Extra fee to pick your own room has gotten ridiculous - time to move on?

[Morecruisesplz]

10 hours ago, schildiams said:

How can you easily find group space?

Read the thread about the Icon pre-cruise and the 1st review cruise for some clues. We can't recommend TA's here so it's a bit difficult. 

[Minuet888]

The OP got a deal, mine was literally double $769 vs $1459

[Tatka]

4 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

It is nice to see that they are really starting to give bigger discounts when you don't care where or what cabin you get.  I wish hotels would give similar discounts. 

In hotels you are already booking category … They already pick your room.

[Areya220]

I suppose it is dependent on so many variables, but I have yet to find a vacation option that was more affordable than cruising, even with fare increases. Granted we only leave from ports that we can drive to (Boston/NY/NJ/Baltimore) and have no children, but even with airfare aside-- the cost of renting a hotel, buying all meals, and spending money on entertainment anywhere we could want to go far exceeds the cost of cruising. I just looked at all inclusive resorts and they were 650 a night for two people at absolute minimum. This would be roughly twice the cost of getting a balcony room on a ship departing at roughly the same time next year. 

 

My observation is that Royal's prices are fairly in line with the other big cruise lines and cheaper in some cases (ex: Virgin, Disney, etc.).

[LeeW]

We never book guarantee.  Prices are up around 50% for balcony cabins on normal 7 day sailings since we started cruising in 2004.  Matches economy.  Special cruises are up around the same but we don't take as many of those so our sample is less.  Did get spoiled during restart since prices were down 50% for a year or so.

[F27TW]

21 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

This has nothing to do with price gouging and everything to do with a sharp increase in demand for cruises, which has lead to an increase in cruise fares. I still think cruises are very affordable, but unfortunately the rise in cruise prices will likely lead to some people no longer being able to afford to go on a cruise. 

 

... which IS price gouging ! 

[SUgwoz]

7 minutes ago, F27TW said:

 

... which IS price gouging ! 

So people are booking cruises on Royal at elevated prices because there is an emergency and a Royal cruise is an essential good for survival? 

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

24 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

So people are booking cruises on Royal at elevated prices because there is an emergency and a Royal cruise is an essential good for survival? 

By definition... 

It's just illegal when it's during an emergency.  

 

Private jet service is price gouging too. 😉

[SUgwoz]

22 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

By definition... 

It's just illegal when it's during an emergency.  

 

Private jet service is price gouging too. 😉

Hotels and airlines then price gouge everyday. When they only have a few rooms/seats their prices can be in the thousands for a room that another person paid $200. In that case a person may not have alternatives. 

 

No one has to go on a cruise, and certainly not a specific date. 

 

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

13 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

Hotels and airlines then price gouge everyday. When they only have a few rooms/seats their prices can be in the thousands for a room that another person paid $200. In that case a person may not have alternatives. 

 

No one has to go on a cruise, and certainly not a specific date. 

 

I totally agree.  Super Bowl tickets are "price gouging" too.  I heard on the news this morning there are 3K tickets left, starting at $5,500.  

 

People like to throw out terms like "price gouging", and while it does fit the actual definition, in this case, it's not illegal, or unethical.  A company SHOULD get as much money for their product as they can.  If it's more than you (general) want to pay, don't pay it.  

[HappyTexan44]

13 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Have you cruised on RCI lately? Every ship I have been on lately including Icon right now has been sailing at close to or over capacity. Saying people are not in love with the current prices is obviously not accurate based on how much very RCI cruise is sailing at close to or above 100 percent capacity. Unfortunately the current reality is some people will no longer be able to afford to sail on RCI. 

 

Since they are encouraging people to book way ahead with the lower prices, you can't compare current bookings and current policies/prices.  Most of those people probably booked a year+ ago.  Our upcoming starter cruise was booked Fall 2022.   I don't know if I'd have booked a cruise if the idea had come to us just recently.  

On the general topic, I think what really matters is the bottom line price with the options that you want, then compare it to the price you are willing to pay.   If the price is too much, then it is too much. 

Edited February 5 by HappyTexan44

[2chiefs]

17 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Not confused at all, it appears you can book a cabin for EXACTLY the advertised price

It was a reference to a previous quote. I was asking a specific person if he was confused. He called the lower (advertised) price a discount which it's not. It's exactly what you said, the advertised price. Therefore, it was an upcharge to pick your own room.

[2chiefs]

16 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I think the price of $1054/pp isn' too bad for an 8 night southern caribbean cruise.    Don't prices to the ABC islands tend to cost more than eastern or western itineraries?

 

I wasn't referring to the price of the cruise. I was actually talking about the price difference between the "We pick your room" and the "You pick your room" prices going up and used this particular cruise as an example.

[2chiefs]

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

If something costs more than you want to spend, don't buy it.  Seems pretty simple to me.  So, to answer the OP, if cruising costs more than you want to spend, move on.  Why does it matter what someone else does with their money?

Agree!!!!

[2chiefs]

14 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Bumped at the pier? NO!

Happened very few times that I've ever seen

Where are your sources for all this info that only you can find?

I never said it happened a lot. Re-read my post. I said because those people got bumped at the pier, "it brought to light" how cruise lines overbook and there were a lot of articles about it. I'm getting so many flames from this thread. It's as if I was attacking the community!! 

 

Edited February 5 by 2chiefs

[Mum2Mercury]

16 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I think the price of $1054/pp isn' too bad for an 8 night southern caribbean cruise.    Don't prices to the ABC islands tend to cost more than eastern or western itineraries?

Nah, I've sailed an 8 day ABC island for less than $400, but that was in an Inside Guarantee and one of the cheapest weeks in the fall.  

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

If something costs more than you want to spend, don't buy it.  

Agree.  We're not talking about bread and milk here.  Cruising is a product you can live without.  

14 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Bumped at the pier? NO!

Happened very few times that I've ever seen

Where are your sources for all this info that only you can find?

If this were happening on a regular basis, it'd be all over this board.  

7 hours ago, Areya220 said:

I suppose it is dependent on so many variables, but I have yet to find a vacation option that was more affordable than cruising, even with fare increases ... 

Nah, when you include the total price -- ticket, transportation, night-before hotel, tips -- I can find any number of vacations cheaper than cruising.  Plenty that're more expensive too.  

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

... which IS price gouging ! 

Well, prices for gas, food and more are up -- and those increases raise cruise ticket prices.  And they're trying to pay off debt they incurred during Covid.  Are they going beyond what's necessary and gouging the customer?  I think they have been, but I also think we've been in a high-priced bubble (caused by people ready to sail again after Covid), but that's coming to an end.  Competition will bring things down again.  Companies will charge as much as the market will bear.  

[Twenty2020]

8 hours ago, Areya220 said:

I suppose it is dependent on so many variables, but I have yet to find a vacation option that was more affordable than cruising, even with fare increases. Granted we only leave from ports that we can drive to (Boston/NY/NJ/Baltimore) and have no children, but even with airfare aside-- the cost of renting a hotel, buying all meals, and spending money on entertainment anywhere we could want to go far exceeds the cost of cruising. I just looked at all inclusive resorts and they were 650 a night for two people at absolute minimum. This would be roughly twice the cost of getting a balcony room on a ship departing at roughly the same time next year. 

 

My observation is that Royal's prices are fairly in line with the other big cruise lines and cheaper in some cases (ex: Virgin, Disney, etc.).

 

To get a equal comparison of AIs to Royal (or any cruise)... You would need to include costs like deluxe beverage package, unlimited dining package, WiFi, gratuities, etc....

 

I've done the comparisons too and no cruising is not cheaper. Because of the add on fees everywhere you turn. It's maybe close to equivalent to a mid tier all inclusive. 

 

You can of course make it cheaper by just not buying any of that and take what's included. But that's not an apples to apples comparison. 

Edited February 5 by Twenty2020

[2chiefs]

1 hour ago, SUgwoz said:

Hotels and airlines then price gouge everyday. When they only have a few rooms/seats their prices can be in the thousands for a room that another person paid $200. In that case a person may not have alternatives. 

 

No one has to go on a cruise, and certainly not a specific date. 

 

Interesting. Hotels used to get dinged for price gouging. Now they just inflate their normal price (check the pricing on the hotel door) sky high and then discount the price to a competitive rate. Then when the demand is high (such as in an emergency) they can jack up the price legally because they've posted the regular price on the door.

[PhillyFan33579]

53 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

Since they are encouraging people to book way ahead with the lower prices, you can't compare current bookings and current policies/prices.  Most of those people probably booked a year+ ago.  Our upcoming starter cruise was booked Fall 2022.   I don't know if I'd have booked a cruise if the idea had come to us just recently.  

On the general topic, I think what really matters is the bottom line price with the options that you want, then compare it to the price you are willing to pay.   If the price is too much, then it is too much. 

I agree with your point that a lot of people right now are cruising on bookings they made awhile ago. I am on Icon right now on a cruise I booked the first day you could book Icon. I know I paid significantly less than other passengers we have met and talked to over the last two days. 

 

The demand for Icon has been off the charts from what I have seen. I think RCI has done a great job marketing Icon, which has helped create a high demand for this ship. I live in Florida and almost every day that I watch TV I see a commercial for Icon. I don’t recall RCI ever promoting/marketing a ship like they have done for Icon. On the bright side, the prices for RCI ships not named Icon have not increased anywhere near Icon. It will be interesting to see if the current prices for Icon will remain several years down the road. 

[2chiefs]

12 hours ago, Tatka said:

In hotels you are already booking category … They already pick your room.

Generally true, but you can ask for specific room at the front desk at check-in at many hotels. Some, like Hilton, even have floor plans on their app where you pick your room on-line ahead of time at check in. I did it all the time (before I retired) since I was a "road warrior". I don't do that anymore. As long as I'm away from vending, elevators, and staircases, I'm OK!!

[HappyTexan44]

39 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Generally true, but you can ask for specific room at the front desk at check-in at many hotels. Some, like Hilton, even have floor plans on their app where you pick your room on-line ahead of time at check in. I did it all the time (before I retired) since I was a "road warrior". I don't do that anymore. As long as I'm away from vending, elevators, and staircases, I'm OK!!

 

True, and I never had a problem getting the room I wanted.  Eventually my favorite chains figured out what rooms I'd like and they added that info to their internal file on me.  

 

If the hotel is a large one when we've vacationed I've requested a room on a certain floor/area and I've always gotten it.  I don't know what it is, but I can walk-walk-walk-walk all day and not be tired.  Then the second I walk through the hotel I deflate and every step is drudgery.  

Cruises are different than hotels.   They also aren't an airline.   A flight and a cruise would be much closer if you paid for the flight whether or not you showed up.  So, airlines have much more excuse to overbook.   

 

[TBone2K]

I'd also point out that in some cases the "Guarantee" only gets you a certain type of room. I'm referring to what I found looking for balconies on Oasis. We wanted an oceanview balcony, which was fairly pricy, especially compared to the other balcony types. There was only one "balcony guarantee" class, meaning you could get any type of balcony, inside or outside views.

[bmc alabama]

9 hours ago, Areya220 said:

My observation is that Royal's prices are fairly in line with the other big cruise lines and cheaper in some cases (ex: Virgin, Disney, etc.).

Actually, I think Apples to Apples, Virgin is the same or less. I like the fact that all Dining and Gratuities (including those at the bar, etc.) are included.  Also, the food on Virgin is way ahead of RCCL IMHO...

 

I think that the issue for a number of people is that you can sail one of the new CCL ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee), Virgin, Princess, or Celebrity, etc. for less than sailing on RCCL and get more for your money. 

[Tatka]

36 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

I think that the issue for a number of people is that you can sail one of the new CCL ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee), Virgin, Princess, or Celebrity, etc. for less than sailing on RCCL and get more for your money. 

 

 Have not checked others lately, but this is definitely not the case for Celebrity

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, TBone2K said:

I'd also point out that in some cases the "Guarantee" only gets you a certain type of room. I'm referring to what I found looking for balconies on Oasis. We wanted an oceanview balcony, which was fairly pricy, especially compared to the other balcony types. There was only one "balcony guarantee" class, meaning you could get any type of balcony, inside or outside views.

There is a different GTY class for neighborhood balconies VS ocean view balconies.