I must be missing something...

[SusieV]

I know different lines command different rates but I've never seen anything like this before. Is there something I'm not noticing?

 

I was on the site where you get competing bids from agents for your trip to get quotes for the Summit Sept 11/11 C/NE sailing and saw it had a Similar Sailings link so I decided to see what else there was. HAL also has a 14 night C/NE sailing on Maasdam Sept 10. I am taking bids on that also even though we've never sailed HAL because I figured why not.

 

Well, HAL is actually double what X is, and both are 14 night cruises with similar itineraries :eek:. What gives? Is the X price an extraordinarily good deal or is the HAL sailing very overpriced? It seems like this is more than a minor variation between lines!

[JeffCoud]

What type of cabin? I know Maasdam does not have as many balconies so they might be premium priced because of that?

[broberts]

You really do have to compare particular itineraries and cabin types. I did something similar between RCI and HAL and was shocked when HAL was 30% cheaper.

 

Some times a reason for the difference is obvious - new vs older ship, shorter vs longer port hours, bigger vs smaller ship, etc. But at other times the differences have no discernible reason.

[SusieV]

I'm looking at the lowest category inside for both- exact same length of cruise and same general itinerary. Balconies are insane on both so we decided to save the money to enjoy onboard instead.

 

 

 

Ship:Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Cruises

September 11th, 2011

14 Night Canada & New England Cruise on Celebrity Summit

Starting in Cape Liberty with stops in Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Sydney

Ship:Maasdam, Holland America

September 10th, 2011

14-DAY CANADA & NEW ENGLAND

Starting in Boston with stops in Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, CRUISING THE GULF ST. LAWRENCE, Quebec City, Montreal

[broberts]

If you are comparing the Maasdam 2011.09.10 sailing with the Summit 2011.09.11 sailing then you are comparing apples and walnuts.

 

• Port of embarkation / debarkation differ
  
• Maasdam has 2 sea days, Summit 5
  
• Maasdam has 10 ports of call, but it's actually a B2B itinerary so the ports are all duplicated. Summit has 7 different ports of call with an overnight in one of them
  

None the less the price differential does seem rather insane until you consider the fact that Summit is almost twice as big as Maasdam. As a general rule of thumb smaller ships are more expensive.

[babyorca]

If you are comparing the Maasdam 2011.09.10 sailing with the Summit 2011.09.11 sailing then you are comparing apples and walnuts.

 

• Port of embarkation / debarkation differ
  
• Maasdam has 2 sea days, Summit 5
  
• Maasdam has 10 ports of call, but it's actually a B2B itinerary so the ports are all duplicated. Summit has 7 different ports of call with an overnight in one of them
  

None the less the price differential does seem rather insane until you consider the fact that Summit is almost twice as big as Maasdam. As a general rule of thumb smaller ships are more expensive.

 

Why are smaller ships more expensive?

[broberts]

Why are smaller ships more expensive?

 

Because they typically cost more per passenger mile to operate. Part of this is less efficient engines (read higher fuel consumption). But the biggest contributor are higher per passenger labor costs. Over a certain size the crew complement is not significantly different - i.e. each ship requires a captain, first, second, third officers, etc.

 

The hotel complement is, naturally, larger on a bigger ship. But even there there are some savings. For example, only one hotel director / manager is needed, so their position cost less per passenger on a larger ship even if the salary for that position is slightly higher.

[biker1972]

Smaller ships are promoted as better service and more exclusive, both are then used to create demand. More demand=higher price justification.

[Infi]

That is really strange. In my experience, HAL and Celebrity have always been pretty in line with each other's prices. Double is definitely not the norm. I'll have to go with the small ships costing more theory. Or, it could be far out enough that the prices are still really high (for example, whenever an itinerary is released usually it is more expensive than it eventually ends up costing) and haven't leveled out yet.

[SusieV]

That is really strange. In my experience, HAL and Celebrity have always been pretty in line with each other's prices. Double is definitely not the norm. I'll have to go with the small ships costing more theory. Or, it could be far out enough that the prices are still really high (for example, whenever an itinerary is released usually it is more expensive than it eventually ends up costing) and haven't leveled out yet.

 

What are the prices usually like? Is HAL more on the mark or is X?

 

I figured they'd be right in line as well, that's why I took bids on both.

[happy cruzer]

HAL's Maasdam has a huge following of folks who love that ship and live close enough to drive to port. They have been doing that route a few years now and the same folks book it year after year and many book B2Bs.

[kahtrav]

Most of the time they are pretty comparable. I always book with an online TA - though generally by phone after researching - they'll match other offers. It really depends how popular that particular cruise is and what's being put on special at any given time. This trip I checked with a local TA that is known for cruise planning - the price I was quoted (with all taxes, etc) was $1000 higher than what I paid online agency (for the same cabin type) so $3800 instead of $2695 - that didn't entice me to use a local TA.

 

As far as HAL - we've cruised with them several times - very nice, but seemed repetitive after awhile even though we've been on different ships. We're looking forward to a new cruiseline experience. I am generally itinerary and price driven - this time the choice was X or Princess - price and date sent me to X - both going through Panama Canal to S. Calif.