What are the chances? Transpacific October 2017

There are some great fly/cruise deals for Explorer of the Seas Seattle to Sydney October 2016 currently being advertised. What do you think the chances are of similar deals being available for the same cruise in 2017?

The 2017 cruise is currently at an acceptable price but by the time I add on airfares it starts to get a bit pricey.

We currently have a South Pacific cruise booked for February 2017 and would need to cancel this in order to do the transpacific. This is not a problem as I'll get our deposit back if I cancel in the next 3-4 weeks. I've been thinking of cancelling anyway as we're doing a very similar itinerary on the same ship this November.

Nobody is going to be able to predict the fares.

Nobody is going to be able to predict the fares.

You mean you don't have a crystal ball?:rolleyes:

No one can ever really predict fares, but I would say yes there is a good chance of some cheap fly/cruise deals. This cruise for some reason doesn't go to Tahiti but goes straight to Fiji. Having said that you can never guarantee anything re pricing.

NO Tahiti? Real negative to N. Americans. Also look at Celebrity Solstice repos.

No one can ever really predict fares, but I would say yes there is a good chance of some cheap fly/cruise deals. This cruise for some reason doesn't go to Tahiti but goes straight to Fiji. Having said that you can never guarantee anything re pricing.

We did this cruise in April - Sydney to Seattle. Not very exciting I'm afraid.

We had lunch with the Hotel Director on the Explorer and I asked why we had this less than fantastic itinerary and the reason for it going to Fiji for two days:(. He explained it is because the Voyager and the Explorer were designed to do 7 night cruises (mainly the Caribbean) and the amount of food, etc that can be stored is small. Fiji is 'certified' to restock the ship. The ship will then go straight to Honolulu etc - another restock.

Other ships were also designed to only do 7 night cruises but their (food/beverage) storage capacity is greater.

It is interesting that the Explorer does this cruise as it is the only Royal Caribbean cruise that is 24 nights (the longest single cruise) - others are back-to-back cruises. You would think they would have put on a ship that has a grater capacity to carry food.

Enjoy the cruise if you go - lots of sea days which for us is a bonus.

Cheers

Di

We did this cruise in April - Sydney to Seattle. Not very exciting I'm afraid.

 

We had lunch with the Hotel Director on the Explorer and I asked why we had this less than fantastic itinerary and the reason for it going to Fiji for two days:(. He explained it is because the Voyager and the Explorer were designed to do 7 night cruises (mainly the Caribbean) and the amount of food, etc that can be stored is small. Fiji is 'certified' to restock the ship. The ship will then go straight to Honolulu etc - another restock.

 

Other ships were also designed to only do 7 night cruises but their (food/beverage) storage capacity is greater.

 

It is interesting that the Explorer does this cruise as it is the only Royal Caribbean cruise that is 24 nights (the longest single cruise) - others are back-to-back cruises. You would think they would have put on a ship that has a grater capacity to carry food.

 

Enjoy the cruise if you go - lots of sea days which for us is a bonus.

 

Cheers

Di

Thanks for clarifying. Makes sense when you put it like that. :)

If they maintain the same itineraries' next year, then I would say they will be heavily discounted again.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I think we've pretty much decided to cancel the February cruise and take our chance that a cheap fly/cruise deal will come up closer to the sail date.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

I think we've pretty much decided to cancel the February cruise and take our chance that a cheap fly/cruise deal will come up closer to the sail date.

Take notes of the specials now , dates, lines, etc, and keep an eye out next year.

We did this cruise in April - Sydney to Seattle. Not very exciting I'm afraid.

 

We had lunch with the Hotel Director on the Explorer and I asked why we had this less than fantastic itinerary and the reason for it going to Fiji for two days:(. He explained it is because the Voyager and the Explorer were designed to do 7 night cruises (mainly the Caribbean) and the amount of food, etc that can be stored is small. Fiji is 'certified' to restock the ship. The ship will then go straight to Honolulu etc - another restock.

 

Other ships were also designed to only do 7 night cruises but their (food/beverage) storage capacity is greater.

 

It is interesting that the Explorer does this cruise as it is the only Royal Caribbean cruise that is 24 nights (the longest single cruise) - others are back-to-back cruises. You would think they would have put on a ship that has a grater capacity to carry food.

 

Enjoy the cruise if you go - lots of sea days which for us is a bonus.

 

Cheers

Di

Thanks, couldn't think what the reason would be, but thought there would be some issue. That certainly makes sense.

It's interesting that RCI is still promoting this year's Seattle to Sydney on FaceBook even though it's apparently sold out.

It's interesting that RCI is still promoting this year's Seattle to Sydney on FaceBook even though it's apparently sold out.

Perhaps they are just using it as bait so they can sell other cruises.

It's interesting that RCI is still promoting this year's Seattle to Sydney on FaceBook even though it's apparently sold out.

That was an old post from a week back.

Just facebook's algorithm bringing out what they consider worthy.

That was an old post from a week back.

 

Just facebook's algorithm bringing out what they consider worthy.

I'll believe you. I have absolutely no idea how FaceBook works, it just does!

Perhaps they are just using it as bait so they can sell other cruises.

Or maybe they just hadn't got around to removing the advertising. As of this morning it was still showing as one of the ads on RCI's (Australian) homepage. It's now been replaced by a "72 hour flash sale" ad but it's still on the deals page.

I'll believe you. I have absolutely no idea how FaceBook works, it just does!

 

 

 

Or maybe they just hadn't got around to removing the advertising. As of this morning it was still showing as one of the ads on RCI's (Australian) homepage. It's now been replaced by a "72 hour flash sale" ad but it's still on the deals page.

I think it may be all three, the algorithm for FB, the slowness of removing the cruise and leaving it as bait for other cruises.

Well, we haven't booked any cruises for this year but are still hoping for a last minute bargain sailing Seattle to Sydney on Explorer of the Seas in October.

DW's parents are on Radiance OTS at the moment and have made a tentative booking for them and us at $2,426/person. I didn't know that they were thinking of joining us. :eek:

The reverse trip in April has now come down to $1,743/person for the cheapest inside cabin so I think I'll wait until about August to book.

Apparently the next cruise ambassador told the in-laws that there aren't many cabins left on the October cruise. :rolleyes:

Well, we haven't booked any cruises for this year but are still hoping for a last minute bargain sailing Seattle to Sydney on Explorer of the Seas in October.

 

DW's parents are on Radiance OTS at the moment and have made a tentative booking for them and us at $2,426/person. I didn't know that they were thinking of joining us. :eek:

 

The reverse trip in April has now come down to $1,743/person for the cheapest inside cabin so I think I'll wait until about August to book.

 

Apparently the next cruise ambassador told the in-laws that there aren't many cabins left on the October cruise. :rolleyes:

I posted this when there were all those issues with this site so I thought I'd BUMP in case anyone was interested and missed it.

Well, we haven't booked any cruises for this year but are still hoping for a last minute bargain sailing Seattle to Sydney on Explorer of the Seas in October.

 

DW's parents are on Radiance OTS at the moment and have made a tentative booking for them and us at $2,426/person. I didn't know that they were thinking of joining us. :eek:

 

The reverse trip in April has now come down to $1,743/person for the cheapest inside cabin so I think I'll wait until about August to book.

 

Apparently the next cruise ambassador told the in-laws that there aren't many cabins left on the October cruise. :rolleyes:

It is a gamble, you may get a cheaper price but then they may not have any cabins left, best thing to do is keep an eye on it.

Well, we haven't booked any cruises for this year but are still hoping for a last minute bargain sailing Seattle to Sydney on Explorer of the Seas in October.

 

DW's parents are on Radiance OTS at the moment and have made a tentative booking for them and us at $2,426/person. I didn't know that they were thinking of joining us. :eek:

 

The reverse trip in April has now come down to $1,743/person for the cheapest inside cabin so I think I'll wait until about August to book.

 

Apparently the next cruise ambassador told the in-laws that there aren't many cabins left on the October cruise. :rolleyes:

We are still watching the price of this cruise. And, yes, it did go up significantly since the in-laws were on Radiance OTS but the price has started to come down again. This morning it is $3,258pp for an inside cabin and there are outsides, balconies, and junior suites all available even though these categories were previously sold out.

So we'll just bide our time and wait for a last minute bargain. At the end of the day, if we do miss out on this cruise it's not the end of the world. Disappointing, yes, but as Dad always used to say, "worse things than that happen at sea." ;p

In other news, I did manage to pick up a real bargain on an inside cabin for a cruise in February 2018.

I'm still waiting for the price of this cruise to come down. The cheapest cabin (Oceanview) is currently priced at $3,730/person.

DW's parents have decided not to come on this cruise as they're doing a P&O with their other DD in September BUT I've discovered that they haven't cancelled the 2 cabins they booked for the transpacific yet! Apparently they have until 27th July to do so.

I'm figuring that their may be others in the same boat as my in-laws and I'm still hopeful that we'll pickup a bargain sometime in August.

I'm still waiting for the price of this cruise to come down. The cheapest cabin (Oceanview) is currently priced at $3,730/person.

 

DW's parents have decided not to come on this cruise as they're doing a P&O with their other DD in September BUT I've discovered that they haven't cancelled the 2 cabins they booked for the transpacific yet! Apparently they have until 27th July to do so.

 

 

I'm figuring that their may be others in the same boat as my in-laws and I'm still hopeful that we'll pickup a bargain sometime in August.

My thought is to do some asking around and find out when is the last date US passengers can cancel without a penalty. This would actually be useful information for all of us. I have sometimes seen the cabin category I want booked out and then become available again, but I don't know the critical date to look for.

I'm still waiting for the price of this cruise to come down. The cheapest cabin (Oceanview) is currently priced at $3,730/person.

8 weeks out and still no price drops. :eek:

Whilst we still hold out hopes for a last minute fly cruise deal bargain, we're starting to look at other options for October.

8 weeks out and still no price drops. :eek:

 

Whilst we still hold out hopes for a last minute fly cruise deal bargain, we're starting to look at other options for October.

$3223.86 Aus$ oceanview plus government taxes, with $175 US OBC from US TA I use.

$3223.86 Aus$ oceanview plus government taxes, with $175 US OBC from US TA I use.

So, by the time you add taxes and gratuities it's not much cheaper than the Aussie price. And then you still need to add an airfare.