Why the difference in price? and how to find out what ship you sail on?

[Kiwi-gal]

Hi

 

I have been looking on the Avalon waterways New Zealand website for upcoming 2025 cruises.

 

I have been looking at the Rhine river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel

 

Looking at the following dates:

 

23 September 2025AMSTERDAM  30 September 2025BASEL

From NZD

$6,357

Price per person, based on Twin occupancy

for CAT-D

 

27 September 2025AMSTERDAM

Optional Excursions & Accommodation

04 October 2025BASEL

From

NZD $6,807

Price per person, based on Twin occupancy

for CAT-D

 

Do you know why there is a price difference? is it to do with the boat? and how do you find out the name of the boat to compare boats?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

 

 

 

[Roz]

The 1st cruise is on Envision,  and the 2nd one is on Panorama. I don't know the difference. 

[Kiwi-gal]

25 minutes ago, Roz said:

The 1st cruise is on Envision,  and the 2nd one is on Panorama. I don't know the difference. 

Thank you for this information.

 

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Kiwi-gal said:

Hi

 

I have been looking on the Avalon waterways New Zealand website for upcoming 2025 cruises.

 

I have been looking at the Rhine river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel

 

Looking at the following dates:

 

23 September 2025AMSTERDAM  30 September 2025BASEL

From NZD

$6,357

Price per person, based on Twin occupancy

for CAT-D

 

27 September 2025AMSTERDAM

Optional Excursions & Accommodation

04 October 2025BASEL

From

NZD $6,807

Price per person, based on Twin occupancy

for CAT-D

 

Do you know why there is a price difference? is it to do with the boat? and how do you find out the name of the boat to compare boats?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

 

 

 

I think the later cruise might be considered a more desirable autumn cruise. The company has to draw the line somewhere, so there will always be 2 cruises close together with differing pricing. 

[Kiwi-gal]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

I think the later cruise might be considered a more desirable autumn cruise. The company has to draw the line somewhere, so there will always be 2 cruises close together with differing pricing. 

That would also make sense, thank you.

 

 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I think the later cruise might be considered a more desirable autumn cruise. The company has to draw the line somewhere, so there will always be 2 cruises close together with differing pricing. 

Yes, I have seen that too.

 

With the two ships' names clear, I would say perhaps have a look at them in detail. The Panorama was built in 2011, the Envision in 2018. Both are 135m length. All in all, the ships will not differ much from each other, but the company may allow for the older ship to have fewer amenities and reflect it in the price. I have seen it with European companies. You can compare them a little when choosing the "our fleet" link at the top of this page: https://www.avalonwaterways.com/

Of course, the NZ website may have that option.

 

notamermaid

 

[Roz]

Sometimes you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out cruise pricing. 

[Daisi]

Looking at the Canadian site, the Romantic Rhine cruise for the two dates has a difference because the Sept 23rd one has a special airfare while the Sept 27th one has a special offer. That could be one difference as well. 

[JordanF]

4 hours ago, Roz said:

Sometimes you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out cruise pricing. 

Yep!  Ocean cruise prices are even more opaque to me.  It seems like they are always on some sort of "sale," often with a countdown clock to create urgency. But is it really a sale?  How can they always be on "sale?" You really have to work at it to even have a chance of figuring that out!

[gnome12]

Viking used to have a constant 2-for-1 sale. I think they finally stopped it (maybe they were forced to) and reverted to a more normal approach. In fact, I think that I read here that they don't play with the base fare, they play with inclusions and free or reduced airfare.

[Squawkman]

11 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Viking used to have a constant 2-for-1 sale. I think they finally stopped it (maybe they were forced to) and reverted to a more normal approach. In fact, I think that I read here that they don't play with the base fare, they play with inclusions and free or reduced airfare.

In some cases, they actually do both.