How full do they sail?

[rajacks]

Does anyone know how many empty cabins after final payment date will cause RCI to start dropping rates? I am guessing it's probably based on some percentage of the total cabins. Trying to decide if rates on our May cruise are likely to drop more if they don't fill more cabins soon....

[KJBBrett]

Adam Goldstein, CEO of RCI, stated that they weren't going to be "dramatically" dropping prices just to fill cabins, so I wouldn't expect something HUGE. However, if the sailing is less than full, I'm sure the price is going to go down SOME. (some is better than none).

 

I also want to add, though, that these ships are sailing pretty darn full all of the time.

[jcandjf]

We are sailing on LOS on April 11th. We have reserved 2 E1 and 2 E2 balcony rooms at $1219 and $1199 respectively. This past Thursday, pricng on these rooms dropped from $1219 to $919 and from $1199 to $899. We are 2 weeks from our departure today. The pricing drop was a special residency rate and only applied to certain states (not Florida). I was told that they had 190 rooms out of 1800 still open when I called for our price change. Thought that was interesting -

[scayuga]

We are sailing on LOS on April 11th. We have reserved 2 E1 and 2 E2 balcony rooms at $1219 and $1199 respectively. This past Thursday, pricng on these rooms dropped from $1219 to $919 and from $1199 to $899. We are 2 weeks from our departure today. The pricing drop was a special residency rate and only applied to certain states (not Florida). I was told that they had 190 rooms out of 1800 still open when I called for our price change. Thought that was interesting -

We are cruising on VOS May 13 and recently E2 balcony dropped from $1599 to $1099 with combination of senior and residency discounts. :) Remember to keep checking both of those discount possibilities when looking for further reductions on your cruise.

[Rancher Dave]

Does anyone know how many empty cabins after final payment date will cause RCI to start dropping rates? I am guessing it's probably based on some percentage of the total cabins. Trying to decide if rates on our May cruise are likely to drop more if they don't fill more cabins soon....

 

 

 

It will likely vary based on ship, destination, departure port etc...some combinations tend to sell out well even after the final booking, others are a push to sell from day one...

 

Ships with lots of folks who can drive to the port are easier to sell at higher rates than the ones where folks have to spend a ton of bucks to get to the ship, such as Colon Panama or the D Republic departures. Computers can reveiw data and recommend moves for the revenue department.

[kooljamming]

Does anyone know how many empty cabins after final payment date will cause RCI to start dropping rates? I am guessing it's probably based on some percentage of the total cabins. Trying to decide if rates on our May cruise are likely to drop more if they don't fill more cabins soon....

 

 

YESSSSSSSSSSSS. Many posters have reported price drop despite what the CEO of RCCL wishes for you to believe about not dropping price. Keep checking!

[Reijo]

It's really interesting that the first of the year (Jan 2nd or 3rd) we booked our 9/6 cruise on Freedom. We were encouraged to book right away because the ship was almost full. This is a TA that we have used many times so she knew that we would go on a cruise whether it was this one, the one following or the one before. Regardless, we were going on a cruise. I can't believe that she would have lied to us. What are the possibilities that RCCL is telling TA's that the ship is almost full? As I look today I find quite a few DIFFERENT cabins in different categories available than what was shown a few days ago/weeks ago. Does anyone have any feeling as to whether they have better experience going with RCCL to book cruises or a TA?

 

I was also told that once you accept ONE discount on a cruise (once booked) that you can't have another one. Is this just an agent's ruling or can you have as many discounts as you find available?

[alexkrn46]

For this reason it maybe better to book last minute to get the best deal.

[Merion_Mom]

It's really interesting that the first of the year (Jan 2nd or 3rd) we booked our 9/6 cruise on Freedom. We were encouraged to book right away because the ship was almost full. This is a TA that we have used many times so she knew that we would go on a cruise whether it was this one, the one following or the one before. Regardless, we were going on a cruise. I can't believe that she would have lied to us. What are the possibilities that RCCL is telling TA's that the ship is almost full? As I look today I find quite a few DIFFERENT cabins in different categories available than what was shown a few days ago/weeks ago. Does anyone have any feeling as to whether they have better experience going with RCCL to book cruises or a TA?

 

I was also told that once you accept ONE discount on a cruise (once booked) that you can't have another one. Is this just an agent's ruling or can you have as many discounts as you find available?

 

People may have cancelled - look at the economy. I hear every day about another corporation or business that is closing or laying off employees.

 

Royal Caribbean will no longer allow the combining of discounts. It's "pick one": balcony discount, C&A coupon, shareholder OBC or NextCruise/book on board discount.

 

You *can* however, get a reduced fare because of residency or age (senior discount) or military service and combine with one of those.

 

OBC directly from a TA doesn't count in this description, nor does OBC from the RC Visa card.

[cruiseguy1016]

I was also told that once you accept ONE discount on a cruise (once booked) that you can't have another one. Is this just an agent's ruling or can you have as many discounts as you find available?

 

Are you talking about a discount or a price drop? Merion_mom is correct about the discounts but if you are talking about price drops, you can have as many as they offer, even after final payment, as long as they are not for new bookings only.

[Maya57]

Does anyone know how many empty cabins after final payment date will cause RCI to start dropping rates? I am guessing it's probably based on some percentage of the total cabins. Trying to decide if rates on our May cruise are likely to drop more if they don't fill more cabins soon....

 

 

It is my understanding that it is not a percentage and much more is considered. Their is a Revenue dept that tries to get the most revenue per cabin. They have to consider that if they drop the price everyone who already booked could get the lower price, i.e. a refund.

Based on this alone if may pay to go with a number of empty cabin then drop the price just to fill the ship.

 

They also consider how much on board revenue may be lost when a ship has empty cabins.

 

I once spoke to a hotel manager who said that when they price out a group they have to consider if its a non-drinking group like some relgions are. This reduced bar income and will be reflected in the room rate.

[ORD1166]

We are going on MOS out LA in May and have a JS booked. Last week, I did a check and found a $500 plus price drop. I don't know if it was senior or state discount. but got a hold of T/A and she worked with RCI and got a nice price drop.:rolleyes:

[Reijo]

Are you talking about a discount or a price drop? Merion_mom is correct about the discounts but if you are talking about price drops, you can have as many as they offer, even after final payment, as long as they are not for new bookings only.

 

I'm sorry, I am talking about price drops. I just took advantage of a senior citizen rate and would hope that I might get a price drop as it gets closer to cruise time.

[jandj082008]

For this reason it maybe better to book last minute to get the best deal.

 

Not necessarily - the hubs and I are sailing this Sunday, April 5th, and the price for our category is currently $2449 per person. When we booked our cruise in March of last year, we paid $1533 per person. Ever since I found about the whole price drop thing (thanks to CC!) in the fall, I have been checking RCI's website to no avail. :rolleyes: