JNS123 Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 One thing that I have happened to notice when I visit the RCL website is that the kids sail free and 30% off discount are always there no matter what. I also receive the RCL newsletter and almost everyday the topic of the email is how they extended a certain sail. These extensions happen almost everyday. This makes me pretty sure for the most part that the kids sail free and the 30% off are really nothing but a marketing technique used to bait people in booking a cruise thinking that they are getting a good deal. So this is why I don’t recommend people immediately book when they see a deal like that because it is most likely a trick. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123Explore Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 I’ve been able to save money by repricing when a kids sail free promo pops up on a sailing that I’ve booked. It’s not always there on every sailing that I’ve looked at, though I tend to sail during school holidays. I prefer to just book the sailing I want at the price that works for me and then I keep an eye on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 1 hour ago, JNS123 said: One thing that I have happened to notice when I visit the RCL website is that the kids sail free and 30% off discount are always there no matter what. I also receive the RCL newsletter and almost every day the topic of the email is how they extended a certain sail. These extensions happen almost every day. This makes me pretty sure for the most part that the kids sail free and the 30% off are really nothing but a marketing technique used to bait people in booking a cruise thinking that they are getting a good deal. So, this is why I don’t recommend people immediately book when they see a deal like that because it is most likely a trick. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks You need to define a kid first. Royal Caribbean defines a kid as someone that is under 12 years old. Also, kids sail free is not on all sailings and usually not available on sailing which kids would be out of school normally, like spring break, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.. In my opinion it is just a marketing tactic trying to entice young families to book is all. I am taking my kids on a cruise for spring break in March. They are older (11, 14, and 16), and the youngest did not qualify for kids sail free because it was during a blackout time for the promotion even though they had the same marketing "kids sail free" promo advertised on their website when I booked. I ended up booking two adjacent balcony staterooms (one a little larger for the three kids). I did get the 30% discount, but do not feel I saved a lot, and this is probably the most expensive cruise I have booked in the past two years. But at the end of the day, I still feel like it was a good purchase because it is cheaper than taking them to Disney World for a few days during the same time period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZBrady Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 Generally, yea. A sale is only relevant if the item is priced accurately. You’ll see many advise that you can effectively ignore the sale percentage and only think of things in terms of the final total you’ll pay. You’ll have to decide for yourself if the price point is worth while to you. Thus also applies to comparing different cruises that utilize dynamic pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 We always save a ton booking kids sail free. We almost always book KSF cruises, not always but most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 There are two primary ways that get people caught up with KSF. 1) Port fees and taxes plus gratuity charges are paid by everyone including kids. In that sense it isn't completely free. The cruise fare portion is the only part free for kids. 2) The most common cabins available only accommodate two guests. Because these are plentiful they tend to be cheaper. Cabins that can accommodate 3 or 4 such as cabins that a family would need to book are not as plentiful compared to the cabins that sleep only 2. When looking at KSF some folks look at the price for the cabins that sleep only 2 guests and assume that is the base price they are working from for a KSF booking. In reality the price of the select few cabins that can sleep 3 or 4 cost more to begin with so while kids sail free, families have to pay more for their cabin because they are in short supply and demand is higher for them. A party of two can't typically book the cabins that can sleep more than two. A party of three or more can't book a cabin that sleeps only two. This makes it's harder to price compare the true cost of a cruise with and without KSF. You can't find the cheapest cabin for two adults and assume that is your KSF rate. You need to find a cabin that can accommodate the number in your party then price that with all adults versus pricing it for adults with kids. Only then can you see the KSF effect. MJ_, Xaa and teddy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brienc Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 I got to see exactly how much KSF saved us, because RC didn't apply the discount at first, even though we qualified. This is for our Summer 2023 Alaska Cruise (summer blackout dates don't apply to Alaska and Europe sailings). We have two connecting balconies for the 5 of us (kids are 16, 13, and 12). The KSF credits only apply to the third occupant in the room, so we had to make sure that the 12 year old was in the 3-person room, not the 2-person room. Even after doing that, our TA had to call RC to get it squared away. Bottom line was our total cost dropped by $312 after KSF was applied. That's certainly not nothing, but it's more like a 3% price drop rather than the 20% implied by one of our 5 family members being free! The reason for that is that the 3rd occupant in our cabins was always MUCH less expensive than the other two (I believe because the cabins are priced based on double occupancy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie M Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 The 30% off is the same as their previously marketed BOGO 60% off except the kids sale free does add a bit more of a savings versus traveling with 3 guests over the age of 12... and yes, much cheaper than a Disney Cruise or a vacay to Disney for sure. They have been running the 30% off promotion for close to a year now, I think. A lot of people don't know this but if the overall price of your cruise goes down before your final payment is due, you can call Royal Caribbean and ask them to re-price your room (must be the same type of stateroom/category, etc). If it is indeed a savings, they will give you a refund! We've done this many times and it's a great way to save some money (or get money to go towards on-board purchases if you've already paid for your cruise in full)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy425 Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 KSF saved us about $1600 on our Alaskan cruise for 2024. We booked in a 2 bedroom grand suite as soon as it came out, and a few days later KSF was announced so the travel agent adjusted the price (3 of our 4 kids qualified for the promo). That was a nice surprise! RCIfan1912, Maggie M and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNS123 Posted January 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 I'm just confused since every sailing I look at it has both the KSF and 30% of discount. And when I look at the payment summary it shows a little over 5k dollars deducted in discounts. Maybe the KSF really does save money, but from my observations its always there meaning its not really a special deal if its always there. Royal also claims that a sail will end in a certain time period but in reality they will always extend the sail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 2 hours ago, Maggie M said: The 30% off is the same as their previously marketed BOGO 60% off except the kids sale free does add a bit more of a savings versus traveling with 3 guests over the age of 12... and yes, much cheaper than a Disney Cruise or a vacay to Disney for sure. They have been running the 30% off promotion for close to a year now, I think. A lot of people don't know this but if the overall price of your cruise goes down before your final payment is due, you can call Royal Caribbean and ask them to re-price your room (must be the same type of stateroom/category, etc). If it is indeed a savings, they will give you a refund! We've done this many times and it's a great way to save some money (or get money to go towards on-board purchases if you've already paid for your cruise in full)! A lot of people on here do know they can reprice their cruise. Especially if they are using a TA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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