Premium for new ships

[Cruise Junky]

What do you consider a reasonable premium to pay for a new ship. For instance Ruby and Regal are doing similar Eastern Caribbean sailings spring 2015..Ruby's is actually better as it also includes Grand Turk. What do you consider a reasonable premium to pay for a new ship?

 

• $50 per person
  
• $100 per person
  
• Don't care just want to sail the new ship
  
• Wouldn't pay a premium
  

[fishin' musician]

A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear. The residual benefit is that the price for other ships may be pushed down.

[MustangGT]

Eventually the 'new' ship smell will wear off and we will jump on board!

Almost booked the Royal for next year but would have to do an inside cabin and it would only be 7 days. Instead, we will be back on the Emerald in a Caribe balcony for 10 days:D

 

With the lack of a true Promenade and those teeny balconies, we might be waiting for a really good deal!

[rkacruiser]

The prices for Royal Princess for this winter are ridiculous. The per diems are more than I paid per diem for a world cruise.

 

Not booking at the current levels!

[JimmyVWine]

We cruise as a family of 3 and Mini Suites fit our lifestyle and budget. Will I pay a premium for a smaller cabin and a balcony that won't hold 3 people? Not in this lifetime or the next.

[Pam in CA]

A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear. The residual benefit is that the price for other ships may be pushed down.

Supply and demand. Many people want to cruise new ships so prices are higher. As long as demand is there, princes will remain high. Only you can decide whether it's worth the extra $ to you.

[OCruisers]

A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear.

 

Well said!

 

LuLu

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[paul929207]

Just curious, are the premiums per day? per cruise? also, Per cabin? Per person?

[JimmyVWine]

A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear.

 

Well said!

But it doesn't answer the question. Re-read the question as:

 

"A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear. So, CruiseCritic members...what will you pay as a premium to sail on a new ship? What is your breaking point? What will you bear?"

 

With that, go ahead and answer the question. A market is only a collection of people willing, or not, to pay for a product. The OP simply wants to know what this slice of the market will bear? Is it so hard to answer that question without resorting to a trite platitude?

[Cruise Junky]

Just curious, are the premiums per day? per cruise? also, Per cabin? Per person?

 

My post says Per Person. Let's go with cruise and not day. I'm just comparing the two Caribbean cruises.

[Cruise Junky]

But it doesn't answer the question. Re-read the question as:

 

"A reasonable premium is whatever the market will bear. So, CruiseCritic members...what will you pay as a premium to sail on a new ship? What is your breaking point? What will you bear?"

 

With that, go ahead and answer the question. A market is only a collection of people willing, or not, to pay for a product. The OP simply wants to know what this slice of the market will bear? Is it so hard to answer that question without resorting to a trite platitude?

 

Thank you. Both posts had me scratching my head.

[Pia1913]

Being a Princess addict, I would still like to hop on one of the monster RCI ships here in Florida; Oasis or Allure. Doesn't matter. However, their fares are still way out of line and I'm not willing to pay their exorbitant premiums for the same old routes.

 

Did I answer the question? Guess not. Am I paying a premium for our B2B on the new Royal? I guess so. However, I feel that even though the Med fares are high, the TA is pretty reasonable.

[Who Knew]

I picked "I don't care" which isn't exactly right, but none of the others exactly fit either. There isn't a specific limit or amount, rather it's whatever seems reasonable to me for the itinerary, the ship and whatever time I have available to go. It's a bottom line thing for me with all those criteria and if it strikes me as reasonable, and probably especially if the less expensive option was on a ship that I'd already sailed on, I'd book it on the new ship. I'm not the best at explaining things so I'm hoping that all even made sense, lol.

[Cruise Junky]

Being a Princess addict.

 

Ya think? :o

 

I agree with you. The TA was very reasonably priced.

 

Price difference we're actually looking at is $130 total less for ruby, but a better itinerary and that's a caribe deck rather than the new Barbie balconys ;). $560 difference if we book something with a similiar size deck to the Caribe balcony (aft). $130 is peanuts but when you factor in smaller deck and a not so stellar itinerary, it makes you think.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Being a Princess addict, I would still like to hop on one of the monster RCI ships here in Florida; Oasis or Allure. Doesn't matter. However, their fares are still way out of line and I'm not willing to pay their exorbitant premiums for the same old routes.

 

Did I answer the question? Guess not. Am I paying a premium for our B2B on the new Royal? I guess so. However, I feel that even though the Med fares are high, the TA is pretty reasonable.

We were seriously considering doing an Oasis cruise before getting on the Emerald Princess this winter. The least expensive inside was over $900pp for an inside cabin, but we could have gotten it for $750pp military rate. Instead we've booked the Royal for B2B cruises. Each of them is higher than $750pp for the cheapest cabin. So, for "normal" pricing, in November, the Royal is still less expensive than the regular price on the Oasis, 3 years after it launched.

 

ETA- I guess, for us, we just want to try a new ship. 7 nights on the Royal will cost almost as much as 10 nights on the Emerald Princess.