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Cruise Planner Prices... do they ever have real discount?


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Hey Cruisers,

I am planning our second cruise, our first one was with RC (2019), now as I check cruise planner I noticed something that is kinda odd. I didn't notice it during my first cruise, I guess I was too excited about it... lol

The prices are the same with or without the discount. So, wondering if they really go on sale? Can anyone share their views and when do they go on sale. I am adding pics of internet package for 4 devices with and without the 20% discount (they are exactly the same, just to prove my inquiry.

Thanks for any insights

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***My post below didn’t directly answer your question, but because prices vary from cruise to cruise, who knows.  The “sale” percentage I pretty much ignore and just look at the total price.***

Unfortunately to really know when you are getting a deal you pretty much need to create a spreadsheet to track pricing.  As is suggested, when it gets to a price you are comfortable with you can book, then you can always reprice if it goes lower.  As far as I know, they haven’t developed a way to hide the lower price once you have booked, but I have wondered.

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Ignore the banners!!!  Sometimes they are meaningful, mostly not.  Price is the only thing the really counts.  I’m only watching 2 items on 1 cruise so I don’t need a spreadsheet.  I look every day.  I have a target price in mind.  I have a “if I have to pay...” price.  If I see my target, I will book.  If we get to Black Friday and the best price is my “if I have to”, I’ll book that.  My cruise isn’t til March.  I have time to be patient.

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Yes, you can sometimes pick up a bargain but as @gatorskin76 and @Pooch said it involves regular (not to say obsessive) tracking. If you're only interested in a couple of items then you can just keep track of them in a notebook. If you're looking at multiple items then a spreadsheet can be helpful. Either way, ignore the banners claiming xx% off because Royal are masters of fuzzy maths and they move the goalposts whenever it suits them. Look only at the bottom line.

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1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

Look only at the bottom line.

Exactly, this is why all these various sales tactics drive me nuts.

Pick a price you're satisfied with and buy. Then keep an eye out for any drops.

It would help if Royal would have fixed published pricing. None of this dynamic pricing BS between ships and and even different sailings on the same ship.

 

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8 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

Exactly, this is why all these various sales tactics drive me nuts.

Pick a price you're satisfied with and buy. Then keep an eye out for any drops.

It would help if Royal would have fixed published pricing. None of this dynamic pricing BS between ships and and even different sailings on the same ship.

 

I don't begrudge them the dynamic pricing, because that does make sense.  I am sure there is some component of booking rates that help them manage the overall sales.  Prior to the pandemic I was able to find the thrill waterpark cabana for $299.  Unfortunately that was on a sailing that was one of the first ones cancelled in March 2020, so I never got to take advantage of that great price.  It was on the Navigator on a Coco Day with the Mariner and Navigator there at the same time.  Now if the Navigator is at Coco Cay with an Oasis class ship, it would make sense to have a different price (supply and demand).  It's sold out on my November cruise, so I can't figure out current pricing, but it says $699 and I have seen it as high as $999.

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11 minutes ago, gatorskin76 said:

I don't begrudge them the dynamic pricing, because that does make sense.  I am sure there is some component of booking rates that help them manage the overall sales.  Prior to the pandemic I was able to find the thrill waterpark cabana for $299.  Unfortunately that was on a sailing that was one of the first ones cancelled in March 2020, so I never got to take advantage of that great price.  It was on the Navigator on a Coco Day with the Mariner and Navigator there at the same time.  Now if the Navigator is at Coco Cay with an Oasis class ship, it would make sense to have a different price (supply and demand).  It's sold out on my November cruise, so I can't figure out current pricing, but it says $699 and I have seen it as high as $999.

Yep, talk about misleading, look at this current price on a water park cabana and its banner for Adventure in July!

 

60049B13-6B59-44DC-AC5D-3E034183F9B1.jpeg

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Once I see a price that seems reasonable...I will purchase. I do also check prices just about every day and should that price ever go down I jump on it!  Several posters here recommend, as I do...buy when you see a decide price you feel comfortable with.  Should that price ever go down you can cancel and repurchase.  But don't wait to buy because some sales may appear and disappear without ever getting back to that price again!!

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13 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

Yep, talk about misleading, look at this current price on a water park cabana and its banner for Adventure in July!

 

60049B13-6B59-44DC-AC5D-3E034183F9B1.jpeg

That's #funnynotfunny, because mine has the same $600 savings banner at the $699 price.  The day pass is at $83.99 but just has pre-cruise deal banner.  I was able to snag it on Black Friday for $43.99.

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19 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

Yep, talk about misleading, look at this current price on a water park cabana and its banner for Adventure in July!

 

60049B13-6B59-44DC-AC5D-3E034183F9B1.jpeg

Royal math FTW! 6 Thrill Waterpark passes X ~$110 = $660, thus over $600 savings due to not having to buy passes...

 

Not much better with the Beach Club cabana's, same math I'm sure...

image.png.3877ec15b99180e2f7b6d5f7857ba532.png

Guess not... 8 X ~$190 = ~$1520

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Thanks for all your comments, I don't really know what is the original price to based on if I am getting a good deal or not. Our cruise is for 11 nights so $55/night (4 devices) is a bit steep, I have a price point that I will be happy to purchase. Some of you might understand, for young adults, their internet service is a must... lol. I don't really need a spreadsheet as I am only looking at internet packages and St. Petersburg tour (not listed on cruise planner yet). Also, I do check cruise planner daily.

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12 minutes ago, MrBToronto said:

Thanks for all your comments, I don't really know what is the original price to based on if I am getting a good deal or not. Our cruise is for 11 nights so $55/night (4 devices) is a bit steep, I have a price point that I will be happy to purchase. Some of you might understand, for young adults, their internet service is a must... lol. I don't really need a spreadsheet as I am only looking at internet packages and St. Petersburg tour (not listed on cruise planner yet). Also, I do check cruise planner daily.

The discount they’re showing you is off of “onboard prices”. This is basically useless for comparison purposes as the onboard prices aren’t publicly available, you can just count on it being higher. Don’t make yourself crazy constantly checking. Internet packages are almost always included in cruise planner sales. The last one just ended this past week, but you’ll see another soon enough (maybe July 4th weekend, Matt always announces them). If you can hold off until then, you’ll likely find a lower price. As others have said, book it when you’re comfortable with the price and ignore everything else. 

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29 minutes ago, gatorskin76 said:

That's #funnynotfunny, because mine has the same $600 savings banner at the $699 price.  The day pass is at $83.99 but just has pre-cruise deal banner.  I was able to snag it on Black Friday for $43.99.

The water park is up to $140.99 per person for our July 3 Adventure cruise. That’s with one limited capacity ship visiting two days in a row. So either available tickets are extremely limited or Royal is trying to make up for a year’s worth of losses in one summer. ??

For what it’s worth, we scored a deal back in March for $50/person. I truly feel bad for anyone who spends almost triple what I did for the same exact experience. 

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1 hour ago, MrBToronto said:

Thanks for all your comments, I don't really know what is the original price to based on if I am getting a good deal or not. Our cruise is for 11 nights so $55/night (4 devices) is a bit steep, I have a price point that I will be happy to purchase. Some of you might understand, for young adults, their internet service is a must... lol. I don't really need a spreadsheet as I am only looking at internet packages and St. Petersburg tour (not listed on cruise planner yet). Also, I do check cruise planner daily.

$55 a night is very steep. I have found that specifically for internet packages, checking regularly matters most. The past few years, every time I've gotten a good deal it has been when there was no official sale. For point of reference, I consider $18-$24USD per night a good price for 4 devices.

Hope that helps!

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$55/night is very high relative to what I have seen on different cruises.  You should be able to get it cheaper at some point, hopefully.  I have been able to get it on several different cruises at $22.99/night for the faster version.  I hope you get lucky with a sale like that in the near future.

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2 hours ago, Biff215 said:

The water park is up to $140.99 per person for our July 3 Adventure cruise. That’s with one limited capacity ship visiting two days in a row. So either available tickets are extremely limited or Royal is trying to make up for a year’s worth of losses in one summer. ??

For what it’s worth, we scored a deal back in March for $50/person. I truly feel bad for anyone who spends almost triple what I did for the same exact experience. 

$140pp is crazy!  I got a black Friday deal for our Jan 2020 cruise for $25pp... even with the cold water on the slides that was much more worth it.  I don't think I'd pay more than $50pp for the water park at Cococay.

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4 hours ago, Biff215 said:

 

For what it’s worth, we scored a deal back in March for $50/person. I truly feel bad for anyone who spends almost triple what I did for the same exact experience. 

Took our grandson last Feb and the water park was $24.99!  No wonder everyone was laughing at me when I asked if that was a good price!!

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We were supposed to be in Coco Cay for 2 days last December but it was cancelled as all the others. We purchased the Thrill Waterpark for $50PP and the Club for $80PP back then. Fast forward to this coming August we will be there again for 2 days. The current price for the Waterpark and Club are much more than we are willing to pay for so we will just take the free beaches and lounge around for the 2 days. The prices are even higher than the local entertainment park here in Dallas and they have a lot more to do. I will keep looking often but do not believe we will see the pricing as low as it was bar some miracle.

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