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Just checked everything for my wife's cruise with friends.

NO shore excursions were better prices than already purchased (7 different excursions). In fact, one was MORE expensive than has been seen at any other time.

Classic soda package (originally $8.99 per day plus gratuity, previously purchased at $7.99 per day plus gratuity) was available for $6.49 per day plus gratuity. That's 28% off the original and almost 19% off best previous.

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The shore excursion prices I'm seeing on this "deep" sale are running up to 50% higher compared to last year's rates.  Since in 2021 we will be forced to take the ship excursion to get off the ship at all they seem to raising prices with their monopoly on excursions.

Not really seeing anything that grabs my attention enough to pull out my credit card.

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The refreshment beverage package is at it's best price for my Harmony of the Seas cruise next year right now. Some of the excursions look good pricewise too. However I'm waiting for my 125% cruise planner credit from my cancelled Oasis of the Seas cruise that would have been next month to show up. Don't know how long that's going to take.

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26 minutes ago, twangster said:

The shore excursion prices I'm seeing on this "deep" sale are running up to 50% higher compared to last year's rates.  Since in 2021 we will be forced to take the ship excursion to get off the ship at all they seem to raising prices with their monopoly on excursions.

Not really seeing anything that grabs my attention enough to pull out my credit card.

Do you think that all of 2021 sailings will not allow you to get off the ship unless their own excursion? I sail in Oct. 2021 and that answer will determine if I make any BF CP purchases or not?

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27 minutes ago, twangster said:

The shore excursion prices I'm seeing on this "deep" sale are running up to 50% higher compared to last year's rates.  Since in 2021 we will be forced to take the ship excursion to get off the ship at all they seem to raising prices with their monopoly on excursions.

Not really seeing anything that grabs my attention enough to pull out my credit card.

I noticed that as well. The DBP and UDP were no less than the previous sales for my (fingers crossed) 7 night Symphony cruise next August,  and a number of excursions were significantly higher. I had already booked most of my excursions during a previous sale, and I'm glad I did. I'm on a port-heavy cruise, so if I have to stay on the ship in Roatan, that's okay with me. I will just be happy to be cruising! 

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Nothing stands out on any of my sailings either.  All I did was grab the drink package for 2 sailings (later in 2021) in case what some of us suspect holds true (that those prices will jump once sailings resume).  They weren't a steal of a deal ($53/day and $46/day) but an amount that I would ok with paying for now. 

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5 minutes ago, USFFrank said:

The refreshment beverage package is at it's best price for my Harmony of the Seas cruise next year right now. Some of the excursions look good pricewise too. However I'm waiting for my 125% cruise planner credit from my cancelled Oasis of the Seas cruise that would have been next month to show up. Don't know how long that's going to take.

IIRC, refunds / FCC issues are still taking at least 30 days to be issued. If you're seeing a really good price on that right now, be ready to pull the trigger before the promo period ends.

Hate to be cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised if no one expecting an FCC Cruise Planner cert actually has it delivered during this Cyber Week promo period. Royal needs cash in their coffers desperately, and why would they give up getting fresh real cash? If they issue those certificates right now, they're just losing out on whatever people would have bought in their Black Friday Frenzy.

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11 minutes ago, CJS2766 said:

Do you think that all of 2021 sailings will not allow you to get off the ship unless their own excursion? I sail in Oct. 2021 and that answer will determine if I make any BF CP purchases or not?

 One would think the way things are moving forward that by October, 2021 you would be able to get off the ship on your own. If things are going good, the restrictions can be lifted sooner, rather than later. It would be nice, but you just don't know right now. You could always cancel whatever you book. 

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8 minutes ago, CJS2766 said:

Do you think that all of 2021 sailings will not allow you to get off the ship unless their own excursion? I sail in Oct. 2021 and that answer will determine if I make any BF CP purchases or not?

I can only guess and try to project down the road.  

I'm disappointed Royal ignored the recommendations of the Healthy Sail Panel who offered that excursion pricing should be lowered to encourage compliance.  The decision to raise prices substantially can only be due to financial considerations trying to make up for lost revenue.  That makes me consider that they may also choose to retain this rule longer than necessary for the same purpose.  If they allow guests to book direct or self explore in the fall of 2021 they lose revenue. 

A vaccine is truly a game changer for vacation travel.  Best case scenario is wide and open availability late spring.  In the best case scenario it takes several months of data to prove a downward trend so that puts us into late summer as the earliest they could relax this rule as supported by the science ignoring their financial motivation.

However we know very large numbers in the US population have doubts about these vaccines.  Even if a disproportionate number of cruising types choose to get the vaccine, the trends in society could impact the numbers and graphs well into the fall causing them to remain elevated in some form.  That outcome may support Royal retaining the ship excursion rule as long as they can.  

Worst case scenario would be another fall and winter wave resulting from anti-vaxxers in sufficiently large numbers.  If there is another wave this time next year then the ship excursion rule could remain into the spring of 2022.  

What's unknown is the true impact that anti-vaxxers will have.  Is the media blowing them out of proportion or are there sufficiently large enough numbers of them to slow the declines and keep us in a prolonged elevated state?

Only time will tell.  

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5 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

IF anyone thinks they will see a sale or bargain after what RCG is going through financially, you better wake up and smell the coffee, which you are not getting for free. They lost so much business and are trying to play catch up. Cut them some slack.

The idea of cruising while bound or limited to ship excursions only is not appealing to me.  That's a personal choice, it might be fine for others.  If excursion pricing was reasonable I might have been swayed.  The vendors offering the same excursion direct have not raised their prices.  

In the Caribbean I've cruised enough that I could stay on the ship the whole time.  That doesn't appeal to me in places like Europe or Alaska.  

It's not so much about bargain hunting as it is a reasonable cost to cruise including all expenses incurred to vacation.  Their strategy will result in me avoiding cruises in 2021.  It's their business and they are free to run it as they choose to with or without consumers like me.

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14 minutes ago, twangster said:

The idea of cruising while bound or limited to ship excursions only is not appealing to me.  That's a personal choice, it might be fine for others.  If excursion pricing was reasonable I might have been swayed.  The vendors offering the same excursion direct have not raised their prices.  

In the Caribbean I've cruised enough that I could stay on the ship the whole time.  That doesn't appeal to me in places like Europe or Alaska.  

It's not so much about bargain hunting as it is a reasonable cost to cruise including all expenses incurred to vacation.  Their strategy will result in me avoiding cruises in 2021.  It's their business and they are free to run it as they choose to with or without consumers like me.

Exactly. They won't lose out on anything miniscule.

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I quite surprise we do not sea better deals.

RCL needs the cache flow , anything we buy now its actually like  a lone we give RCL from the time we do the purchase until the cruise happens or canceled  , in the worse case scenario its becomes a zero interest loan or if the cruise happens its a profit. 

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5 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Nothing stands out on any of my sailings either.  All I did was grab the drink package for 2 sailings (later in 2021) in case what some of us suspect holds true (that those prices will jump once sailings resume).  They weren't a steal of a deal ($53/day and $46/day) but an amount that I would ok with paying for now. 

Oooh no... I guess I better consider making the DBP purchase sooner than later before they get greedy. Decisions, decisions...

We got the DBP a couple of months ago for 4/2021 Symphony for $44 (now it's $53)... 10/2021 Oasis is $46 (might have to grab that) and 2/2022 Odyssey is $50 (as @SpeedNoodles just mentioned)...

 

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I planned on getting the VOOM service for internet and for $9 more I went ahead and got "The Key" We'll see if it's worth it, but for such a small price, I figure I'd try it. Also, since I don't drink alcohol, the refreshment package is not at $18 vs $30 from the time I booked my Oct 2021 cruise. I've been monitoring prices pretty frequent. The Dining package never seems to change. Still $99 for the 3 night package. Coco Cay Beach Club is now at $78 vs the lowest that I had seen it ($125)

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For my 11/22/21 Vision sailing, only 2 of the 10 excursions I might be interested in are priced lower than last week. No changes in Dining or Other Activities either.
Drink packages is tempting though!

DBP $40/d (previously $54)
Refreshment $18/d (previously $30)
Soda $6.50/d (previously $10 maybe?)

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1 hour ago, KJones said:

For my 11/22/21 Vision sailing, only 2 of the 10 excursions I might be interested in are priced lower than last week. No changes in Dining or Other Activities either.
Drink packages is tempting though!

DBP $40/d (previously $54)
Refreshment $18/d (previously $30)
Soda $6.50/d (previously $10 maybe?)

The same prices apply for our 12/2021 Anthem sailing. Given it's a 12 night sailing and we are 6 DBP and 4 soda packages in our party that's a healthy chunk of change we are saving... almost enough to cover the inflated shore excursion costs! ?

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I decided to spend money this Black Friday, doing my bit to keep Royal going ?

so got a Coco Beach Club Cabana for 1518 usd (yikes!), and the Deluxe Beverage Package on our Oasis March 2022 sailing... it dropped to 50 usd per person (6 adults), and the Refreshment Package to 18 usd for the two kids, so a decent saving for the 8 of us. Although it means I let Royal store my money over a year... 

All I have left to do is keep watching if the two 2 bedroom suites next to eachother become available, we are on opposite sides of the ship now (although on same floor)

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On 11/25/2020 at 5:52 AM, Crazycruiser50 said:

They loaded the BF discounts on cruise planner stuff last night.  Got a good deal on DX/voom, unlimited dining, and key.

 

June 2021 (I pray it actually sails) was cheaper for items than our Dec 2021 cruise, but both significantly discounted.  

Anything going out to 2023?

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On 11/25/2020 at 9:21 AM, WannaCruise said:

Haven't seen CoCo Cay waterpark price that "cheap" for awhile so we purchased it.  (We tend to travel at peak family times)

Ok DBP prices on a few of my cruises....$47 for two, and even $43 for one.

Water park for Oasis September 19th, 2021 was around $33 bucks, I almost jumped on it but so far I'd be roaming the park solo.

On 11/25/2020 at 3:15 PM, PaulRC said:

I canceled and re bought 4 things, wave jet, 20 pic photo pack , CocoCay beach club and one other and saved $72 with the BF sales.  Not bad, More for the wife to spend on the ship!

The CocoCay Beach Club is $54 on Oasis September 19, 2021 almost pulled the trigger but thinking about the Cabana instead.

On 11/25/2020 at 5:38 PM, KJones said:

DBP $40/d (previously $54)

Here I thought $46 was a steal! LOL

23 hours ago, Nicci said:

so got a Coco Beach Club Cabana for 1518 usd (yikes!), and the Deluxe Beverage Package on our Oasis March 2022 sailing...\

.... AND You're the winner to talk me into the Coco Beach Club Cabana because ours is priced at $799.

 

So, I saved $23.60 on my wife's massage. The drink price is the same as a previous sale of $46. Looks like I'll pull the trigger on the Coco Beach Cabana for $799.

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29 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is this a beach cabana or over-the-water ?  Good price if it's beach STEAL if it's OTW

It's the Beach Cabana. The over-the-water is $1199 which I think is a good price too. I am half tempted for that instead but between the $400 more & distance from potty wife is happy with the Beach Cabana. 

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35 minutes ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

It's the Beach Cabana. The over-the-water is $1199 which I think is a good price too. I am half tempted for that instead but between the $400 more & distance from potty wife is happy with the Beach Cabana. 

We were able to get an OTW Coco Beach Club cabana for $1199 on one of our Mariner cruises.  I think it's much higher  $$ for one of the O class ships.  I will try it once and see if it's worth the price.  It is in Sept. so hopefully it will be warm enough to swim.  I had one booked for January and then realized that there is no way I will get into the water in the Bahamas in Jan.  I am a complete wimp.

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2 hours ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

The CocoCay Beach Club is $54 on Oasis September 19, 2021

Nice!!!   It is $89. for my Oct. cruise.    
I am thinking of getting the Beach Cabana at Nellie's Beach for $200, got to talk with the wife first, also traveling with 2 other couples.  Anyone know if it would be roomie enough for 6 adults?

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4 minutes ago, PaulRC said:

Anyone know if it would be roomie enough for 6 adults?

We have only had the cabanas at Barefoot but I believe they are the same size as the ones at Nellie's.  If so, the cabana would have plenty of room for 6 adults.  Everyone couldn't probably sit on the couches at the same time but there would be plenty of room with the loungers that they set out front.  We've had 4 adults at once and there was more than enough room.

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8 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We were able to get an OTW Coco Beach Club cabana for $1199 on one of our Mariner cruises.  I think it's much higher  $$ for one of the O class ships.  I will try it once and see if it's worth the price.  It is in Sept. so hopefully it will be warm enough to swim.  I had one booked for January and then realized that there is no way I will get into the water in the Bahamas in Jan.  I am a complete wimp.

LOL. Yeah, I need bathwater temps myself! While the OTW are really, REALLY nice we aren't ocean swimmers. We like to walk in and "hang out" but not swim & touch the ground. Also, we want to spend time at the pool, so more reason to save the $400 for something else :). We have friends on the same cruise that have an OTW cabana, excited to see what they think.

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17 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We were able to get an OTW Coco Beach Club cabana for $1199 on one of our Mariner cruises.  I think it's much higher  $$ for one of the O class ships.  I will try it once and see if it's worth the price.  It is in Sept. so hopefully it will be warm enough to swim.  I had one booked for January and then realized that there is no way I will get into the water in the Bahamas in Jan.  I am a complete wimp.

That is a good price for OTW, they are 1931 usd for my march 2022 Oasis sailing... and with my luck I would probably get one on the far left, which from videos look really close to/on BreezyBay. So I will stick with my land based one ? Land cabana might be better if the weather is not too hot, also...

 

19 hours ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

—-

.... AND You're the winner to talk me into the Coco Beach Club Cabana because ours is priced at $799. —-

Happy to help, hehe ? 

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