Is this a good BOGO deal or are prices just hiked?

[debbs0723]

Hi All,

 

Just wondering on an upcoming Libery of the seas Thanksgiving 2015 cruise out of Galveston. For reference I'll give my pricing on my current 2014 Thanksgiving cruise on Allure.

 

Allure. 4 people. 2 adults, 2 kids. 2 connecting central park view staterooms. Total price $3600 including all taxes and fees (not including prepaid tips). I feel like this was a good deal, especially considering what prices are now. :eek:

 

So this BOGO deal comes out. I live in Houston and it would be so easy to hop on the Libertry (which I have not been on) for the Thanksgiving or Spring Break 2015 cruise and both are the same price. I will quote prices just as above with taxes and fees and not prepaid gratuities.

 

One balcony and one interior $3,650

2 connecting cheapest interiors $3,000

2 connecting promenade staterooms $ 3,300

2 connecting balconies $ $4,300

 

Unfortunately I am stuck traveling at vacation times so I know prices are higher. I'm not so sure that these seemed like much of a deal at all. Not sure if it is because the Liberty will be new to Galveston or not but I think the Navigator prices were about the same and I've been on that ship. Thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Debbie

[rummenroman]

I have looked at my cruises and there is some initial inflation, but the deal is still pretty good for the ones I'm booked on.

[Lady Hudson]

Just got a 10 day, Grandeur out of Baltimore, outside for around $75 pp per day (March, 2015). Think that is pretty good.

[britty1]

Some of the base prices had gone up - our on Navigator had gone up from 979 to 1039, of course we had to pay the increased base price in order to get the BOGO - so 1st cruiser was $1039, 2nd cruiser was $519 so my TA called and got us the price reduction and the overall was I saved $350 on this cruise. This is on 1 E2 balcony, center hump. I also kept my OBC and my C&A balcony discount - I think that's a great deal on an existing cruise. :D

[APDMOM]

I agree that there was some inflation on the initial passenger price, but we still saved almost $800 on our two cruises next year because of the price drop. So, it is a good deal. I would book soon if I were you. Between Thursday and Friday night, the price for the FOS Thanksgiving cruise already went up $75 for our cabin. So, prices still change, even if it is the same sale.

[APDMOM]

PS: Based on my experience and research for cruises during school vacation, your Allure price is the GREAT deal! Wish we could snag one of those :)

[Sitzmark]

Our base price was unchanged. The new discount was better than the residency discount previously applied.

[bellabaloo]

We've been watching for Liberty out of galveston and I agree that those prices are ridiculous right now.

[joepeka]

When our TA called RCI late last week to get the BOGOHO discount added to our 2015 booking, the per person rate did go up $100 over when we initially booked four months earlier (which I expected it would) but we still saved a lot. So it was a terrific discount for us.

[APDMOM]

I have noticed that freedom class ships are more expensive in general. I have been pricing our Dec cruise every day for the past year.

 

The price has been $1812 for 2 people in a PR room since about a week after we booked. So, the price you are quoting for 2 PR cabins is not bad based on this experience. With Liberty in Port Everglades, we were looking for a quick getaway this past year on the 5-day sailings. They were even more expensive per person per day than a 7-day on Freedom. If you feel comfortable with the deposit and price, you can always book and cancel. While traveling with 4 it is unfortunately harder to wait for last-minute deals, because it gets harder to get the right cabin, or connecting cabins.

[debbs0723]

PS: Based on my experience and research for cruises during school vacation, your Allure price is the GREAT deal! Wish we could snag one of those :)

 

Thanks. I felt like it was a great price as well. My parents as well as my family managed to book right before prices shot up. At one point that price showed over 7k for the same trip

 

 

Sent from my Iphone 7

Edited May 4, 2014 by debbs0723

[Choozin Croozin]

I have 3 cruises booked right now and watch prices daily. The base price went up $200/cabin conveniently, the day before the sale started, on one and just a little on the others. Still a great deal though...just could've been better ;) lol

[fischymom]

I had an Alaskan on Radiance booked, called my TA for the sale and even thought the initial price was cheaper for the room PP. The bogo saved us $550

[debbs0723]

I should have been more clear. I was wondering what you seasoned cruisers and deal founders thought of this particular deal.

 

Thanks,

Debbie

 

Sent from my Iphone 7

[racerxspeedy]

Since you live near the port and are not concerned about room choice IMO you should wait for a last minute deal. 2013 had some great last minute deals for T-day on Liberty. Lowest I had seen. You can watch this for 2014 and see. There will be a lot of other sales between now and fall 2015. I don't the current price as a good deal.

[debshomespun]

The pricing is figured on supply and demand. If it were me, I would look with a price I'm happy with and keep an eye on the prices because you may not be able to get that price down the road since it is a holiday week.

[debbs0723]

Since you live near the port and are not concerned about room choice IMO you should wait for a last minute deal. 2013 had some great last minute deals for T-day on Liberty. Lowest I had seen. You can watch this for 2014 and see. There will be a lot of other sales between now and fall 2015. I don't the current price as a good deal.

 

Thanks. You are prob right. My only concern is that last year out of galveston a lot of categories got fully booked months ahead for both. I do think i might wait and see what happens to prices over the never few months though. I do need to spend more time over the summer looking for last minute deals though. It would be so easy to pick up and just go on a cruise to relax and not worry about excursions.

 

Sent from my Iphone 7

Edited May 4, 2014 by debbs0723

[marci22]

Compare on a per person/per day rate.

 

$100pp/per day is average/low imo.

 

Less than that is a really good deal. More is less of a deal, but you have to consider cabin category and time of year. You pay more for bigger cabin, peak season. You pay less if you put multiple people in one cabin or travel off season in an inside.

 

I usually end up paying ~$200pp/per day because I have always travelled in peak season (holidays and summers). If you want a suite on a peak season sailing, you may be looking at $300pp/per day or more.

 

The highest I have seen lately is ~$400pp/per day for mid range balcony cabins for the Quantum 2 night.

 

I don't usually price the very highest suites (Presidential, Lofts, etc) so my calculations may run low. These prices include taxes and fees.

Edited May 4, 2014 by marci22

[Retiredprofessor]

We were able to get a price drop of over $400 on our 2015 cruise on Oasis and that was after increasing our base price and taking away a discount. So I guess that makes the promotion a good deal. However, I was told our Anthem cruise in spring of 2016 was not included in the BOGH promotion. Now I can't decide whether to book a fall 2015 cruise to get this deal. We now have 4 cruises booked for the next two years. If I book a fifth I think I'll need a 12 step program! LOL

[debbs0723]

Compare on a per person/per day rate.

 

$100pp/per day is average/low imo.

 

Less than that is a really good deal. More is less of a deal, but you have to consider cabin category and time of year. You pay more for bigger cabin, peak season. You pay less if you put multiple people in one cabin or travel off season in an inside.

 

I usually end up paying ~$200pp/per day because I have always travelled in peak season (holidays and summers). If you want a suite on a peak season sailing, you may be looking at $300pp/per day or more.

 

The highest I have seen lately is ~$400pp/per day for mid range balcony cabins for the Quantum 2 night.

 

I don't usually price the very highest suites (Presidential, Lofts, etc) so my calculations may run low. These prices include taxes and fees.

 

Thanks. Those are extremely helpful numbers.

 

Sent from my Iphone 7

[debbs0723]

Would that be price before taxes and port fees?

 

Sent from my Iphone 7

[Familygoboston]

Here's my opinion...these gimmicky promotions happen all the time, and they usually jack up the pp price before running these "sales". So I break my pricing down to per person (1st 2 in the cabin) per day. Then I can determine if it's a value for me.

 

Generally, I consider a cruise a good value if I can cruise for less than I could book a room, eat and do a few shows/activities for on a land vacation. For me that usually winds up being a decent value at $100-150 pp per day for the first 2 in the cabin. This is before tips and taxes, since they will vary, but for me my diamond discount usually nullifies those anyway. If I can snag a cruise for under 100 a day pp, I think that's a superb deal, and for the right trip circumstances, I am willing to go to $150-200 or even more (not usually on RCI)

 

Here is something you need to consider that will "inflate" the PP/day cost of your cruise

- cruising during popular vacation breaks, as you already mentioned, which increases demand and lowers capacity (lots of families of 4 or more vs couples)

-cruising from "homeports" such as Galveston, NOLA, Baltimore, Boston etc which have fewer options (lower supply of ships sailing) and therefore command higher prices generally.

 

Some folks can find cruises for well under 90 pp per day by sailing on long repositioning cruises at off times, (they are usually retired;)) but I feel if you can get a 7 day cruise during a popular vacation period for around $1000 per person for an ocean view, or around 1200 for a balcony, I think that's pretty good:D

[cruiselife4me]

My husband and I were lucky enough to book a grand suite on Adventure of the Seas -Southern Caribbean cruise - with our good friends for 2016. Between our Crown and Anchor discount and the buy one get one half off we saved a cool grand!

 

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Edited May 4, 2014 by silver_cloud

[Rocketlady]

I didn't think summer would be prime time traveling on a cruise ship. I know

kids are out of school but it is also hurricane season and 200 degree

weather. Just wondered.

 

Compare on a per person/per day rate.

 

$100pp/per day is average/low imo.

 

Less than that is a really good deal. More is less of a deal, but you have to consider cabin category and time of year. You pay more for bigger cabin, peak season. You pay less if you put multiple people in one cabin or travel off season in an inside.

 

I usually end up paying ~$200pp/per day because I have always travelled in peak season (holidays and summers). If you want a suite on a peak season sailing, you may be looking at $300pp/per day or more.

 

The highest I have seen lately is ~$400pp/per day for mid range balcony cabins for the Quantum 2 night.

 

I don't usually price the very highest suites (Presidential, Lofts, etc) so my calculations may run low. These prices include taxes and fees.

[kruzerci]

Here's my opinion...these gimmicky promotions happen all the time, and they usually jack up the pp price before running these "sales". So I break my pricing down to per person (1st 2 in the cabin) per day. Then I can determine if it's a value for me.

 

 

 

Generally, I consider a cruise a good value if I can cruise for less than I could book a room, eat and do a few shows/activities for on a land vacation. For me that usually winds up being a decent value at $100-150 pp per day for the first 2 in the cabin. This is before tips and taxes, since they will vary, but for me my diamond discount usually nullifies those anyway. If I can snag a cruise for under 100 a day pp, I think that's a superb deal, and for the right trip circumstances, I am willing to go to $150-200 or even more (not usually on RCI)

 

 

 

Here is something you need to consider that will "inflate" the PP/day cost of your cruise

 

- cruising during popular vacation breaks, as you already mentioned, which increases demand and lowers capacity (lots of families of 4 or more vs couples)

 

-cruising from "homeports" such as Galveston, NOLA, Baltimore, Boston etc which have fewer options (lower supply of ships sailing) and therefore command higher prices generally.

 

 

 

Some folks can find cruises for well under 90 pp per day by sailing on long repositioning cruises at off times, (they are usually retired;)) but I feel if you can get a 7 day cruise during a popular vacation period for around $1000 per person for an ocean view, or around 1200 for a balcony, I think that's pretty good:D

 

 

Exactly. I think they priced all the cruises high when they were released with the intention of "discounting" them to make people think they are getting a great deal. Even with the promotion, nothing I have priced is cheaper than what I could have booked this year without a promotion. But like they say... There is one born every minute.