A crack in the wall?

[egret]

could be for twosince they include the airfare, which you waive and maybe you get a volume discount.

If they would discount the PG cat C down to about $3K with air, that would be something to think about. The higher rates are discouraging me from daydreaming about Motu Mahana so I am not sure I want to know about this.

[Margate Cruiser]

If that wasn't the Pitts., If you are an owner you can have real problems down the road. Just like the condos. Assessments for all kinds of things. What do you think with the cost of fuel theses days. The original owners have a big nut to crack with the current fuel costs. I bet they stay in ports 50% OR MORE THESE DAYS. We were on fore a week was boring.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Every cloud has a silver lining...

 

Oil falls below $67 on US recession fears- AP

 

 

So at least the owners can fuel up at half the cost of a few months ago...

 

Also, this ought to put an end to "fuel surcharges".

[cruzndiz]

It "ought to" be discontinued....but has it???

[canadagal]

Royal Caribbean will end fuel surcharges so perhaps the others will follow their example.

Pat

 

Royal Caribbean to end fuel supplement

24/10/2008

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has followed Carnival Corp. & plc’s lead in announcing an end to fuel supplements. They will no longer apply to new Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises bookings made on or afer Nov. 10, anywhere in the world, for sailings that depart on or after Jan. 1.

The company also established guidelines to determine whether fuel supplement refunds will be provided for sailings that begin in 2009 and later, which were booked prior to Nov. 10, 2008, if fuel prices remain below a specific price threshold.

 

For 2009 and 2010 sailings booked before Nov. 10, Royal Caribbean will decide on a quarterly basis about refunds. In the form of an on-board credit, they will be issued if the closing price of West Texas Intermediate fuel is $65 or less, at the closing time of the New York Mercantile Exchange, two weeks prior to the beginning of the upcoming calendar quarter.

 

When the conditions are met, the credit will be provided to all passengers on cruises that begin during the upcoming calendar quarter. Royal Caribbean specified dates on which the price of West Texas Intermediate fuel will be measured.

 

The company cautioned that an upturn in fuel prices could necessitate the reinstatement of the supplement.

[canadagal]

Here's another article about price break points.

Pat

 

AARC studies what affluent will pay to cruise

28/10/2008

A new study of America’s most affluent households put the median price that respondents say they are willing to pay for a European cruise at $300 per person, per night.

In the latest of the twice yearly surveys of the most affluent 10% of US households by The American Affluence Research Center, respondents were asked to specify the most they could imagine spending for 37 products and services if they were to purchase the item during the next 12 months.

 

They were also asked to name the brand they would most likely purchase. The goal was to identify how the affluent define luxury, in terms of price points and brands, for each of the products.

 

For a European cruise, the median value was $300 per night, per person, for men and women. The lowest price suggested was $60 (men) and $100 (women). The highest price was $10,000 (men) and $20,000 (women).

 

The minimum and maximum price points, though realistic for many products, should probably be dismissed as being rather ‘extreme,’ according to AARC principal Ron Kurtz. The median value -- the mid point (not the average) of all the values/prices reported -- seems realistic for all 37 products and services, if not a bit low, given the affluence of the respondents, Kurtz said.

 

Fewer than a quarter of the respondents named the cruise brand they would most likely purchase. Among those who did, the most frequently mentioned brands were Royal Caribbean (18%) and Princess (17%).

 

The AARC research has consistently shown over the years that the affluent represent more than 3m cruisers per year and that most of their cruises are with companies that would be considered premium or contemporary brands. The price points and brands in the new survey are consistent with prior findings.

 

The latest survey, of 552 participants with an average income of $304,000 and an average net worth of $3.1m, is representative of the wealthiest 11.2m US households, AARC said.

 

The results demonstrate that surveys that attempt to measure spending on ‘luxury’ items are useless, at best, and dangerously misleading, at worst, if ‘luxury’ is not precisely defined by specific price points, Kurtz said. The same appears to be true for surveys that attempt to identify ‘luxury’ brands without specifying price points to define ‘luxury,’ he added.

 

Survey highlights are at http://www.affluenceresearch.org.

[cruiseyguy]

Although released on 10/28, I suspect this poll was done before the financial meltdown.

[canadagal]

Apparently they say this new poll was for Fall 2008 and represents a drop from the Spring 2008 poll. Link below for the highlights.

Pat

http://www.affluenceresearch.org/highlights.html

[orchestrapal]

I would love to know what they consider AFFLUENT! I don't know anyone who I consider to be in that catagory who would cruise on either of the lines mentioned nor would they think $300/night would be the maximum they would spend. Polls are so unrevealing!

[Dolebludger]

If you read the links above, to qualify as affluent one must make $250K -- $300K per year, have several million in investable assets, and a home worth at least $1.2 million. Or something like that -- as several slightly different definitions were mentioned. The surveyed sample seems to have consisted of only 500 -- 600 persons, which is more than a bit small to get a true picture of the spending habits and desires of this group. BTW, I am NOT a member of this group!

[orchestrapal]

If that's the definition I doubt that you will find many of these people on mass market ships. This poll may be taken with a the grain of sand that it's worth.:mad:

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Why would anyone with their sh*t together waste their time participating in a poll like that? (Hmmm, what does that say about those of us that spend time on chat boards :eek: )

 

It's been proven that telephone polls (at least) only sample stupid/bored people, that most normal people just hang up when a pollster calls, or screen their calls (and polsters don't call cell phones). That is why telephone polls are meaningless. Note that very few of them forcast elections correctly (and the few that do are probably just by random chance).

 

Lies, damn lies, and statistics....

[Dolebludger]

I think that what has been reported is not what statisticians call a "poll", because the number of participants was too low. Rather, it is what they call a "focus group". As such, it must be given much less weight than a true scientific poll.

 

More indicative of the current state of luxury cruising are the 50% off sales now being offered by Silversea, with a 25% TA commission to boot.

[HappyCruiser44]

I went to the SS website and do not see any new 50% offers different from the Silver Sailings posted some time back.