Help, having hard time understanding prices for solo

[SVoyager]

Hello, new cruiser here. First cruise will be on freedom in may for 3 nights, really looking forward to it!!! I watched waaayyy too much of matt's videos, time is painfully slow heh. BTW, sorry for the long post, re-read 20 times, couldn't make it shorter

I am cruising solo and I keep watch for price changes just in case I get lucky. I have an ocean view cabin in the front and thought that maybe upping to a balcony could be cool. My problem is that, trying to figure out the prices without having to go thru the entire steps is a bit difficult.

I have made a quick comparison to show the differences. I am Canadian so I booked thru the Canadian website but I also compared with the US version to see the differences. The initial price shown is the one given on the main website where it shows the price for a single person (but for a booking for two). Once you go thru the booking steps and choose only 1 passenger, then I am shown the actual price but that's where things no longer seem to fit.

US
6th may balcony 332$USD (regular balcony not available) (850$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)
9th sept balcony 322$USD (661$ regular balcony, forwards deck8, 4D #8242) (681$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)
18th nov balcony 321$USD (642$ regular balcony, forwards deck8, 4D #8242) (762$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)

CA
6th may balcony 440$CAD (regular balcony not available) (1228$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)
9th sept balcony 426$CAD (920$ regular balcony, forwards deck8, 4D #8242) (1004$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)
18th nov balcony 426$CAD (864$ regular balcony, forwards deck8, 4D #8242) (1018$ spacious, forwards deck7, 4B #7222)

So between may 6th and sept 9th on the US website, it shows a 10$ difference but once you go thru all the steps, it endsup being 169$ and if you compare both regular balconies on sept 9th and nov 18th, while showing 1$ difference on the main page, you endup having 19$ difference once you are thru all the steps and the difference between the spacious balconies are much higher. Once you compare the Canadian website to the US one, things get more strange. Between sept 9th and nov 18th, its a 14$ difference for the spacious balcony on the Canadian site but for the US version it is 81$ difference, that's with the main site showing the same prices for both dates. Factor in the exchange rate and things just doesn't seem to make sense.

I am a solo traveler and I gotta keep the budget under control. When the differences get into the 3 figures, its getting noticed alot more. The biggest problem I have is that I can't just check the rates on the main site as they seem to be pretty much meaningless and 2 dates with the same advertised price could be totally different in the end. Since my vacation dates are flexible, I have to click thru the steps for booking for all the different dates that I could go. Ouch.

I must be misunderstanding something. Can anyone clarify this, am I doing something wrong?

[AshleyDillo]

52 minutes ago, SVoyager said:

I must be misunderstanding something. Can anyone clarify this, am I doing something wrong?

Welcome to the world of Royal Math. 

Solo can be tricky sometimes because it isn't always straight across the board that you have to pay 200% of the per passenger cruisefare. Plus the various discounts that get applied can affect the bottom line pricing you would be expected to pay.

I have found cruiseplum.com is a good starting point to get the pricing. It's a much more effective way to search and compare sailings in specific timeframes.

[BrianB]

I’m a cruising soloist (Hey! New term!)… I suspect that the algorithms used in setting cruise prices, especially for soloists, are primarily based on the Continuum Relativity Analytical Process, or C.R.A.P, method. Make the price whatever people will pay and constantly adjust it up or down as demand dictates. 
Seriously, I’m sure there’s a reason how they are priced…but I always keep checking to see if the price drops after I book it. But, the best way to do that is…use a good Travel Agent. Let them do it for you…and the good ones don’t charge you a fee, they get their money from the cruise line for bringing them customers…so no cost to you for their excellence, experience and expertise. Good luck!

[SVoyager]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

Welcome to the world of Royal Math. 

I have found cruiseplum.com is a good starting point to get the pricing. It's a much more effective way to search and compare sailings in specific timeframes.

Wow, I'm definitely keeping that site marked, that was a thousand times easier to get an overview of the different choices, quite detailed too. thanks!!

 

56 minutes ago, BrianB said:

I’m a cruising soloist (Hey! New term!)… I suspect that the algorithms used in setting cruise prices, especially for soloists, are primarily based on the Continuum Relativity Analytical Process, or C.R.A.P, method. Make the price whatever people will pay and constantly adjust it up or down as demand dictates. 

Haha omg, you got me real good on that one!! Thanks. Yeah I hear matt in his videos always talking about getting a travel agent, I didn't because I initially thought that I would be fine to check the website once in a while to see if I would spot a better price. Its a way to always be reminded of the upcoming trip (is that really a positive lol?). If only the website would actually give me the right info easily, it would've been fine but its a bit of a hassle.

I've never really used a travel agent so far, always booking everything by myself, it feels like I have more control and flexibility should I want to change things. Do they actually keep checking the prices for discounts later on or would I still need to check RCI's website for discounts and then call them to have it applied? Doesn't feel like any different than what I am doing right now?

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, BrianB said:

Continuum Relativity Analytical Process, or C.R.A.P, method

I’m totally stealing this term 

[BrianB]

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I’m totally stealing this term 

I'm on the Anthem and just left We Will Rock You. Thanks to Pop for giving me the idea with his line to Galileo. "Computer Recorded Auto-tune Pop....Crap!"

[Pattycruise]

3 hours ago, SVoyager said:

Wow, I'm definitely keeping that site marked, that was a thousand times easier to get an overview of the different choices, quite detailed too. thanks!!

 

Haha omg, you got me real good on that one!! Thanks. Yeah I hear matt in his videos always talking about getting a travel agent, I didn't because I initially thought that I would be fine to check the website once in a while to see if I would spot a better price. Its a way to always be reminded of the upcoming trip (is that really a positive lol?). If only the website would actually give me the right info easily, it would've been fine but its a bit of a hassle.

I've never really used a travel agent so far, always booking everything by myself, it feels like I have more control and flexibility should I want to change things. Do they actually keep checking the prices for discounts later on or would I still need to check RCI's website for discounts and then call them to have it applied? Doesn't feel like any different than what I am doing right now?

 

You need to ask the travel agent before you “hire” them.  And you sound like me, I’d be double checking by running my own mock bookings weekly (or twice weekly as the sales change).

as for your methods, my eyes glazed over.  Here is my analysis  

the popularity of a cruise can impact price as can availability of cabins.  If they are selling a lot of balcony cabins those prices might just go up. The solo “discount” may be on one of those cruises making it cheaper. 

be sure you are adding your C&A number, residence, age, military discounts if they apply every time you are running your numbers.  Also, don’t waste your time on running numbers for 2 adults, it’s your final cost for you that matters.  And, run your mock booking to the shopping cart….the “face value” price means nothing.  There can be discounts applied as you continue and you won’t know until the cart what the final cost is. Finally, “Royal math” has no rhyme or reason. 

[twangster]

Sometimes they are willing to give solo a break and not charge double cruise fare but often they only do that for less in-demand cabins like interior and ocean view so the math works different for some cabins, but only sometimes.

The biggest mistake people make with a mock booking is not going through right to the end.  That applies to all cruises, not just solo.  

Or use a travel agent.

[bobroo]

Ahh! The light bulb going off above another new cruisers head that that his/her trip to a tropical paradise is going to be more like a slippery used car sale.
 

Welcome aboard SVoyager!