What is with RCCL's current prices?

[Evilgrin72]

Looking at potentially booking something for March or over the summer and Royal's prices are through the roof. Even with the BOGO50% deal, their 7-day cruises are coming up on average about $300-400 higher than a comparable Carnival cruise. I know Royal is always more expensive than Carnival, but usually $100-200 a week pp that I've seen, not anywhere from $300-$500pp. They're even charging $150-300pp more than Celebrity for the same length of cruise on the same dates, and that's with the 2nd person 50% off factored in.

 

What gives? I haven't been in the cruise loop for a year or so, so maybe this is old news, but anyone have any insights for someone just looking at cruises for the first time in a while?

[Clarea]

Enough people are booking at those prices, so there is no incentive to lower them.

[Evilgrin72]

I suppose so, is this a relatively new phenomenon? I mean, Freedom of the Seas charging $1,569pp for a balcony on a 7-night cruise AFTER 50% off second party? While Celebrity Reflection is charging $919pp for a balcony on a 7-nighter over the exact same dates with almost the same itinerary? Thanks, but no thanks, Royal.

[Clarea]

I suppose so, is this a relatively new phenomenon? I mean, Freedom of the Seas charging $1,569pp for a balcony on a 7-night cruise AFTER 50% off second party? While Celebrity Reflection is charging $919pp for a balcony on a 7-nighter over the exact same dates with almost the same itinerary? Thanks, but no thanks, Royal.

Royal has been having the BOGOHOax sale since May 2014. There were a few weeks right at the beginning that had some good sale prices, but since then I've not seen many good deals.

[orville99]

We actually booked a Disney cruise for October 2016 that was less than a comparable RCL cruise on Enchantment. We now shop every cruise amongst 3-4 different lines.

[Evilgrin72]

Wow...I guess this is the new normal. I've been mainly an RCL customer in the past, but although I prefer Royal to CCL and even by a hair over Celebrity, if those others are 30-50% cheaper, I'm gone. In my opinion, most of the lines are more comparable than not and there's not enough of a difference to justify spending an extra $1,000 for a week on RCL.

[WaveSplasher]

Looking at potentially booking something for March or over the summer and Royal's prices are through the roof. Even with the BOGO50% deal, their 7-day cruises are coming up on average about $300-400 higher than a comparable Carnival cruise. I know Royal is always more expensive than Carnival, but usually $100-200 a week pp that I've seen, not anywhere from $300-$500pp. They're even charging $150-300pp more than Celebrity for the same length of cruise on the same dates, and that's with the 2nd person 50% off factored in.

 

What gives? I haven't been in the cruise loop for a year or so, so maybe this is old news, but anyone have any insights for someone just looking at cruises for the first time in a while?

 

Well. If I'm not mistaken, there is a spring break in March and school is off in June. So prices generally tend to be higher during peak season. And also the difference between a RCl cruise and a Celebrity Cruise.

 

Granted celebrity is the upmarket of RCL and prices should be higher. But if given a choice, families will choose RCL over Celebrity for entertainment, and the kids club etc, Furthermore, there is a Dream-works parade on the FOS for the kids too.

 

So IMHO, that is why the price is higher during the months you are looking at since RCL knows that there will be high demand from families wanting to come on the FOS.

[HeidiHo]

The mini suite we booked in May of 2014 for our upcoming Feb 2016 cruise on the Navigator went up to almost $1000.00 more per person more than we paid. Granted, we got a group rate but at the time the standard rates were only a little more than the group rates.

 

When we booked our Med cruise that we did in May I had a choice between the NCL Epic and the Allure. I really, REALLY wanted to try the Allure but it was a lot more expensive for the same basic cruise so we went with the Epic. It was such a port intensive cruise that I figured in the end we wouldn't really get to experience all that either of the ships had to offer so the ship wouldn't matter that much and I was right. Now, had it been a Caribbean cruise with sea days I might have paid the extra for the Allure.

[ewenix]

Well. If I'm not mistaken, there is a spring break in March and school is off in June. So prices generally tend to be higher during peak season. And also the difference between a RCl cruise and a Celebrity Cruise.

 

Granted celebrity is the upmarket of RCL and prices should be higher. But if given a choice, families will choose RCL over Celebrity for entertainment, and the kids club etc, Furthermore, there is a Dream-works parade on the FOS for the kids too.

 

So IMHO, that is why the price is higher during the months you are looking at since RCL knows that there will be high demand from families wanting to come on the FOS.

 

Yes it's spring break, but comparing say the 7 day Dream to 7 day Freedom both sailing march 13th. There's a good $500/pp difference for a balcony.

Freedom: labadee, falmouth, grand cayman, cozumel

Dream: montego bay, grand cayman, cozumel

 

I'm sure at least some of the difference is due to Freedom sailing from Port Canaveral and Dream sailing from New Orleans. Sure, there's also the falmouth vs montego bay difference in port, and the Freedom does have that 'extra' stop at Labadee.

 

(I'd have to verify but I'm pretty sure the Carnival balcony price is a Cove balcony, which is arguably not a apples to apples comparison.)

 

Still, a $1k difference for 2 people for what many would consider a similar cruise is a signifcant difference.

[Ashland]

It depends when you book also.....I ended up getting such an amazing deal on HOTS for March 2017 when I booked it in April this year...that I booked 4 cabins for the entire family....The prices now have jumped :eek:.... Our average price for two was $1790.00 (inc taxes & gratuities) for the last 4 aft Boardwalk cabins...I was and am thrilled and can't wait to surprise my family with this 2016 Xmas present :D

[orville99]

Well. If I'm not mistaken, there is a spring break in March and school is off in June. So prices generally tend to be higher during peak season. And also the difference between a RCl cruise and a Celebrity Cruise.

 

Granted celebrity is the upmarket of RCL and prices should be higher. But if given a choice, families will choose RCL over Celebrity for entertainment, and the kids club etc, Furthermore, there is a Dream-works parade on the FOS for the kids too.

 

So IMHO, that is why the price is higher during the months you are looking at since RCL knows that there will be high demand from families wanting to come on the FOS.

 

 

Our March 2016 spring break cruise on FOS has more than doubled in price since we originally booked it. For the price we paid for a D2 cabin, we'd only be able to book the lowest OV category today.

[travelhound]

It's not just traditional spring break times. We're leaving at the beginning of February on Serenade and the price has almost doubled since we booked (that's including the BOGO). Crazy.

[Fitzget]

Those prices were the reason we ended up booking Carnival for our cruise last week, and let me tell you, in the future I'll pay the higher prices and stick to RCI. The savings was not worth it.

[travelhound]

I'm sorry it sounds like you had an unpleasant experience. Carnival is not one of my favorite lines either. We've cruised a lot with NCL and like them as well as many other lines. I especially like Princess. Frankly, the comparatively high cost of RC has kept us from them for many years now. It will be nice to sail with them again. We just happened to hit a good time for booking. Carnival will always be one of the cheapest options and although they're not horrible, they're not my favorite.

Edited October 7, 2015 by travelhound

[legaljen1969]

Looking at potentially booking something for March or over the summer and Royal's prices are through the roof. Even with the BOGO50% deal, their 7-day cruises are coming up on average about $300-400 higher than a comparable Carnival cruise.

 

I was looking yesterday at a cruise my family wants to do at the end of March next year and they were charging over $1200 pp for an inside cabin on Allure. It has gotten ridiculous. If Royal were making things more "all inclusive" and upping the prices accordingly- I would understand. However, you are paying more to get the same or less. It makes no sense to me.

 

You know it's out of control when a Disney cruise is comparable or less in price than a Royal cruise.

[Russ Lomas]

I was looking yesterday at a cruise my family wants to do at the end of March next year and they were charging over $1200 pp for an inside cabin on Allure. It has gotten ridiculous. If Royal were making things more "all inclusive" and upping the prices accordingly- I would understand. However, you are paying more to get the same or less. It makes no sense to me.

 

You know it's out of control when a Disney cruise is comparable or less in price than a Royal cruise.

There are still good deals to be had. You just have to look a lot harder to find them now. Overall, the prices are MUCH higher on average than in the past (at least for the weeks we look at due to our holidays summer - March).

 

That said, we managed to get the Allure this past March for under $600 for an inside cabin and have the Freedom booked for this coming March break for about $400 each for an inside cabin. Prices for our upcoming cruise are now about triple what we originally paid for it.

 

I would recommend booking early (as soon as sailings are released) if you can. If price is a key point, be very flexible with your ship and itinerary and you will likely find a decent deal that meets your needs.

 

That said, when booking our next cruise, I would like to remain loyal to Royal, but as others have said, I will check all other lines to see what they offer and their pricing because I am not willing to pay an insane surcharge to remain with Royal if other lines are offering nearly comparable products for much less.

[2CatsInFlorida]

Yes, some of the price differences seem crazy, but it's the law of supply and demand. We got two good deals by constantly watching prices and deals. 1. On our Greece cruise next year we got a balcony for $100 less than the OV we had booked. 2. We got a balcony to the Caribbean for the same as our OV. We look at Celebrity and NCL too, but the floating beer can we won't consider.

[gatour]

The reasoning is because of supply and demand. Basic Econ 101 that you learn in college.

 

I remember a few months after the World Trade Center disaster, I took an impromptu trip to Walt Disney World. While I was driving down that Friday night, I got on my cell phone to Disney Reservations, and was able to book a room for less than $200/night, where a few months before the room would have cost over $300/night.

 

Also, cruises were going for $600/pp for the next several years. People were not traveling. Thus demand went down while supply remained the same. Cruise lines/Disney hotels reduced their prices.

 

Nowadays, people are feeling comfortable with their lives, and are willing to travelling more. Thus increasing demand. Thus an increase in prices.

[nbsjcruiser]

Today we looked at a cruise we have booked in Nov. It is a back to back. and we were thinking of jumping up to a balcony on the first leg 4 day cruise. Well when we looked at the prices I was gobsmacked. We booked in Canadian and are used to the prices being higher with the exchange rate.But when we looked the Canadian price was 100% higher than the US price.The price in US for a balcony was $320 pp plus tax and the price in Canadian was $636 pp plus tax. I could not believe it. I called because I thought it was wrong but I was told with the exchange rate the price was right. The funny thing was if you booked a suite they would give you a 33% exchange rate. I am not sure what Royal is doing but my take is they don't was Canadians sailing unless you are willing to pay suite prices. I guess we will be looking at other lines.

[Smitty815]

BOGOHO has been on for ages. Honestly, the best thing to do it to ignore the "sales" and just check the price of your cruise every 2-3 days. That's what I always do and every time I manage to get my cruise for a much cheaper price than what I initially paid.

Even though the sale remains the same, the base prices change pretty frequently

[monctonguy]

Today we looked at a cruise we have booked in Nov. It is a back to back. and we were thinking of jumping up to a balcony on the first leg 4 day cruise. Well when we looked at the prices I was gobsmacked. We booked in Canadian and are used to the prices being higher with the exchange rate.But when we looked the Canadian price was 100% higher than the US price.The price in US for a balcony was $320 pp plus tax and the price in Canadian was $636 pp plus tax. I could not believe it. I called because I thought it was wrong but I was told with the exchange rate the price was right. The funny thing was if you booked a suite they would give you a 33% exchange rate. I am not sure what Royal is doing but my take is they don't was Canadians sailing unless you are willing to pay suite prices. I guess we will be looking at other lines.

 

There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to their exchange prices between USD/CAD. My Nov cruise when I booked it months ago, was 100% higher with the CAD exchange(even though the port fees/taxes were only at a 20% exchange rate) So I booked it in USD.

 

Then about 3 weeks ago there was a huge price drop....it was $514 in USD.....I was going to rebook and thought I would check it in CAD..it was $541!!!!....couldn't believe it.....

 

I try to book most of the cruises now in CAD till our dollar goes back up. Plus being able to buy OBC at an 10% exchange rate when you do is a huge bonus and cost offset feature for us. If they do away with that, then I may have to look elsewhere.

[Hawaii697]

I have group of folks that sail together every two years. We decided, it was time for a change and try Royal. We've also decided that this will be our first and last sailing with Royal. The prices are unbelievable. :( We wanted to do graduation cruise on the Allure in June 2016, but the prices are off the hook. And they have not dropped in the entire year I've been researching. I thought the beginning of June would give us decent rates, but not the case.

[BonnieSte]

Looking at potentially booking something for March or over the summer and Royal's prices are through the roof. Even with the BOGO50% deal, their 7-day cruises are coming up on average about $300-400 higher than a comparable Carnival cruise. I know Royal is always more expensive than Carnival, but usually $100-200 a week pp that I've seen, not anywhere from $300-$500pp. They're even charging $150-300pp more than Celebrity for the same length of cruise on the same dates, and that's with the 2nd person 50% off factored in.

 

What gives? I haven't been in the cruise loop for a year or so, so maybe this is old news, but anyone have any insights for someone just looking at cruises for the first time in a while?

 

Surprised me too. The prices have pushed me out. Make sure you take a look at the drink packages and by the glass. Those prices have also jumped way up. :( So now you can add $600-$900 on top of the cruise price just for alcohol

[John&LaLa]

Yes it's spring break, but comparing say the 7 day Dream to 7 day Freedom both sailing march 13th. There's a good $500/pp difference for a balcony.

Freedom: labadee, falmouth, grand cayman, cozumel

Dream: montego bay, grand cayman, cozumel

 

I'm sure at least some of the difference is due to Freedom sailing from Port Canaveral and Dream sailing from New Orleans. Sure, there's also the falmouth vs montego bay difference in port, and the Freedom does have that 'extra' stop at Labadee.

 

(I'd have to verify but I'm pretty sure the Carnival balcony price is a Cove balcony, which is arguably not a apples to apples comparison.)

 

Still, a $1k difference for 2 people for what many would consider a similar cruise is a signifcant difference.

 

You really can't compare a NO departure to a PC departure. Have you priced the Carnival 7 day out of PC?

[ewenix]

You really can't compare a NO departure to a PC departure. Have you priced the Carnival 7 day out of PC?

 

Sure I can, and I specifically noted the difference in port. (I understand that the embarkation port factors quite a bit into the cruise price. Especially with folks who are driving to the port.)

The OP gave a generic statement of 'comparable cruise' which I took to be itinerary. I then compared two similar itineraries of the same duration embarking on the same date.

 

Looking now at the options for royal and carnival out of PC, one leaves the 12th and the other the 13th. carnival is less expensive on all cabins to a varying degree.

 

suite is 800 less

balcony is 500 less

OV is 200 less

inside is under 100 less

 

Personally I wouldn't consider those two options similar, but I understand that you might because they both embark from PC. (I really like the freedom class ships though so that would weigh more heavily on my personal decision.)

 

FWIW, I honestly am interested in knowing what the top 2 or 3 factors are for you in determining a similar cruise on two different lines.

Edited October 8, 2015 by ewenix