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Rackham

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Posts posted by Rackham

  1. 4 hours ago, Mike n Ky said:

    There is no perfect solution to any loyalty program but one thing I haven't understood is the basic points on RC. You can book the cheapest cabin on the ship, pay maybe half the cost of a balc and get the same points. Unlike suites there are no additional benefits/perks on board.

    Without knowing the Royal's internals, the goal of any loyalty program is customer retention. Royal needs people booking interiors just as much as balconies. So if someone enjoys interior cabins, Royal wants them booking them early and often with the company.  Suites and solos receive an extra point per night in recognition of the significantly higher fares associated with them.

    With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if long term Royal's loyalty program adopts Celebrity's tiered point system based on cabin category. 

  2. 9 hours ago, CHart said:

    I wonder if there is a theoretical level of profitability per passenger they have and how it reflects per level. If someone is Diamond do they get the drink package or only use the free drinks? Could they start offering a 50% off unlimited drink package or free mocktails package vs 4 free drinks a sailing? Would it generate more revenue or less?

    I hope things don't move to revenue-based earning but I have a feeling since it is a lifetime and no "points" to devalue like hotels, airlines, and credit cards (more points needed to redeem compared to today's redemption rate) there may be something added to help keep up generating more review and inflation value. 

    When the drink vouchers were first introduced, every tier receiving them had one less per day to use (i.e. Diamond received 3 instead of 4). Royal upped the daily count to its current amounts during the first year in place. Along with posters on multiple boards saying they either don't use all of their vouchers per day or using them on things like canned soda and bottled water, the drink vouchers don't really cost Royal that much*. Even ordering premium cocktails which are covered (up to $14) the cost to Royal is measured in dollars; maybe $3 or so at the most in ingredients. Yet when people are discussing the benefits, it's always $56 in drink savings every day of the cruise for Diamonds, rarely is it how much savings are actually applicable for most. And many Diamond and up still buy a drink package of some sort based on form postings. Thus, I don't think Royal will be eliminating this benefit simply because people seriously overestimate how much the vouchers are worth, but it generates serious excitement towards climbing the C&A ranks. There used to be frequent posts asking how can someone climb the ranks faster and cheaper because 🍻DRINK VOUCHERS🍻!

    * A post I made back in October about Royal's voucher costs. 

     

  3. 14 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

    I have a hard time consuming my 5 free drinks I get for being D+

     

    I have purchased the refreshment package for half that amount and for only one person. A refreshment package covers the kinds of drinks I consume the most of.  Now the refreshment package sells for about $30 per day so I don't need it anymore.  I might  buy a coffee card for longer cruises because I know I will use it all before the cruise ends.  I'm amazed the price of the coffee card stays the same.

    Gut feeling is it allows Royal to capture some pre-cruise spending from seasoned cruisers who know how the card works and drives sales of the refreshment package from those who don't. Here's a screenshot from one of my upcoming cruises. While the water package lists bottles, the coffee card doesn't list coffees the card entitles the purchaser to. It appears from this screen (at first glance) that it's like the refreshment package, but only for coffee. Most people will start at the top with the refreshment, see that coffee is included, wonder why anyone would get the coffee card for the same or more money, and purchase the refreshment instead of the card. And before someone chimes in that people wouldn't think like this, consider the amount of questions which are asked here and elsewhere where the person would have had an answer by reading what Royal provides on their website or could be found by dropping their question into an online search engine and clicking the first link. Or the number of people who are angry because something didn't work the way they assumed it would because they didn't bother reading the materials Royal provides.

    2023-12-16_09-59-13.png

  4. 1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said:

    The million dollar question that everyone wants to know…… Did they still blast “It’s a peerfeect daaaaayyy at coco caaaaaayy” and completely ignore the fact that it in fact was not a perfect day?

    To be fair, the song states "When I get to you..." from the singer's point of view. There's nothing there about when YOU get to CocoCay.

  5. 56 minutes ago, Babsy47 said:

    It’s interesting.  RC will need to sell 5 Oasis class, 4 Quantum class, and 2 Icon class every week.  That is more than 55,000  people a week.  Perhaps there are this many people who can pay current prices indefinitely, but it seems a stretch to me.  We shall see.

    At maximum capacity, and I'm assuming 7-night sailings to make this slightly easier (though it's not correct), the number you're looking for is 81,941 passengers to fully sell out Icon, Oasis, Quantum Ultra, and Quantum classes. However, it's been mentioned somewhere from Royal that they only need around 30%-40% of max. capacity to break even on ship expenses for their large, modern ships. So at 30%-40%, Royal needs 24,582 to 32,776 passengers across all ship classes mentioned, or an average of 1,891 to 2,521 passengers per ship. Not really that many people when they can draw on international visitors as well.

  6. 5 hours ago, Cakemeister said:

    EDIT: What about video poker? If the payout rate for video poker is 95% with 6/5 jacks or better, then you could in theory get to 4000 points and lose only $2K doing it. At a 85% payout, you would lose $2.4K to get the same 4000 points.

     

    The 95% RTP on video poker is with perfect play. It's possible to learn how to play perfectly at home before your cruise. The casino aboard may or may not allow a how to play cheat sheet while sitting at the machine (I haven't tried). I haven't bothered paying attention (since I play low values), but since the video poker machines allow you to pick your credit denomination, you might be able to wager $50-$100+ a hand. Each hand can be done in seconds once you're in the groove. 

  7. 52 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

    Like some have posted and Mrs. Geezer told me this afternoon, Royal is pricing and waiting to find the "ceiling" for what folks are willing to pay.  A grizzled veteran of 4 cruises (😁), we significantly curtailed the CP spending, still managing to enjoy ourselves. We'll cruise until we can't; just hope that's later than sooner. I still don't understand this compulsion of Royal's to build ships to accommodate the population of a small town. Is this the bean counters' proscription for profitability  at a now 2 billion a copy? Do funnels that retract tell Royal that their vessels may be edging toward too damn big? Of course, when the state of Florida was pondering 2-3 billion to tear down/rebuild the Skyway Bridge about nine years ago, they came up with a Plan B: Fill in part of the Gulf on the SW tip of Pinellas County for a new cruise port that would eliminate the entire transit of Tampa Bay. An excellent thought but that comes at a significant price as well, not to mention Tampa wouldn't be horribly thrilled.

    Economies of scale and modern engineering. From what I recall, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, a modern Oasis-class ship only uses 30% more fuel than a Radiance-class ship yet caries around 3x the passengers. Then for services aboard the ship, the it's not a linear scale between sizing either. There's an increase moving to a larger ship with the higher educated and paid positions, as you'd expect, but it's not 3x the positions either. Then there's all the additional features which can be included in a larger ship thanks to the captive audience and available space. i.e. additional revenue generating opportunities, stuff which looks cool in ads and home videos, and things which impress general audiences to draw them back again versus trying the competition.

  8. 3 hours ago, Doug_Texas said:

    I know a lot of people think the price pendulum will swing back, I'm not so sure.  It never did with Disney World and the Disney pricing shift happened well before COVID.  The people Disney priced out are a market segment they don't care about anymore ($60K/yr middle class family of 4).  They can fill the theme park with higher earners/spenders. (This doesn't apply to all you Floridians who can drive to the park for the day.)   It is definitely true the RCL investor presentations talk about benchmarking their pricing to land based vacations and this notion of "ship as destination" certainly isn't our profile in retirement.

    The Blog article today showing the new Celebrity Xcel being 30%-50% cheaper than Star OTS is stunning.  If Celebrity ever matches my D+ drink coupons instead of the restrictive "happy hour" I'll be taking some of those cruises instead (I'll never make Pinnacle anyway).

    One thing Disney World has going for it, which Royal doesn't, is the ability to reduce major expenditures such as staffing through reduced hours of operation and reduction in scheduling, hotel rooms available, and ride vehicles in use during predicted slower times. On the other hand, Royal is aiming to fill 100% of the cabins, 100% of the time as major related expenditures don't change much with less occupancy aboard a cruise ship. Not to mention the reduction in ship occupancy means a reduction in post booking spending by the total passengers booked for a sailing. Which leads me to this. I don't think we'll see the bargain basement pricing again (baring a major event which reduces leisure travel), but I also don't believe we'll continue to see these massive year-over-year increases either. Royal needs the bookings, and while Royal's ships are unique in the industry, they're not as unique as a whole compared to other lines as Disney theme parks are to the majority of theme parks in the USA. Basically, Royal has actual competition in the mass market cruise line space which can't be completely ignored long term.

  9. 20 days to go! 

    If you're trying to decide when to take advantage of a complementary NorthStar reservation (once aboard the ship), here's the golden and blue hours for when we'll be in port. In general, the view should be splendid (weather permitting) for reservations starting between 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

     

    Cape Canaveral, FL (December 26)

    Sunset: 17:34

    Golden Hour: 16:58:54 — 17:50:12

    Blue Hour: 17:50:12 — 18:00:09

     

    Nassau, Bahamas (December 27)

    Sunset: 17:28

    Golden Hour: 16:55:00 — 17:44:23

    Blue Hour: 17:44:23 — 17:54:01

     

    Perfect Day at CocoCay (December 28)

    Sunset, golden hour and blue hour should be roughly the same as Nassau on the 27th.

  10. 1 hour ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

    So how long before the waterpark on Icon is an upcharge as well? 

    I'm expecting either The Key having private hours or a priority line pass instead of straight up charging for waterpark access. This provides a unique draw on the front end (book Icon class and your kids have an accessible waterpark aboard every day!) and an up sale opportunity (You want to play more than wait more, right? For only $15 per person, per night of your cruise, you can skip the regular lines at Category 6 during operating hours.)

  11. 1 hour ago, Jill said:

    I really hope the loyalty programs will be combined and lean towards Royal 

    I won't speculate on the benefits, but I'm willing to bet Celebrity's point system will triumph since it rewards booking more expensive cabins. In this scenario, existing C&A points would be converted so that no one would lose status; similar to the last time Royal changed how points are earned.

  12. 9 hours ago, Xaa said:

    That's a bummer.  I'm part of the problem, because we will pay it and do it.  I was expecting around $40 which I also thought to be high.  I'm not seeing it in mine @TheMaxRebo, is there no listing currently for Port Days?

    I'm going to assume Crown's Edge won't be in operation while in port for two reasons. First, Royal can't really control the airspace around their ship. For example, if somebody flies a drone in then suddenly there's a potential safety hazard outside the company's control. Two, if there's any accidents on the line then there's less witnesses (and recordings) in the middle of the ocean. An accident in port means there's a chance somebody just made an excellent recording from a good vantage point (and uploaded to the Internet a short while later).

  13. Pina Coladas
    Peach Coladas
    Strawberry Daiquiris
    Mango Daiquiris
    Lime margaritas (also ask for it frozen)
    Mojitos (also ask for it frozen)
    Papaya Passion Mango Tango (1/2 Pina Colada, 1/2 mango daq)
    Love Connection (1/3 Pina, 1/3 Mango daq, 1/3 straw daq)
    Lava Flow / Miami Vice (1/2 pina colada-1/2 strawberry daq)
    Pineapple Blast (pineapple soda with red bull)
    Mudslide
    Flavored Lemonades (also ask for it frozen)
    Rosewater Lemonade
    Arnold Palmer (1/2 iced tea, 1/2 lemonade)-may be avail frozen...
    Bloody Mary
    Mexican Limeade in TWO70
    Roy Rodgers (Coke + Grenadine)
    Bitter Tonic (Bitters + Tonic water)
    Atomic cat (Orange Juice + Tonic water)
    Singapore sling (squeeze of lime, add mango, pineapple and pomegranate juice in a 1:1:2 ratio(fill 50%), add equal tonic water or fizzy water, garnish with lime and mint)
    Arizona Sunset (grenadine, 50/50 sprite + OJ)
    Millionaire sour (Sour + Ginger Ale + Grenadine)
    Dirty Dr P
    Burabura Brew (Pineapple juice, Ginger Ale, Grenadine)
    Cranberry Freeze (Sweet and sour, Cranberry juice, Soda water)
    Sunrise (Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Sweet and sour, Grenadine)
    Fresh Lemon Freeze (Sweet and sour, Soda water) 

  14. 6 hours ago, CruisinKat said:

    Second time on Anthem, first time at XMas.  Any idea if there is anything special (like a meal or anything in the dining room) going on on XMas Eve or Day?

    Yes. It'll be Royal's holiday menu most likely. This is from 2019, but apparently it's still the same menu: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/12/25/look-the-christmas-dinner-menu-royal-caribbean

    Also, here's the Cruise Compass from 2021 which happens to have the exact same days as holidays as ours: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/anthem-of-the-seas/fri-12242021-0000

  15. 32 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

    No way that Internet 60% off could be real. I'll be floored if that's the case. Did they jack up the prices today for this sale? 

    Might be indicative of how cheap it costs to provide Internet via Starlink. Royal might be able to turn a tidy profit at $10/day. But why charge $10/day when people are willingly paying $20-$30/day for access?

  16. 1 hour ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

    I find the new European cruises for 2025 disappointing in several respects.
    No more cruises along the west coast of Norway and therefore no more Arctic Circle Cruise. Luckily I'm doing mine next year. 😅

    With the removal of Anthem in Europe some cruises have unfortunately been completely discontinued.
    For 2025 I wanted to book a cruise to the Canary Islands but instead of 4 dates there is only one cruise in early May - but it's not warm enough for me at that time.
    Also the 14-day Mediterranean Cities and Med Beaches & Cities no longer seem to be offered.

    Do you think there will be more dates released this week for summer 2025 cruises in Europe or is that it? 🙄

     

    2 hours ago, Jill said:

    Debating if I should just go ahead and book Indy to the fjords or hold out for Celebrity next week. 
     

    Amsterdam port schedule for June 2025 is showing Brilliance and Celebrity Eclipse several times as well as Indy (as a port stop). **edit: just saw that Brilliance will be out of Athens summer 2025. Guess Amsterdam is already limiting ships. Was hoping for a celebrity out of Amsterdam 😞

     

    Since Brilliance is now in the Mediterranean (totally wrong call on my part early in this thread), it's possibly Jewel again out of Amsterdam. We're still midweek so there might be another round of itineraries released for Northern Europe?

    Edit: The current sale ends tonight so Royal might be holding off this release until the next one begins tomorrow. Wouldn't be surprised if the next sale is less off versus the current.

  17. 4 hours ago, AndyPandy said:

    So it’s rumoured that the Independence is back to U.K. from summer 2025 and the U.K. looses the Anthem. 
     

    Why is RCCL downgrading the U.K. cruise market when other lines are sending improved ships?

    Until the sailings are actually released, I wouldn't put too much stock in rumors. Once cruises are available for booking, then there's something actually to chew on (or not).

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