Has anybody else noticed that prices are up 50% from last year?

[krisko]

Is everybody sticking with Royal or migrating to other lines? I just hit Diamond so I'm inclined to stay but not at roughly double the price what I'm used to paying.

[Clarea]

That's why we have not booked a cruise since last May.

[melbur]

Is everybody sticking with Royal or migrating to other lines? I just hit Diamond so I'm inclined to stay but not at roughly double the price what I'm used to paying.

 

Of course they are up . . so they can discount them endlessly with BOGOHO. We migrated . . would have been Pinnacle by now if we hadn't changed three cruises in 2014 to another line.

Don't get me wrong . . we still love the Royal product, but there are many choices out there . . . .

Edited January 7, 2015 by melbur

[orville99]

Is everybody sticking with Royal or migrating to other lines? I just hit Diamond so I'm inclined to stay but not at roughly double the price what I'm used to paying.

 

I guess it depends on which cruise you're pricing. I went back and pulled our all-in prices for our annual FOS 7-night Eastern (2011- 2016, D2 cabin same week every year), and I'm not seeing any significant difference.

 

2011-$2479

2012-$2502

2013-$2365

2014-$2513

2015-$2481

2016-$2514

[Esmerelda]

Ditto what Bob said. We have nothing booked either. The prices are really bad if not doubled on anything I've checked on. We have only 1 more cruise to be Diamond and I'm at the point now where I don't really care. I don't know anyone personally that has booked anything recently. I don't understand why the big change and we have 8 RC under our belt.

 

:rolleyes:

Edited January 7, 2015 by Esmerelda

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We haven't booked anything since the first week of May 2014 when we booked two cruises. One in 2015 & one in 2016. We will not book another cruise until the price drops back down. If it doesn't, it doesn't. We are looking to book an Alaskan Cruise for 2017, so we have time. If we can't find a decent price, then we'll move on to another cruise line.

 

BTW, we live in Houston, and Carnival is running major radio spots for cruises out of Galveston promoting 30% off. Princess typically rolls out their ads around March. I do think that eventually, RC will come back down to earth.

[trev71]

I agree I booked my last cruise in May 2014 for May 2015. I want to book one for our upcoming wedding anniversary this fall but I just cant justify some of the prices. I am hoping they drop some soon. Plus The Canadian Dollar is droping to 85 cents to $1 us dollar. That affects some travelers as well

[Toddcan]

I have seen them rise on some sailings, but the cost for our March 2014 cruise is more expensive per day than our upcoming March 2015 cruise. So, on that one, the prices are actually lower.

 

We booked the 2014 cruise in Aug 2013.

We booked the 2015 cruise in Sept-Oct 2014

[jticarruthers]

Ditto on nothing booked since early last year, will make Diamond on the next two, toying with NCL for springbreak 2016 though...

[Ladysilver]

Is everybody sticking with Royal or migrating to other lines? I just hit Diamond so I'm inclined to stay but not at roughly double the price what I'm used to paying.

 

Yes, I've noticed. I keep looking to book an early summer cruise for 2016 but so far the prices are out of reach. :(

[cruisefrost]

After much indecision have decided that for us and I repeat for us we have decided that cruising is not worth the price anymore. 25 cruises and diamond plus. The last few cruises it seems that they keep taking away things that were always included in the cruise. Diamond discount coupons are a good example. First it was get a free item and now its get a free item if you buy an item. The price of premium dinning is something that really peeves me. In the earlier years, since 86, the dinning was outstanding, but now if you want the same food experience you need to fork over another thirty dollars per person for one meal. As has been said on cruise critic by many others the nickel and dime is getting out of hand. We have always tip above the amount for the great service we have always received in years past. With the tips being added on, the service is much less than in years past. I will miss those days at sea but it just is not worth it anymore. For those of you that have not experienced the better days of cruising I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post. Goodbye to what use to be the best vacation.

[monctonguy]

Prices are defn higher this year from what I can see.

 

And all these "sales" and promo's really arent great at all..

 

Didnt we read somewhere late last year that RCI was going to get away from last min deals and cheap cruises as they didnt want that to be the market they attracted?

 

Looks like they have already done that....except for a few good last min deals the beginning of Jan, there are very few deals to any destination at anytime this year from what I can see rate wise right now...

[alfaeric]

Yes, I've noticed. I keep looking to book an early summer cruise for 2016 but so far the prices are out of reach. :(

 

How would you know? There isn't a 2016 summer schedule out, yet. They only go to May 2016. And for that month, only the Allure has a schedule.

 

And right now, those sailings seem quite reasonable- less expensinve than when we sailed on the Allure back in 2010.

Edited January 7, 2015 by alfaeric

[negc]

despite all the posts indicating that longtime loyal RCI cruisers haven't, or aren't, booking new cruises with the line, their ships still seem to be sailing full, so I don't think that RCI really cares if they are losing veteran cruisers as long as they continue to attract new ones and continue to sail at, or near, capacity. Cruise prices across the various lines continue to rise as the economy improves so comparing this year's prices to last year's is pretty much a futile exercise. If the current prices seem attractive and affordable, book them, No sense expecting prices to decline measurably in the foreseeable future. As the Patriots coach would say: "It is what it is".

GO PATs:)

[queenschick9b]

I would be fine if I got the BOGOHO, except I am a solo cruiser, and trust me, they haven't changed the supplement to 150% because I have looked :)

[Biker19]

 

Didnt we read somewhere late last year that RCI was going to get away from last min deals and cheap cruises as they didnt want that to be the market they attracted?

 

Looks like they have already done that....except for a few good last min deals the beginning of Jan, there are very few deals to any destination at anytime this year from what I can see rate wise right now...

 

The Quantum seems to be in that category - some of the sailings have significant vacancies. RCI rather have empty cabins than lower the price.

[squadron]

I agree I booked my last cruise in May 2014 for May 2015. I want to book one for our upcoming wedding anniversary this fall but I just cant justify some of the prices. I am hoping they drop some soon. Plus The Canadian Dollar is droping to 85 cents to $1 us dollar. That affects some travelers as well

 

The dollar is bad but that will affect any type of vacation. Why the assumption by many that the other lines haven't raised their prices also? What about the old adage you get what you pay for. As a solo I pay double but I have to accept that or stay home. I've priced out "specials " several times on other lines and they, too, aren't what they seem in the ads.

[ryano]

despite all the posts indicating that longtime loyal RCI cruisers haven't, or aren't, booking new cruises with the line, their ships still seem to be sailing full, so I don't think that RCI really cares if they are losing veteran cruisers as long as they continue to attract new ones and continue to sail at, or near, capacity. Cruise prices across the various lines continue to rise as the economy improves so comparing this year's prices to last year's is pretty much a futile exercise. If the current prices seem attractive and affordable, book them, No sense expecting prices to decline measurably in the foreseeable future. As the Patriots coach would say: "It is what it is".

GO PATs:)

 

Well said as always. Once you go through the whole booking process and get to the details of charges, Im not really seeing the huge increase everyone is talking about over what prices were in 2012 when I last sailed. My upcoming cruise, in the same category of cabin, is actually a couple hundred dollars less than what I paid in 2012.

[Missus Makkem]

We too are looking elsewhere, already done a Celebrity one last year, not much dearer than Royal and a great itinery.

Loved it.

Trying another line this week so we will see how that goes.

Never say never but as others have said Royal are doing very little for their loyal cruisers who stuck by them when they were going through a tough time.

[BillOh]

I guess it depends on which cruise you're pricing. I went back and pulled our all-in prices for our annual FOS 7-night Eastern (2011- 2016, D2 cabin same week every year), and I'm not seeing any significant difference.

 

2011-$2479

2012-$2502

2013-$2365

2014-$2513

2015-$2481

2016-$2514

 

I reserved an oasis 2016 very close to the price I paid for Allure 2011 and 2013, but if I canceled my BOGOHO Freedom cruise and would try to rebook it, it is up about 50% if I try to get the BOGOHO and the OBC. To me its clear they have in many cases raised the price to cover the OBC, which is a great deal for them. To me $1 US on land is worth about 33 cents on board in value. Some reasonable deals are still out there and I've taken to calling Crown and Anchor when I want pricing so they can look at it several ways.

[slyster]

and with new cruisers, that's less fringe benefits to give your veteran cruisers

[mlmbar]

Booked a JS on AOS for Sept and we are paying less than the JS we had on Jewel this past Nov. I am happy. After having done many an AI vacation prior to cruising, I still think that cruising is the better deal. But that is just me. I don' t really care if I get a basket of cookies or a bottle of water. Those things don't matter to me at all. As the economy improves, the costs will rise. Simple economics. If the ships aren't full, prices will go down. My daughter works for a travel company that specifically deals with AI packages in the Caribbean so I know a bit about current costs and the quality of some of the resorts you get for the price of a cruise. RC is no different than any other travel company

[trev71]

The dollar is bad but that will affect any type of vacation. Why the assumption by many that the other lines haven't raised their prices also? What about the old adage you get what you pay for. As a solo I pay double but I have to accept that or stay home. I've priced out "specials " several times on other lines and they, too, aren't what they seem in the ads.

 

 

honnestly it will not effect my cruise vacation too much. I mean if it goes much lower we will just have to cut back on a few minor things or whatever we feel like we dont need, Mainly keep the DW away from the 10$ sales haha

[Beachammo]

Haven't purchased a Royal cruise since May 1st. I did purchase a Celebrity TA while on Liberty in October as Celebrity was having a decent sale. I have six cruises to keep me busy until May 2016. Waiting for Royal to release the new schedule...I will then put down deposits on 3 or 4 to get a great aft cabin and just watch the prices as I usually do.

[orville99]

I reserved an oasis 2016 very close to the price I paid for Allure 2011 and 2013, but if I canceled my BOGOHO Freedom cruise and would try to rebook it, it is up about 50% if I try to get the BOGOHO and the OBC. To me its clear they have in many cases raised the price to cover the OBC, which is a great deal for them. To me $1 US on land is worth about 33 cents on board in value. Some reasonable deals are still out there and I've taken to calling Crown and Anchor when I want pricing so they can look at it several ways.

 

I wouldn't argue with any of that, and I would probably add that the opportunity to keep prices stable from year to year depends a lot on one's booking patterns. We always book our "standing vacation time" cruises the day the itineraries are released, and as my list indicated, those prices have remained stable for the past six bookings - two of which we've yet to take. I could have listed our March, October, and December cruises as well, but the results are the same - the variation over the past six bookings is less than $100 up or down. If I was a "wait it out and see if the prices come down" type of booker (is that even a word?), I'd probably be in the "prices are through the roof" camp as well.

 

We try to slide a mid summer cruise in every year, but since we never know whether or when we'll have a free weekend, those cruises can be anywhere from early June to late August, and those prices are all over the map.

 

RCL was very clear in their analyst meeting about last minute bookings and price drops. Ain't gonna happen no more, no how;)

 

In a word, snoozers lose;)