Why do you think there is so much of a price difference between cruise lines?

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

iancal;  so if you buy less than the 90 day window;  do you still get decent airline pricing?

Not Ian but will jump in with our own experience.  There are times when we get fantastic air deals with last minute bookings.  Sometimes you can get great deals through the cruise line (Princess and HAL often have good air deals).  Other times we will have one computer all ready to book a last minute cruise while we are using another computer to find if we can get a decent air deal.  Sometimes it works out and other times it does not.  But we do not book the cruise until we know what air deal we can get.

 

Hank

[AF-1]

Yea,  I get that.  We have to fly to all ports so airfare is critical;  we are not driving from Ohio to Florida, Texas, or NYC.  It's all good.  I am glad those who live near a port and don't have to worry about airfare; and can get last minute cruise deals.  That's great.  Have a great week everyone

[sparks1093]

On 2/1/2021 at 5:32 PM, Hlitner said:

 something that was not as much to our taste. 

When it comes to pricing between cruise lines I think this is the reason some are more expensive then others. I think this is expressed best by Donald- each brand offers something to its customers that they like and are willing to pay more for. This is why we have so many choices as consumers. You can buy a lower model car for $25k or you can buy a higher model car for $100k, it's all dependent on your taste and budget. I think many would perceive (rightly or wrongly) that Princess is a step up from Royal and because of that Princess will generally demand a higher price.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Not Ian but will jump in with our own experience.  There are times when we get fantastic air deals with last minute bookings.  Sometimes you can get great deals through the cruise line (Princess and HAL often have good air deals).  Other times we will have one computer all ready to book a last minute cruise while we are using another computer to find if we can get a decent air deal.  Sometimes it works out and other times it does not.  But we do not book the cruise until we know what air deal we can get.

 

Hank

We came out real well once doing the opposite of knowing what air deal we could get, though it ended up having a story to it.

 

We booked well in advance a cruise for our 30th anniversary  (2007) when we found a cruise that we felt was perfect. It was well before there were any airline prices for the dates involved. Our TA advised us to book the Princess airfare which we could cancel until final payment (this was before EZ Air) to make sure we had flights, and once airfare quotes were available keep checking them.

 

So, I later found a fantastic deal online, and went to book it online. And every time I tried my computer said technical problems try again. After a few tries, I called the airline. After I gave the rep my name and the fact that I kept getting a technical problems popup, she said my name and my wife's name. I had no idea how she had DW's name. It turned out we were already booked on the flight out by Princess. I explained that I was still well within the period that I could not only cancel the flight but even the cruise with no penalty. She said I should call my TA and cancel the flight, and then book the flight with the special, but do it immediately because this special fare would not last long. I asked her to do it for us. She hesitated, but then did it. She told me to make sure I called the TA to let them know to take the flight through the cruise line off our booking. I of course did that immediately.

 

Three people could have flown at the rate we ended up for Newark round trip Copenhagen for what we would have paid for the two of us through Princess. 

[AF-1]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

When it comes to pricing between cruise lines I think this is the reason some are more expensive then others. I think this is expressed best by Donald- each brand offers something to its customers that they like and are willing to pay more for. This is why we have so many choices as consumers. You can buy a lower model car for $25k or you can buy a higher model car for $100k, it's all dependent on your taste and budget. I think many would perceive (rightly or wrongly) that Princess is a step up from Royal and because of that Princess will generally demand a higher price.

I understand your logic;  I have cruised different cruise lines thru the year;  Sometimes Princess was the lowest price and sometimes other lines were.  When I started this thread;  I just wanted to let everyone know that such a price difference between same number of days,  on same type ships, was puzzling.  But then I get the supply and demand.  What one cruise line can charge for an Alaskan cruise may be way different than the other.  Thanks for your feedback.  Have a great day

[iancal]

It really varies.  Our Med experience over three or four years that we cruised in the area was that Celebrity was always the best price.  Followed by Princess, and then HAL was the highest.  Keep in mind....at specific point in time, inside or very close to the final payment window.  In many cases HAL would drop Med pricing, but not until much later inside the final payment window.  Our target price typically hit on Celebrity before the other two.

 

For Alaska....HAL was always the least expensive inside the final payment window.  Sometime by a long shot.  Followed by Princess.  Celebrity was high.  This was true for many years.   We in Vancouver for 20 years and would watch the pricing closely.

 

On our SA cruise Celebrity and HAL were high, high compared to Princess.  On Australia/NZ last minute booking RCI was much less than anyone else BUT it was booked last minute and booked in Australia.

 

Our experience with Caribbean is that it is all over the map.  No telling what cruise line will offer the best value, especially late booking.     We have done HAL, Celebrity, Princess, NCL, and Carnival over the years.  7-14 day, including last minute Xmas and March break sailing.  

 

I really think it comes down to supply & demand, marketing focus, and the logarithms that each cruise line uses to price and to time price increases and price decrease.

 

Bottom line for us over the past 20 plus cruises....pricing in no way is an indication of quality or an indication of which cruise line is 'better'.  Not much different than other mass market travel vendor offerings.  

 

It is difficult to compare pricing unless you do it on a specific day.  Prices across the board  change up or down so very quickly.  A cruise line might offer the best price today, but three days later that price could be the highest of the three that you happen to be watching.

Edited February 3, 2021 by iancal

[iancal]

14 hours ago, AF-1 said:

iancal;  so if you buy less than the 90 day window;  do you still get decent airline pricing?

Sometimes...it depends.   We typically shop for late booking cruises and air (if required) at the same time.  Air does not have to be to the embarkation port...it could be somewhere close.  For FLL we price one way and return air from MIA, FLL, PBI. and one even Orlando.  Same for Europe.  If the flight erases the cruise bargain we pass.  If not, we ask our TA to hold the cruise for four hours while we lock down air.

 

In the past we have had excellent air that enabled us to do last minute Caribbean cruises over Xmas.  Same for Europe...both return and one way.   It just depends.   

 

Many of our last minute cruises outside of NA have been booked whilst we were on land trips.  Not difficult or expensive to get from Palermo, Sicily or Porto, Portugal  to Rome to pick up a cruise.   Those air fares were $95 and 30 respectively.  We do the same with other travel offerings.  It is one of the reasons why we travel with carry on only and typically only make firm land reservations a day or two in advance.

Edited February 3, 2021 by iancal

[AF-1]

iancal;  I like your strategy.  Thanks for sharing. 

[firefly333]

On 2/3/2021 at 5:30 AM, sparks1093 said:

Princess is a step up from Royal and because of that Princess will generally demand a higher price.

For sure I dont. Absolutely. I've done 3 on princess and thought it was stuffy. Princess does offer more obc as some have said and its stackable, rcl not so much so. Rcl and celebrity are my picks. Dont assume princess is more highly regarded by others, please.

 

All factors need to be considered. One cruise is not a perfect price comparison either. Jewel is one of the oldest ships, and has a lot fewer activities and fewer upscale dining choices. It is beautiful but I would say that's the reason it's cheaper in this instance.

 

I would do HAL or princess in the future but not pay extra for it. Look at the booking obc incentives princess is currently offering and it will tell you why their prices went up. Gotta include obc that many are getting in your comparison. 

[iancal]

We certainly do not see Princess or HAL or Celebrity a 'step up' from RCI.   We have cruised on them all.  This business of a step up, IMHO, is based more on ones personal preferences and tastes.

 

Our last two RCI cruises-a ten day Med and a 21 day Aus/NZ were most certainly as good (to us) as our latest Crown and Sun cruises on Princess.   The difference was the on board offerings and the demographics perhaps.

 

As for demanding a higher price.  Our experience is that pricing is purely a point in time.  We really notice this because we typically do late bookings and are not loyal to any cruise line. 

 

 On the Alaska run we find HAL to be priced at the very bottom inside the final payment window.  Does this infer that HAL is a step down from the others....Celebrity, NCL, etc who are always more expensive inside this window?  We don't think so.   We have done three Med cruises on Celebrity because at the time of booking each was considerably less than Princess or HAL.  This, to us, does not infer that Celebrity is a step up from those Princess or HAL ships.

Edited February 4, 2021 by iancal

[sparks1093]

31 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

For sure I dont. Absolutely. I've done 3 on princess and thought it was stuffy. Princess does offer more obc as some have said and its stackable, rcl not so much so. Rcl and celebrity are my picks. Dont assume princess is more highly regarded by others, please.

 

All factors need to be considered. One cruise is not a perfect price comparison either. Jewel is one of the oldest ships, and has a lot fewer activities and fewer upscale dining choices. It is beautiful but I would say that's the reason it's cheaper in this instance.

 

I would do HAL or princess in the future but not pay extra for it. Look at the booking obc incentives princess is currently offering and it will tell you why their prices went up. Gotta include obc that many are getting in your comparison. 

You snipped an important part of my post which was "I think many would perceive (rightly or wrongly)", so it's something that is very much open to debate. I made no assumptions and "many" does not mean "all". I'm sure that the marketing folk at Princess do everything they can to try to enhance these feelings within their market, as do most businesses, and businesses will price their product in accord with this marketing. 

[clo]

On 2/2/2021 at 8:52 PM, AF-1 said:

Yea,  I get that.  We have to fly to all ports so airfare is critical;  we are not driving from Ohio to Florida, Texas, or NYC.  It's all good.  I am glad those who live near a port and don't have to worry about airfare; and can get last minute cruise deals.  That's great.  Have a great week everyone

We also have to fly everywhere for any kind of intl travel. We tend to use our Chase Sapphire Reserve points for air.

[AF-1]

clo,  thanks for sharing.  I too have lots of airline, hotel points

[AF-1]

Thanks everyone I appreciate all the good chatter from this thread.  I started it; and I am thankful that I have learned a few things from everyone's feedback

Edited February 4, 2021 by AF-1