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Deluxe Drink Package Question


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The Buy One, Get One 50% off seems to be a bit misleading.  If the listed price is $52 per day (plus fees/gratuities), why is the second one not $26 per day (plus fees/gratuities).  When the option is selected, it simply gives each package the same $52 per day rate.  Anyone have any knowledge on how this works? Is it just me, or is the "promotion" truly misleading?  Thanks for any responses.

 

 

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The BOGO is relative to on board pricing, not the sale price listed which includes the verbiage to the effect "discount already applied".

Basically the promotion or sale that is offered this week isn't a discount from the sale price that was offered last week.  All prices are relative to on board pricing.  It natural to assume last week or last month's price is the "normal" price but it isn't.  That was the sale price during that promotion and now the new promo or sale price is a BOGO but based on the price on board the ship, not the last sale price.

In many cases the BOGO sale yields the same price as the last promo or sale price.  In other cases it doesn't.

Drink package pricing varies by ship, sail date and cruise length.  For you maybe the BOGO results in the same end price that was last listed for your sailing.  For someone else on another ship and different date the BOGO might result in a cheaper price.  

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11 minutes ago, rsmac028 said:

OK, so it relates to On Board pricing.  I knew I must be missing something.  Thanks so much for the response.

In addition to relating to On Board pricing, the way Royal typically handles a promo like BOGO50 is that they just apply a 25% discount to the individual package purchases, rather than only giving a discount if you buy two packages. That way if you only buy one, you still get a discount and it's a bit bigger than you get during the "normal" promotion of 20% off that they typically offer all the time when there's no special holiday promo or other "event" sale.

It's basically the same as when the grocery store has a "Buy two get $3 off" promo on some item; you're not actually obligated to buy two of the things, if you look at the small print it will show the individual discount that you get if you buy 1, or 3, or another odd number.

In order of improving discounts, the promos are:

  • Standard (20% off on-board pricing)
  • BOGO50 (25% off on-board pricing)
  • 30% off sale (not offered very frequently and depends mostly on how package sales are doing for that individual cruise; only time you'll have a good shot of getting a price below $50/night)
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Here is an old capture from previous years:  

347824693_DeluxeBOGO2018.jpeg.2a0cbc7dd024f84c900819f51632373d.jpeg

Note how it says "Price Shown Reflects Your Discount".

This also is a source of confusion since many people just see the $47 and do the math in their head "$47 for the first and half of $47 for the second one" but they've already done that math before displaying the price with the discount already applied.

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15 minutes ago, jce2 said:

Since to take advantage of the deal you have to buy two packages, why not say "$94 USD for 2 adults per day"....or...."First adult $63 USD / Second adult $31 USD per day"

You don't have to buy two. 

Solo cruisers can take advantage of this deal and pay the advertised lower rate as opposed to $63 in your example.

In December I cruised with a 20 year daughter.  I bought the deluxe drink package, she didn't since she was under 21.  Same application of the BOGO.  

I assume anyone who qualifies for a medical or religious waiver would also benefit from the current approach.  The SO would not have to buy it at $63, but the advertised lower rate.

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7 minutes ago, twangster said:

You don't have to buy two. 

Solo cruisers can take advantage of this deal and pay the advertised lower rate as opposed to $63 in your example.

In December I cruised with a 20 year daughter.  I bought the deluxe drink package, she didn't since she was under 21.  Same application of the BOGO.  

I assume anyone who qualifies for a medical or religious waiver would also benefit from the current approach.  The SO would not have to buy it at $63, but the advertised lower rate.

If that is true then there really is no way to clearly state this BOGO 50% sale as in reality that is not what it is!  It's actually more of a "25% off sale" (gets you the same prices without the implication you have to buy 2)

 

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23 hours ago, rsmac028 said:

The Buy One, Get One 50% off seems to be a bit misleading.  If the listed price is $52 per day (plus fees/gratuities), why is the second one not $26 per day (plus fees/gratuities).  When the option is selected, it simply gives each package the same $52 per day rate.  Anyone have any knowledge on how this works? Is it just me, or is the "promotion" truly misleading?  Thanks for any responses.

 

22 hours ago, JLMoran said:

In order of improving discounts, the promos are:

  • Standard (20% off on-board pricing)
  • BOGO50 (25% off on-board pricing)
  • 30% off sale (not offered very frequently and depends mostly on how package sales are doing for that individual cruise; only time you'll have a good shot of getting a price below $50/night)

Our recent experience with DBP pricing is exactly as @JLMoran lists above... this was the first time we opted for the DBP since we're going with good friends, not parents/in-laws, etc! :27_sunglasses: 

So, from our perspective with our upcoming Allure cruise next week (5/19), these were the various sale prices for the last 5-6 months seen on the Cruise Planner...

  • $65 (Underlying on-board pricing all sales are based on for our cruise... full price, on-board rate)
  • $52 (20% off on-board sales)
  • $49 (BOGO 50% off on-board sales... eff. 25% off)
  • $45 - $46 (30% off on-board sales... must be a rounding "issue" since 30% off is $45.50... we purchased at $46 at one point and cancelled/re-purchased later at $45!)
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On 5/11/2019 at 9:15 AM, jce2 said:

If that is true then there really is no way to clearly state this BOGO 50% sale as in reality that is not what it is!  It's actually more of a "25% off sale" (gets you the same prices without the implication you have to buy 2)

 

That is exactly what it is, 25% off.  but 50% off 2nd one looks like a bigger discount.

Just like groceries that advertise buy 3 get $3 off, because simply saying $1 off doesnt grab your attention.

 

You will notice the banners have BIG 50% text, and much smaller "buy one, get one".  Thats not a happy coincidence ?

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On 5/11/2019 at 9:52 AM, JohnK6404 said:

 

Our recent experience with DBP pricing is exactly as @JLMoran lists above... this was the first time we opted for the DBP since we're going with good friends, not parents/in-laws, etc! :27_sunglasses: 

So, from our perspective with our upcoming Allure cruise next week (5/19), these were the various sale prices for the last 5-6 months seen on the Cruise Planner...

  • $65 (Underlying on-board pricing all sales are based on for our cruise... full price, on-board rate)
  • $52 (20% off on-board sales)
  • $49 (BOGO 50% off on-board sales... eff. 25% off)
  • $45 - $46 (30% off on-board sales... must be a rounding "issue" since 30% off is $45.50... we purchased at $46 at one point and cancelled/re-purchased later at $45!)

When did you find this pricing? We are going on Allure in December and I'm looking for the best deal. Do you find the closer to sailer the pricing goes up or down? 

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6 hours ago, bharkin said:

When did you find this pricing? We are going on Allure in December and I'm looking for the best deal. Do you find the closer to sailer the pricing goes up or down? 

Nothing necessarily closer to sailing, but randomly based on sales throughout the year.  It’s best to monitor the Cruise Planner sales throughout the year (and monitor this forum for those sales!).

If you definitely plan to purchase the DBP,  I would take advantage of the next BOGO 50% and purchase. If/when a 30% sale pops up (or better, maybe Black Friday), cancel and repurchase at the lower price. The 20% off price in the CP is the “regular” price for a pre-cruise purchase.

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