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Drink Package Price Increase!!


AlexWinters

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2 hours ago, DublinFC said:

how do the free diamond drinks work?  Hit diamond status and then...…?

Yes, when when you hit Diamond C&A status you are entitled to a limited drink menu during early evening hours.  See @Lovetocruise2002's link for the menu.  On the Anthem it ran from 4:30PM to 8PM with two ways to obtain free drinks.  1) In the Diamond lounge where you enjoy as many free drinks as you want along with appetizers.  2) Each night you get 3 free drink credits loaded onto your sea pass card.  You can retrieve those drinks at any bar, but they expire at 8PM each night.  IMO, this is the best cruise loyalty rewards perk available.

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1 hour ago, marti314 said:

I have this hunch that we will see a change to this "program" very soon.  I have bought drink packages for every cruise, even as diamond but with these new prices ill stop buying it and i have a feeling i am not alone.

I struggle mightily with the drink package .. with several free drinks a night, no interest in coffees, juices, etc. its tough for me to make an economic argument for the package. Convenience only carries me so far ...

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2 hours ago, marti314 said:

I have this hunch that we will see a change to this "program" very soon.  I have bought drink packages for every cruise, even as diamond but with these new prices ill stop buying it and i have a feeling i am not alone.

@Matt @WAAAYTOOO @Lovetocruise2002 @JLMoran

Added a few tags for this question.

Do you think the rise in the package will drive cruisers over to NCL where its "free"?  When we were planning our honeymoon cruise in 2017 we booked with RC originally.  I looked at NCL because friends of ours really enjoyed NCL.  Their fare was cheaper with the perks they offered.  Our daughter's fare cost us the taxes for her fare and our drinks were covered with the "free drinks" perk.  I called RC to see if they would cut a deal to keep our business and I was told no.  I wasn't expecting one, but thought why not try. 

So again will people balk at the price of the drink package and "jump ship"?  I am just wondering your thoughts.  I know RC is a business and money is needed to keep providing the entertainment value people expect with RC.

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2 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

Do you think the rise in the package will drive cruisers over to NCL where its "free"?

I think @Matt will point this out, free is not free, you are paying for it someplace. I think the decision that people will have to make is do they enjoy the product that Royal is delivering.

I personally like what Royal is selling, so I plan to keep sailing Royal no matter what the drink price is. I may jump over to Celebrity but I will stay loyal to Royal.

I happen to be Diamond plus, so I get the 3 free drinks and the Diamond happy hour every night, but I still bought the drink package on the Anthem GC and probably will buy it on my next cruise in October.

 

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1 minute ago, ellcee said:

I understand gratuity charges but it seemed horribly mislabeled to me.

100% agree with the mislabeling.  I was annoyed when I saw it later, I still saved on the sailing though.  Also, I want to be clear I am not advocating to change brands or anything.  I am just curious what others are thinking about it :)

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7 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

II personally like what Royal is selling, so I plan to keep sailing Royal no matter what the drink price is. I may jump over to Celebrity but I will stay loyal to Royal.

^^^Bingo!  This sums up my thinking exactly.  The hike in drink package prices does not affect my thoughts that Royal offers the best overall package for what my family enjoys in cruising.  It might force me to reconsider buying the drink package but not stop cruising Royal.

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3 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

Also, I want to be clear I am not advocating to change brands or anything.  I am just curious what others are thinking about it ?

totally got you. Also, even if you were, that's not for anyone to tell you not to! It's basically what @tiny260 said, you're always paying for it somewhere. A good product and a good deal will work...perks, just for the sake of calling them perks, aren't reason enough to get me to do anything, whether it's RC or another cruise line.

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5 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

I think @Matt will point this out, free is not free, you are paying for it someplace. I think the decision that people will have to make is do they enjoy the product that Royal is delivering.

I personally like what Royal is selling, so I plan to keep sailing Royal no matter what the drink price is. I may jump over to Celebrity but I will stay loyal to Royal.

I happen to be Diamond plus, so I get the 3 free drinks and the Diamond happy hour every night, but I still bought the drink package on the Anthem GC and probably will buy it on my next cruise in October.

 

Oh yeah again that's why I said "free" because its in the cost somewhere.  When the overall cost is lower due to the different perks it could pull business away no matter how good the value of the overall cruise is with RC.  I am 100% looking forward to sailing with RC.  I want to see how awesome Oasis is going to be like after her Amplification.  I am really excited to see Perfect Day as well.

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1 minute ago, DublinFC said:

100% agree with the mislabeling.  I was annoyed when I saw it later, I still saved on the sailing though.  Also, I want to be clear I am not advocating to change brands or anything.  I am just curious what others are thinking about it ?

I get what you are saying and I agree, you have to find a product you like and probably stick with it, I've tried NCL, Princess and Disney, I chose Royal.

We've all seen the post on here from people that post 1 time then they are gone, Royal probably wasn't for them.

I've actually started DVR'ing a show on AWE channel called "Dream Cruises" I'm probably way behind on this, seems like it's been out there for awhile, but it has opened my eyes to a few things, mostly things that I'm really glad that Royal does the way they do them, also ports of call, there are some really beautiful places out there and places I saw that I said, no way I do not want to go there, even saw a ship that is half cruise ship and half cargo ship, it cruises really tiny ports in the South Pacific, looked really cool though.

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Just now, tiny260 said:

I get what you are saying and I agree, you have to find a product you like and probably stick with it, I've tried NCL, Princess and Disney, I chose Royal.

We've all seen the post on here from people that post 1 time then they are gone, Royal probably wasn't for them.

I've actually started DVR'ing a show on AWE channel called "Dream Cruises" I'm probably way behind on this, seems like it's been out there for awhile, but it has opened my eyes to a few things, mostly things that I'm really glad that Royal does the way they do them, also ports of call, there are some really beautiful places out there and places I saw that I said, no way I do not want to go there, even saw a ship that is half cruise ship and half cargo ship, it cruises really tiny ports in the South Pacific, looked really cool though.

Ive sailed NCL and Disney.  Disney only had 1 thing I liked about it.  The DCL sailing hooked me on cruising.  I really enjoyed NCL, but I am stoked about trying Royal. 

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4 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

I want to see how awesome Oasis is going to be like after her Amplification.

I think you would love Oasis amped or not, I've been on Allure 3 times, Oasis 1, Harmony 1, going on Harmony in October for #2 , have Symphony scheduled for 2020, Oasis 2021 and Allure again in 2021. To be fair I have Freedom schedule for a B2B in 2020, that will be my 4th and 5th time on her. 

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46 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

Do you think the rise in the package will drive cruisers over to NCL where its "free"?

If it has any effect at all, I'd assume it would only be one factor among many. I looked at NCL last year for a possible January 2020 sailing on the Bliss out of NYC for a 12-night Caribbean sailing, and the price with the "Free at Sea" perks (drink pkg, internet, whatever the third was) was IIRC very close / slightly less than a 12-night Anthem sailing with the then-current DX package pricing and internet. But it wasn't enough to make me book, as I had reservations about the ship, especially the notoriously small balconies compared to Royal along with the equally notoriously wonky bathroom layout their balcony rooms had. Combine that with reading a blog from someone who sailed another Breakaway class ship and had less-than-flattering things to say about the lack of public spaces and difficulty finding a place outside the cabin to sit and relax, and that was the final nail in the coffin for me.

I imagine that anyone looking at "jumping ship" from Royal to NCL would likewise be looking at the total set of differences and not just a jump in package pricing. As @twangster has pointed out regularly, only a very small percentage of cruisers on any Royal sailing (<5% average IIRC) actually buy the package. If the "pick up" is that small, I have to assume that any bump in "defections" would be due to factors well outside a package price change.

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47 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

I plan to keep sailing Royal no matter what the drink price is.

This is clearly what RCL is hoping for, they can raise the prices to whatever they want and people will keep paying it.  Worked well for APPLE for years and now the IPHONE is not even their largest revenue generator

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1 minute ago, marti314 said:

This is clearly what RCL is hoping for, they can raise the prices to whatever they want and people will keep paying it.  Worked well for APPLE for years and now the IPHONE is not even their largest revenue generator

OK, two points of clarification here. First off, if I understood @tiny260 correctly he just means that whether Royal raises the package price higher than he's willing to pay or not, he'll continue sailing with Royal because the overall product / experience is still superior. I did not in any way see him saying he'd continue to buy the package if it got too expensive.

And apologies to all for hijacking the thread momentarily, but please do not say that iPhone sales stopped being their largest revenue generator because they got too expensive and people stopped buying them. The iPhone is not just the Xs, Xs Max, and Xr -- Apple continues to sell the iPhone 8 as the "low end" phone, had the fairly cheap (and comparatively tiny) iPhone SE up until last month, and even has a fairly steady supply of refurbished 7 models up for sale. My mother-in-law just bought an iPhone 8 after being on a "dumb phone" for most of her cell-phone-owning time. There are still a lot of phones being sold, it's just been slowing down as the market hits saturation and the models from five years ago hit the "good enough" point for most consumers that upgrading every two years no longer seemed like a no-brainer. I'm exhibit A on this. An iPhone Xr or Xs Max is not "too expensive" for me, but the improvements outside the camera are so incremental for how I use my phone daily that I continue to hold on to my nearly four-year-old iPhone 6s Plus. So does my mom and my older daughter (who bought hers refurbished about a year and a half after I got mine).

I've been an investor in Apple since 2000, and I pay attention to every earnings call and quarterly report to make sure staying invested in them is the right course. Apple has been saying for almost two years now on their quarterly earnings calls that phone sales were hitting a plateau and would stop being a majority revenue driver, and that they were pivoting to services as a new revenue driver because the writing was on the wall. Frankly, I'm amazed that it took this long for the iPhone revenue percentage to start dropping, because the phones really have been at the "good enough" level for most people since about 5 years ago. Samsung is also getting hit by the slowdown in sales, but unlike Apple they have no problem with going into the "low end" of the market where a $200 throwaway phone is the norm. They're trying to "make it up in volume", but even they're feeling the effects of a saturated market.

OK, rant over and thread back to the topic of Royal charging too darn much for us to get our drink on. ?

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6 hours ago, DublinFC said:

@Matt @WAAAYTOOO @Lovetocruise2002 @JLMoran

Added a few tags for this question.

Do you think the rise in the package will drive cruisers over to NCL where its "free"?  When we were planning our honeymoon cruise in 2017 we booked with RC originally.  I looked at NCL because friends of ours really enjoyed NCL.  Their fare was cheaper with the perks they offered.  Our daughter's fare cost us the taxes for her fare and our drinks were covered with the "free drinks" perk.  I called RC to see if they would cut a deal to keep our business and I was told no.  I wasn't expecting one, but thought why not try. 

So again will people balk at the price of the drink package and "jump ship"?  I am just wondering your thoughts.  I know RC is a business and money is needed to keep providing the entertainment value people expect with RC.

I was thinking the same thing.  We started cruising again last year after many years of all-inclusive because my husband got a free cruise from a casino.  We have achieved Emerald already and continue to travel on free cruises.  When we previously cruised we did Carnival and NCL and I really loved NCL as they were the first Freestyle.  So hubby got a free certificate for NCL and we will be going over Thanksgiving to see how it compares.  We got the free beverage package and other perks so our cruise cost us a little over $900 for both of us.  Drink package on RCCL would cost us about $800.  That being said I would not pay the $100 a day NCL charges without the free perk.  I'm thinking RCCL might be losing me as a package customer if the packages keep up this high.  $50 is where I feel my limit is.  Usually we have two free cabins so hubby could purchase it in his cabin because he drinks more but I will skip and pay as I go.  If it is just hubby and I then we would buy it because we would be in the same cabin.  Seven more nights and I will get Diamond drinks plus I get free casino drinks so I will just be more selective when I drink my alcohol.  I think a giant price jump in packages may cause people to at least try other lines such as NCL. 

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From what I’ve heard the acquisition rate for the DX is somewhere around 20% on average.  

Royal is totally into data analytics.  This increase wasn’t done to make up for this or that, it’s because the numbers support it or there is other reasoning behind it.

They will constantly test to see what the market will bear.  

It also creates an opportunity for sale events that appear to be really great deals which will increase acquisition rates.  If the new normal is $85 on board then a cruise planner sale comes along at $56 that will appear to be a great deal and large numbers will be motivated to jump on that deal where as today $56 is or was on the high end.

Plenty of new, never cruised before make the mistake of buying drinks as they go and having large bar bills. That’s not a bad worst case scenario for Royal.  

The majority of cruisers are not Diamond or higher.   The acquisition rate of DX for this small segment of their customer base will likely not change very much.   However people may be motivated more for a push to achieve Diamond for the free happy hour drinks which are immensely popular.   

Another worst case scenario is the trial proves to be in error and they lower prices again or offer more sales promotions.  

Perhaps they have plans to offer Celebrity like perk bundles which are popular on Celebrity.   By raising DX prices the perks will appear to have greater value. 

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38 minutes ago, twangster said:

From what I’ve heard the acquisition rate for the DX is somewhere around 20% on average.  

Well, that is much higher than the 5% that Joe alluded to, but still a lot lower than I would have expected.  I would bet that NCL has pretty much the reciprocal of that, so I'm guessing it to be around 80% due to their "Free at Sea" style of promotions.  Anyone know for sure?  Anyway these are two completely different business models, but both with same goal of coming out $$ ahead.  So if you ask RCL and NCL cruise passengers which drink package scenario, excluding all other factors, do they like better?  I am wondering what the answer would be...

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1 hour ago, YOLO said:

Well, that is much higher than the 5% that Joe alluded to

Yeah, I honestly thought it was way lower! ? 

1 hour ago, YOLO said:

So if you ask RCL and NCL cruise passengers which drink package scenario, excluding all other factors, do they like better?  I am wondering what the answer would be...

One factor that I've heard against the package bundled with "Free At Sea" is that it is not truly all-inclusive of any beverage in any venue, at least for the Breakaway / Breakaway+ class ships. There are one or two venues on those that I heard in podcast interviews were still excluded and you had to pay the cover charge just to get into the place and be able to get only one drink; extra drinks beyond that were also charged and not covered by the package. Considering the online price to buy their package is now $100/day (before gratuity?) so that people are driven to pick that perk when booking, that strikes me as a genuine "nickel and dime". I think that I also remember hearing that there are a fair number of drinks that go over the limit and will result in you paying the overage, but given that I was wrong about the update on the DBP I'm not going to say it's a definite fact.

The former aspect is definitely unlike Royal's package, where every drink in every venue is covered up to the limit, and there are very few drinks that go over that limit without picking a super-premium liquor. I think so far, only the drinks in the Bamboo Room consistently go over the limit, and then only by a couple dollars; considering the pics @twangster showed of those drinks in his Navigator live blog, plus his description of the ingredients and the effort that the bartenders put into making them all (everything fresh-squeezed / thoroughly muddled / etc), the higher prices there certainly make sense.

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My understanding is that the NCL Sky will no longer include drinks.  I recall seeing an announcement that after a certain date the free drinks are gone.  

Nothing is free on any ship.  It might be included, but you pay for everything on a ship that is included.

Don't believe for a minute that NCL is operating with lower profit margins.  No business is going to leave money on the table.  Creative marketing at it's finest.  

The disadvantage is for people who don't drink.  They help to pay for everyone else's libations.  

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We've been on  3 7N Breakaway cruises at costs of $119, $191, & $134 pppd.  We had the free drinks and it worked out just fine for us.  I don't remember having trouble getting a drink anywhere.  I know what you mean about NCL's ridiculous drink package price if you actually buy it.  It's been talked about on the Cruise Radio podcast and they surmised like I did that NO one actually buys it.  They concluded it was just pushed up to inflate the Free at Sea advertised savings value.

Either way you choose, I think the two different models are interesting and have value.  That said, I don't think NCL's ships (or anyone else's) can compete with RCL's.

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2 minutes ago, twangster said:

My understanding is that the NCL Sky will no longer include drinks.  I recall seeing an announcement that after a certain date the free drinks are gone.  

Isn't that ship an "Open Bar" ship where everyone that boards can partake?

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

The disadvantage is for people who don't drink.  They help to pay for everyone else's libations.  

True, and even more so on the Sky.  But with Free at Sea, you can swap drinks for gratuities, specialty restaurants, etc. which gives non-drinkers some relief.

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3 minutes ago, YOLO said:

Isn't that ship an "Open Bar" ship where everyone that boards can partake?

Not after September.  It will begin to offer the same misleading marketing enjoyed on other ships in NCL fleet.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/21130-norwegian-ends-open-bar-on-sun-and-sky.html

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The "free" drinks package on NCL (and even X) is a sales gimmick just like everything else.  Yes, I think that some people are lured to try NCL b/c they believe they are getting "free" drinks.  Then they find out that there are limits and exceptions and realize that they did not really get what they were hoping for.

As others have said, if you enjoy RCCL and its experiences then you will stay with them. If you are cruise just for "free" booze then you will probably drift with the sales winds that blow.

I do believe that Royal is pushing their luck with the cost of the drinks packages. I'm sure they will find their sweet spot and level off but it doesn't appear to be a happy trend for the cruiser.  We have stopped buying the DBP (not due to price but due to Dan's decision to eliminate alcohol).  I can still get my drinks in the Diamond or Suites lounge and any time I am in the casino (which is most of the time !) so we haven't missed it so far.  So far my charges for alcohol on a cruise have been less than 1 day's charge, for 1 person on a DBP so economically it is definitely to our advantage to NOT purchase the package.  We'll see if it lasts !!

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On 8/16/2019 at 2:29 PM, DublinFC said:

@Matt @WAAAYTOOO @Lovetocruise2002 @JLMoran

Added a few tags for this question.

Do you think the rise in the package will drive cruisers over to NCL where its "free"?  When we were planning our honeymoon cruise in 2017 we booked with RC originally.  I looked at NCL because friends of ours really enjoyed NCL.  Their fare was cheaper with the perks they offered.  Our daughter's fare cost us the taxes for her fare and our drinks were covered with the "free drinks" perk.  I called RC to see if they would cut a deal to keep our business and I was told no.  I wasn't expecting one, but thought why not try. 

So again will people balk at the price of the drink package and "jump ship"?  I am just wondering your thoughts.  I know RC is a business and money is needed to keep providing the entertainment value people expect with RC.

The increased price of the drink package by itself wouldnt cause me to look at another line, but the increased cost of prices at Royal across the board did get me too look and honestly i now find myself looking at Royal, Carnival and Norwegian whenever i am looking for a cruise.

This year Royal won all my business on the basis of a reduced availability and the Mariner doing the weekend cruise runs so the two came together, Carnival and Norwegian are on tap for next year based on price/destination while offering a similar experience.

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7 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Yeah, I honestly thought it was way lower! ? 

One factor that I've heard against the package bundled with "Free At Sea" is that it is not truly all-inclusive of any beverage in any venue, at least for the Breakaway / Breakaway+ class ships. There are one or two venues on those that I heard in podcast interviews were still excluded and you had to pay the cover charge just to get into the place and be able to get only one drink; extra drinks beyond that were also charged and not covered by the package. Considering the online price to buy their package is now $100/day (before gratuity?) so that people are driven to pick that perk when booking, that strikes me as a genuine "nickel and dime". I think that I also remember hearing that there are a fair number of drinks that go over the limit and will result in you paying the overage, but given that I was wrong about the update on the DBP I'm not going to say it's a definite fact.

The former aspect is definitely unlike Royal's package, where every drink in every venue is covered up to the limit, and there are very few drinks that go over that limit without picking a super-premium liquor. I think so far, only the drinks in the Bamboo Room consistently go over the limit, and then only by a couple dollars; considering the pics @twangster showed of those drinks in his Navigator live blog, plus his description of the ingredients and the effort that the bartenders put into making them all (everything fresh-squeezed / thoroughly muddled / etc), the higher prices there certainly make sense.

Cant speak to all ships and all bars, but i have been on one breakaway class and one breakaway plus and found every drink i asked for to be fully covered.

The only exception was the ice bar on one of the ships which charged a cover charge for admission to everyone but then did not charge me for my drink inside since that was on the package (IIRC,its been a while),

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2 hours ago, jticarruthers said:

The only exception was the ice bar on one of the ships which charged a cover charge for admission to everyone but then did not charge me for my drink inside since that was on the package (IIRC,its been a while),

Thank you, it was the ice bar I was thinking of. That was specifically discussed on one of Matt's podcast episodes where he actually had two people on to discuss a sailing on NCL, where they did have the ice bar; both said that they had to pay the cover charge and that it included the first drink in the price. Maybe additional drinks were then covered under the package, but what I remember of that podcast episode made me think that even drinks 2 and onward were going to be charged regardless of package or not.

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Another note of comparison is that NCL does not include water and specialty coffee with their drink package.  However, if you would like to upgrade for about $30 a day to the Ultimate Drink Packages those items as well as any priced alcoholic drink is covered.  We passed on the upgrade for our Thanksgiving cruise.  I will buy my specialty coffees and order water for the room.  Their room water packages are very reasonable in price.

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11 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Thank you, it was the ice bar I was thinking of. That was specifically discussed on one of Matt's podcast episodes where he actually had two people on to discuss a sailing on NCL, where they did have the ice bar; both said that they had to pay the cover charge and that it included the first drink in the price. Maybe additional drinks were then covered under the package, but what I remember of that podcast episode made me think that even drinks 2 and onward were going to be charged regardless of package or not.

Ahh, the Vodka Ice Bar.  That is almost like a mini on-board excursion.  You have to book a ~30 minute time slot and pay somewhere around $20.  The 2 included drinks are pre-mixed and from a very limited menu of about 5 choices.  The temperature inside is ~17 degrees.  And you are given your drink in a glass with an ice insert.  It's great fun and worth doing every time on-board.  Here are a couple of pics from our 161023 Breakaway Cruise (I'm on the right)...

image.png.dccf8dad4306cb6e91bb010b3ce75d4a.png

Here you can see what the drinks and glasses look like...

image.png.e6d008ebd6a2272d42132b4e9d9e69f1.png

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14 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Thank you, it was the ice bar I was thinking of. That was specifically discussed on one of Matt's podcast episodes where he actually had two people on to discuss a sailing on NCL, where they did have the ice bar; both said that they had to pay the cover charge and that it included the first drink in the price. Maybe additional drinks were then covered under the package, but what I remember of that podcast episode made me think that even drinks 2 and onward were going to be charged regardless of package or not.

On reflection you may be right that it was entirely not included in the package, but as noted in other responses we really looked at it as more of an experience than a drink so didnt cause any concern for us.

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On 8/16/2019 at 3:25 PM, JLMoran said:

If it has any effect at all, I'd assume it would only be one factor among many. I looked at NCL last year for a possible January 2020 sailing on the Bliss out of NYC for a 12-night Caribbean sailing, and the price with the "Free at Sea" perks (drink pkg, internet, whatever the third was) was IIRC very close / slightly less than a 12-night Anthem sailing with the then-current DX package pricing and internet. But it wasn't enough to make me book, as I had reservations about the ship, especially the notoriously small balconies compared to Royal along with the equally notoriously wonky bathroom layout their balcony rooms had. Combine that with reading a blog from someone who sailed another Breakaway class ship and had less-than-flattering things to say about the lack of public spaces and difficulty finding a place outside the cabin to sit and relax, and that was the final nail in the coffin for me.

I imagine that anyone looking at "jumping ship" from Royal to NCL would likewise be looking at the total set of differences and not just a jump in package pricing. As @twangster has pointed out regularly, only a very small percentage of cruisers on any Royal sailing (<5% average IIRC) actually buy the package. If the "pick up" is that small, I have to assume that any bump in "defections" would be due to factors well outside a package price change.

What is wrong with the restrooms on Bliss?  I had friends on the Epic and that restoom/shower setup seems like a nightmare to me.

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5 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

What is wrong with the restrooms on Bliss?  I had friends on the Epic and that restoom/shower setup seems like a nightmare to me.

Hmm, I thought the Bliss and other Breakaway+ class ships shared the same split bathroom arrangement as Epic class. We’re talking about the setup where the bathroom is effectively open to the occupants of the room when it’s in use, right?

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On 8/17/2019 at 12:54 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

The "free" drinks package on NCL (and even X) is a sales gimmick just like everything else.  Yes, I think that some people are lured to try NCL b/c they believe they are getting "free" drinks.  Then they find out that there are limits and exceptions and realize that they did not really get what they were hoping for.

As others have said, if you enjoy RCCL and its experiences then you will stay with them. If you are cruise just for "free" booze then you will probably drift with the sales winds that blow.

I do believe that Royal is pushing their luck with the cost of the drinks packages. I'm sure they will find their sweet spot and level off but it doesn't appear to be a happy trend for the cruiser.  We have stopped buying the DBP (not due to price but due to Dan's decision to eliminate alcohol).  I can still get my drinks in the Diamond or Suites lounge and any time I am in the casino (which is most of the time !) so we haven't missed it so far.  So far my charges for alcohol on a cruise have been less than 1 day's charge, for 1 person on a DBP so economically it is definitely to our advantage to NOT purchase the package.  We'll see if it lasts !!

All of that makes sense.  "As others have said, if you enjoy RCCL and its experiences then you will stay with them".  I am already leaning towards RCCL as my cruise line of choice and I haven't sailed with them yet.  I guess maybe I am thinking of those new to cruising, like I was when I booked NCL.  I am hoping the experience I have with RCCL is as wonderful as it seems.  I do think the cost of the package is getting out of hand though.  I might not pay for it in the future and see what deals are on board when we set sail.

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On 8/17/2019 at 6:41 AM, twangster said:

Perhaps they have plans to offer Celebrity like perk bundles which are popular on Celebrity.   By raising DX prices the perks will appear to have greater value. 

I forgot that Celebrity did that as well.  Interesting way of looking at it.  

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13 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Hmm, I thought the Bliss and other Breakaway+ class ships shared the same split bathroom arrangement as Epic class. We’re talking about the setup where the bathroom is effectively open to the occupants of the room when it’s in use, right?

Right, from what I have read/watched only the Epic has the split.  I watched a ship tour of the Epic.  Ship looked great, but that bathroom design is a killer.  Not gonna happen.

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