RCI increase in prices for 2011

[Indy_Girl46]

We returned today from our 3rd cruise on the Independence of the Seas. It was as good, if not better, than ever. Whilst onboard we decided to check out prices and availability for next year. For the same cabin, more or less same fortnight, the price has gone up by £1,000. I rang up my travel agent today when I got home and got a price from them and they also quote a price which is around £1,000 more than this year. This seems a huge price increase. Are all cruise companies putting their prices up for 2011 or just RCI? It's a shame because its definitely put us off now.

[39august]

This not true in all cases. For instance, we are booked on Mariner Dec. 2011 for less than the prices are this year for Voyager in Dec.

[bionicman97]

They are hoping for a better economy next year and will adjust prices accordingly as it gets closer if it doesn't happen.

 

We saw the same thing last year.

[firefly333]

Try another week??? Some prices are up and some are down as usual.

 

There was no across the board price increase for next year.

[negc]

Try another week??? Some prices are up and some are down as usual.

 

There was no across the board price increase for next year.

 

Exactly. If the economy continues to recover and demand for cruises grows, we can expect to find higher prices, but those prices will still vary cruise to cruise and will reflect how well each sailing is selling. It may not appear to be in our immediate best interest, but in reality, higher prices, if they result in profitability for a cruiseline, are really best for everyone.

On occasion prices that are announced when itineraries are first revealed will be the best you can get and they will only increase as time goes by. However, when sales do not match expectations, you can expect to see discounted fares offered close to the sailing date. It is almost impossible to predict what way prices will go, so if you are happy with whatever price you find, you are probably well advised to book as soon as you find it.:)

[estoyer]

They are hoping for a better economy next year and will adjust prices accordingly as it gets closer if it doesn't happen.

 

We saw the same thing last year.

 

 

We have to agree totally. Book now and get the OBC'S for next year. It's nice to start out with a small bank roll. This year our OBC'S totaled $400 US..

 

Earl

[happy angel]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise Indygirl

DH and I are travelling on Indy 11 September,same itinerary as you've just completed. We booked on board EXplorer for this up coming trip 18 months ago and the prices now have risen just under £2000.00 in total for us both.

I have noticed the European cruises seem a bit pricier.

Hope we have as good a time as you! Thanks for posting.

[bajathree]

They are hoping for a better economy next year and will adjust prices accordingly as it gets closer if it doesn't happen.

 

We saw the same thing last year.

 

Good luck with that one....we are in a deflationary spiral......prices for almost everything are going nowhere but down......people aren't wanting to let go of the $$$$$'s anymore.

[Indy_Girl46]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise Indygirl

DH and I are travelling on Indy 11 September,same itinerary as you've just completed. We booked on board EXplorer for this up coming trip 18 months ago and the prices now have risen just under £2000.00 in total for us both.

I have noticed the European cruises seem a bit pricier.

Hope we have as good a time as you! Thanks for posting.

 

Hi Happy angel, you will love it. We had a wonderful time and were sad to leave this morning. It's a great ship with so much to do. Enjoy !

[bajathree]

This is a very good AP article that was posted on Yahoo Finance just Friday....it's a bit of a wake-up call as to where the economy is heading:

 

Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer, On Friday August 13, 2010, 7:19 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve has little power left to lift the economy out of its rut. Congress, with an election looming, has no appetite for more stimulus. Shoppers are reluctant to spend, and businesses are slow to hire.

 

Let's face it: There is no easy or imminent fix for the flagging recovery.

 

The sluggish economic summer wore on Friday with news that Americans spent less at most retail stores in July. Earlier this month came word that the trade deficit is ballooning and companies are not adding jobs fast enough to bring down unemployment.

 

Typically, the Fed can lower interest rates to encourage Americans to borrow money and spend it, invigorating the economy. But the benchmark interest rate controlled by the Fed has been almost zero for more than a year now.

 

The Fed this week took a new step by announcing it would use the proceeds from its huge portfolio of mortgage securities to buy government debt. The idea is to make cheap credit a little cheaper, particularly for things like mortgages.

 

The problem there: Americans who are worried about their jobs, not to mention volatility in the stock market, don't want to borrow. They saved 6.2 percent of their disposable income this spring. Before the recession, it was more like 1.2 percent.

 

"You can't force people to take out a loan or spend money that they don't want to spend," says Alice Rivlin, who served as the Fed's No. 2 official in the late 1990s.

 

Sure, the Fed still has options. It could launch another trillion-plus-dollar program to buy government debt or mortgage securities like it did when it was battling the recession and financial crisis.

 

But the Fed is unlikely to commit that much money unless things get a lot worse. Plus there are risks. Regulators don't want to push interest rates on mortgages so low that they encourage speculative buying, like the kind that inflated the housing bubble.

 

Or the Fed could cut to zero the rate it pays banks to keep money parked there, a move aimed at getting banks to lend more. But banks are not exactly feeling free with their cash, either.

 

"It's a pervasive level of uncertainty that people and businesses feel about their economic futures," says Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It's frozen them into inactivity."

 

Congress has the power to regulate the economy by adjusting tax rates and passing stimulus programs -- the side of the equation known as fiscal policy, as opposed to the Fed's monetary policy.

 

But there is little interest on Capitol Hill to undertake a major new stimulus effort. The midterm elections are less than three months away, and Republicans and Democrats alike fear voters are worried about the federal budget's $1.4 trillion -- and rising -- deficit.

 

A scholar of the Great Depression, Fed chief Ben Bernanke has warned Washington policymakers not to repeat mistakes made during the Great Depression by pulling in government stimulus too quickly.

 

Bernanke also suggested recently that extending the Bush tax cuts, at least for a while, would be "one way" to "maintain a reasonable degree of fiscal support -- stimulus -- for the economy."

 

But Democrats and Republicans are divided on what to do. Most Republicans want to make permanent the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003. That would amount to nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. Democratic leaders want the cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire.

 

That leaves the work of jump-starting the economy for the time being to everyday Americans and businesses, who can spend money and accelerate the cycle of growth. But both are in a frugal mood.

 

Mortgage rates have sunk to record lows: Rates on 15-year mortgages dropped to 3.92 percent this week, 30-year mortgages to 4.44 percent. Still, people aren't scrambling to buy homes or refinance the ones they already have.

 

Businesses, meanwhile, are sitting on a record $1.84 trillion pile of cash, according to the Fed. They aren't using the money to expand operations or hire new workers because they, too, have doubts about the strength of the economic recovery.

 

Across the Atlantic, economic growth for the 16 countries that use the euro clocked in at 1 percent during the second quarter, with Germany leading the way. The U.S. grew 0.6 percent during the same period. Those figures aren't annualized.

 

On an annualized basis, however, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.4 percent pace in the second quarter, about half as fast as it was growing late last year. And it may turn out, as the manufacturing sector is hurt by declining exports, that growth right now is even slower than we think.

 

The U.S. stock market, which had managed a significant rally in July, is now absorbing the blow of the economic pessimism. The Dow Jones industrial average fell this week from about 10,700 to about 10,300.

 

The key, says former Fed governor Randall Kroszner, is making people feel more comfortable and confident that their jobs are secure, and that the values of their homes and 401(k) accounts will stabilize.

 

It's just that no one is sure where that confidence will come from.

 

"There is certainly no magic bullet to immediately turn things around," he says.

[marci22]

When the fare increases don't work they'll just do more cost-cutting.

[torpeedo]

Despite all the economic doom and gloom, we are happy with our 2011 reservations which we booked a long time ago and would'nt change a thing:). I would encourage all that can, book in advance and be happy with what you book if it's OK with the cost now, or if it doesn't look good for you, don't book at all!

[marci22]

Despite all the economic doom and gloom, we are happy with our 2011 reservations which we booked a long time ago and would'nt change a thing:). I would encourage all that can, book in advance and be happy with what you book if it's OK with the cost now, or if it doesn't look good for you, don't book at all!

 

Your advice seems good but if they were to lower your cabin price $1000 after final I don't know if you'd feel the same way.

[torpeedo]

Marci, we are so fortunate to be able to book so far ahead, we've never had a reduction in cabin price. Your are so right though, we wouldn't be happy if $1,000 drop happened after final payment, but it would be amazing if it ever happened since we generally are lucky enough to be able to book in off peak times. I feel for those who are teachers and those who, for what ever work reason, have to book during prime time. I have been trying to help friends who want to cruise for a reasonable amount of money at peak time because they are teachers. Very hard to do, sadly.

[Indy_Girl46]

We have to go in school holidays as our son is school age. Over the last 3 years I have never known such a big price increase, infact this years cruise was slightly cheaper than the cruise last year. Our friends who came with us this year have also said that they won't do it again as the price increase for next year is too much.

[negc]

When the fare increases don't work they'll just do more cost-cutting.

 

It is more a case of "if the fare increases don't work" than it is "when". I think that they have already achieved a significant reduction in their fixed costs and there are even some signs that they are improving some of the perks offered to repeat passengers, so it is likely that even if they eventually drop prices on some cruises, it is highly unlikely we will see the rock bottom prices that they were offering only a year or so ago.:)

 

Those who claim that they won't pay the higher prices being quoted, may have to be more diligent in their search for bargains, or they will have to explore other vacation alternatives.:eek:

[marci22]

It is more a case of "if the fare increases don't work" than it is "when". I think that they have already achieved a significant reduction in their fixed costs and there are even some signs that they are improving some of the perks offered to repeat passengers, so it is likely that even if they eventually drop prices on some cruises, it is highly unlikely we will see the rock bottom prices that they were offering only a year or so ago.:)

 

Those who claim that they won't pay the higher prices being quoted, may have to be more diligent in their search for bargains, or they will have to explore other vacation alternatives.:eek:

 

Time will tell, I suppose.

 

There is still room for them to cut variable costs; start with free drinks, and continue on with more food cost-cutting. They are surely able to do it as lots of people are perfectly happy with the current food as long as they don't have to buy it, cook it, and clean up afterwards. They will cut until bookings start to suffer because of it.

[bajathree]

It is more a case of "if the fare increases don't work" than it is "when". I think that they have already achieved a significant reduction in their fixed costs and there are even some signs that they are improving some of the perks offered to repeat passengers, so it is likely that even if they eventually drop prices on some cruises, it is highly unlikely we will see the rock bottom prices that they were offering only a year or so ago.:)

 

Those who claim that they won't pay the higher prices being quoted, may have to be more diligent in their search for bargains, or they will have to explore other vacation alternatives.:eek:

 

I can't agree at all. While they have dropped pricing on some sailings to reasonable there are still many they are off their rocker on. How about starting prices of $1299 for an interior on Oasis/Allure for next summer.....you seriously think they are going to fill 2 jumbo ships with pricing like that:rolleyes: I think the new practice is...price them high....lock in as much revenue as possible from those who will always book ahead....or have to book ahead...and then discount away after final to fill the rest of the ship when they know they don't have to price match. I believe we will see a continuing of lowering of prices moving forward. The incentives to repeat cruisers are nothing that attractive to make you want to book with some of those prices they have out their right now. While yes they have some good pricing on the off-season sailing they are way overpriced on most peak sailings. I always sail spring break...usually Easter week...one of the most peak weeks....and I can tell you that the last 2 years straight all the BIG price drops came right after final....they would keep raising prices and raising prices....and then WHAMMMM...after final drop D1's from $1299 to $849.

[lovemylab]

Your advice seems good but if they were to lower your cabin price $1000 after final I don't know if you'd feel the same way.

 

I booked my most recent cruise 18 months in advance. There is no way I will get a price drop for that amount as it's more than we paid for our cabin!

 

We can't book last minute due to our jobs. We also have to fly to the port. So even if we were to save money on the cruise by booking last minute, we'd end up paying more for airfare.

 

There are some great prices available for people who are willing to sail during off peak times and/or on the older ships. We are doing a B2B on the Serenade next December for roughly the same price that we'd pay for one week on the Oasis.

[bajathree]

I booked my most recent cruise 18 months in advance. There is no way I will get a price drop for that amount as it's more than we paid for our cabin!

 

We can't book last minute due to our jobs. We also have to fly to the port. So even if we were to save money on the cruise by booking last minute, we'd end up paying more for airfare.

 

There are some great prices available for people who are willing to sail during off peak times and/or on the older ships. We are doing a B2B on the Serenade next December for roughly the same price that we'd pay for one week on the Oasis.

 

I will agree with you there....pretty much what I posted above....but the newer ships and anything in peak travel time:rolleyes:

[negc]

I can't agree at all. While they have dropped pricing on some sailings to reasonable there are still many they are off their rocker on. How about starting prices of $1299 for an interior on Oasis/Allure for next summer.....you seriously think they are going to fill 2 jumbo ships with pricing like that:rolleyes: I think the new practice is...price them high....lock in as much revenue as possible from those who will always book ahead....or have to book ahead...and then discount away after final to fill the rest of the ship when they know they don't have to price match. I believe we will see a continuing of lowering of prices moving forward. The incentives to repeat cruisers are nothing that attractive to make you want to book with some of those prices they have out their right now. While yes they have some good pricing on the off-season sailing they are way overpriced on most peak sailings. I always sail spring break...usually Easter week...one of the most peak weeks....and I can tell you that the last 2 years straight all the BIG price drops came right after final....they would keep raising prices and raising prices....and then WHAMMMM...after final drop D1's from $1299 to $849.

 

Time will tell whether or not their pricing strategy will work. If,as many of us believe, the pricing policy discourages far out booking and if that proves to be the case they will have to revisit the policy. It is to their benefit to sell cabins as early as possible and setting too high an initial price won't do that. It is a bit of a balancing act to set the price at a proper level, but trying to sell cabins at prices that are what you consider "way overpriced" is hardly a good marketing model.

[Maraprince]

Time will tell whether or not their pricing strategy will work. If,as many of us believe, the pricing policy discourages far out booking and if that proves to be the case they will have to revisit the policy. It is to their benefit to sell cabins as early as possible and setting too high an initial price won't do that. It is a bit of a balancing act to set the price at a proper level, but trying to sell cabins at prices that are what you consider "way overpriced" is hardly a good marketing model.

 

 

 

With the US economy not seeming to rebound as quickly as predicted and more and more layoffs on the horizons, it is not likely that bookings will be as high as in the past. If you aren't sure if you will have a job, the last thing to do is to book an overpriced cruise in 2011 now! A small increase would be expected but not the hugh price increases that we are currently seeing. Why would you book in advance unless you are given a lower price as an incentive for doing so or unless you have no choice?

 

RCCL has to remember it now will have even more cabins to sell and it is facing some stiff competition from other lines who are sharply discounting to fill their new ships bu comparison -- some of whom have better cabin/suite amenitities than RCCL is offering and at a lower price point.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[bajathree]

It's a very tricky game that some cruise lines are playing....and one that they seem to be possibly hurting themselves the most with. Both my e-mail and mailbox are exploding with deals lately from every cruise line. Most all either are something like sail for just $59/day....$399 for 7 night sailings....$199 for 3 night sailings....ect. Well when you just constantly blasting customers with prices like that you are setting a price target in their mind....that customer now expects that is what they should be paying or they are paying to much. How can you price quote someone $1299 for a 7 night sailing when all they keep getting is mailings that are telling them they can sail 7 nights for $399...or $599.....this is a marketing technique I see seriously not working unless all they want to do is start selling out ships 30-60 days prior to sail date. Price right early on....make the customer feel there is incentive to book early....TA's happy that they aren't fighting a losing price battle....and ultimately the cruise line happy with deposit money a year in advance....setting unrealistic pricing far out does no one any good.

[marci22]

Price right early on....make the customer feel there is incentive to book early....TA's happy that they aren't fighting a losing price battle....and ultimately the cruise line happy with deposit money a year in advance....setting unrealistic pricing far out does no one any good.

 

I agree. It's not about getting a huge price drop, it's about paying a reasonable price. The summer/holiday prices tend to start out very, very high. I can see it's not a problem if you can book off-peak.

[sleepless]

There is one way to fix the economy. SPEND MONEY. I don't mean to over spend; spend within your means. Spending money is what spins the wheels of an economy. I, as a very proud American, will continue to do my part to fix the economy by continuing to spend my hard earned dollars.