Pricing

[Itchy&Scratchy]

42 minutes ago, AdGuyMG said:

The price is better than Carnival.

 

The activities on MSC geared towards kids vs Carnival such as the Camp Ocean kids program, Seuss At Sea, Waterworks Slides, SportSquare, SkyRide, basketball /volleyball courts and overall experience for kids isn't.

our kid doesn't do kid's club or sports, so that's not necessary. But thanks for the heads up!

Still, $1,600 for the 3 of us vs. $3,000 for the 3 of us is a huge difference that I can put towards a whole 'nother cruise.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Bostwick girl said:

 

Did you ever call Carnival to double check the price? We will all be awaiting your review after your trip as to how you liked MSC vs Carnival.  

 

I didn't call, but like I said above - I checked online prices with another huge travel agency, and they had the same price as Carnival site.

I may not be able to tell you much about Carnival vs. MSC, since we've never been on Carnival (just can't seem to find a good price - hint-hint), and the cruise is more than a year away. :) But I'll do a review when we come back.

[dmdiver]

That seems really odd.  3rd & 4th are usually at least $150 less than 1st & 2nd.  It's been a long time since I've had to book more than 2 in a cabin, but a couple of years ago I had priced 4 out in case my daughter & son-in-law decided to bring their kids with them and that was the case then.

[AdGuyMG]

15 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

our kid doesn't do kid's club or sports, so that's not necessary. But thanks for the heads up!

Still, $1,600 for the 3 of us vs. $3,000 for the 3 of us is a huge difference that I can put towards a whole 'nother cruise.

Well then if you are looking for an affordable boat ride with just the basics provided to accommodate the kids, you made the right decision.

[evandbob]

I only price for single and double capacity, but I've noticed that Carnival has been slowly raising it's pricing over the last 10 years.  I noticed the first change when Carnival did away with the 150% solo fare and changed it to 200%.  I had been sailing Carnival automatically exclusive until that point.

 

I then started pricing other lines, and found that I could save money if I shopped around.  Carnival doesn't always have the best price, what a revelation!  I've even sailed Celebrity for a lower fare than Carnival!

 

Lately, even the supposedly discounted casino fares have been rising as well.  That may be the last straw for me and Carnival!

 

It pays to shop around and compare. JMO, YMMV.

[evandbob]

3 minutes ago, evandbob said:

I only price for single and double capacity, but I've noticed that Carnival has been slowly raising it's pricing over the last 10 years.  I noticed the first change when Carnival did away with the 150% solo fare and changed it to 200%.  I had been sailing Carnival automatically exclusive until that point.

 

I then started pricing other lines, and found that I could save money if I shopped around.  Carnival doesn't always have the best price, what a revelation!  I've even sailed Celebrity for a lower fare than Carnival!   I can easily get lower fares on comparable itineraries and ships on NCL and MSC.

 

Lately, even the supposedly discounted casino fares have been rising as well.  That may be the last straw for me and Carnival!

 

It pays to shop around and compare. JMO, YMMV.

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by evandbob

[FloridaGram]

If you want to see some outlandish pricing check out a Disney cruise. I went there for kicks and giggles because I got a message saying 20% OFF.  The starting price for an indoor cabin was over $7000. A thousand dollars a day per person? They have a quality product but there is No Way and it always reminds me how inexpensive CCL is.  

A kid free is a marketing tool, believe me you are paying for it some where. I will agree that RCCL is worth more because of the quality of the shows but it really does cost more in the long run.

[Illbcruzn4life]

14 minutes ago, FloridaGram said:

If you want to see some outlandish pricing check out a Disney cruise. I went there for kicks and giggles because I got a message saying 20% OFF.  The starting price for an indoor cabin was over $7000. A thousand dollars a day per person? They have a quality product but there is No Way and it always reminds me how inexpensive CCL is.  

A kid free is a marketing tool, believe me you are paying for it some where. I will agree that RCCL is worth more because of the quality of the shows but it really does cost more in the long run.

 

I can't agree with the you are paying it somewhere part of your post about the kids sail free at least on RCI.

 

Had to cabins booked. One with 2 adults and 1 child and 1 cabin with 3 kids.

 

When we booked they did not have any kids sail free promotion. About a month later and before final payment date they came out with the kids sail free promotion.

 

With a simple phone call the price of 1 kid per cabin was taken off and they just had to pay port fees and taxes. Saved quite a bit. Had both cabins booked as refundable fares.

 

 

[CH5220]

I thought this was strange too when we booked Horizon for our spring break cruise next week. We booked last summer so there were plenty or rooms on every deck, so it had nothing to do with demand for rooms with 3/4 beds. We are two adults and two kids, and it was basically the same price to get two adjoining rooms with 2 of us in each room, as it was to pack all four of us in one room. I think it was like $100 more. If they had any decent discount for our kids, we would have put all four of us in one room, and they could have made a few grand selling the second room. Very strange pricing model, but we're happy to be getting the extra space and privacy of a second room for only about $100.

[KyCruiseLady]

I am booked on the Horizon in 2020 but different dates.  Interior cabin, three people (two adults, one child). My breakdown is $826.52/$826.52/$301.52.  

 

I have cruised Carnival several times, all as a party of three, and have never seen the sort of pricing you are seeing. While I can't say its an error for sure, I will say it isn't the norm. 

[maluhia87]

You are looking at an 8 day cruise that ends on Easter.  Anytime there is a major holiday the prices are increased because the demand is greater.  If you look at the same cruise for 04/18/2020, the price is back down and almost $1K less because it's not a holiday.  

[Schoifmom]

2 hours ago, CH5220 said:

I thought this was strange too when we booked Horizon for our spring break cruise next week. We booked last summer so there were plenty or rooms on every deck, so it had nothing to do with demand for rooms with 3/4 beds. We are two adults and two kids, and it was basically the same price to get two adjoining rooms with 2 of us in each room, as it was to pack all four of us in one room. I think it was like $100 more. If they had any decent discount for our kids, we would have put all four of us in one room, and they could have made a few grand selling the second room. Very strange pricing model, but we're happy to be getting the extra space and privacy of a second room for only about $100.

 

Actually, cruise lines use a complicated algorithm to anticipate supply and demand and constantly adjust rates accordingly.  I would posit that, although there may have been many rooms available when you booked, that the algorithm anticipated a huge demand in 3/4 person rooms, which created the elevated price point for the 3rd/4th persons.