Will RCCL fix this? (purchase of drink package fiasco...)

[KKB]

Bought it in March.

Today it says BOGO.

It won't let me put it in the basket unless I cancel the one I bought.

I do what I THINK is the math & figure it would save us $75.

NOPE--Its $150 MORE than we paid in March!

It was not very clear that the price shown would be what was charged each for both packages.
I messaged them & asked them to reinstate our original purchase at the price we paid.

[Coralc]

It is doubtful that they will. 

[baelor]

That is unfortunate, but I would not hold your breath.  The page even says that the discount is incorporated into the price in big, bold, pink font, and the price says per guest per day right under the price.  If you think it was "not very clear," I would post a screenshot so we can see what we are looking at and whether your page looks different.

 

I mean, I hope you get your original price, but idk if it will happen.

 

 

More broadly, it seems like the cruise lines are constantly running all kinds of things that they say are sales but are pretty infrequently actual sales.  

Edited April 22, 2022 by baelor

[firefly333]

They raised the prices recently so the discount sounds better, but the prices are way up.

 

I've never heard of them reinstating a old price. They now hide the pricing on purpose imo if you already purchased. Lol me I'd cancel and do without, or spend less. 

[deliver42]

Royal's sales, especially on the drink package, are a scam. For our Wonder they wanted $1092.00 for the two of us, and that was on sale. No thanks.

[Biker19]

59 minutes ago, KKB said:

I messaged them & asked them to reinstate our original purchase at the price we paid.

Someone last week reported this and after several calls/messages they could not get the price back but got enough OBC to cover the diff. 

[KKB]

WELL...an interesting twist...

Since I did NOT buy the "BOGO" plan as I was ticked off...

Went back & clicked on the Beverage plan plus ZOOM.

Only $20 TOTAL/2 more than the "BOGO" beverage plan alone!

(proving that it is NO "BOGO"--what a racket)

 

SO 

Originally: $720/beverage/2 plus Zoom: $80/1 device (usually we get one plan & share)= $800 

 $870 "BOGO" Beverage plan/2 (no internet)

$890 Beverage plan & Zoom for 2 devices

If RCCL is a pain I will just get that. Yes, it is still $90 more than I was going to pay but then we each get our own like on Celebrity & Princess AI plans.

 

I gotta say, Celebrity & Princess AI plans (drinks, tips & unlimited wifi for both) are nearly always cheaper than RCCL when you factor all this in. Makes me sad--we LOVE RCCL's larger ships.

[not-enough-cruising]

24 minutes ago, KKB said:

WELL...an interesting twist...

Since I did NOT buy the "BOGO" plan as I was ticked off...

Went back & clicked on the Beverage plan plus ZOOM.

Only $20 TOTAL/2 more than the "BOGO" beverage plan alone!

(proving that it is NO "BOGO"--what a racket)

 

SO 

Originally: $720/beverage/2 plus Zoom: $80/1 device (usually we get one plan & share)= $800 

 $870 "BOGO" Beverage plan/2 (no internet)

$890 Beverage plan & Zoom for 2 devices

If RCCL is a pain I will just get that. Yes, it is still $90 more than I was going to pay but then we each get our own like on Celebrity & Princess AI plans.

 

I gotta say, Celebrity & Princess AI plans (drinks, tips & unlimited wifi for both) are nearly always cheaper than RCCL when you factor all this in. Makes me sad--we LOVE RCCL's larger ships.

I have found this to VERY rarely be the case (at least on X; I have no Princess experience)

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Look at what I circled in red...

I'm not sure what else you wanted them to do so you realized the price IS the discounted price. 

[baelor]

38 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Look at what I circled in red...

I'm not sure what else you wanted them to do so you realized the price IS the discounted price. 

Yep--and to add on, as I said above, the price also clearly says "per guest per day."

[KKB]

3 minutes ago, baelor said:

Yep--and to add on, as I said above, the price also clearly says "per guest per day."

Yes, it does.

But saying BOGO...leads a buyer to a different conclusion.

Yes, they worded it correctly to CYA...but it's deceptive & they know it.

[KKB]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have found this to VERY rarely be the case (at least on X; I have no Princess experience)

I just did 3 dummy bookings.

W. Caribbean in July in balcony

 

Celebrity Equinox  $3200

(includes upgraded drink package, wifi, tips & $300 OBC--this is actually an upgraded promotion I have seen before; price will likely be about $2800 when this one goes away...still get regular drink package, wifi & tips)

6 day cruise. $266pp/day; likely $233pp/day when this promo goes away.

 

Caribbean Princess $2975 

Drinks, wifi, tips included

7day cruise, $212pp/day

 

RCCL Liberty of the Seas $3800 includes NONE of those things. 

Drinks, wifi & tips would add about $1500 to the price.

7 day cruise. So about $378pp/day. That's nuts.

 

I choose Equinox--about the same age & size but it has recently been updated while Liberty has not. 

Equinox only had 6 day W. Caribbean cruise to compare.

Caribbean Princess is about the same size but older--but is being refurbished right now.

 

Just saying it is always worth it to check total cost of all things you will want.

Now, some people prefer one cruise line.

For others drink packages aren't worth it.

Others don't  get wifi.

But the RCCL price is more than the other 2 from the get go!

 

For us the drink package is never worse than a break even proposition & we like the convenience. 

We need at least a bit of wifi & of course tips must be paid.

We are not brand loyal...choose based on price, timing, where we want to go.

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by KKB

[Jasukkie]

Oh, it's definitely deceptive. They know exactly what they are doing. 

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have found this to VERY rarely be the case (at least on X; I have no Princess experience)

If you buy the DBP it is usually the case for sure..I sail both Royal and Celebrity…rarely is Royal cheaper for similar cabins, don’t forget room grats are also covered on Celebrity…basic WiFi too for those who need it (not me).

[KKB]

And the saga gets more interesting...

I am perusing the AOS's Compass from April 6.

Day 1 offers BOGO on the drink package.

It says "Buy one at $84 plus 18% tip & get the 2nd one half off"

That is worded as a legitimate BOGO.

Much better price.

Curious...

[S.A.M.J.R.]

1 hour ago, Jasukkie said:

Oh, it's definitely deceptive. They know exactly what they are doing. 

 

 

So because the consumer refuses to read what's in front of them, it's "deceptive"?  Sorry, not buying it.  The consumer has a responsibility to read and understand the information given to them.

 

When auto dealers advertise "sale!", You believe them?

[Ken at the beach]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

RCCL Liberty of the Seas $3800 includes NONE of those things. 

Drinks, wifi & tips would add about $1500 to the price.

7 day cruise. So about $378pp/day. That's nuts.

How many people were you booking for.  I just priced out every Liberty cruise in July and could get a balcony for between $2500 and  $2800 on all but one sailing where nearly all categories were sold out 

[KKB]

52 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

How many people were you booking for.  I just priced out every Liberty cruise in July and could get a balcony for between $2500 and  $2800 on all but one sailing where nearly all categories were sold out 

It was for 2 July 3 cruise. 

LOL...I just noticed that the total at the top of the page is not the same as the bottom!

I couldn't see the bottom price w/o scrolling so missed it!

OK...so it's $2700. Tips add $200 so $2900.

But that is about the same at the AI price of the other 2.

That's my point--unless you don't drink AT ALL (including sodas, etc) & don't want internet AT ALL, or you are just 100% loyal to RCCL...it doesn't make sense. At least for a couple.

 

NCL wasn't loading earlier...

July 10, 7 day Caribbean on the Breakaway (a little bigger ship)

$2700 plus u will have to pay tips so $2900 including drinks & wifi.

 

So Princess, Celebrity & NCL all have a similar prince for a balcony with perks.

RCCL has a similar price for a balcony with NO perks.

 

[Ken at the beach]

1 minute ago, KKB said:

That's my point--unless you don't drink AT ALL (including sodas, etc) & don't want internet AT ALL, or you are just 100% loyal to RCCL...it doesn't make sense. At least for a couple

There are not tens of thousands or more of Diamond and up who are getting 4 or more drink vouchers daily who enjoy not having the all inclusive pricing

[Ken at the beach]

9 minutes ago, KKB said:

It was for 2 July 3 cruise. 

LOL...I just noticed that the total at the top of the page is not the same as the bottom!

I couldn't see the bottom price w/o scrolling so missed it!

OK...so it's $2700. Tips add $200 so $2900.

But that is about the same at the AI price of the other 2.

That's my point--unless you don't drink AT ALL (including sodas, etc) & don't want internet AT ALL, or you are just 100% loyal to RCCL...it doesn't make sense. At least for a couple.

 

NCL wasn't loading earlier...

July 10, 7 day Caribbean on the Breakaway (a little bigger ship)

$2700 plus u will have to pay tips so $2900 including drinks & wifi.

 

So Princess, Celebrity & NCL all have a similar prince for a balcony with perks.

RCCL has a similar price for a balcony with NO perks.

 

Everytime I compare ships that are comparable I get much lower prices on Royal with no perks than I do with Celebrity or NCL.

 

Look at the Apex Nov 11, E4 balcony  $5357.  Symphony Nov 12 4D balcony $2197

 

It's hard to compare.  You were comparing very short term prices and Royals are way up with demand, particularly for the summer

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Ourusualbeach

[S.A.M.J.R.]

53 minutes ago, KKB said:

It was for 2 July 3 cruise. 

LOL...I just noticed that the total at the top of the page is not the same as the bottom!

I couldn't see the bottom price w/o scrolling so missed it!

OK...so it's $2700. Tips add $200 so $2900.

But that is about the same at the AI price of the other 2.

That's my point--unless you don't drink AT ALL (including sodas, etc) & don't want internet AT ALL, or you are just 100% loyal to RCCL...it doesn't make sense. At least for a couple.

 

NCL wasn't loading earlier...

July 10, 7 day Caribbean on the Breakaway (a little bigger ship)

$2700 plus u will have to pay tips so $2900 including drinks & wifi.

 

So Princess, Celebrity & NCL all have a similar prince for a balcony with perks.

RCCL has a similar price for a balcony with NO perks.

 

So sail one of the other lines?  If Royal isn't giving you want you want, YOU have the power to take your money to one of their competitors.  

[Jasukkie]

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

So because the consumer refuses to read what's in front of them, it's "deceptive"?  Sorry, not buying it.  The consumer has a responsibility to read and understand the information given to them.

 

When auto dealers advertise "sale!", You believe them?

What I do and what I see countless numbers of people asking about are very different things. This comes up all the time here.

[baelor]

5 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

What I do and what I see countless numbers of people asking about are very different things. This comes up all the time here.

I guess the approach is to read stuff carefully and not cancel until you see the page with the final cost.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

7 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

What I do and what I see countless numbers of people asking about are very different things. This comes up all the time here.

It comes up all the time because people don't read the information.  Royal doesn't hide it, heck doesn't even shrink it.  At what point are the consumers responsible for their choices? 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, baelor said:

I guess the approach is to read stuff carefully and not cancel until you see the page with the final cost.

Yeah, that was the rub.

I could NOT see the actual cost w/o cancelling.

That was a tell that I missed. (and I'm a poker player!)

I did what I thought was the math b4 cancelling...