Price Comparison - Then vs. Now?

[ekerr19]

I posted this information on another thread - but I think this is very interesting and may help explain why we've seen so many changes (not always for the better) on HAL.

 

The dress code thread had some interesting observations regarding the price of cruises now compared with just a few years ago - revneal mentioned he thought he was paying much more several years ago than he is today - and it got me thinking.

 

I have the cruise brochure for the Ms. Noordam innaugural season, 1984. The brochure contained pricing for sailings on the Noordam, Niew Amsterdam & Rotterdam. I looked up a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise; the cost for the lowest cabin category, inside was $1,300. Pricing for Peak season started at $1,500. Back in 1984, airfare was included from most gateway cities to the cruise port, but $1,300 -$1,500 for an inside cabin on a seven-day sailing is high compared to todays pricing.

 

I also have a cruise brochure for Nov 2000 - Dec 2001 for the Mexican Riviera. A 10-day cruise on the Statendam ranged between $1,459 - $1,559 for an inside "M" category cabin.

 

Current pricing for Mexico is lower than it was in 2000 - 2001, an "M' category on the Ryndam for 3/6/2005 is $1,248. The pricing for a 7-day on the Oosterdam starts at about $943 per person - this is a far cry from the $1,300 - $1,500 paid back in 1984. Cruising seems to be the only industry in which prices have actually gone down!

 

A couple other interesting tidbits from the 1984 brochure - each pax was allowed two guests to board the ship for the Bon Voyage festivites.

 

There is also a paragraph relating to bringing liquor on board - HAL respectfully requests no ice chests, coolers, cases of beer or cases of any other liquor be brought onboard... as I posted on the other thread - maybe if HAL had kept this verbiage in the "Know Before You Go" booklet, we wouldn't have the liquor restrictions today!

[doone]

Interesting, thanks for sharing that.

 

I remember my first 7-day cruise, way back in the early 1980's, cost me way more then than my 10-day cruise next March, just as you stated.

 

I'll bet your right on the verbage for the liquor as well.

[Orcrone]

The cruise industry has changed quite a bit since then. Back then it was much more of a high end luxury item. Relatively few people cruised for their vacations. Now with the ships getting larger and the increased capacity the prices have come way down and it has become a mainstream vacation.

 

DW still doesn't know how they can afford to provide the vacation they do for the amount they charge these days.

[RevNeal]

Thank you for putting some dollar figures on the screen. I was thinking about digging back into my records and pulling numbers from my cruises in the mid 1990s, but I've not had the time. Your figures reflect my memory ... I paid about $1400 - $1500 pp for an inside cabin on the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Rotterdam V, depending upon the itinerary.

 

And, remember, these figures don't account for inflation or other changes in the value of the dollar.

 

In part, I suspect that the drop in prices reflects the MUCH LARGER market that exists today in the industry. Supply and Demand.

 

Remember how much personal computers used to cost??

[elmorejj]

Our first cruise in 1982 cost $1280pp for 7 days in a regular outside cabin. That included airfare from Columbus, but for pax living near the port who didn`t need airfare, there was a $250 credit. The cruise lines then also had arrangements with the Railroad for transfer via rail.....jean

[RevNeal]

Don't you hate it when you think you've not managed to post, but you have?

 

grrr!

 

Thank goodness for the edit feature!

[tankerjo2]

Seem to recall early/mid 90's we paid something like $2100+ pp for a 7 day early May r/t to Alaska via Vancouver BC, balcony cabin. Last Sept the wife and her sister made the same trip, same cat. cabin for approx $1200.00 ea.

[Tatka]

The pricing for a 7-day on the Oosterdam starts at about $943 per person

You also have to take into the account that people don't buy cruises using brochure prices. Most of them are buying at discount (40% - 60%)

[doone]

When I took my first cruise, way back when, there weren't any discounted prices, it was the brochure price, period.

 

With more ships in the water now, cruise lines need to stay competitive, just like the airlines!!!!!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

I think we are getting a lot more for our money today (in the cruise industry) than we did years ago.

 

I remember when we booked our first back-to-back cruises, and air was included in those days, we were given extra off on the cruises themselves.

 

:)

[peaches from georgia]

Prices are so much lower today than years ago because there is so many more cabins that need to be filled with the megaships that have been built. Some would say there is an over-supply; consequently prices are cheap to create a demand for cruising.

 

Orcrone- the cruiselines are losing money on what they are charging. They just want to get you on the ship. It's what you spend on the ship that is making them profitable. :rolleyes:

[dexter]

Our category S cabin on Zuiderdam on 8/28 was about the same as a Carnival balcony cabin was two years ago. And the Zuidy suite is over twice as large as that cabin was with no perks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

From reading other people's posts about cabin size, HAL's larger cabins is definitely a good perk for everyone.

:)

[Tatka]

:)

 

From reading other people's posts about cabin size, HAL's larger cabins is definitely a good perk for everyone.

 

:)

As much as I love Celebrity...their basic inside/outside cabins are ranging from 170 - 175 ft... On Zuiderdam my inside cabin will be 185sq.ft ..outside is 194sq.ft.

 

Although size isn't everything, design is. This May on Splendour we had cabin 138 sq ft...(I was scared we won't fit in :D ) It turned out to be a great cabin with lots of space.

[ekerr19]

Prices are so much lower today than years ago because there is so many more cabins that need to be filled with the megaships that have been built. Some would say there is an over-supply; consequently prices are cheap to create a demand for cruising.

 

Orcrone- the cruiselines are losing money on what they are charging. They just want to get you on the ship. It's what you spend on the ship that is making them profitable. :rolleyes:

Peaches-

 

I think you hit the nail on the head... it is what we spend on the ship that is making them profitable - thus the new liquor restrictions on HAL- the last of the major lines to implement such a policy (as far as I know)...

 

I was so thrilled to go on my first cruise in 1984... the prices onboard for drinks were discounted. A beer was about $.95 - $ 1.25 and a cocktail (Tanqueray & Tonic) was about $2.00 - a house gin and tonic was $1.50. I still have my bar bills & cabin statement. The shops on the Noordam were awesome - they had duty free designer items - I remember my Mom buying a tote bag that I think was Burberry - initially, the shops on the Noordam were fashioned after shops in London. I wish they'd bring back some of that same ambience.

[ekerr19]

Thank you for putting some dollar figures on the screen. I was thinking about digging back into my records and pulling numbers from my cruises in the mid 1990s, but I've not had the time. Your figures reflect my memory ... I paid about $1400 - $1500 pp for an inside cabin on the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Rotterdam V, depending upon the itinerary.

 

And, remember, these figures don't account for inflation or other changes in the value of the dollar.

 

In part, I suspect that the drop in prices reflects the MUCH LARGER market that exists today in the industry. Supply and Demand.

 

Remember how much personal computers used to cost??

 

Revneal-

 

I think one of your posts on the dress code thread prompted me to look at this - I remember when I was first married to my DH in 1987 - I dreamed the ultimate Honeymoon would be on - of course - the Ms. Noordam! The prices were so out of reach for us - we Honeymooned in Tokyo for two weeks for less than the cost of a 7-day HAL cruise!

 

Btw- our first PC - with the 5 1/4 floppy disks cost $1,800 in 1987!!! :) It was called an Amstrad - we bought it through Amex - on the sign and travel plan!

[RevNeal]

Btw- our first PC - with the 5 1/4 floppy disks cost $1,800 in 1987!!

 

That was Cheap for 1987.

My first was an Apple II. It had 16 k and an external cassette drive for recording programs on and off the computer. I paid just shy of $1300 in 1978... NOT INCLUDED monitor or printer.

 

My first Macintosh was a Mac Plus. I bought it in 1986. It had a 128 k RAM, which got upgraded to 1 MB, an external 40 MB hard drive, an 8 Mhz processor. I paid $2600 for it. Prices went up for a while, now they've come back down. :)

[iluvcruzin]

I agree in that the base price of cruising has gone down. I remember paying $1500pp back in the late 80's. Cruiselines used to have "value seasons" on their brochures. The clientel was different also. There were many retired people who saved for years to go on a cruise. I remember fellow passengers making a comment questioning how young people could affoard to go on a cruise.

 

Nowadays the pricing is affoardable and many case cheaper than a land vacation for families. Also there are more frequent cruisers today than years ago. I think many of the "heavy gowns and tuxes" are being replaced by formal items that can be easily packed and take up less room by those who have lugged that heavy suitcase one to many times.

 

Yes.. things have changed..

[Orcrone]

Orcrone- the cruiselines are losing money on what they are charging. They just want to get you on the ship. It's what you spend on the ship that is making them profitable. :rolleyes:

That's what I tell DW. Drinks, pictures, casino, shore excursions, etc. We're not heavy drinkers and we don't gamble and we still spent 1/2 as much on our sign and sail as we did on our cruise.

[RevNeal]

That's what I tell DW. Drinks, pictures, casino, shore excursions, etc. We're not heavy drinkers and we don't gamble and we still spent 1/2 as much on our sign and sail as we did on our cruise.

 

Have you ever taken the detailed listing of your onboard account and done a check to see what your purchases are? I have, and I've always been amazed that about 1/3 of my onboard account is made up of beverage purchases -- soft drinks, wine for dinner, and a cocktail/mocktail or two each night. About 1/3 of my onboard account purchases are shore excursions. And, about 1/3 of my onboard purchases are "everything else" -- i.e., photos, videos, trinkets bought on board (like coffee mugs with the ship's name), spa charges, internet charges, etc.

 

By purchasing your shore excursions (or most of them) from HAL via their website you can cut that bill by about 1/3. At least, that's what I've managed to do in the past.

[Orcrone]

Have you ever taken the detailed listing of your onboard account and done a check to see what your purchases are? I have, and I've always been amazed that about 1/3 of my onboard account is made up of beverage purchases -- soft drinks, wine for dinner, and a cocktail/mocktail or two each night. About 1/3 of my onboard account purchases are shore excursions. And, about 1/3 of my onboard purchases are "everything else" -- i.e., photos, videos, trinkets bought on board (like coffee mugs with the ship's name), spa charges, internet charges, etc.

Revneal,

 

On our last cruise about 1/2 was the shore excursions, and 1/4 was the auto tip. The rest was the miscellaneous items (drinks, pictures, etc.).

 

By purchasing your shore excursions (or most of them) from HAL via their website you can cut that bill by about 1/3. At least, that's what I've managed to do in the past.

Does HAL charge less if you purchase online ahead of time, or are you just saying that it reduces your sign and sail because you've already purchased them?

[RevNeal]

Does HAL charge less if you purchase online ahead of time, or are you just saying that it reduces your sign and sail because you've already purchased them?

 

It reduces your onboard account charges, that's all. You've already purchased them, so they don't show up on your onboard account.

[Orcrone]

It reduces your onboard account charges, that's all. You've already purchased them, so they don't show up on your onboard account.

So it's just the difference of "pay me now or pay me later". Of course booking your own excursions can save a few $$$. I'll probably either try that on our next cruise or just not do an excursion at each port, like we did last time.

[arzz]

Things have changed -- our first computer (purchased used from a friend in 1982 just after our son was born) was a TRS 80 that we had upgraded to 64 K -- it used an audio cassette deck for input -- the large floppies had not yet been developed -- do not remember the price....

 

I do agree with you about the price of cruises -- costs are level or less -- In 1980, our first cruise, we paid $1070 per person for a TINY inside double on the old Sun Princess (aka Spirit of London, later Premier's Majestic) -- Last summer we paid $995 per person for a balcony cabin on a mega ship, in March 2003 we paid about $500 pp for a wonderful outside cabin on the Zaandam -- which brings me to a question that always disturbs me when I spend any time on these Boards.....

 

There are two very prominent themes that I read in these postings --

1 - How can I get the same cruise for less? I will even stiff my travel agent and transfer the cruise reservation to do better -- I will call and demand that the cruise line lower what I pay for my fare continually while I wait to sail

and 2 - Isn't it a shame that service and perks are constantly declining?

 

Does anyone out there besides me see the connection between these two themes? I am as much in favor of a bargain as anyone else -- but these two issues are not mutually exclusive -- the first attitude is directly consequenced by changes in the on board perks