Price increase RCI ship tours/port tours

[aussielozzie18]

Cruising on the Voyager of the Seas later this year. I have noticed a price increase for RCI excursions. For example, the Behind the Scenes tour which was $150pp last year, is now $171.00pp (which seems v.expensive compared to Carnival which I believe only charge $95pp). Also, ports tours have gone up by $10pp each.

 

Just wondering if the price increases are an annual thing on RCI or have they just taken the opportunity to increase their prices whilst "upgrading" their online booking system.

[cruisin-m]

Seems that lately Royal and X (same company) are trying to squeeze as much out of their profits as they can wherever possible.

 

It's been like a riot over on the US boards over the cuts and/or changes that X has made recently, especially with regard to things like drink packages. Seems like the company in general is lifting the price of upcharges and cutting back on everything else.

 

Shouldn't effect the cruise experience overall, I guess most of the optional things like tours, specialty restaurants etc are just that... optional so it won't matter much to me. I just hope they don't go too overboard with these cuts and price increases or people will start taking their business elsewhere!

 

Will see in October on Solstice whether the changes are as drastic as some as making them out to be, hopefully they are very exaggerated :)

[MicCanberra]

Seems that lately Royal and X (same company) are trying to squeeze as much out of their profits as they can wherever possible.

 

It's been like a riot over on the US boards over the cuts and/or changes that X has made recently, especially with regard to things like drink packages. Seems like the company in general is lifting the price of upcharges and cutting back on everything else.

 

Shouldn't effect the cruise experience overall, I guess most of the optional things like tours, specialty restaurants etc are just that... optional so it won't matter much to me. I just hope they don't go too overboard with these cuts and price increases or people will start taking their business elsewhere!

 

Will see in October on Solstice whether the changes are as drastic as some as making them out to be, hopefully they are very exaggerated :)

 

I am sure your cruise experience will be as good as ever. Company prices go up all the time and considering how cheap cruising still is compared to ten years ago, it is no wonder it is so popular.:D

[cruisin-m]

I am sure your cruise experience will be as good as ever. Company prices go up all the time and considering how cheap cruising still is compared to ten years ago, it is no wonder it is so popular.:D

 

Definitely agree :)

 

Cruising is exceptionally good value for money, and even with cruise fares coming down they still offer such a good product.

 

I think the problem some people have is that things aren't really as amazing as our mind leads us to believe they were, lot of complaints that X isn't what it used to be etc etc along with every other cruise line out there, I just think over time people tend to think things are better than what they really were, kind of get caught up in the euphoria of it :rolleyes:

 

Kind of like how on Carnival in my mind I remembered the lunch restaurant burger being about 3x bigger and more amazing than what it really was! :p All in the space of a 3 month gap! haha things just get better in the memory ;)

 

As for the OP, I personally wouldn't take ship shore tours unless you couldn't possibly organise it yourself, you can usually arrange tours with independent operators at the ports/dock for 1/4 of the price :D

[The_Big_M]

 

I think the problem some people have is that things aren't really as amazing as our mind leads us to believe they were, lot of complaints that X isn't what it used to be etc etc along with every other cruise line out there, I just think over time people tend to think things are better than what they really were, kind of get caught up in the euphoria of it :rolleyes:

 

 

I can definitely name specific, significant differences that have degraded the Celebrity experience, and there have been posts about that in the past. There's no point detailing them, except nostalgically though, as they're not going to bring them back. (Until someone gets a bit of budget to try to improve their product competitively and tries to think of what they can add. Much of it won't come back though.)

 

Some things get attended to when there is specific heat, or issue from them, such as the dropping of large swathes of the drinks package that people had already bought. On the other hand, make smaller cuts, over a longer period of time, and people will tolerate them more, or not even notice, given the natural cycle of people stopping cruising, and others taking it up.

[MicCanberra]

Definitely agree :)

 

Cruising is exceptionally good value for money, and even with cruise fares coming down they still offer such a good product.

 

I think the problem some people have is that things aren't really as amazing as our mind leads us to believe they were, lot of complaints that X isn't what it used to be etc etc along with every other cruise line out there, I just think over time people tend to think things are better than what they really were, kind of get caught up in the euphoria of it :rolleyes:

 

Kind of like how on Carnival in my mind I remembered the lunch restaurant burger being about 3x bigger and more amazing than what it really was! :p All in the space of a 3 month gap! haha things just get better in the memory ;)

 

As for the OP, I personally wouldn't take ship shore tours unless you couldn't possibly organise it yourself, you can usually arrange tours with independent operators at the ports/dock for 1/4 of the price :D

 

I wouldn't rule out the ships excursions totally, they are not always over priced and sometimes can make more sense then taking all the risks and doing it yourself. We tend to do a mix of ships tours, private tours from the rollcalls , private tours that we organise ourselves and just arriving and being spontaneous.:D

[MicCanberra]

I can definitely name specific, significant differences that have degraded the Celebrity experience, and there have been posts about that in the past. There's no point detailing them, except nostalgically though, as they're not going to bring them back. (Until someone gets a bit of budget to try to improve their product competitively and tries to think of what they can add. Much of it won't come back though.)

 

Some things get attended to when there is specific heat, or issue from them, such as the dropping of large swathes of the drinks package that people had already bought. On the other hand, make smaller cuts, over a longer period of time, and people will tolerate them more, or not even notice, given the natural cycle of people stopping cruising, and others taking it up.

 

Agreed, but as mentioned, no use dwelling on it, move on and still enjoy a great way to travel.:D

[goodycruising]

I wouldn't rule out the ships excursions totally, they are not always over priced and sometimes can make more sense then taking all the risks and doing it yourself. We tend to do a mix of ships tours, private tours from the rollcalls , private tours that we organise ourselves and just arriving and being spontaneous.:D

 

I agree, sometimes the price difference looks a lot, until you have to get transport to and from, and the ship's tour gets priority to leave on arrival. I am also prepared to pay a premium for not getting left behind! Depends on the location, and your confidence and stress levels in self organising.