Mcscotty Posted July 21 #1 Share Posted July 21 (edited) I've been looking at river cruises, and have found a couple of not user friendly websites and a bit more success on Avalon but I'm confused by the pricing. Is this typical of river cruises? A 'vacation' price then the same again for a cabin on top? I knew they were expensive but this is crazy. Edited July 21 by Mcscotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Roz Posted July 21 #2 Share Posted July 21 The pricing I get on a US website for the lowest level cabin is $2,260 per person, double occupancy, so $4,520 total. Does that make sense? I've never seen it broken down as "vacation" and "cabin", but I'm not familiar with foreign pricing structures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel54 Posted July 21 #3 Share Posted July 21 (edited) I'm sailing Avalon soon. That's how mine is priced. If you select the Cat E room that is included in the "Vacation" price. Any other level of cabin is an upcharge. I'm booking on the US Site. Vacation Stateroom Pre-paid Gratuities Port Charge Edited July 21 by Rebel54 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel54 Posted July 21 #4 Share Posted July 21 9 minutes ago, Roz said: The pricing I get on a US website for the lowest level cabin is $2,260 per person, double occupancy, so $4,520 total. Does that make sense? I've never seen it broken down as "vacation" and "cabin", but I'm not familiar with foreign pricing structures. If you book a higher level cabin, you will see a second line with the Stateroom charge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JordanF Posted July 21 #5 Share Posted July 21 My recollection is that Avalon charges substantially less for certain rooms on the lowest level (submarine class), so the large charge for a more expensive cabin makes some sense. I am a huge fan of Gate 1--it costs less, and also costs less to move up in the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcscotty Posted July 21 Author #6 Share Posted July 21 Thank you for your replies. So a river view cabin is included and a balcony cabin is the 'cabin' fare. This seems a very odd, complex and alienating way to show the fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel54 Posted July 21 #7 Share Posted July 21 19 minutes ago, Mcscotty said: Thank you for your replies. So a river view cabin is included and a balcony cabin is the 'cabin' fare. This seems a very odd, complex and alienating way to show the fare. The lowest possible price includes your cabin. You build up from there with your choices. To me it's a great way to control your price if you want a budget trip. I don't see it as alienating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcscotty Posted July 21 Author #8 Share Posted July 21 22 minutes ago, Rebel54 said: The lowest possible price includes your cabin. You build up from there with your choices. To me it's a great way to control your price if you want a budget trip. I don't see it as alienating. I don't see how it's a great way to control anything. I find it alienating as you see one price then when you hit 'continue' and turn the page it turns into the mess in the photo and the base price doubles. Why not just show the prices clearly up front as the ocean cruises do, a price for inside, ocean view, balcony etc. shown at the outset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel54 Posted July 21 #9 Share Posted July 21 16 minutes ago, Mcscotty said: I don't see how it's a great way to control anything. I find it alienating as you see one price then when you hit 'continue' and turn the page it turns into the mess in the photo and the base price doubles. Why not just show the prices clearly up front as the ocean cruises do, a price for inside, ocean view, balcony etc. shown at the outset. To each his or her own. Hope you find a cruise line that meets your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canal archive Posted July 21 #10 Share Posted July 21 (edited) Some years ago with Scenic on your final invoice the tour content and cabin content amounts were shown separately. Why I don’t know as Scenic is all inclusive. Edited July 21 by Canal archive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisi Posted July 22 #11 Share Posted July 22 13 hours ago, Mcscotty said: I don't see how it's a great way to control anything. I find it alienating as you see one price then when you hit 'continue' and turn the page it turns into the mess in the photo and the base price doubles. Why not just show the prices clearly up front as the ocean cruises do, a price for inside, ocean view, balcony etc. shown at the outset. when you select your cabin, there is a note telling you the price for the cabin. It’s indicated when selecting the date - b&w screen shot showing starting price AND under the deck layout showing category level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted July 22 #12 Share Posted July 22 Yes, this is typical of river cruise pricing. The price goes up quickly as you start to move up and forward on the ship. We sailed with Avalon last month and when we booked it advertised discounted economy air fares and it heavily promotes when you book air with them it includes transfers. We knew we were flying business class to the ship and when our TA tried to price the actual flight that we wanted it wouldn't show. Our TA called Avalon with our flight details and they were willing to price it and they merely added on the cost of the transfers and an administration fee to the price of the ticket making booking the flights with Avalon the most expensive option. (BTW - on our cruise there were lots of complaints from passengers who took the Avalon flights). Lesson learned is that is true in life in general, there isn't anything free on a cruise ship. You are paying for it, whether you are aware of it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted July 22 #13 Share Posted July 22 32 minutes ago, cbr663 said: Lesson learned is that is true in life in general, there isn't anything free on a cruise ship. You are paying for it, whether you are aware of it or not. In your case you could see the bundling and could choose to avoid it. But generally when this is stated here it would be better phrased “You are paying for it, whether you use it or not.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisi Posted July 22 #14 Share Posted July 22 @cbr663, that's unfortunate about your flights. We booked long before the $699. flat fee flight, because there was enough of a discount to actually pay for the flights. When it came to booking our flights last month, my TA and I selected the ones Avalon had on their site, and she asked if we could get the discounted flight. Well, long story short, we ended up paying $702., but that's still a lot cheaper than what we could get anywhere else. I am just waiting for them to get ticketed so I can go to the sites and upgrade them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted July 22 #15 Share Posted July 22 3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said: In your case you could see the bundling and could choose to avoid it. But generally when this is stated here it would be better phrased “You are paying for it, whether you use it or not.” I'm quite comfortable with the phrasing that I used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted July 22 #16 Share Posted July 22 3 hours ago, Daisi said: @cbr663, that's unfortunate about your flights. We booked long before the $699. flat fee flight, because there was enough of a discount to actually pay for the flights. When it came to booking our flights last month, my TA and I selected the ones Avalon had on their site, and she asked if we could get the discounted flight. Well, long story short, we ended up paying $702., but that's still a lot cheaper than what we could get anywhere else. I am just waiting for them to get ticketed so I can go to the sites and upgrade them. I wish you good luck with your upgrades. 😀 It's always great when things go as you plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisi Posted July 22 #17 Share Posted July 22 23 minutes ago, cbr663 said: I wish you good luck with your upgrades. 😀 It's always great when things go as you plan. We've used Avalon flights for years. We are fussy about our route and airline, and they've always came through for us. My TA tells them what route we want and what airline. This time we lucked out, as one of our preferred lines was already one that Avalon had on their site. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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