Let’s talk Cruise Planner “thresholds”…when do you buy?

[MattG]

Acknowledging every ship and every itinerary has varying prices, I’m curious of everyone’s thresholds for items in the Cruise Planner? 

What’s your magic price point for specific items? When is the DBP/UDP low enough for you? What about Thrill Waterpark? Internet?

On a similar note: what’s the lowest you’ve seen a favorite item? This includes DBP, The Key, UDP, massages, cabanas, ship exclusives (iFly, North Star, etc)

Have you ever pulled the trigger on an item you normally wouldn’t get because the Cruise Planner price was so good? 
 

On our Anthem cruise in December, Thrill Waterpark was around $70 for months, then Black Friday came and it dropped to $35(!). DBP+VOOM was also at $60/day, which now seems incredibly cheap compared to our upcoming Oasis cruise ($85/day). UDP is also cheaper on Oasis ($166) versus Anthem (over $200).

[Va4fam]

Lowest prices we've seen so far:

$  6 for the Soda Package

$ 18 for Deluxe Beverage Package/ $ 44 post pandemic

$ 19 for The Key

$ 54 for Coco Beach Club / $ 89 post pandemic

$ 89 for 3 night Dining Package

 

Our threshold price points:  

$ 60 or under for Deluxe Beverage Package

$ 99 for 3 night Dining Package

$ 79 for Coco Beach Club

We reserved The Key but cancelled it after losing some of the perks, Coco Beach Club prices have been sky high, and we are not UDP people.  

 

[FionaMG]

We've done a BOGO dining package (before their sad demise) and a 3-night one. In both cases, the person per meal cost was under $20. We're not foodies and the included stuff is fine for us so I'm not willing to go any higher that. On our two currently booked cruises, the 3-night package is right at $99. Not interested.

Excursions depend. My rule of thumb is "must not be stupidly expensive" but, of course, that's relative. I've been watching (out of interest rather than an intention to purchase) an excursion on the cruise planner for my Odyssey sailing in May go from $96 - during one of the sales and the cheapest I have ever seen it - to today's whopping price of $211.99! You can pretty much do this excursion DIY for $50 per person... Royal are also selling an "on your own" version of it which is currently priced at $99.

I have never booked The Key. My rule of thumb for that is that the total cost would have to be equal to or cheaper than the cost of a 2-device internet package and it never has been on any of my sailings, so I'm not interested in that either.

[BrianB]

I always make a point of purchasing whatever I really want…knowing I then have it locked in. If the price drops later on, I’ll re-book it for the lower price…meaning I’ll purchase another one at the lower price before I cancel the existing one. Saves the headache of losing it because someone else snatched it up before I could complete my purchase, and then my cancelled one is booked by someone else in meantime.
If I later decide I don’t want the item at the original price, and the price never drops, I’ll just cancel it for a refund. 
Even if there is something in the planner that I’m not really sure about…I’ll still book it, knowing I can cancel later. 
For me, it’s all just keeping an eye on the price changes.

[Rackham]

DBP = 4 times the current average cocktail cost, $52; willing to bite around $55. But this also depends on the sailing and potential for use. If I have to work it for value, then I don't consider it to have cost savings.

[Last Lion]

What is the lowest price anyone has seen for Chef’s Table lately?

I have also heard that once onboard if CT sales are lagging you could get a lower price. True or false?

Finally, does the pre cruise price for Chef’s Table include the 18% gratuity or would it be added to your  account the day of?

 

 

 

[MattG]

4 hours ago, Last Lion said:

What is the lowest price anyone has seen for Chef’s Table lately?

$100 on Grandeur in August 2015 (our first time going, I remember it being a nice round number)

$95 on Anthem in December 2021

$79 on Oasis upcoming October 2022 (this is the lowest I’ve seen yet, it’s been $85 for the past two months)

[HeWhoWaits]

Our price threshold is any price we are comfortable paying for a particular item (value is in the eye of the purchaser). As noted above, there is always an option to cancel and repurchase at a lower price.

[EmptyNestTravels]

Coco Beach Club was $97.99 for Dec 2021 cruise & I thought that was a good value, and within my acceptable threshold to give it a try. For my upcoming cruise next week, Royal has Coco Beach Club "on sale" for $199.00/person.  Not happening.

For that same Dec 2021 cruise, DBP with VOOM including gratuities came out to $72.58/day; acceptable and within my threshold.  For next week's cruise, it's was priced at $90.90/day total cost (above my threshold); and now shows as being "sold-out" now when I tried to reprice in CP.  How can they "sell-out" of DBP+Voom combo package?  They are still offering the DBP separately and VOOM separately?  Maybe it's just a money making strategy for Royal?  Seems prices have gone up steeply for cruises and CP items in the past several days.  I have to chuckle at these big "sales" they are always sending to my inbox.  As someone else said, the "percent-off" seems to be arbitrary and means nothing; you have to look at the actual bottom-line cost to determine value.

If Royal's CP prices continue to increase at the current rate, Celebrity or another luxury cruise line may a become better value proposition for me moving forward.

[Spang1974]

I like to buy everything before my cruise for budget reasons. That way I know there will be little or no bill when we depart the ship:)

The lowest I have seen to DBP is $54pppd, which is the current price, we bought it at that price, after cancelling the previous purchase at $68pppd on the Black Friday sale. I believe we paid $58pppd last year. My wife will drink alcohol, but not as much as me, I drink enough for both of us. Without the DBP, I will spend around $112.00 a day on alcoholic beverages (myself).

We don't buy the UDP, but instead go for the 3 night Dining Plan - This was $102pppd last year and we ended up buying for $109 pppd this year.

These are the prices for my 12 night sailing from the UK in September (vs 6 night UK sailing last year), and in local UK pounds which i have converted to dollars.

[Matt]

My advice is if you want something, buy it as soon as you can.

This locks in the price, and guards against a price increase, as well as it selling out.

If there's a better price later, you can cancel and rebook and get the lower price.

[HeWhoWaits]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

My advice is if you want something, buy it as soon as you can.

This locks in the price, and guards against a price increase, as well as it selling out.

If there's a better price later, you can cancel and rebook and get the lower price.

And if you later decide that the best price you found is too high for your wallet you can always cancel and take the refund.