Anyone Booking QM2 Transatlantic 2007?

[Darrell6t]

Glad to hear that you were able to get a great upgrade. I think it is going to be an extremely interesting crossing and I am surprised it isn't selling better. I guess the RSVP all-gay premium was a bit more than some people could deal with. And so many guys want the sun and the beach as part of their vacation.

[COMBOY]

It's official per two emails I received from two different travel agents and confirmed on RSVP's website that they are now offering 50% off their May's sailing. I predicted that would happen as I felt the original rack rate were ridiculous for a 6 day sailing w/o airfare. It will be interesting to see if it fills up the ship as it's only two months away. RSVP had to do the same thing with the Caribbean Princess. I'm wondering why RSVP is taking such risk with booking these huge ships as there has been very weak demand for both sailings at least at the original rates. Has RSVP bitten off more than they can chew? Is Atlantis giving them a run for the gay dollar? Interesting??

[mikeandandrew]

The prices are very reasonable now and we will be on board.

[M&D]

Yea, a great deal for a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's too good a deal to pass up so we'll be there too......now how the heck do you get from Southampton to Heathrow or Gatwick?!? aahhh........the joy of planning a cruise! :)

 

Mark and Donny

[mikeandandrew]

My TA said that Cunard or RSVP will have transfers to Heathrow. (I did not ask about Gatwick).:)

[kalypso333]

Just wondering what other deals those that reserved early got.

 

We booked in December and received $500 off. With the first round of published price breaks, we received a $500 credit that we used on Feb '08 Zuiderdam. With the new cabin credits offered by our TA, we were moved from a B5 cabin to an A1.

 

From other posts on this site it appears we are now sailing at regular QM2 prices and are sailing in February for $1000 off per person.

 

Funny that this cruise may not appeal to most, but will appeal to others. The entertainment is different, the ship is different, and I'd bet the parties will be different. Sounds like a great change for us.

 

Kip (and Ken)

[Nobbi]

Well, I'll still be on the ship. But not with my sweet darling. He has had a change at work. New boss, new CEO. At worst, he'll lose his job since he's now the highest paid in his group (I don't think that'll happen). At best he can't go on with me. So, I'll be taking our favorite nephew, in his 30s, straight, married with a wonderful wife and darling 7 yo son. He has an eye disease and is going blind, has tunnel vision now already. He has no problem with the gay aspect and could never afford any QM2 crossing. He and his wife work hard as teachers in central Wisconsin.

I hope everyone will make him feel welcome since he is a sort of "outsider" on a gay cruise. Despite missing my sweetie, I'm happy to bring Aaron along.

[M&D]

That is pretty cool that your nephew can come along--what an experience for him! I'm pretty sure my nephew would go into cardiac arrest somewhere in the middle of the ocean if he saw me at an underwear party. :)

[MistyMoo]

Never having taken an RSVP vacation, I have a question. I see the rates listed on the RSVP web-site; if I go through a TA will the rates be the same, lower, higher? Is there an advantage going one way versus the other?

[kalypso333]

I'd check with Dan Howell Travel, as he seems to always have a better deal. Tell him I sent you...

 

Kip

[mikeandandrew]

Theme parties for the QM2 are posted at rsvpvacations.com!

[RedBackFur]

I thought about this trip, however, tacking on the cost of an SF to NY, and UK to SF plane faire, this was just going to be out of my price range, even for the chance to be on the QM2.

 

Also, being that my first cruise ever will be in a week, (not a gay cruise), I was apprehensive on being on an exclusively gay cruise as well.

[caliber35]

My partner and I just booked the QM2 Crossing with RSVP at an incredible Travel Agent's deal. If you have good relations with your TA, you may want to contact them and see what they can do for you. I completely agree that the original pricing was totally over the top, but check again and you may be pleasantly suprised. Looking forward to meeting you all on the crossing!

[Joe and Ivan]

We're doing this cruise, including the return trip with Cunard. For the RSVP leg we're paying about twice what we're paying for the Cunard leg, even with a less desirable cabin for RSVP. For the great deals, you need to use a travel agent that has a special arrangement going with RSVP. We chose to stay with our customary brick-and-mortar agency and that is a lot more expensive!

 

Ivan

[Kevin62]

We booked thru Rainbow High Vacations here in Toronto and the price was $550 for an inside cabin after a $250 rebate that RSVP was giving the agency, plus port charges. After we booked, however, RSVP offered 5 balcony cabins to RHV for the same price as the inside cabins but only to NEW bookings!! I'm so pissed off!

[caliber35]

We booked thru Rainbow High Vacations here in Toronto and the price was $550 for an inside cabin after a $250 rebate that RSVP was giving the agency, plus port charges. After we booked, however, RSVP offered 5 balcony cabins to RHV for the same price as the inside cabins but only to NEW bookings!! I'm so pissed off!

 

Kevin - Your TA did you right by passing along his bonus to you. Sounds like you got a great deal and I am sure you will enjoy your cruise. Today is the last day for those TA deals, so if you are on the fence, call your TA today! See you all onboard...

[Kevin62]

Kevin - Your TA did you right by passing along his bonus to you. Sounds like you got a great deal and I am sure you will enjoy your cruise. Today is the last day for those TA deals, so if you are on the fence, call your TA today! See you all onboard...

Our TA had no choice but to give us the $250 rebate since I told them that Travelocity was offering this rebate and I would have gone with Travelocity if RHV didn't match it. I just think its a bit unfare that one day after booking an inside cabin, RSVP offers a balcony cabin for the same price but we're inelligible for the upgrade because we've already booked! I know it'll be a great cruise and we're looking forward to it....its just a little disappointing when you miss an opportunity for an upgrade. :(

[aaerobear]

I think your TA did you a disservice, we booked an outside and three days later were told we had been upgraded to a balcony. Your TA should have been able to do the same thing.

[Kevin62]

I think your TA did you a disservice, we booked an outside and three days later were told we had been upgraded to a balcony. Your TA should have been able to do the same thing.

Was it RSVP who told you were upgraded or was it your TA?

[aaerobear]

Our TA

[TravelingMan47]

We just booked it. There is better pricing on other voyages, but the RSVP cruise is so unique that we are willing to pay more. It should be a lot more fun the the normal crossing.

are you still going on the qm2 bayotter? I see you booked a long time ago. i just booked a few weeks ago. Can't wait

[TravelingMan47]

I just read all 69 postings on here........it all sounds like so much fun. Can't wait to meet the guys on board. Is there a cruise critics corner where you all get together? LOL

[adh214@yahoo.com]

I read the postings regarding the prices that RSVP charges for their cruises with some interest. They certainly do charge a "gay discount." (yes that was sarcastic)

 

Seriously though, I recently worked with a group that was hoping to charter a cruise ship. A few facts need to be considered:

 

1. Once you commit to charter a ship, the group is on the hook for the entire price, plus port charges and tips. Thus, no matter what the group sells or doesn't sell they are already on the hook for millions of dollars.

 

2. The charter rates are not much of a discount from the regular rates that the cruise lines charges. Why? Cruise lines normally sell out every voyage. The average occupancy for Carnival on all of their brands is about 102%. Thus, the cruise line does not have much incentive to sell a charter versus selling the cabins one by one. In the situation, I was looking at the discount was less than 10% from the offered rates you see on Travelocity. In fact, if the charter does not fill, the cruise line actually charges the group a penalty to make up for the fact that they will have less on board revenue from drinks, excursions, and the spa.

 

If you consider that RSVP is a for profit business, they are going to mark up the rates a good bit to make a nice profit. Of course, the price is not set by what RSVP paid for the ship but what the market will pay for the product. If they consistently have outsized profits, new companies will enter the business and bring down the price. It is really just a business.

 

 

If I had to guess what RSVP paid for the QM2, I would guess in the range of $4 to $5 million. I am only basing this on the deal I was working on with a different line and a different ship. Thus, please treat this as little more than a slightly educated guess.

 

ADH

[Bayotter]

are you still going on the qm2 bayotter? I see you booked a long time ago. i just booked a few weeks ago. Can't wait

 

Hi TravelingMan47, Yes, I am still going, only now that my relationship of 16 years is over :(, I will be going with a good friend of mine. Now that's dedication to travel! I booked at the original higher rates in a C3 outside, but when the rates dropped, I ended up in a B1 "in-hull" Balcony, and received some money back, so I am pleased. I'm not sure how practical a balcony will be in late May on a transatlantic voyage, but I heard that the "in-hull" balconies have a lot more protection from the wind than the Deluxe balconies higher up. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I will be in 6166 if anyone wants to stop by and say "hi".

[TravelingMan47]

I'll definitely stop by (now that I know you are single!) I'm in 6061 also a hull balcony.

 

tell me one more thing...if you will, how do you arrange seating in the restaurant? I'll be with a group of 6 and we want a round table in the middle of the dining room. Can one reserve in advance? Or how early must one go to the Maitre'D to arrange this?

 

thanks

 

RJK