How Many Prepurchase vs Buy Onboard

[chiguypaul]

RCL is always running 30% off sales on the refreshment drink package and I always jump on those before each of my cruises. When onboard on the first day of a cruise I see plenty of people buying on the cruise instead of before. Has anyone heard official stats on how many people prepurchase vs buy on board for drink packages? If you don’t know and are just speculating, please don’t reply. Only looking to hear from those who have heard actual or anecdotal data from RCL. Thanks.

[Ourusualbeach]

Royal does not release that information so anything that is reported here is speculation.

[dodgestang]

Buying in advance allows you to spread the load on the old CC for several weeks/months leading up to the cruise.

 

And if you are always watching....sometimes you can score great deals (like Monday's drink package extravaganza 😉

[rhuntington3]

I've always pre-purchased.

[Ashland]

We've always seen the pre-purchase deals better than what you can get once onboard. However once you pre-purchase keep checking and you might do better...then easy to cancel and re-book online.

[DISFANS3]

Prepay for us..

[nelblu]

7 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

RCL is always running 30% off sales on the refreshment drink package and I always jump on those before each of my cruises. When onboard on the first day of a cruise I see plenty of people buying on the cruise instead of before. Has anyone heard official stats on how many people prepurchase vs buy on board for drink packages? If you don’t know and are just speculating, please don’t reply. Only looking to hear from those who have heard actual or anecdotal data from RCL. Thanks.

I'm selective.  If I see a good sale, I will pre-pay for excursions or SR.  With regards to internet and with SR, I evaluate vs the benefits of D+ coupons.

[sandebeach]

I usually pre-purchase the non-alcohol refreshment package, when it is on sale. Last year the lowest price I saw was $18, this year the lowest I have seen is $20.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

8 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

RCL is always running 30% off sales on the refreshment drink package and I always jump on those before each of my cruises. When onboard on the first day of a cruise I see plenty of people buying on the cruise instead of before. Has anyone heard official stats on how many people prepurchase vs buy on board for drink packages? If you don’t know and are just speculating, please don’t reply. Only looking to hear from those who have heard actual or anecdotal data from RCL. Thanks.

The RCI - CEO says their passengers are too stupid to calculate pre cruise orders into their total spending... spending 2x the amount they otherwise would.... 🙄

[time4u2go]

8 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

RCL is always running 30% off sales on the refreshment drink package and I always jump on those before each of my cruises. When onboard on the first day of a cruise I see plenty of people buying on the cruise instead of before. Has anyone heard official stats on how many people prepurchase vs buy on board for drink packages? If you don’t know and are just speculating, please don’t reply. Only looking to hear from those who have heard actual or anecdotal data from RCL. Thanks.

Seriously?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Just now, time4u2go said:

Seriously?

No kidding...hardly a real expectation to share that kind of marketing data in a public forum.

 

But to answer the question...we and everyone we know books pre-cruise - almost always get a better deal (except the desperate crew's onboard specialty dining or 5/10 drink card).

 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

8 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

The RCI - CEO says their passengers are too stupid to calculate pre cruise orders into their total spending... spending 2x the amount they otherwise would.... 🙄

Please share the link to that quote so everyone can see the CEO's comment on this topic...

 

...didn't think so...

 

[SuiteLady]

I book pre-cruise, especially beverage package.  I, personally, have never seen a better deal while onboard.  The only thing I have booked onboard was excursions, due to changing our minds about wanting to do something at the last minute.  I usually pre-book excursions too... I try to pre-book everything that I’m interested in, as standing in line, while onboard, is not my idea of a good time... lol

[Ourusualbeach]

18 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Please share the link to that quote so everyone can see the CEO's comment on this topic...

 

...didn't think so..

Here’s the quote they were referring to,

 

"What we found is that, if you spend $100 before you sail, that's spent and gone. You don't even put it in your budget for when you're on vacation," Bayley said. "So every pre-cruise revenue dollar that we generate will often generate 50% more on-board revenue for that customer."

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/royal-caribbean-ceo-explains-business-strategy-interview-2018-4

[John&LaLa]

I may book excursions since they can sell out

[CRUISEFAN0001]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Here’s the quote they were referring to,

 

"What we found is that, if you spend $100 before you sail, that's spent and gone. You don't even put it in your budget for when you're on vacation," Bayley said. "So every pre-cruise revenue dollar that we generate will often generate 50% more on-board revenue for that customer."

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/royal-caribbean-ceo-explains-business-strategy-interview-2018-4

Thanks.

 

That's of course totally different than the original poster referencing how pre-cruise spending results in DOUBLE the overall spending...the CEO said 50% on average. The actual quote comes as no surprise...

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

I may book excursions since they can sell out

That and low price (limited-time discounts) are the top 2 reasons to pre-book.

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

That and low price (limited-time discounts) are the top 2 reasons to pre-book.

 

Yea, I got a water Park pass for $39.  It's way more than that now.  However, there are deals onboard.  Dining, spa, etc...

 

But you got to love an $18 drink pkg. 🍺🍺

Edited July 6, 2019 by John&LaLa

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Yea, I got a water Park pass for $39.  It's way more than that now.  However, there are deals onboard.  Dining, spa, etc...

Certainly...for those who care about those things... 🤣🤣🤣

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Yea, I got a water Park pass for $39.  It's way more than that now.  However, there are deals onboard.  Dining, spa, etc...

 

But you got to love an $18 drink pkg. 🍺🍺

I’m wondering if that $18 package will end up increasing profits in the casino or spending in other areas of the ship once people have had a few.

[tOSUSteve]

I always buy in advance. Based on my non-scientific observations, there sure are a lot of people buying drink packages when they board 

[sparks1093]

I don't buy anything before the cruise that I wouldn't buy during the cruise and I most certainly do keep track of my budget.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 minute ago, sparks1093 said:

I don't buy anything before the cruise that I wouldn't buy during the cruise and I most certainly do keep track of my budget.

Agree.  Know many folks who buy mostly pre-cruise because of the lower pricing...but in the context of what they would spend anyway regardless of the location (onboard or pre-cruise). Everybody likes "a deal" regardless of where you get it.

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I don't buy anything before the cruise that I wouldn't buy during the cruise and I most certainly do keep track of my budget.

I think many that usually follow that logic jumped off the wagon recently with beveragegate.

[sparks1093]

17 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I think many that usually follow that logic jumped off the wagon recently with beveragegate.

We purchased the deluxe beverage package for our Anthem cruise and it was the first time we ever purchased one. The reason that we did was simple- Royal offered it at a rate that was only a little bit more than what we typically spend on alcohol during a cruise and we knew that we'd be able to make up the difference quite easily. We did. I'm pretty sure we could get our money's worth for $18 pp/pd too.😁