About prices I just wanted to say...

[sadiwest]

If you haven't seen any of my previous threads, long story short we had to cancel a cruise within days of departure *AGAIN * due to Covid.   Once DH was out of isolation we had to salvage a vacation and opted for an all inclusive Poconos resort some had called "a cruise on land". Most likely due to the number and types of activities offered, included.

 

I'm only posting this on RCCL because im seeing a lot of price complaints here...RCCL was the line we had to cancel, so using it for comparison. 

 

This is strictly my experience (YMMV). 

Recently booken then changed an Alaskan cruise on RCCL. That 7 night cruise (and nothing else) came in around $8k for 3 of us.   It was not a balcony cabin. One way Seward to ...Vancouver I think?   The Wednesday to Sunday Poconos trip came in about $7500. Now, that was 4 of us including 2 meals a day and all non alcoholic beverages but for 4 nights. 

 

If you want to skip this line or try that one....or even stop cruising altogether, that's your prerogative (always looks like that spelling is wrong).  For me, all other things being equal, I'll do the cruise for $500 more.

 

I get that its higher than before but so is everything and I still want a vacation.   Poconos was nice but I wanted to hear that tell tale "bing bong" sound that preceeds announcements for the 9 nights we had booked. 😪😪😪

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

12 minutes ago, sadiwest said:

If you haven't seen any of my previous threads, long story short we had to cancel a cruise within days of departure *AGAIN * due to Covid.   Once DH was out of isolation we had to salvage a vacation and opted for an all inclusive Poconos resort some had called "a cruise on land". Most likely due to the number and types of activities offered, included.

 

I'm only posting this on RCCL because im seeing a lot of price complaints here...RCCL was the line we had to cancel, so using it for comparison. 

 

This is strictly my experience (YMMV). 

Recently booken then changed an Alaskan cruise on RCCL. That 7 night cruise (and nothing else) came in around $8k for 3 of us.   It was not a balcony cabin. One way Seward to ...Vancouver I think?   The Wednesday to Sunday Poconos trip came in about $7500. Now, that was 4 of us including 2 meals a day and all non alcoholic beverages but for 4 nights. 

 

If you want to skip this line or try that one....or even stop cruising altogether, that's your prerogative (always looks like that spelling is wrong).  For me, all other things being equal, I'll do the cruise for $500 more.

 

I get that its higher than before but so is everything and I still want a vacation.   Poconos was nice but I wanted to hear that tell tale "bing bong" sound that preceeds announcements for the 9 nights we had booked. 😪😪😪

Sadiwest:  so refreshing to see a positive post….thank you!!!!!

[HaveWeMetYet]

Got a 7 night Alaska cruise one way Seward to Vancouver for 235 per person Oceanview.

Radiance of the Seas May 2024.

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

Just randomly selected one of my booked 2025 cruises.  Odyssey.  March.

 

I travel solo.  Obstructed balcony cabin.  

 

Booked for $891 this past May.

Current price for everything the same:  $2200.

 

I won't even post the Icon price difference.  😮

[OCSC Mike]

Everyone assigns their own value to things... especially experiences like vacations. What something is worth to one person may not be worth it to another... and that's perfectly fine.

 

You're looking forward to your cruise and that's all that matters!

 

I'm paying more than I used to (although I personally feel out of my 4 booked cruises, 2 aren't bad at all, 1 is so-so, and 1 is a bit high) and I haven't gone through the issues you have... but I still can't wait to get back on Wonder!

 

As an aside, since you mentioned the "bing bong", I may be hallucinating but I think Wonder had a different announcement sound and I remember missing the traditional "bing bong."

[sadiwest]

13 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Everyone assigns their own value to things... especially experiences like vacations. What something is worth to one person may not be worth it to another... and that's perfectly fine.

 

You're looking forward to your cruise and that's all that matters!

 

I'm paying more than I used to (although I personally feel out of my 4 booked cruises, 2 aren't bad at all, 1 is so-so, and 1 is a bit high) and I haven't gone through the issues you have... but I still can't wait to get back on Wonder!

 

As an aside, since you mentioned the "bing bong", I may be hallucinating but I think Wonder had a different announcement sound and I remember missing the traditional "bing bong."

I should also note that Alaska had been booked quite some time ago. No clue what its be now. Also we would need to fly ftom the NE. Now that think about it....we did have a pre cruise 2 night land part but still.....   not really my main point since without the land and everything else as is I'd still prefer the cruise at a higher rate. Lol and 7500 for a 4 night local trip...  no competition.  

[ReneeFLL]

@sadiwest How was the food at the resort? How crowded was it? 3 to 6 thousand people? It’s hard to compare apples to oranges.

[sadiwest]

2 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

@sadiwest How was the food at the resort? How crowded was it? 3 to 6 thousand people? It’s hard to compare apples to oranges.

Naturally YMMV but certain activities were more packed than others (bingo was standing room only). 

On the other hand they offered a lot of activities I don't care about (like bingo).

 

I'm not telling people what to do or assuming they'd rather do apples than oranges.  What I am saying is that relatively everything is more expensive and I'd still rather cruise than not. I'll book older ships as, per RCCL head honcho....those are where the lower prices reside right now  

[ngrund]

Sadi, good to hear that you had a positive  plan B experience

[ngrund]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:26 PM, HaveWeMetYet said:

Got a 7 night Alaska cruise one way Seward to Vancouver for 235 per person Oceanview.

Radiance of the Seas May 2024.

 

 

Nice price, May is usually much less $ for Alaska then prime time June-Aug

[sadiwest]

On 9/6/2023 at 3:01 PM, ReneeFLL said:

@sadiwest How was the food at the resort? How crowded was it? 3 to 6 thousand people? It’s hard to compare apples to oranges.

Forgot to answer the food question. 

The food was great (less one dish I didn't love) but entirely too much of it. We had the two meal plan each day...breakfast and dinner.   But the portions were so big I'd be unable to eat it all. One of my favorites was buffalo chips (thin steak fries with buffalo sauce and ranch).

[Kiki and The Noush]

We didn't book a resort, but we did the "exercise" on paper.  We're in PA and we costed out a land trip to Ottawa - we were looking  for a short vacation in between cruises.  We ended up booking a 4 day on Liberty to Nova Scotia.  The prices are higher, but we still can't beat them when I add up gas, hotel, food, entertainment, etc.  

 

I wish the prices hadn't increased as badly as they have, but I get it and I just wish they would raise the prices where they think they need to be to turn a profit and stop with the cutbacks.  I will gladly pay for the vacation experience I want - I just wish they would stop the bleeding.  

[DigiPro]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:49 PM, sadiwest said:

I should also note that Alaska had been booked quite some time ago. No clue what its be now. Also we would need to fly ftom the NE. Now that think about it....we did have a pre cruise 2 night land part but still.....   not really my main point since without the land and everything else as is I'd still prefer the cruise at a higher rate. Lol and 7500 for a 4 night local trip...  no competition.  

Wow!  $7500 for a 4nt trip to the Poconos seems extraordinarily expensive, especially if alcohol was not included.  But I did like “bing bong”! 😆

[LibertyBella]

Gosh, we go to the Poconos all the time for getaways and have been doing so forever--I cannot imagine ever paying that high of an amount for such a short time in any of the hotels up there, nor would I!  Even NY's Mohonk Mountain house, or the NY Sagamore, which are rather expensive, would not cost as much.

 

A great choice for a resort vacation would be the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island--very lovely and scenic. There is a fantastic organization, Historic Hotels of America, which features many of the most wonderful resort hotels in America.

 

Well, my recommendation for a reasonably priced yet full service beach resort vacation from the East coast USA that is most similar to a cruise is to head to the Mexican Riviera Maya or one of the islands like the  Dominican Republic, or perhaps Costa Rica in Central America.  There are many all-inclusive resort packages with air, hotel, food and alcohol that will not break your budget.  

 

I love cruising, and I love travel, and I do have to admit I have expertise in researching, and comparison shopping, without giving up luxury.  I have a bucket list of places to visit, and always try to keep up with current prices and news regarding destinations.  I have been extremely pleased with every cruise I have ever booked over the past many decades, more so sometimes than my resort hotels. There is always a sale somewhere, at some time!  Yes, it is a wonderful experience to see the world, but I need to afford the upkeep on my home as well.

Edited September 9, 2023 by LibertyBella

[seasidemama]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:05 PM, sadiwest said:

If you haven't seen any of my previous threads, long story short we had to cancel a cruise within days of departure *AGAIN * due to Covid.   Once DH was out of isolation we had to salvage a vacation and opted for an all inclusive Poconos resort some had called "a cruise on land". Most likely due to the number and types of activities offered, included.

 

I'm only posting this on RCCL because im seeing a lot of price complaints here...RCCL was the line we had to cancel, so using it for comparison. 

 

This is strictly my experience (YMMV). 

Recently booken then changed an Alaskan cruise on RCCL. That 7 night cruise (and nothing else) came in around $8k for 3 of us.   It was not a balcony cabin. One way Seward to ...Vancouver I think?   The Wednesday to Sunday Poconos trip came in about $7500. Now, that was 4 of us including 2 meals a day and all non alcoholic beverages but for 4 nights. 

 

If you want to skip this line or try that one....or even stop cruising altogether, that's your prerogative (always looks like that spelling is wrong).  For me, all other things being equal, I'll do the cruise for $500 more.

 

I get that its higher than before but so is everything and I still want a vacation.   Poconos was nice but I wanted to hear that tell tale "bing bong" sound that preceeds announcements for the 9 nights we had booked. 😪😪😪

 

Glad you were able to salvage your vacation. $7,500 for a 4 night poconos resort seems to me highway robbery. Not sure when this was, but a week in Miami with food would cost a lot less with the flights.. 

 

Your post got me googling for prices and this is what I found in about 5 minutes or less:

 

Thanksgiving week for 4 people in the Dominican Republic in a very nice all inclusive hotel comes in between $2000-$3,000 all in, food, alcohol, non motorized water sports AND gratuities No flights. That's a holiday week. Other weeks are cheaper. 

 

Same week with flights from JFK are at $1,000-$1,500 per person ($4,000-$6,000 total WITH flights). Again, all in with no added charges for wifi/drinks/food/gratuities/popcorn..., I was pricing a junior suite or comparable accommodation which is about 5 times bigger than a balcony stateroom. 

 

These add ons would run a family of four roughly another $450-$2,900 on Royal depending on what is added and age of guests (under 12 get charged less for some packages). $450 would be the only add on if not buying any drinks/wifi/specialty and just paying gratuities. 

 

Sure you can find some options that are unexplainably high like $7,500 for a 4 night poconos vacation, but more often than not, all inclusives now are a much better value for price paid than a Royal Caribbean cruise, that is if you can give up the bing bong... Alternatively, you can take the $3,000 savings and buy a fancy device making all the bing bong noises you can handle. 

 

 

[sadiwest]

13 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Gosh, we go to the Poconos all the time for getaways and have been doing so forever--I cannot imagine ever paying that high of an amount for such a short time in any of the hotels up there, nor would I!  Even NY's Mohonk Mountain house, or the NY Sagamore, which are rather expensive, would not cost as much.

 

A great choice for a resort vacation would be the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island--very lovely and scenic. There is a fantastic organization, Historic Hotels of America, which features many of the most wonderful resort hotels in America.

 

Well, my recommendation for a reasonably priced yet full service beach resort vacation from the East coast USA that is most similar to a cruise is to head to the Mexican Riviera Maya or one of the islands like the  Dominican Republic, or perhaps Costa Rica in Central America.  There are many all-inclusive resort packages with air, hotel, food and alcohol that will not break your budget.  

 

I love cruising, and I love travel, and I do have to admit I have expertise in researching, and comparison shopping, without giving up luxury.  I have a bucket list of places to visit, and always try to keep up with current prices and news regarding destinations.  I have been extremely pleased with every cruise I have ever booked over the past many decades, more so sometimes than my resort hotels. There is always a sale somewhere, at some time!  Yes, it is a wonderful experience to see the world, but I need to afford the upkeep on my home as well.

Yes I was quite surprised but we did have 4 people during their peak season in a two bedroom.    After having to cancel a cruise due to Covid for the second time I literally just wanted to get away.  We were at Woodloch.

[sadiwest]

12 hours ago, seasidemama said:

 

Glad you were able to salvage your vacation. $7,500 for a 4 night poconos resort seems to me highway robbery. Not sure when this was, but a week in Miami with food would cost a lot less with the flights.. 

 

Your post got me googling for prices and this is what I found in about 5 minutes or less:

 

Thanksgiving week for 4 people in the Dominican Republic in a very nice all inclusive hotel comes in between $2000-$3,000 all in, food, alcohol, non motorized water sports AND gratuities No flights. That's a holiday week. Other weeks are cheaper. 

 

Same week with flights from JFK are at $1,000-$1,500 per person ($4,000-$6,000 total WITH flights). Again, all in with no added charges for wifi/drinks/food/gratuities/popcorn..., I was pricing a junior suite or comparable accommodation which is about 5 times bigger than a balcony stateroom. 

 

These add ons would run a family of four roughly another $450-$2,900 on Royal depending on what is added and age of guests (under 12 get charged less for some packages). $450 would be the only add on if not buying any drinks/wifi/specialty and just paying gratuities. 

 

Sure you can find some options that are unexplainably high like $7,500 for a 4 night poconos vacation, but more often than not, all inclusives now are a much better value for price paid than a Royal Caribbean cruise, that is if you can give up the bing bong... Alternatively, you can take the $3,000 savings and buy a fancy device making all the bing bong noises you can handle. 

 

 

Again I was in no mood to bargain hunt and even if I wanted to take someone else's child on a plane, I'm not going to pay anything to fly somewhere just to sit on the beach.  For that I can go to NJ.

 

Also keep in mind that for the drinks alone for 4 of us on RCCL it was over $800.  When you factor in everything that's included, the peak season Poconos isnt that much different.  Breaks down to a per person per night cost thats very comparable to a cruise.  $469 per.  Granted it's more space for "living"....but there's your price difference. 

[cruisin from florida]

We book onboard, 18 months to 2 years out, depending on the itinerary. Low deposit, OBC, and then we watch the prices go up, and up, and up... (if there's even a cabin left in the category for comparison!)... It really takes the sting out of the booking prices and final payment. If the price drops, we call and get the new price. 😁

[sadiwest]

Just now, cruisin from florida said:

We book onboard, 18 months to 2 years out, depending on the itinerary. Low deposit, OBC, and then we watch the prices go up, and up, and up... (if there's even a cabin left in the category for comparison!)... It really takes the sting out of the booking prices and final payment. If the price drops, we call and get the new price. 😁

Ok so I know that not everyone knows the whole story but the cruise we had booked well over a year in advance.  The poconos was very last minute BECAUSE  we had to cancel the cruise. If it were up to me we never would book anything last minute or cancel. 

 

I had actually planned to book another cruise whipe on that one.  So that's not a thing either now.

 

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

We book onboard, 18 months to 2 years out, depending on the itinerary. Low deposit, OBC, and then we watch the prices go up, and up, and up... (if there's even a cabin left in the category for comparison!)... It really takes the sting out of the booking prices and final payment. If the price drops, we call and get the new price. 😁

It's even nicer to transfer to a TA for more obc. Only got 1 I booked onboard. Timing hasnt been quite right. I'll get better at this. Bella2.0 only booked onboard. 75 onboard, 100 obc from ta and group, 100 from stocks ... adds up to sweet!

[orville99]

On 9/7/2023 at 4:47 PM, ngrund said:

Nice price, May is usually much less $ for Alaska then prime time June-Aug

8 night southern Caribbean in a GS on Adventure for the two of us July 2024  - $3,500 total cost including insurance.