The wonders of Royal's fuzzy maths

[FionaMG]

I was never great at maths but even I can see that something's not quite right here...

I just logged into my cruise planner for my Anthem cruise out of NJ to the Bahamas at the end of this month and the banner informs me:

Which equates to:

Um, ok, how can 50% of $90.00 be $66.99?

Especially when, for my Anthem cruise out of Southampton to the Norwegian fjords in July, we have:

Which, in turn, equates to:

No wonder people get confused!

[RJC]

This has been covered extensively here.  I did find the formula though:

=90x +62.99y + abs(sqrt 50%) + 2π-5/9 + 32

[TeRriii]

Buy one Get one 50% is more or less 25% discount total.

[FionaMG]

15 minutes ago, TeRriii said:

Buy one Get one 50% is 25% discount. 

Aaaaahhhhh. So it is!

[Randon1234]

34 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I was never great at maths but even I can see that something's not quite right here...

I just logged into my cruise planner for my Anthem cruise out of NJ to the Bahamas at the end of this month and the banner informs me:

Which equates to:

Um, ok, how can 50% of $90.00 be $66.99?

Especially when, for my Anthem cruise out of Southampton to the Norwegian fjords in July, we have:

Which, in turn, equates to:

No wonder people get confused!

I heard it was based off the original price. So 90 + 45 = 135 ÷ 2 = 67

[SPS]

The "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" is supposed to reflect the price for TWO after buying one full price and paying half for the other. (So, roughly 25% off for two)

So, two at $90.00 x 1.5 = $135. $135 divided by 2 = $67.50 each (Advertised 51 cents cheaper.)

In the second example, 70% of $90.00 is $63.00

[Psycho and Barb]

For our next two cruises, it's the same price it has been for months...We track it on a spreadsheet. They just adjusted the base price to reflect what we call their fuzzy math...  We know some of our friends on here don't like the term fuzzy math but it's a term we like.  Bottom line is if you track the items you are interested in, you learn what the base price is for that cruise...If you see it cheaper, buy it but continue to monitor it.  If you see it cheaper again, cancel and repurchase it.

[Starrynight0154]

Wish my 2024 Wonder drink package would drop below $70

[Xaa]

Nothing really fuzzy about it, it's just math.

Buy one $90, get one 50% off (90*0.5)=$45.  Cost to buy one and get 50% off the second is 90+45=135.  Cost per person is 135/2=$67.50.

It only gets fuzzy because we grow accustomed to the "normal" discounted price for our sailing and want to use that as other starting point.

[SPS]

26 minutes ago, Xaa said:

It only gets fuzzy because we grow accustomed to the "normal" discounted price for our sailing and want to use that as other starting point.

Another factor that makes the math seem fuzzy at times:

Sometimes the discount reflects a percentage off of the CRUISE PLANNER list price.

Sometimes the discount reflects a percentage off of the ON BOARD list price.

At first glance of a new sale, you might think the discount is better, but the percentage is a discount of the ON BOARD price instead of the CRUISE PLANNER price.

[FionaMG]

15 minutes ago, SPS said:

Another factor that makes the math seem fuzzy at times:

Sometimes the discount reflects a percentage off of the CRUISE PLANNER list price.

Sometimes the discount reflects a percentage off of the ON BOARD list price.

At first glance of a new sale, you might think the discount is better, but the percentage is a discount of the ON BOARD price instead of the CRUISE PLANNER price.

Yup, and then, as my example shows, you get different prices and promotions for different sailings, even on the same ship.

 

[SPS]

18 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Yup, and then, as my example shows, you get different prices and promotions for different sailings, even on the same ship.

With all the mathematics needed to figure out the pricing, it's a good thing that I took several algebra courses in college!

[FionaMG]

29 minutes ago, SPS said:

With all the mathematics needed to figure out the pricing, it's a good thing that I took several algebra courses in college!

I was rubbish at all things mathematical, barely scraped a pass in high school. Just as well I never need to buy a beverage package!

[Pooch]

Our cruise has been bouncing back & forth from $77.99 to 72.99 since we booked last July.  One sale, just one and never again, it dropped to 67.99 which I grabbed.  

[Ryan79]

Math…..baffling people for centuries!!

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 hours ago, RJC said:

This has been covered extensively here.  I did find the formula though:

=90x +62.99y + abs(sqrt 50%) + 2π-5/9 + 32

 

You can't fool me !  That's the equation for converting C to F !

[RJC]

29 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

You can't fool me !  That's the equation for converting C to F !

I tossed some of that in there as well!!!!

[Cactus527]

32 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

You can't fool me !  That's the equation for converting C to F !

YES! That was my thought when I saw it too - "hey, wait, that's the temperature conversion formula!" WHY, MATH FORMULAS, MUST YOU CONTINUE TO POPULATE MY BRAIN WHEN I HAVEN'T NEEDED YOU IN YEARS BUT YOU CAN'T HELP ME REMEMBER WHY I JUST WALKED IN A ROOM!?!??!??

[Montemy2419]

3 hours ago, Psycho and Barb said:

For our next two cruises, it's the same price it has been for months...We track it on a spreadsheet. They just adjusted the base price to reflect what we call their fuzzy math...  We know some of our friends on here don't like the term fuzzy math but it's a term we like.  Bottom line is if you track the items you are interested in, you learn what the base price is for that cruise...If you see it cheaper, buy it but continue to monitor it.  If you see it cheaper again, cancel and repurchase it.

We cruise in about 2 weeks and we're not going to book the "Thrill Park full day at Coco Cay" but it has been fun watching the price.  We will be on a 4 day then 3 day cruise on Liberty so we will visit Coco Cay for both trips.  The visits to Coco Cay are just days apart but the prices are crazy.  The price has listed $93.99 for the 3 day cruise and $121.99 for the 4 day cruise.  Still a 1 day visit but the cruise that is longer by 1 day charges more ?  I agree with @Psycho and Barb that you just need to track the prices and keep rebooking if/when the price drops.

[Phd1003]

[FionaMG]

37 minutes ago, Montemy2419 said:

We cruise in about 2 weeks and we're not going to book the "Thrill Park full day at Coco Cay" but it has been fun watching the price.  We will be on a 4 day then 3 day cruise on Liberty so we will visit Coco Cay for both trips.  The visits to Coco Cay are just days apart but the prices are crazy.  The price has listed $93.99 for the 3 day cruise and $121.99 for the 4 day cruise.  Still a 1 day visit but the cruise that is longer by 1 day charges more ?  I agree with @Psycho and Barb that you just need to track the prices and keep rebooking if/when the price drops.

Oh wow! I don't blame you! That's silly money.

I got the waterpark for $50 during the BF sale. Same time frame; our sailing is on Anthem, 23rd of April out of NJ. No way would I have paid the amount they're asking for your sailings.

[JBC]

$62.99 and $66.99 are both great prices for a drink package, btw.  Regardless of how they advertise it.

[Xaa]

That's not crazy, this is CRAZY.  From my Icon sailing in May 2024

[Ampurp85]

I am pretty good with math, but Royal's be fuzzy as hell, and I have to really put my thinking cap on. 

My hypothesis is that rules aren't consistent across the fleet. You can book something on an Oasis class which is generally a 7N sailing and it cost more or less than a 4N sailing on Freedom. The point is more people should mean a cheaper price, but it is often the opposite or sometimes the same price. 

 

This 4N Freedom 

 

This is 7N Allure

 

 

[CanHardlyWait]

20 minutes ago, Xaa said:

That's not crazy, this is CRAZY.  From my Icon sailing in May 2024

I got lucky. I'm next May also, but all 4 are $40 less each. 

[Montemy2419]

I really think that the IT people at RC just use a dart board and decide what the price for an excursion or drink package will be !

At the start of their shift the lucky one gets to throw the dart for each of the package prices that they will change.  It's really taking some of the fun out of planning because I think we put forth our money with trust and RC looks at their balance sheet after the last couple of years and thinks "they want to cruise so bad let's see if they are willing to pay X for this package".

[DoomSlayer]

It's all marketing to make us feel good about parting with our $$$.

The real formula is:

Price^2 = p^2*c^2 + m^2*c^4

Real physics and math nerds will realize the price approaches infinity as their body mass (m) is affected by a constant rate of consumption (c) and the ship's acceleration rate (p) also approaches the constant rate of consumption (c).

[Psycho and Barb]

2 hours ago, JBC said:

$62.99 and $66.99 are both great prices for a drink package, btw.  Regardless of how they advertise it.

$18 for the booze package was a great price!!!  That won't ever happen again

[SPS]

[FSUFAN]

[Qeyton Dude]

On 4/6/2023 at 8:15 AM, Starrynight0154 said:

Wish my 2024 Wonder drink package would drop below $70

it will, be patient and keep checking they are bound to run the 30% off at least twice a year

 

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, Qeyton Dude said:

it will, be patient and keep checking they are bound to run the 30% off at least twice a year

 

This may not happen when the new cost of the DX is higher. I have barely seen $70 on older ships. 

[Starrynight0154]

17 hours ago, Qeyton Dude said:

it will, be patient and keep checking they are bound to run the 30% off at least twice a year

 

There’s been 30% off sales and BOGO 50% off. New low seems to be $72.99.