OMG The prices to now cruise on Royal Caribbean

[blueslily]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:24 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

"Sometimes" was my disclaimer. Transatlantics and repositioning can be found for $50ish/day. Alaska is another place where you can find bargains. Vancover to Hawaii only cost us $300/each a couple years ago. No ports = no port fees!

 

 

Wow, if anyone sees these kind of prices in 2023 or 2024, please let me know.

[blueslily]

3 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

$500. Then you are getting picky about the ship. Folks pay double to cruise at Thanksgiving. At that price they are nearly paying you to take the cruise. 

 

Man, I wish flying to Spain only cost me $500. Well, I need to add at least a couple hotels to that plus a flight from Tampa. Oh, maybe that $500 is just for a one way ticket.

[Biker19]

8 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Wow, if anyone sees these kind of prices in 2023 or 2024, please let me know.

Monitor the GGG thread - more deals are showing up every week, though usually for close in sailings.

[grandgeezer]

16 hours ago, mark290 said:

 

You are so wrong. Jassy has a comp package like an nfl player. Front loaded, guaranteed money. $200mil for 10 years. With his chump change salary of $1.3, his package is over $21mil a year for the next 10 years. 
 

this is a more accurate portrayal of his comp package:

 

In 2021 Jassy received a stock grant valued at more than $200 million tied to his promotion to CEO, with the shares vesting over 10 years. “This award is designed to establish a long-term owner’s perspective and encourage bold, long-term initiatives, in the same manner that Mr. Bezos’s shares as founder incentivized him to focus on long-term, expansive growth, and is intended to represent most of Mr. Jassy’s compensation for the coming years,” Amazon’s board wrote in the new proxy

If you would have looked farther you would have seen that Jassy received no stock grant for 2022, due to stock performance so his total compensation was indeed a measly $1.3 million. I can find dozens of posts on Google, from highly respected people, and businesses who say exactly the same thing.

The stock grant is in his account but frozen, he can’t touch it for ten years. If he leaves within ten years I don’t what happens to the grant

I don’t think you missed these points, you just ignored them because they didn’t support your narrative.

[vjmatty]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:24 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

"Sometimes" was my disclaimer. Transatlantics and repositioning can be found for $50ish/day. Alaska is another place where you can find bargains. Vancover to Hawaii only cost us $300/each a couple years ago. No ports = no port fees!

 

 

Agreed about the transatlantic..... as for Alaska, RC has to sell Alaska cheap because their Alaska experience doesn't hold a candle to Princess. It is the only way they can compete with Princess when it comes to Alaska.  The problem is, by sailing RC you are giving up so much to save a few bucks.... a naturalist on board as well as multiple glacier sailings that RC doesn't have access to.  Of course, RC is more ship oriented than destination oriented, so if you care more about the ship it may not matter to you.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

Agreed about the transatlantic..... as for Alaska, RC has to sell Alaska cheap because their Alaska experience doesn't hold a candle to Princess. It is the only way they can compete with Princess when it comes to Alaska.  The problem is, by sailing RC you are giving up so much to save a few bucks.... a naturalist on board as well as multiple glacier sailings that RC doesn't have access to.  Of course, RC is more ship oriented than destination oriented, so if you care more about the ship it may not matter to you.

The Alaska cruises that can be cheap are the one way sailings out if Vancouver on the Radiance.  Round trip cruises from Seattle on the newer ships are definitely not cheap.

[tottenhamfc]

I was just looking on a site that shows 2025 booking dates. Most companies that have released their TA’s for spring are really bumping up prices. My estimate is at least 50% more than my current RCL trip next month. The released cruises are with companies who are generally lower than RCL. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:50 AM, crazy4themouse said:

Maybe food is equaled by a line such as Virgin or Celebrity

Not at all the case for celebrity. Food quality has raced to the bottom with cuts in quality, variety, and portion size. Even the “food is subjective” crowd are struggling with the food being presented by Celebrity. 

[tottenhamfc]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not at all the case for celebrity. Food quality has raced to the bottom with cuts in quality, variety, and portion size. Even the “food is subjective” crowd are struggling with the food being presented by Celebrity. 

So they are characterized as a premium experience in their marketing. They have to fulfill that expectation. It is my belief that all cruise lines are testing the limits. It will

adjust as people start to be gypsies and not have a favourite line based on loyalty rewards. The rewards do not justify the huge increases. So far I have been loyal but giving serious thought to be going for the best deal.

[Tapi]

On 9/7/2023 at 9:08 PM, PACrew said:

Looked to book Icon in 2025. $12k for my family if 6 in a balcony. MSC America, 6k for my family in a suite. MSC it is. If Royal comes down, I’ll switch. 

MSC has become my “go to” cruise line when looking for a good deal. In addition to great pricing and varied itineraries, their newest ships have nothing to envy Royal’s. They have a similar “wow” factor.
 

We sailed Harmony of the Seas from Port Canaveral last June in a guaranteed standard balcony stateroom . We just booked MSC Virtuosa to Northern Europe for June 2022. For less money than what we paid for Harmony, we booked a one bedroom Aurea Premium suite with a wraparound balcony and whirlpool. 
 

While we had an excellent time on Harmony, I had the recurring, nagging thought that it was overpriced. Same feelings as when we sailed on Disney which is why we haven’t sailed again on them. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Tapi

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 hours ago, Tapi said:

MSC has become my “go to” cruise line when looking for a good deal. In addition to great pricing and varied itineraries, their newest ships have nothing to envy Royal’s. They have a similar “wow” factor.

Our new go-to as well. It was a No brainer to give them a try and their status match program made it even more enticing. We’ve sailed MSC three times since last September and have reached their highest level (Black). My loyalty is to my wallet so I have no problem shopping around. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 hours ago, tottenhamfc said:

So they are characterized as a premium experience in their marketing. They have to fulfill that expectation. It is my belief that all cruise lines are testing the limits. It will

adjust as people start to be gypsies and not have a favourite line based on loyalty rewards. The rewards do not justify the huge increases. So far I have been loyal but giving serious thought to be going for the best deal.

Yes, indeed. Our nomadic approach has introduced us to some interesting cruise options and lines that we likely wouldn’t have otherwise considered had Celebrity not made all of their recent (and somewhat drastic) changes, including food. I feel no loyalty to them as they feel none toward me. 

[vjmatty]

9 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not at all the case for celebrity. Food quality has raced to the bottom with cuts in quality, variety, and portion size. Even the “food is subjective” crowd are struggling with the food being presented by Celebrity. 

Well this is concerning, as we are sailing Infinity in February from Athens to Israel and Egypt. Since the ship will be in the Mediterranean for some time by then I would hope the food will be hard to mess up since it will be supplied by European vendors… but I’m sure they can find a way to ruin it anyway. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

30 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Well this is concerning, as we are sailing Infinity in February from Athens to Israel and Egypt. Since the ship will be in the Mediterranean for some time by then I would hope the food will be hard to mess up since it will be supplied by European vendors… but I’m sure they can find a way to ruin it anyway. 

Please don't let my current annoyance with Celebrity dampen your expectations for your upcoming cruise...There have been cuts and the food quality is not the same as it was when we started sailing with them back in 2015 but our last cruise on Equinox was very enjoyable.  The wait staff in the MDR bent over backwards for us and even though the food offerings were scaled back, DH and I both managed to put on a few extra pounds by the end.  Here's what we did (dinner time) to supplement from past experiences:

1.  Ordered a cheese plate as a starter (listed under dessert)

2.  Caesar salad with every meal, followed by

3.  Shrimp cocktail or escargot 

4.  Main course...my favorite was the beef short rib

5.  We also ordered the vegetarian dish for the table...to add more veggies to the mix

6.  By the time dessert rolled around, we usually passed because we were stuffed.

 

We have 3 more cruises on the books with Celebrity...albeit, they were booked prior to recent changes...I'm not cancelling any of them...but have also started looking elsewhere.  

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!

[Morecruisesplz]

13 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The Alaska cruises that can be cheap are the one way sailings out if Vancouver on the Radiance.  Round trip cruises from Seattle on the newer ships are definitely not cheap.

I didn’t even know they did round trip. But why not just cruise up and back on the Radiance. The cruise is less than the flight back down... unless things have changed. 

[Morecruisesplz]

13 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not at all the case for celebrity. Food quality has raced to the bottom with cuts in quality, variety, and portion size. Even the “food is subjective” crowd are struggling with the food being presented by Celebrity. 

And Virgin is playing up the differences, sighting all of our complaints about the others. My favorite was "we don’t kick you out on your last day, we let you sleep in."

 

[Pinballs83]

I've managed to book a 7 say solo cruise for $1200 on Quantum. OK deals are out there. 

 

Be willing to go out of prime time or check other depart ports if that's an option. 

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

I didn’t even know they did round trip. But why not just cruise up and back on the Radiance. The cruise is less than the flight back down... unless things have changed. 

Thst means taking 2 weeks vacation...not an option for the majority of people. 

 

Flights aren't actually that bad just inconvenient times.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[Morecruisesplz]

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Thst means taking 2 weeks vacation...not an option for the majority of people. 

 

Flights aren't actually that bad just inconvenient times.

 

3 weeks, if you do the land tour in between. To me, the land part is the best part of the trip. (Hoping Royal still overs that.)

[Tree_skier]

24 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

I didn’t even know they did round trip. But why not just cruise up and back on the Radiance. The cruise is less than the flight back down... unless things have changed. 

I'm actually considering that when the new schedule is released in Nov.  However, I imagine time would be the restraint for most people. That is a two week trip and might be more than some would be willing or are able to do.

[Morecruisesplz]

9 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm actually considering that when the new schedule is released in Nov.  However, I imagine time would be the restraint for most people. That is a two week trip and might be more than some would be willing or are able to do.

Sure, I get it. I forget that we are not all retired here. But I have younger friends who work but will not consider a cruise of less than 12 nights and prefer 14. Their thinking is to average the flight cost over more days.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:51 PM, ReneeFLL said:

If the $1400.00 is for 2 people for a balcony I think that’s a fairly good deal.

kind of hard to find this kind of prices nowadays. By today's standards that's not a "fairly good" deal, it's an outstanding deal. Unless, of course, it's an ancient ship during the least popular time. Considering that it's RCI and most people sail with kids during school breaks, they (we) usually have to sail during super popular times.

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Please don't let my current annoyance with Celebrity dampen your expectations for your upcoming cruise...There have been cuts and the food quality is not the same as it was when we started sailing with them back in 2015 but our last cruise on Equinox was very enjoyable.  The wait staff in the MDR bent over backwards for us and even though the food offerings were scaled back, DH and I both managed to put on a few extra pounds by the end.  Here's what we did (dinner time) to supplement from past experiences:

1.  Ordered a cheese plate as a starter (listed under dessert)

2.  Caesar salad with every meal, followed by

3.  Shrimp cocktail or escargot 

4.  Main course...my favorite was the beef short rib

5.  We also ordered the vegetarian dish for the table...to add more veggies to the mix

6.  By the time dessert rolled around, we usually passed because we were stuffed.

 

We have 3 more cruises on the books with Celebrity...albeit, they were booked prior to recent changes...I'm not cancelling any of them...but have also started looking elsewhere.  

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!

 

We sailed Equinox in October 2019, and it was the first Celebrity cruise we'd sailed.  I was actually impressed with the food at that time, as a vegetarian myself and hubby needing gluten-free, I found that the options were not only plentiful but well made.  I loved that the buffet had little signs on each item saying what dietary restrictions were applicable.

 

Infinity will be our first return to Celebrity since the pandemic, and your post was the second reference I've seen so far regarding their drop in food quality.  The good news is, with so many late and overnight port visits, it should be easy to find alternatives for dinner if the choices onboard are so limited.  Also, there have been some price drops for Aqua Class which would add a new dining venue, but I am really reluctant to give up the Sunset Veranda for what appear to be inferior balconies.  I looked at the Bleu menu on the Celebrity app and it looks like I'de eating a lot of Beyond Burgers, which I can do here at home.

[CanadianSailor22]

All prices have gone up and more extra costs have been added. Furthermore with Royal Caribbean, the evening entertainment has been cut to showing movies in the theatre instead of performing acts… no longer in the race for my business! 

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm actually considering that when the new schedule is released in Nov.  However, I imagine time would be the restraint for most people. That is a two week trip and might be more than some would be willing or are able to do.

Up until now, pre retirement, we couldn’t get away for longer than about 10 days.  Now that retirement is upon us, we aren’t booking anything less than 10-14 nights or longer due to airfare.  If we’re going to pay to fly we have decided we will stay awhile.  
 

If prices stay up we will be re evaluating where to spend our travel money. Cruises aren’t the only way to travel and Royal isn’t the only line out there.