What's up with single fares.

[NLH Arizona]

Noticed on this week's "Tuesday Specials" there is not one cruise that has a single supplement over 200%.

[katrina915]

Noticed on this week's "Tuesday Specials" there is not one cruise that has a single supplement over 200%.

Good. Maybe they rethought their business model.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Noticed on this week's "Tuesday Specials" there is not one cruise that has a single supplement over 200%.

 

You apparently missed the Independence Day cruise to Bermuda on Summit. 225% single supplement.

[NLH Arizona]

You apparently missed the Independence Day cruise to Bermuda on Summit. 225% single supplement.

You are so right, might be time to get my eyes check. At least it is only one and not 6 like it was last Tuesday.

 

I still won't be paying over 200%. I've voiced my opinion to Celebrity and would suggest that others do the same.

[Pavovsky]

When you consider that cruise lines profit margin is normally in the 5-6 range and though RCL did hit a very unusual number of 15.1 net profit percentage for 2016 due to the unusual combination of low fuel and interest costs combined with high demand. if they cannot fill their ships and have to depend upon solos then they have far far more serious problems. Especially when you consider that the difference in revenue (12.5%) between solo and couple fare even at 200% is greater than the cruise lines normal profit margin.

 

So yes the cruise lines to maintain its margins. A cruise line really does not want to be the go to place for singles, if it starts replacing 2, 3 and 4 person per cabin bookings.

 

As far as the cruise line is concerned food costs are a fixed item. They order based upon the cruise. A lot of the food is fresh and goes to waste if not used. By the time you get to the canned, dry goods, etc. you are down to a very small amount of the overall food costs.

 

To give you an idea of food costs. This is from RCLs latest annual filing with the FCC for 2016 for the complete corporation.

 

Total cruise expense $6,115,829,000

Food cost percentage 5.7%

Food cost in dollars 348,601,740

 

It looks like a big number at 348 million. However when you look at in terms of passengers per day

 

Number of passenger days 40,250,557

 

Food cost per passenger per day $8.66.

 

Bottom line the cruise industry is a high capital investment, low profit margin industry with a high percentage of fixed costs, in a competitive industry with limited pricing power. If they don't defend their margins and maximize revenue per cabin they do not survive!!!

 

 

 

So the gratuity is 50% higher than the food cost?

[riclop]

It's a thing of the past.

[ISABELLA]

Shoot, the vaunted Celebrity IT system can't even support an ordinary booking some of the time. I would not think it would be capable of supporting history tracking. Here's a recent example. I'm just off the Summit. I was in the penthouse. I have not received a post-cruise survey. They sent one to my sister for this cruise. She was not on the cruise and she and I have not cruised on the same cruise for several years. So, if that's history tracking, it's not going to tell them much worth knowing!

Just proved my point. ;)

[RDC1]

So the gratuity is 50% higher than the food cost?

 

Based upon the companies financials, filed with the SEC, which are audited documents, subject to a number of laws if they are not correct, yes. The average daily amount per passenger that Royal spends across all of its cruise lines, including Celebrity, on food is less than the daily recommended gratuity charge. In most cases a bit more than 50% since the number for the last full year (2016) was $8.66 per passenger per day. Depending upon cabin type I believe that is a bit above 50% per day, but in the general ball park.

[RDC1]

Pavovsky,

The most recent RCL quarterly filing for the first quarter ending on March 31, 2017 generated a slightly higher number of $12.17 per passenger per day.

CCL most recent quarter indicated a food per day number of $11.98

NCLH had a number of $10.92 food per passenger day.

I may go back through each of RCL's quarters for last year and see what each quarter yields. The last year annual number seems a bit low, based upon the most recent quarter, even though the number check. Just curious if there was an unusually low quarter later year.

[TravelerThom]

The most recent RCL quarterly filing for the first quarter ending on March 31, 2017 generated a slightly higher number of $12.17 per passenger per day.

 

CCL most recent quarter indicated a food per day number of $11.98

 

NCLH had a number of $10.92 food per passenger day...

Interesting. I have to assume those figures include specialty restaurants and premium lines (Azamara; Seaborne; Regent, Oceania, etc) so the amount per person for included dining on the mass market lines would be less.

[RDC1]

Interesting. I have to assume those figures include specialty restaurants and premium lines (Azamara; Seaborne; Regent, Oceania, etc) so the amount per person for included dining on the mass market lines would be less.

 

Yes, they are the based upon the amount of cruise expense spent on food across the entire lines owned by each cruise line, divided by the total passenger days.

 

It just shows how much of restaurant expenses are labor and other costs, instead of food.