Camlott

Pricing a mass market line out of the reach of the mass market seems like a illogical marketing plan.

This is the best quote of this entire thread so far!

So you have 100 cabins that you sell at 2000 apiece, and at that price, you sell 100%- with revenue of $200,000.

 

So raise the price by 50% to 3000 total per cabin- to get the same 200,000 of revenue, you only need to sell 67 cabins (66 and 2/3 technically, but you can sell part of a cabin).

 

33 fewer cabins are used, and there is the same revenue.

 

On top of that, some of the cost to cruise goes down, since there are 1/3 fewer passengers- the only real fixed cost is fuel and labor (assuming the labor numbers stay the same). Food costs go down by 1/3.

So basically Fain was saying they need to return to smaller ships. I know quite a few people around here who will be thrilled with that even if it means higher prices!

Rather than specific suite perks, Carnival seems to be creating a private "Havana" restricted access area. It sounds similar to the NCL Haven area but I don't have any first hand knowledge.

Except in typical Carnival fashion, they took a good idea and made it a horrible one. The Havana rooms & suites have communal balconies. At best anyone staying in the Havana area can walk onto your balcony and at worst... anyone on the ship can walk onto your balcony and help them self to your hammock and your room if left unlocked.

It remains to be seen whether they will close off the promenade so that only Havana passengers have access to this area. (Looking at the deck plans seems to indicate that only the Havana pool area will be blocked off not the rooms) I personally would never pay for a suite that I don't have any amount of privacy in and have to constantly lock the balcony door and keep the curtains closed. DUMB DUMB DUMB! :rolleyes:

That seems really odd to me. It seems that turnaround day would be the most likely time to film a commercial for a multitude of reasons. Can't offer you any experience with this, never heard of anything like this.

Maybe they plan to film something going on in the aqua theater during the week and really just want the use of your balcony? That's about the only thing I can come up with for them to request the use of an occupied cabin for filming. I doubt they offer compensation other than a bottle of wine/champagne.

Yes-and forgot to add:

Seems NCL has one at a desk at all times in the Haven[except very late evenings and early mornings of course] for assistance to just about everything. Not during cocktail hours when the room is jam packed full. That gets a big like button from me!!

We'll see if it is as good on paper as it is the real deal!!! ;)

We tried an NCL suite last summer based on all the rave reviews I read here on CC. We did enjoy the suite and the amenities, however our experience definitely did not match many of the reviews and gushing I read about.

We loved having breakfast and lunch available in the steakhouse, but the butler was a complete bust. We met him on boarding day and he delivered the required daily snacks, but that was it. The one small request we made, he never did (asked for milk to use in the in-room espresso machine). I just got my own milk and kept it in the refrigerator.

The in-room espresso machine was my favorite suite perk. I ended up getting one like it when we got home!

We would sail in an NCL suite again, but only if the price and itinerary were right. I prefer RCI's suite perks based on our experience and hope that anything new that they introduce is not a cutback disguised as an added perk!

It was very sad and I used as a moment to tell my 4 year old why mommy and daddy are always telling him to be careful and why we make him hold our hand. Was very relieved that she survived, those seas were very rough that day.

It freaked my 4 & 9 year old's out a little. I was in the process of getting them ready for dinner and we had to stop and have a conversation because they were trying to grasp how someone could go overboard... That was an interesting conversation! Probably not my best parenting moment, but I was honest with them about the only ways that I can think someone goes over.

So? Are you guys going to tell what happened? Did someone fall overboard?

Yes, while we were docked in Costa Maya a passenger went overboard and two others went in after her. They treated her onboard and then sent her by ambulance to the hospital. I did not personally witness it, but apparently she fell between the ship and the dock.

They had multiple drills for the crew throughout the week, but you could tell by the captains voice, this was no drill!

Hi. We are sailing out on the Magic in a couple of weeks. Can you tell me more about the $99 internet package. I thought that was something new that Carnival was offering. How come its no longer offered? Also, do you know the per minute rates? And how many devices can be attached to one account?

I was on the same sailing. Rates ranged from $.75/min -$.33/min

The $.33/min was on the 480 minute package. There was a 240 minuted package that cost $.37/min and a couple of other smaller packages that I don't remember the prices of.

Edited to add: I have absolutely no way to prove this, but I'm thinking they took the $99 package away until the Texas spring break cruises are over. It makes them a lot more money and frees up bandwidth for those that purchase. Internet speed was the worst I have ever experienced even by cruise ship standards!

I need your opinions regarding Carnival Breeze, especially after sailing exceptional ships like Oasis, Allure and Regal Princess.

My last CC was in 2009 and I thought no more carnival after that. Now the breeze has a beautiful itinerary, perfect dates, and seems to be the best of carnival...

I just got off the Magic yesterday after my previous two sailings being on Oasis & Allure. So my opinion isn't specifically for the Breeze, but her sister ship.

For me, no other ship on any line really compares to the Oasis class, and they are by far my favorite ships. That being said, Carnival does still have its place for us. Usually if we are looking for a quick cheap getaway, we will sail with Carnival (only on a dream class).

I have to admit this cruise I just got off of will probably be my last with Carnival for a while, but I won't say never again. I have said the same thing in the past and within a year or two we do a sailing with Carnival. I must say that service was extremely lacking in several areas of the ship and I felt an overall feeling of apathy from the crew. There were definite exceptions to this, I'm just giving the overall impression I felt. I never assume that my experience is the same as everyone else, however I have seen quite a few people on our roll call from the site that shall not be named making the same observations. I know these things can vary from week to week and ship to ship. I have a feeling that Carnival is cutting back things from the crew even more than they are for the passengers and it is showing in morale.

If you have found an itinerary that appeals to you on the Breeze and the price is right, I say go for it. If you go into it with an open mind and are going more for the itinerary than the ship itself, I don't think you would be disappointed. If you are going to compare the ships to each other, there really won't be much comparison.

I've been unable to access Cruise Critic until today for some reason. Been an unusually eventful Spring Break cruise.

First we received a letter from the captain informing us of some "routine scheduled maintenance" that will take place in Progresso and cause us to extend our stay until midnight there. Anyone know what that might be about? Seems unlikely that they schedule maintenance in Progresso as a matter of routine. But maybe that's just me.

Yesterday evening as we were about to leave port we had a passenger go overboard while still docked in Costa Maya. They announced that she was brought onboard for treatment and later transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

Subscribing as I love looking at cabin pictures

 

PS - Is it just me or are others also not seeing the pictures on the first page?

It's not just you... I started this thread nearly five years ago. The web service that many people used to host their photos back then no longer exists in the form it did back then. We lost quite a few great shots on this thread because of it!

I've been on 2 Carnival cruises and they averaged around $50/night (not including taxes, tips, etc). Is this a good price? What would be a great price that I should instantly book? $20/night? If it makes a difference I can depart from any of the Florida ports.

There really isn't a concrete answer for this. Lots of factors; time of year, room category, itinerary, cruise line etc.

That being being said, for carnival our target price is under $100pp/nt. for a balcony cabin (double occupancy - lower if we are cramming more than two in the room). We are paying $110pp/nt for our spring break sailing on the magic in a cove balcony which I thought was really good for that particular sailing.

Edited to add: these prices are inclusive of all taxes etc.

We like to sail in suites on other lines and have a different set of price criteria for those. We would never consider a suite on Carnival unless it was the same or less than the cost of a balcony or was a free upgrade (not likely to ever happen). Just not worth it to us based on lack of perks for Carnival suites.

Just for reference, we have stayed in a full suite on Royal for about $180pp/nt which I considered to be a steal based on everything that we got besides a bigger room.

Has anyone on CC actually done this? Looking for feedback/ pros/ cons

 

TIA

We always stay at the Hilton. We have done this several times and it isn't that big of a deal if you don't mind being on their schedule.

I prefer to arrive early to get on the ship earlier. The first shuttle usually doesn't leave until the time that I am usually onboard (11ish).

The last few years we have just been paying to park at one of the independent parking lots.

On our cruise last year on the Magic, we had YTD and each evening we asked if they could get peanut butter for the WCMC and was told that they did not have any in the kitchen.

My kids always order the PBJ in the MDR. So obviously they have it. :rolleyes:

Next time just order a PBJ with no jelly or bread!

We are excited about our Allure trip, and we don't need all the extras to make our cruise enjoyable at all. It's just that for the money we paid, we thought it would be comparable to the other lines we usually travel with.

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We traveled in suites on both the Allure and NCL Pearl this past year. I would say on paper NCL's suite perks sounded way better than reality. The butler was a complete bust for us and the daily treats were basically identical to what was given to us on the Allure.

We definitely enjoyed Cagney's, but the concierge lounge on the Allure was the best perk of all for breakfast and lunch. I'm sure the new suite lounge and restaurant will be even better!

Basically, we were equally if not more happy with the suite perks on Allure over NCL.

My favorite perk on NCL was definitely the in-room espresso machine!!! I brought a bottle of chocolate onboard and made my own mocha latte's every day. Ok well... maybe 2-3 per day!

I don't mean to highjack this thread but it brought up an interesting question for us - we are booked in a GS however we have two other cabins (linked with ours) that are not in a GS can they sit with us at the shows or join us in the pool area?

 

Thanks -

Our experience on both the Oasis and Allure was that if you asked the person checking the cards they nearly always allowed a few non-suite passengers to sit with us in gold card sections of shows. The crew does have some discretion and would have likely said no if it had been an exceptionally popular show time. (Just so happens that less popular times worked best for us)

We don't sit around the pools so I have no experience with that.

With the Vision class ships hitting the 20 year old mark soon, I was wondering if anyone had opinions, insights, etc. as to RCI's next class of ships after Quantum.

Derek

My best guess is that Royal will continue the trend of building "mega ships". They have already and will continue to carve out a market for themselves with large and innovative ships and experiences.

I think that RCCL will build smaller ships in some of their other brands other than RCI. Perhaps even purchasing more brands or creating a new one all together at some point.

I think both RCCL and Carnival Corp. will try to differentiate their respective brands more so than they are now.

I also believe that as more large ships are built by Royal and others, we will see new ports or existing tendered ports changed to accommodate the new reality of the cruise industry (large ships). Grand Cayman comes to mind. Currently they really only miss out on two potential ships. That number will soon increase and they will have to decide to miss out on those ships or change to accommodate.

Just my two cents. No insight on this, only a gut feeling.

Carnival isn't our first choice, but when we sail them it's usually based on:

1. Craving warm chocolate melting cake

2. Location (Galveston)

3. Price

Now that our favorite line (RCI) sails year round from Galveston, Carnival will likely see less of us.

where are you able to plug the fan in? Or are you bringing an extension cord?

I always bring an 8' extension cord (brand new, still in packaging), but on most ships there is a "hidden" outlet either behind the bed or one of the bedside tables. I have only been on one ship that didn't have the hidden outlet, but I don't recall which one it was or even if it was a RCI ship.

See the OP's original question. While your answer is correct, the OP is asking a pricing question regarding Oasis - specifically why balcony categories pricing on comparative weeks has Oasis significantly lower than Allure. For comparable weeks and itineraries that was shown not to be the case as the pricing is similar per the RCI website.

 

BTW, for the Allure TA you reference of the same week the total pricing, while still similar, is higher in some locations but proportionately is actually measurably lower as it is a 12 night v 7 night cruise.

My apologies. I thought OP was looking for a "specific" week, and the week she was looking at wasn't an apples to apples comparison which would explain the difference in price.

Pricing for both seemed to be fairly reasonable especially for a school break.

Hi Camlott,

 

We're looking at sailing the week of 4/18/15, give or take a day. It's the April school vacation week for New England states. Any thoughts? Lynne

As others have already answered, that's the week Allure is doing a TA.

I have taken this electric fan with me on every land and sea trip the last few years. I've never been questioned or hassled about it, but know that it may happen some day. It provides a decent amount of airflow and noise so that I can sleep at night. It's very small about 5in tall and 4in wide and folds nicely. Got it for $15 at Target.

Hi,

 

I'm looking at sailing with RCI in April 2015 and I'm comparing the sailings on various ships for a specific week.

Which week are you looking at? I'm getting incorrect pricing on RCI's website as usual. :rolleyes: It's showing me pricing for a sailing in November 2014 when I click on an April sailing. Also, Allure has a transatlantic sailing next April... are you comparing a 7 day to that sailing maybe?

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear of the buttler issue :eek:

 

Could you tell me if the balcony had a lounger on it? We are cruising with my 82 year old mom and she wants to wrap up on the lounger and watch the scenery pass by :)

 

Who did you get for a room steward and how did they do? Did you get a pre concierge letter before you sailed to ask if you would like specific things when you came on board? I had read somewhere that this happens....as of yet, we have nothing.

 

Did you do the breakfast and lunch in Cagneys and how was that? Can you tell me how the entertainment was? Anything else we may need to know before going?

 

I guess instead of all the questions...I should ask if you will be writing a review...lol. :o

 

Thanks again for replying so quickly.

Yes we had a lounger and regular chair on the balcony. We spent a great amount of time on our balcony watching Alaska go by.

I don't recall our stewards name but he was friendly and efficient. Wasn't the best we have ever had but we had no complaints.

We did get an email maybe three weeks before the cruise and it had information about the pre-cruise concierge. We did not use it because we did not have a need for anything to be arranged prior to boarding. My experience with this type of thing on other cruise lines and based on reviews I have read here... Anything you request with the pre-cruise concierge is iffy about being done when you get on board.

We did breakfast every day in Cagney's and lunch on days that we didn't eat in port. We loved this perk. There was never much of a crowd at all in Cagney's, so it was mostly like having our own private restaurant. We did the ultimate dining plan, so we ended up eating dinner in Cagney's a few times as well. In hindsight the UDP was a waste because we ended up eating dinner in three different ports, so we would have been better off paying for the specialty restaurants individually. We ate at the sushi bar maybe 4-5 times. Raniel was awesome and is a joy to get to know. He ended up making us several off the menu dishes free of charge. If you like sushi at all, I highly recommend!

As for entertainment, we honestly didn't go to any of the shows. We did spend some time listening to live music around the ship. Alaska pretty much was our entertainment. It was extremely rare that we were ever on the balcony when there wasn't some type of wildlife to view. Tons of whales etc.

We cruise often. Sometimes we cruise for the ship, and sometimes for the itinerary. This cruise was all about the itinerary and scenery. The aft suite was perfect for Alaska.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have. This cruise was pretty atypical for us. We pretty much stayed to ourselves and enjoyed our balcony. Ironically we ended up meeting more people and making more friends than we ever have on any other cruise. We booked independent excursions with small companies and ended up being on the same tours with one couple multiple times.

Hi Camlott, was wondering how your cruise went and if you had any issues with noise etc with your stateroom? Did you manage to take any pictures that I can refer to? Thanks again.:)

We had a great cruise. I didn't get any pictures of the room, but it is set up identical to the one posted above. The couch and chair are white instead of pink.

There was some noise that could be heard from the bowling alley below, but it wasn't something that ever disturbed us. I never heard it late at night or early in the mornings. It took about three days for me to realize what I was hearing even though I knew the bowling alley was below us. Bottom line... sound was a complete non-issue for us.

Our butler on the other hand was a complete dud. I know he came by the room daily because there were new coffee pods. But that was about it (For those that wonder, we only had the Do Not Disturb showing at night when we were going to bed). If you get Jomar, don't expect much more than the bare minimum of what NCL expects of a butler. This was our first experience with NCL and we probably won't waste the money again in the hopes of better the next time! I found it completely odd that someone who is dependent on tips would not care to provide any service or even ask if there was anything he could do. We have never used a butler, so we had no real expectations, but he somehow managed to not even meet those! I only made one request of him (carton or container of milk so I could make a latte) and that was not done.

I think the bias against "sale" comes from the fact that many of the cruises mysteriously suffer a large price increase the night before the "sale" starts.

 

I also got some deals out of the KSF and BOGOHO sales over the last few months but also saw several cruises I was watching get more expensive when the sale started than they were the day before the sale.

 

Nothing wrong with playing games with the pricing but it means people are suspicious of the "sales".

I agree with you on this. Plus for many years now, a "sale" for RCI was nothing more than discounted deposits and some OBC. That might be a nice promotion, but not really a "sale" in my mind.

I have been tracking all categories on my upcoming 2015 Med. cruise. You can see the week before the BOGOHO sale the prices jumped. We still made out in the sale because we had the price adjusted at the beginning of May. Prices have continued to climb through the roof during and after the sale. Thankful we booked when we did!!!

Rhapsody of the Seas 10-12-15 Price Tracker.pdf