RCCL Excursion Rip-Off

[allyfree]

9 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I don't know that I would call it a rip-off if it is the standard operating procedure for most if not all cruise lines, countries, and times...

 

Getting mad at RC or the people trying to help you understand isn't going to get you anywhere. 
Since you said you looked at 3rd parties, how were they priced? I know the times don't work for you but maybe you can compare pricing. 

Enjoy your cruise... Or Cancel and see if there is another cruise line that has better pricing for this must-have excursion 

Thank you ... trip is to Edvard Greig's home at Troldhaugen - can't do the 3rd party trip as it includes a lunch and ship leaves at 2pm. The RCCL trip includes a visit to a Stave church which I also want to see so it would be more difficult to compare prices and do both independently given the short time we are in port. Have done Norway cruises with both Celebrity and P&O but RCCL seems to be the only one who offered this excursion (although that may have changed since I've not been there post-Covid)

Edited March 18, 2023 by allyfree

[allyfree]

4 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Did you think about the price you paid for your cabin? I’m sure you paid more for the same category of cabin than someone else and someone else paid more than you paid for the same cabin category. I don’t hear you complaining about that!

Not really - categories for cabins have a variety of factors that influence price and ultimately I will decide the price I am willing to pay based on them. That is understandable - giving some passengers the option to purchase the exact same excursion at a much reduced cost is not

Edited March 18, 2023 by allyfree

[Starry Eyes]

36 minutes ago, allyfree said:

Given how much we paid for DBP, I'll be having more than one 😂

Eventually language may not matter.🤣

[sgmn]

I think a lot is to do with dynamic pricing.  How popular they are and how many they've sold or they think they will sell. 

On my Med cruise, Marseille City Sights in Spanish is £69.13, Italian £58.52 and English tour (sold out) £73.25.

The fuller the excursion the more expensive it becomes.

Maybe they know from the demographics of people buying the cruise that they can easily sell the more expensive English Language one. 

 

[orville99]

12 hours ago, allyfree said:

No ... I booked it before the link was fixed so that I didn't miss out - maybe if RCCL had given me any satisfactory explanation of why the link wasn't working, I would have held out but their customer 'service' is as much use as a chocolate teapot!

 

You only need to know ~ three or four things in Spanish in order to enjoy the excursion:

Este es su barco - this is your boat;

Esta es una Montana - this is a mountain;

Este es un fijord - this is a fijord

Donde esta el bano - where is the bathroom, and

Quiero una cerveza - I want a beer

everything else you can translate with your eyes

 

[ReneeFLL]

38 minutes ago, allyfree said:

Not really - categories for cabins have a variety of factors that influence price and ultimately I will decide the price I am willing to pay based on them. That is understandable - giving some passengers the option to purchase the exact same excursion at a much reduced cost is not

So you’re ok with the cabin pricing being different depending on the factors? That’s the same thing for the tours also. The factor for the cheaper tour is that it’s in Spanish. 

[Mark_K]

4 minutes ago, orville99 said:

You only need to know ~ three or four things in Spanish in order to enjoy the excursion:

Este es su barco - this is your boat;

Esta es una Montana - this is a mountain;

Este es un fijord - this is a fijord

Donde esta el bano - where is the bathroom, and

Quiero una cerveza - I want a beer

everything else you can translate with your eyes

 

Another important one.

 

Estoy mareado - I am seasick.

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

Another important one.

 

Estoy mareado - I am seasick.

and one you should never use: esta excursión es una estafa y un arrancar😉

Edited March 18, 2023 by orville99

[soremekun]

 

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, allyfree said:

Not really - categories for cabins have a variety of factors that influence price and ultimately I will decide the price I am willing to pay based on them. That is understandable - giving some passengers the option to purchase the exact same excursion at a much reduced cost is not

But it's NOT the "exact same excursion". The fact that it is given in a different language makes it very different, just as two, otherwise identical cabins, can vary in price depending upon their location.

[not-enough-cruising]

44 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

I think you misunderstood a lot of the point. I have in no way saying whether the policy of price discrimination is good or bad. I have said in the example of senior discount. Why would you automatic think when people saying discrimination it had to be negative?

 

The original poster said the pricing method is discrimination. Which is correct. Because it is discrimination. The pricing method is discriminatory pricing strategy (again, I am not saying this method is good or bad). 

 

You are arguing the original poster is wrong because the original poster did not understand the meaning of 'discrimination'. Which you are wrong. That is personal attack.

 

Now you are accusing me, which is another personal attack and 'discrimination' against people who does not agree with you.

 

The article I quoted you is for you to understand the term of discrimination in price strategy. So if the original poster say what RCL did is discrimination, which can be correct in certain term (i.e. pricing strategy). You are automatically assume original poster is accusing RCL discriminate against certain group of people based on language (which itself is wrong),  which is wrong too. Then you go on attack the original poster 'did not understand the language', which is totally wrong and personal attack at best.

 

Happy cruising.

No one here believes the OP did not use the term discrimination in a negative manner; and they certainly did not intend it to be "price discrimination" either. I (and others) believe the OP was accusing Royal of discrimination based on language spoken, there was no other way to interpret the post.

[pstone1]

16 hours ago, allyfree said:

Bollocks - it's greed and it's discrimination!

 

You didn’t mention which Port the tour was in, but perhaps a private tour would be a better fit.  We sailed the Arctic Circle last summer, and took private excursions at almost every Port.  If you are interested, check Norway Excursions.  They may offer a similar tour where you are stopping.

[allyfree]

5 hours ago, pstone1 said:

You didn’t mention which Port the tour was in, but perhaps a private tour would be a better fit.  We sailed the Arctic Circle last summer, and took private excursions at almost every Port.  If you are interested, check Norway Excursions.  They may offer a similar tour where you are stopping.

Thank you ... the trip is in Bergen and I did mention in a previous reply that there is nothing suitable from other tour operators that fits with what I want to see/do and the limited time we are in port

[pstone1]

3 minutes ago, allyfree said:

Thank you ... the trip is in Bergen and I did mention in a previous reply that there is nothing suitable from other tour operators that fits with what I want to see/do and the limited time we are in port

Sorry I missed that!

 

Bergen is the one place we had planned to do on our own!  I pre-purchased tram tickets so we could ride up the mountain, hike around, and then walk back down.  The town looked very walkable too, and lunch at the Fish Market was on our agenda!

 

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when we docked, and the weather that day never really improved, so we just stayed on the ship.  I think I read (after the fact) that Bergen’s annual rainfall is about 98 inches!  Yikes! 
 

I hope you enjoy your tour!  The scenery in the Fjords is amazing!

 

[allyfree]

Just now, pstone1 said:

Sorry I missed that!

 

Bergen is the one place we had planned to do on our own!  I pre-purchased tram tickets so we could ride up the mountain, hike around, and then walk back down.  The town looked very walkable too, and lunch at the Fish Market was on our agenda!

 

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when we docked, and the weather that day never really improved, so we just stayed on the ship.  I think I read (after the fact) that Bergen’s annual rainfall is about 98 inches!  Yikes! 
 

I hope you enjoy your tour!  The scenery in the Fjords is amazing!

 

Thanks ... we've been to Bergen several times but usually out of season for Troldhaugen as it only opens for a few months in the summer and I've wanted to go there for about 30 years! As for the weather,  I'm from Scotland - I'm used to a lot of rain 😁

[Magicat]

23 hours ago, allyfree said:

Bollocks - it's greed and it's discrimination!

 

Blame your neighbours to the south.  EU people are free to travel and work at other EU countries.  So Spanish workers can freely travel within the EU and work without a visa.  Since 2020 with Brexit when the UK left the EU, workers now need a visa to work in EU countries hence increasing the cost.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

10 hours ago, ChC said:

You are arguing the original poster is wrong because the original poster did not understand the meaning of 'discrimination'. Which you are wrong. That is personal attack.

What is the definition of "personal attack"?  Have we really gotten to the point of someone disagreeing is a personal attack?

[sgmn]

6 hours ago, pstone1 said:

Sorry I missed that!

 

Bergen is the one place we had planned to do on our own!  I pre-purchased tram tickets so we could ride up the mountain, hike around, and then walk back down.  The town looked very walkable too, and lunch at the Fish Market was on our agenda!

 

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when we docked, and the weather that day never really improved, so we just stayed on the ship.  

We did something similar. Except we bought our mountain tram tickets at the station. Enjoyed a short hike at the top, the views and a snack in the cafe. After walked around the harbour and town. A very good day

[Tin can]

Although you can book a tour in a language that you don't understand I'm assuming that there will be no issue in you actually joining it.

 

Could the guide refuse you if you can't understand instructions about returning to the coach at a certain time or safety instructions for example.

 

I only make this point as I imagine the paperwork and indemnities that Royal insists upon with its contracted excursion suppliers is extensive for our overall welfare. 

 

 

[pstone1]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

We did something similar. Except we bought our mountain tram tickets at the station. Enjoyed a short hike at the top, the views and a snack in the cafe. After walked around the harbour and town. A very good day

We loved that cruise, and used the rainy Bergen weather as a good excuse to go back!  We’ve booked another Arctic Circle cruise so we can try again next year!  🤣

[not-enough-cruising]

11 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

What is the definition of "personal attack"?  Have we really gotten to the point of someone disagreeing is a personal attack?

Folks simply do not respond well to having their nonsense exposed 

[DirtyDawg]

On 3/17/2023 at 9:47 PM, allyfree said:

Bollocks - it's greed and it's discrimination!

 

Yes, it's official name is Price Discrimination and it is done all around the world in many, many markets. Now that I'm over 60, I enjoy the benefits of Price Discrimination when I get those seniors' discounts. 😁

💓

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by DirtyDawg