Something Ive noticed about Quantum pricing.

[wovenwonder]

Thanks to this thread we switched from an Inside [G] to a obstructed view balcony for under $100 total extra on a 12 day!!! 04/12/2015. I had wanted to go the cheapest possible and didn't even glance at the balcony prices when I was booking -- my bad!:cool:

[jchiefs13]

Well, we went with the Virtual balcony. Why? Well, by the time we got back to town and could really look at prices ya'll had snagged up enough of the rooms on the sailing I selected to jump the prices a wee bit, so the balconies w/ the diamond discount weren't less than the virtual. Never mind that the novelty is there for me, may as well hit it before they're broken! Our final justification is that the first and last day and a half will probably be too cold to really use the balcony.

 

How many days til Dec 2014? :) May change our minds before then, but if the virtuals don't sell and we get a price drop - awesome.

Judy

[Tralfie]

I booked one of the studios with a balcony (which is SO cool that they even have them). But if I hadn't been able to get that, I was seriously considering an inside with a virtual balcony. That may be one of the coolest innovations ever. I'm far more intrigued by that than I am by the whole "be able to fly" thing. LOL

 

Richard/Tralfie

[ChristianDecker]

Aside that balconies have less additional cost than other ships, aren't the prices pretty much higher than other RCCL ships, even when selling started ?

Is it because of Bayonne that people would be paying more ?

Of course other cruise lines are also quite high.

But one of my major reasons for RCCL was that they were industry wide high in quality etc. PLUS affordable to low prices.

On Quantum I don't see that pricing.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

[UCF_Knight]

Aside that balconies have less additional cost than other ships, aren't the prices pretty much higher than other RCCL ships, even when selling started ?

 

That's the point of releasing a new design of mega-ship with all of the new features. They want to have a new, appealing product to drive demand. High demand means they can charge higher prices. Higher prices mean higher profits, which is the basic goal of the company.

 

The pattern of the newest class of mega-ship being the most expensive is nothing new. Sovereign of the Seas was the most expensive Royal Caribbean ship to travel on when it was released. Voyager of the Seas was the most expensive Royal Caribbean ship to go on when it was released. Oasis of the Seas was the most expensive Royal Caribbean ship when it was released.

[whit53]

I think pricing is high but I don't think it's any higher than Oasis was. I may be remembering it incorrectly but I actually thought Quantum was less.

[Schplinky]

I think pricing is high but I don't think it's any higher than Oasis was. I may be remembering it incorrectly but I actually thought Quantum was less.

 

Agreed. On a cost-per day basis, Quantum is within a few dollars of Oasis, which was released 5 years before Quantum. That quite surprised me.

[ChristianDecker]

@All Senior Cruisecritics: Does anybody remember Oasis class starting prices ?

 

I don't remember it being that high, even on a day-by-day basis. But might be wrong.

Anyhows, on a ship being sized similar to Freedom, though being brand new with lots of nice stuff, I'm sure I can wait till prices drop. Lot's of other ships + routes out that I did not cruise yet. I rather schedule my cruises accordingly and the money I safe I spend on additional cruises ;-)

 

And I'm sure that prices WILL drop. They have to fill the ship each cruise and when it does not work like planned, prices will drop. Not drastically, I see them coming down to current Oasis day-prices. Maybe Bayonne will keep it higher followed by European cruises/S2 ...

 

I guess S2+S3 will not be in the Carib, so at least those will not have Cannibal effects...

 

I also just read the per berth cost:

"...The estimated all-in cost per berth for all three ships is approximately €170,000 ($228,000), which amounts to €697 million ($936 million) per ship. According to Robin Farley, an analyst for UBS, the 5,400-berth Oasis of the Seas and Allure of Seas were purchased at a cost of $240,000 per berth ($1.3 billion total) and $265,000 ($1.43 billion), respectively. ..."

which makes Quantum not the most expensive.

[Schplinky]

We paid $168 per day on Oasis for a D8 balcony in the opening season and are paying $178 a day on Quantum for a D1

[Jimbo]

Keep note though Quantum is coming out in a cold climate area, while Oasis came out in a warm climate.

 

Prices may have been alot different if Quantum had came out in Florida.

 

Jimbo:)

[Schplinky]

Keep note though Quantum is coming out in a cold climate area, while Oasis came out in a warm climate.

 

Prices may have been alot different if Quantum had came out in Florida.

 

Jimbo:)

 

 

Doubtful. If RCL thought they could make more money in Florida, the ship would be there. The Northeast tends to be less price sensitive than Florida and I think the much larger catchment of customers will more than make up for the Florida heat. It's interesting that both RCL and NCL are putting their new ships out of NYC. Even Royal Princess will spend time there, albeit in the Fall.

[Jimbo]

Doubtful. If RCL thought they could make more money in Florida, the ship would be there. The Northeast tends to be less price sensitive than Florida and I think the much larger catchment of customers will more than make up for the Florida heat. It's interesting that both RCL and NCL are putting their new ships out of NYC. Even Royal Princess will spend time there, albeit in the Fall.

 

That is exactly why they have only commited from November to April...........Brand new ship with brand new ideas never seen anywhere else...........Where would you open at , New York City, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami?

 

New York is the place to be for opening night............ ask anyone? I'm not so sure where this ship may be after April though, it may not be any any of those 3 mentioned ports.

 

 

Jimbo:)

[Schplinky]

That is exactly why they have only committed from November to April...........Brand new ship with brand new ideas never seen anywhere else...........Where would you open at , New York City, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami?

 

New York is the place to be for opening night............ ask anyone?

 

 

Jimbo:)

 

We've heard rumors that Quantum will year round there and Anthem will spend part of the year there. I think the key to NYC sailings is that they are usually longer than Florida sailings with more easily justified sea days where folks are onboard spending. Time will tell.

[firefly333]

The first Nov cruise to the Bahamas, I noticed the OVs are cheaper than the insides. Maybe people found out the insides are virtual balconies and wanted them over OVs? Just for the novelty of something new.

[Dave85]

We've heard rumors that Quantum will year round there and Anthem will spend part of the year there. I think the key to NYC sailings is that they are usually longer than Florida sailings with more easily justified sea days where folks are onboard spending. Time will tell.

 

Pretty well known that the ships sailing out of the NY area generate a ton of on-board revenue, in no small part for the reasons you just cited. This is on top of the slight convenience premium the lines can typically charge on the fare that folks *raises hand* will pay to avoid flying.

[UCF_Knight]

The fact that RCI hasn't release Quantum of the Seas sailings past April 2015 means nothing. They haven't released sailing for ANY ship past Spring 2015. Quantum will be sailing year-round from New York without a doubt. She'll be taking over all of Explorer's itineraries from there. There are already stories about ports in New England getting ready for her (which would be early Fall 2015 for Canada/New England cruises) as well as stories about Bermuda preparing for her arrival (which would be Summer and Fall 2015 cruises).

[LunchCompanion]

There may be resellers out there who have reserved blocks of insides. The less inventory, the higher the price.

That is one of the inscrutables of cruise pricing. The effect of the pre reserved blocks of cabins or whatever you want to call it.

If blocking doesn't work out, then maybe, the price of the insides will fall.

[KuffMUp]

Couple hundred $$ per person is almost a third of another cruise. (One exception - 30th anniversary cruise to Alaska will be a balcony at any cost.)

 

I have to tell you that we were always told to get a cabin on an Alaska trip. We got one but never used it. Too cold out. Plus, we hung out during the day in the Viking Crown Lounge. Not really a lounge during the day but it was great to sit in because it was serene and you could see both sides of the ship so whenever anyone noticed something we could all look. My suggestion on Alaska, if on RCCL go ahead and get the cheaper option and spend your days in the Viking Crown Lounge.

[Schplinky]

There may be resellers out there who have reserved blocks of insides. The less inventory, the higher the price.

That is one of the inscrutables of cruise pricing. The effect of the pre reserved blocks of cabins or whatever you want to call it.

If blocking doesn't work out, then maybe, the price of the insides will fall.

 

 

Blocks weren't available to TAs until June 4. By then, I think most insides were gone.