False Discounts - RCI

[carlandlyn]

I have seen comments on this from many other cruisers, but just thought I would add a current 'cruise discount'. On the Australian website (to match UK and US sites that I know of) they have just advertised the drink packages at 10% and 20% off (depending on the package). The only problem is, it's the same price it has been for weeks (in actual fact the drink package I bought the better half a few weeks ago is MORE expensive thanks to currency fluctuations).

 

When is RCI going to admit that they are treating us like fools!

 

I have seen real discounts at times, like the Black Friday sales, but this is ridiculous.

 

AArrrrggghhh :mad:

[Tin can]

I'm UK based and take no notice of any of the sales nonsense or percentages off the price that are stated in promos we get over here.

 

The best prices I see here are when there is no sale at all and the worst by far is the all inclusive 'free drinks packages' sale which people actually pay thousands for. It must work and fair play to Royal Caribbean if it does.

[L454S]

RCI has been doing this for a long time. Several threads have laughed about them obviously raising the prices and then showing a discounted new price which is higher than originally charged.

 

Must be working though, seems everybody loves a "SALE"......................Not everybody(few in fact) know what the price was yesterday or last week.

[Paulxyz2004]

I have seen comments on this from many other cruisers, but just thought I would add a current 'cruise discount'. On the Australian website (to match UK and US sites that I know of) they have just advertised the drink packages at 10% and 20% off (depending on the package). The only problem is, it's the same price it has been for weeks (in actual fact the drink package I bought the better half a few weeks ago is MORE expensive thanks to currency fluctuations).

 

When is RCI going to admit that they are treating us like fools!

 

I have seen real discounts at times, like the Black Friday sales, but this is ridiculous.

 

AArrrrggghhh :mad:

 

Would you feel better if you got confirmation from RCI for something you already know???:rolleyes:

 

BTW you can speak for yourself, but certainly not for me. I am not treated like a fool by RCI.

 

Be it RCI or any other business I never look at any advertising of %off. To me it´s just the price I pay and the product I get that counts.

 

If I have to pay any amount for something, the only point to me is if I´m comfortable with that amount and think it´s a price I´m willing to pay. If that amount is 10% off, 50% off or 90% off is entirely meaningless to me.

 

But I agree with you on one point, if you fall for the %off advertising - yes you are a fool.

[kingcole]

I don’t know how they get away with it on the UK site.

 

The law here states a product must be at the higher price for at least 28 days to be marketted as a sale. This would suggest is the drinks package is $45 a day with a 30% discount, it would have had to have been $65 a day for the previous month, which clearly it had not.

 

Maybe someone should report to the ASA?

[carlandlyn]

Would you feel better if you got confirmation from RCI for something you already know???:rolleyes:

 

BTW you can speak for yourself, but certainly not for me. I am not treated like a fool by RCI.

 

Be it RCI or any other business I never look at any advertising of %off. To me it´s just the price I pay and the product I get that counts.

 

If I have to pay any amount for something, the only point to me is if I´m comfortable with that amount and think it´s a price I´m willing to pay. If that amount is 10% off, 50% off or 90% off is entirely meaningless to me.

 

But I agree with you on one point, if you fall for the %off advertising - yes you are a fool.

 

 

I know what you mean, its all about value for money. I will buy a package if it fits into what I want / need and seems reasonable.

 

Just hate when they try to pull the wool over our eyes. Maybe they are only kidding themselves that they are having a sale? Looks good at stock holders meetings or something?

 

Carl

[Paulxyz2004]

I don’t know how they get away with it on the UK site.

 

The law here states a product must be at the higher price for at least 28 days to be marketted as a sale. This would suggest is the drinks package is $45 a day with a 30% discount, it would have had to have been $65 a day for the previous month, which clearly it had not.

 

Maybe someone should report to the ASA?

 

The discount is on the onboard price, so you need to get the information from the ship for the last 28 days. Not sure if you can still say it´s clearly not been offered at $65 undiscounted onboard.;)

[Paulxyz2004]

I know what you mean, its all about value for money. I will buy a package if it fits into what I want / need and seems reasonable.

 

Just hate when they try to pull the wool over our eyes. Maybe they are only kidding themselves that they are having a sale? Looks good at stock holders meetings or something?

 

Carl

 

No it´s marketing and I´sure they are making a lot of money here. They are certainly not kidding themselves. I´m sure this practice is very succesful, but my point is they do not make a fool of anyone.

 

If I fall for their practice I´m a foll, but I´ve made myself the fool not them.

 

Yes of course it looks good at stockholder meetings. Though it´s not the sale looking good there - stockholders don´t care about those. It´s the revenue generated by the sale that looks good to them.

[deliver42]

I don't look at % off. The last time Royal had a real sale was in May, 2014, when they first started he BOGOHO sale. That lasted about 2 weeks. Since then all their sales have been a running joke. By the way, all lines do pretty much the same thing. Raise the price, then give a % off.

[Clarea]

The discount is on the onboard price, so you need to get the information from the ship for the last 28 days. Not sure if you can still say it´s clearly not been offered at $65 undiscounted onboard.;)

What about the fake sales on the cruise fare itself. They don't even have the fake full price for sale one day, because if they did that, they would get zero sales that day.

[JAMESCC]

What about the fake sales on the cruise fare itself. They don't even have the fake full price for sale one day, because if they did that, they would get zero sales that day.

That is the bigger issue in my opinion. The things they do with the fare prices are crazy.

NCL is the compete opposite, you can see what you're getting and how much you saved. That is coming from someone that loves RCI and prefers them.

 

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[Iamcruzin]

I don’t know how they get away with it on the UK site.

 

The law here states a product must be at the higher price for at least 28 days to be marketted as a sale. This would suggest is the drinks package is $45 a day with a 30% discount, it would have had to have been $65 a day for the previous month, which clearly it had not.

 

Maybe someone should report to the ASA?

 

 

 

They get away with it because they advertise the discount off of the price that they actually sell the drink package on the ship. The ad for my sailing states 20% off on board price now $50. The only problem is since I’m home and not on the ship. I have to take their word for it. I’m following the thread “Up to 30% off of the drink package”. On that thread it appears that each ship has it’s own on board price.

 

 

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[Paulxyz2004]

What about the fake sales on the cruise fare itself. They don't even have the fake full price for sale one day, because if they did that, they would get zero sales that day.

 

 

I don´t know because a) I don´t really follow their sales for the above stated reasons and b) I´m no expert in the regulations of certain countries in what´s allowed and what not.

 

As pointed out I don´t follow the sales a whole lot, if at all, but I seem to recall that the sales on the cruise fare are often(?), mostly(?), always(?) either a fixed amount off or % off the current price. If they do something like BOGOHO they offer you 50% off the fare of the second person at whatever the rate is on any given day. I think the key here is the fine print in what the base is they calculate the %off.

 

 

I agree with you if they advertised you´d get a 25% discount on the cruise fare, they´d have to have a cruise fare to base this on, which might have to be around for 28 days to comply with UK regulations. If they however just tell you they discount the second person by 50% it might make a big difference in getting around such a regulation, as they don´t advertise some savings over a "regular" fare, but just a saving of the second persons fare at todays rates, whatever they are.

 

It´s not the same as a 25% savings which it actually would be, as 50% off second person is 25% percent off on bottom line fare for two.

 

Deceptive? Yeah maybe. It´s a buyer beware situation and you shouldn´t let yourself being blinded by advertising.

 

It´s the same like shopping at the local supermarket. They might offer a product on sale in a certain size, but when you look at the same product in a different packaging size it might be much cheaper than the one on sale. (I.e. a 1 liter bottle of water on sale could be more expensive than 2 bottles of 500ml)

[Iamcruzin]

The discount is on the onboard price, so you need to get the information from the ship for the last 28 days. Not sure if you can still say it´s clearly not been offered at $65 undiscounted onboard.;)

On another thread someone reported that on the Oasis the package is $63 on board. I agree with the other poster about forgetting about the discount and just making the purchase based on final cost. However, I find it shady that they don't include the original price in the advertisement. That's just wrong no matter what part of the world you live in.

[Paulxyz2004]

On another thread someone reported that on the Oasis the package is $63 on board. I agree with the other poster about forgetting about the discount and just making the purchase based on final cost. However, I find it shady that they don't include the original price in the advertisement. That's just wrong no matter what part of the world you live in.

 

You are certainly entitled to that opinion and whatever conclusions for your purchases you draw from it.

[Ocean Boy]

What about the fake sales on the cruise fare itself. They don't even have the fake full price for sale one day, because if they did that, they would get zero sales that day.

No idea what kind of fake sale RCI are running right now on cruise fares. What I do know is when I do a mock booking my D+ balcony discount is only getting me $175.00.:rolleyes:

[billsgal]

No idea what kind of fake sale RCI are running right now on cruise fares. What I do know is when I do a mock booking my D+ balcony discount is only getting me $175.00.:rolleyes:

 

At least it gave you something. Yesterday I booked two cabins, same category, right next to one another, one for a diamond member and one for a first time cruiser, and the first time cruiser got a better price than the diamond member, if we used the diamond balcony discount. Give up the balcony discount and save money. Makes sense how loyal they are to their long time cruisers, NOT

[SRF]

I don’t know how they get away with it on the UK site.

 

The law here states a product must be at the higher price for at least 28 days to be marketted as a sale. This would suggest is the drinks package is $45 a day with a 30% discount, it would have had to have been $65 a day for the previous month, which clearly it had not.

 

Maybe someone should report to the ASA?

 

The base price is the normal price on board. Not the "normal" online prices.

[Clarea]

No idea what kind of fake sale RCI are running right now on cruise fares. What I do know is when I do a mock booking my D+ balcony discount is only getting me $175.00.:rolleyes:

Pretty soon it will be zero.

[TonyBuzz]

I have a current case where the discounts have been accurate. Sailing on Allure in October and looking at internet Zoom packages for one or two devices and a soda only package. I am a US resident and all prices are in US dollars. I got the current onboard prices from a recent review.

 

 

 

The soda is easy because it never gets discounted. It's $8.50 per day plus 18% gratuities so $10.03 per day, $70.21 per week.

 

 

Onboard prices for single device Zoom were $19.99 per day, two devices were $18.99 per device per day. When my cruise planner said 20%, 25% and 30% discount they were correct. Current %30 discount is $13.99 for single Zoom which is a 30.02% discount.

 

 

 

There was a soda plus single Zoom for $21.00 per day with a 25% discount. Total with tip was $157.72. The 25% discount means onboard of $210+ for a total. Take the $19.99 per day for single Zoom and add the $10.03 for the soda and it comes to a total of $210.14 with a discount of 24.95%. The math works in my case.

[lucymorgan]

I think one of the issues is that Australian consumers (and perhaps those from the UK) are used to protection under the law against false and misleading advertising http://newsmediaworks.com.au/misleading-and-deceptive-conduct-in-australian-consumer-law/ . I don't know but perhaps those from the US don't have the same level of protection and thus are more awake to the possibility.

 

To quote from the article "Courts have concluded that advertisers should know that readers will include the shrewd and the gullible, the educated and uneducated, with varying degrees of experience in commercial transactions. Prospective buyers should not have to “read between the lines”.

[SRF]

The ads state that the discount is from the on board price, but you have to read the fine print.