Oasis of the seas - will the sailings in Europe sell out?

[setsail]

If I lived in Europe, I would set the money aside, and wait for inside of final payment.

[jimp1266]

We will be booking the westbound TA the day it opens. It's a big ship, I'll be shocked if we are unable to book a cabin. Now crazy pricing is entirely possible and this may cause us to rethink our options.

[mynyddisamrs]

We have registered with RCI,. and also instructed our TA to get prices for the Southampton departure. But if I think the prices are inflated I will not bother, it would be nice to sail on the Oasis TA, but there are plenty of other Cruises to choose from. So if RCI think us Brits will empty the bank, heres one that won't.

 

:) Hi Deedia!! ....We're also interested in the Oasis TA ...you never know our paths may yet cross again!! How are you both doing?

[FirstCruise2331]

No one really knows what the prices will be. The reality is that Europe is in the midst of a serious recession and those of us in Western Europe (Ireland and Uk) have greatly changed our spending patterns in the past few years. It's a case of looking for value for money.

 

My prediction is western TA will have to be reasonably priced as one way flights back from the US to Europe are not cheap. I think the 5 day cruises will atttreacf big interest and I would expect the prices could be above the usual rate for a 5 day Med cruise (Med cruises are in the main more expensive than those in the Carribean from what I've seen in looking at prices)

 

The Barcelona - Rotterdam one may not suit a lot of people as its multi location.

 

Personally if it sells out to C&A members before general sale I'll be shocked and I will wait and see what the prices are before making a call. I'm leaning towards the Bar-Rott cruise but price is king and I won't pay way over the odds.

 

It's just a case of wait and see as none of us know how things will an out..if price too hight demand curve shifts and not enough demand..price drops...Economics 101.

[Elizanessie]

Just had an email from Royal

 

First TA from £739 pp

5 nighters from £599 pp

7 nighter from £699 pp

Second TA from £729 pp

 

All inside prices - no others given

 

Pete

 

This was just posted in another thread,thanks Pete for the info :D

[FirstCruise2331]

This was just posted in another thread,thanks Pete for the info :D

 

Ok so we do know what prices will be! Thanks for sharing

[peteukmcr]

This was just posted in another thread,thanks Pete for the info :D

Thanks for the info. I've just received yet another email inviting me to check out the schedules (the number I've had over the past week is now getting silly).

 

However, at those starting prices (which I assume will be for an inside), prices are too high IMHO as a 7 nighter out of Barcelona on Liberty are starting cheaper. Oasis only has 2 port stops whereas Liberty at the same time of year is offering on a 7 nighter, 5 ports.

 

I know the ship is the venue, but with only 2 ports RCI are going to make more revenue on the sea days with a captive audience.

 

Just my thoughts

[DEEDIA]

I have just posted in UK Cruisers

 

Well I will say now if RCI think I'm going to pay £729 + for an interior for the Westbound TA. Think again. I can Sail out of Barcelona on a 13 night TA to Florida on the Liberty for £562. OR Southampton to Puerto Rico 14 night TA for £499 aboard Adventure O Seas. Sailing the Oasis would be nice but not at a Premium Price,

 

Hello Jackie & Peter, how are you both keping, do you still have plenty of Snow or are you back to normal. This is good to hear from you, but as my post says, not at these prices, The Oasis is a ship just a bit bigger.

 

Russia is still the best Cruise we have done, made all the better with the friends that were made. xxx

[critterchick]

I am duh:o...it only just struck me...how can travel agents do block bookings if booking opens for C&A members first ?

 

Is Royal waiting to see what the numbers are like from pre-registrations before deciding if they will open to C&A members first?

 

Is there pre-registration in the US ?

I know it is a big thing here with the travel agents on their websites.

 

I haven't heard of pre-registration here, but I'm often the last to know anything. I did notice in the email we each received last night that they only offered a phone number to do the booking, not an online option, and it's not the usual C&A number. So perhaps they've staffed up for the 2-day preview sales.

 

The Oasis sale will go along pretty much normal as with other ships sailing TA over the course of the year.

I stand corrected, but the Oasis will not sell out on neither TAs nor the Med cruises.

The hype conveyed here in some threads will level out fast. How many cc members participate in the hype? If I recollect they are some 30 to 50 cabins here. A lot of US folks will reserve cabins in the hype period and later return them to RCI.

Do not underestimate European buying behavior. It is much different to US customers. They do not buy at any cost, only if the price is right. And BTW not everybody is retired and has time in September/October to do a 2-3 week European cruise.

So the first days when bookings open will see a lot of reservations but by far not what the hype here suggests.

 

I remember a lot of people posting how anxious they were to book Mariner's Round the Horn sailing from Florida to California a few years ago. RCI read these boards, so the initial pricing was gobsmacking. When the dust settled, the cabins were going at fire sale prices and a few of my friends and acquaintances were upgraded from JS or OV cabins to full suites.

 

I would be interested in a conventionally priced TA on Oasis (we'd actually be more interested in Allure in 2015 since we're booked up for 2014 already) - since the ports are so few and far between, it would be all about the ship. But I'm not interested enough to pay an inflated price. So we shall see what happens on Tuesday...

[RoyalDiamond]

The big problem is that Travel Agents can grab blocks of cabins, I know that one UK TA has over 250 pre-registrations for Oasis bookings :eek:

 

For the Oasis Inaugural travel agents were not allowed to book groups so it did make it a bit easier to get booked.....well, except for those in the UK for the first hour on opening day as the system had a glitch....the US system was fine though at that time.

 

Frankly it is all getting a bit tiresome now...no prices, confusion over booking opening date....it is not a brand new ship...so come on Royal Caribbean get your act together and get the info out there...before the sea calls us to another cruiseline :eek:

What's confusing? They said the cruises will go on sale starting April 11 to the public. Why would they release anything until then? We're talking about cruises that are almost a year and a half away. They're creating a great "buzz" as is evidenced on these boards. It's ingenious, actually.

 

Peter

[RoyalDiamond]

Hey Jean....yes, only a phone number listed to call. And, Jim and I will be on the Liberty transatlantic departing this Monday (April 8). So, we won't be able to call to book. I'm sure the LA on board will be unable to help us, or will be so busy, it will be impossible to get an appointment. I'll have to wait "until the dust settles" when we get back, I suppose, to see what pricing and bookings are available....

 

Peter

[Seatravelers]

Hey Jean....yes, only a phone number listed to call. And, Jim and I will be on the Liberty transatlantic departing this Monday (April 8). So, we won't be able to call to book. I'm sure the LA on board will be unable to help us, or will be so busy, it will be impossible to get an appointment. I'll have to wait "until the dust settles" when we get back, I suppose, to see what pricing and bookings are available....

 

Peter

 

Hi Peter!

Going to miss you on the Radiance. Booked the RS again so Jim could play but guess that's not going to happen now.....just kidding. We are in our favorite GS and looking forward to Hawaii. Hope you have a great time on the Liberty, we have lots of friends going on her TA. Tell Jim hello and look forward to seeing you on the Serenade.

Marcia

[RoyalDiamond]

Hi Peter!

Going to miss you on the Radiance. Booked the RS again so Jim could play but guess that's not going to happen now.....just kidding. We are in our favorite GS and looking forward to Hawaii. Hope you have a great time on the Liberty, we have lots of friends going on her TA. Tell Jim hello and look forward to seeing you on the Serenade.

Marcia

Hey Marcia! I wish we could have done the Hawaii cruise, but with Jim retiring in September, etc, our schedules just didn't work out. We're doing the Allure on May 19 instead. He said make sure you have the RS on the Serenade for him.....LOL.

 

Peter

[BekkaW]

Well I will say now if RCI think I'm going to pay £729 + for an interior for the Westbound TA. Think again. I can Sail out of Barcelona on a 13 night TA to Florida on the Liberty for £562. OR Southampton to Puerto Rico 14 night TA for £499 aboard Adventure O Seas. Sailing the Oasis would be nice but not at a Premium Price

 

These are certainly premium prices, but it's also a premium ship. My DH needs lots of activities to keep him busy so for us the oasis class is worth spending the money on. Also in Australia we are used to high prices :(

 

I'm hoping a JS (or a W guarantee) will come in around $2000 or so. Might be hoping in vain but I guess we will see next week!

[DEEDIA]

Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but if our friends across the Pond book at a Premium Price, and then the Price falls they find their vacation gets cheaper, as with us here in the UK we get stuffed with a Premium Price it stays. I also think you can switch to another Cruise another date, whereas here we lose our deposit. If the price is in line with other TAs then I may book, otherwise I will sit back.

[Jason12]

Only planning on doing the Oasis once so this is a great opportunity for us, the price seems OK to me compared to what we pay to sail from Southampton.! Got my list of cabin numbers ready for the 7 nighter, not that bothered about the itinerary but the 5 night cruises ports are not good at all.

Cannot see them selling out until a few before they sail, lots of hype on here as always.

 

Jason.

[DEEDIA]

Oct 15th TA

 

As I see it now price of the cruise is Interior from £729. Book more than 6 months in advance and get a C&A discount of £150, = £579, On board booking Bonus $150, (next cruise) and Balcony Bonus $225 gives a total of $375 = £242 = £337 now I think that is a good price. Upgrade for Balcony is £200 so gives a total of £537 / £600. Now this sounds reasonable.

[kernow]

Oct 15th TA

 

As I see it now price of the cruise is Interior from £729. Book more than 6 months in advance and get a C&A discount of £150, = £579, On board booking Bonus $150, (next cruise) and Balcony Bonus $225 gives a total of $375 = £242 = £337 now I think that is a good price. Upgrade for Balcony is £200 so gives a total of £537 / £600. Now this sounds reasonable.

 

How do you know the upgrade to a balcony is £200, are the balcony prices listed somewhere, if so I'd love to see them. We are hoping to book a balcony on one of the Barcelona sailings:)

 

Julie

[Arrowdaz]

Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but if our friends across the Pond book at a Premium Price, and then the Price falls they find their vacation gets cheaper, as with us here in the UK we get stuffed with a Premium Price it stays. I also think you can switch to another Cruise another date, whereas here we lose our deposit. If the price is in line with other TAs then I may book, otherwise I will sit back.

 

Here, here,

 

The starting prices for the TA's are ridiculously over priced, the ship is amazing and we were lucky enough to sail on her in her inaugural season in the Caribbean. However if you compare this price and itinerary with other offerings it is shambolic that RCI think that these prices are acceptable. To be totally honest with you, for me, the price would have to fall dramatically in order for us to book, as the itinerary is shocking, we would have been interested in the westbound TA, but with just Vigo on the itinerary!!! We visited Vigo last year on a canaries itinerary on Indy and it was rather disappointing.

 

Just in comparison we are booked on adventure TA in Nov, 13 nights, 5 ports of call, PR room, inc grats, all transfers, all flights, Premium drinks, and 6 nights in FL after the sailing, with premium economy seats on flight home to Manchester was £1200pp

[Jason12]

Oct 15th TA

 

As I see it now price of the cruise is Interior from £729. Book more than 6 months in advance and get a C&A discount of £150, = £579, On board booking Bonus $150, (next cruise) and Balcony Bonus $225 gives a total of $375 = £242 = £337 now I think that is a good price. Upgrade for Balcony is £200 so gives a total of £537 / £600. Now this sounds reasonable.

 

I think you've got to many discounts here..?

[DEEDIA]

Julie, sorry if I made it sound like I had inside information, but it was just a wild guess. I have seen the price difference between an Inside and Balcony being around £200 on other Cruises.

 

Jason, not sure your right about discounts, but I have been known to be wrong before.

 

On Board Booking Benefits - Balcony and Suites Discounts Off RCI website

SailingOnboard Booking BonusBalcony & Suite DiscountNEW Total SavingsOnboard Booking BonusBalcony & Suite DiscountNEW Total Savings

10 - 14 NightsUSD 150USD 225USD 375USD 150USD 200

USD 350

 

I now think this is on board credit

[Jason12]

Julie, sorry if I made it sound like I had inside information, but it was just a wild guess. I have seen the price difference between an Inside and Balcony being around £200 on other Cruises.

 

Jason, not sure your right about discounts, but I have been known to be wrong before.

 

On Board Booking Benefits - Balcony and Suites Discounts Off RCI website

SailingOnboard Booking BonusBalcony & Suite DiscountNEW Total SavingsOnboard Booking BonusBalcony & Suite DiscountNEW Total Savings

10 - 14 NightsUSD 150USD 225USD 375USD 150USD 200

USD 350

 

I now think this is on board credit

 

I was told balcony discount could not be use with any other discount but can be combined with NCC.?

 

You have got three balcony discounts there? I'm now confused..!

[Jason12]

Ok so of I'm correct booking on phone lets say a 7 night cruise is £800 balcony discount -£70 balcony discount = £730

 

if I book onboard £800 -£70 balcony discount = £730 plus $100 OBC

[Elizanessie]

You can find the different levels of UK C&A discounts for balconies here -

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/our-ships/oasis-class/oasis-of-the-seas/oasis-in-europe/oasis-in-europe-cas-benefits.aspx#tab-16-24119

 

If you book on board you get OBC & you can get your balcony discount or use a C&A savings certificate -

 

OBC From Booking On Board

$25 for sailings of 3-5 nights

$100 for sailings of 6-9 nights

$150 for sailings of 10-14 nights

$200 for sailings of 15+ nights