 

Same type of practice, they want as much money as possible.

 

If you don't like it, shop or should I say sail else where. Quit your whinny, baby complaining and move on:eek:! Jimmeny Crickets.....We all get it, that you don't get it, and and you feel betrayed by the cruise line.

 

ITS BUSINESS......Quit sailing RCCL and Move on!

 

That is so pathetic and lame, I don't think it could even be called a poor analogy:D:rolleyes: Maybe you are the one who should quit sailing and spend some time getting an education. And maybe some manners and civility too. I may have complained about RCCL but you are the one immature enough to get worked up over an internet posting and make it personal. Get a life..................

Edited October 17, 2015 by bouhunter

[ChipLondon]

Personally I wish they would cut all the so called promotional offers. We all know that they increase prices in order to off a BOGOHO or a 30% discount.

They know how much they want ( or hope to get ) Launch prices are generally lower to ensure they get the first set of cabins booked, then prices go up due to demand. ( everytime we search cruises that registers as potential demand ). Then if certain sailing are not on target the prices will drop.

I think all cruises should be priced at the ideal rate for the cruise line, and individual cruises then adjusted according to how sales are going, We all know that we are not really getting half off price on any promotion, as few of us would ever pay the so called base price for the first guest. :D JMHO

In the mean time I will look at what I am being asked to pay on the bottom line, decide if I consider it to be value for money, and book if it works for me.

Overall it must do as I keep coming back, and have many future cruises booked, even though I could take similar cruises with other cruise lines at a possible lower rate.

There are many comments about dropping standards on these pages, no cruise line can maintain standards and drop prices, personally I would prefer to pay a slightly higher rate for a better product. We should all get value for money, and that is why rates vary across cabin grades. Most of us started off with inside cabins and where possible move up into Balcony options. Although others choose to pay inside rates and have the ability to cruise more often.

We should all reflect on how lucky we are to be even able to consider a cruise, there are many others out there in small boats that would love to be able to complain about a cold burger in the Windjammer. Count your blessings folks, life is too short to complain about discounts that are only created to attract those that do not realise that no company gives anything away when they can avoid it.:eek:

Edited October 17, 2015 by ChipLondon

[Paulxyz2004]

Personally I wish they would cut all the so called promotional offers. We all know that they increase prices in order to off a BOGOHO or a 30% discount.

They know how much they want ( or hope to get ) Launch prices are generally lower to ensure they get the first set of cabins booked, then prices go up due to demand. ( everytime we search cruises that registers as potential demand ). Then if certain sailing are not on target the prices will drop.

I think all cruises should be priced at the ideal rate for the cruise line, and individual cruises then adjusted according to how sales are going, We all know that we are not really getting half off price on any promotion, as few of us would ever pay the so called base price for the first guest. :D JMHO

In the mean time I will look at what I am being asked to pay on the bottom line, decide if I consider it to be value for money, and book if it works for me.

Overall it must do as I keep coming back, and have many future cruises booked, even though I could take similar cruises with other cruise lines at a possible lower rate.

There are many comments about dropping standards on these pages, no cruise line can maintain standards and drop prices, personally I would prefer to pay a slightly higher rate for a better product. We should all get value for money, and that is why rates vary across cabin grades. Most of us started off with inside cabins and where possible move up into Balcony options. Although others choose to pay inside rates and have the ability to cruise more often.

We should all reflect on how lucky we are to be even able to consider a cruise, there are many others out there in small boats that would love to be able to complain about a cold burger in the Windjammer. Count your blessings folks, life is too short to complain about discounts that are only created to attract those that do not realise that no company gives anything away when they can avoid it.:eek:

 

 

I agree with everything you said.

 

Unfortunately many customers - probably not you and me - but many others will only buy if something is labled as "deal" or "sale" or "BOGOHO" or "30%" off....

They don´t understand the "bottom line concept". Just see the OP as an example.

Cheap and greedy reign the world and even if the bottom line is the same they will pick the product with the red sticker saying "deal";)

As Long as we as customers don´t Change this the companies won´t Change it.

[swmichigan cruiser]

We had booked about a week ago for the BOHO sale and after the new 30% sale came out I had our TA switch it to that one and we saved around $550 by switching. There will be four of us so that probably helped. When we originally booked the cruise we were happy with the price or we wouldn't have booked it in the first place. Now we are even happier.

[Paulette3028]

New cruisers to Royal get a 30% discount and CAS members get something extra....not bad...it just lowers the price of the cruise being taken.....and done all the time in combining offers. It is a lot better than NOT combining offer with the benefit.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Paulette3028