Royal Caribbean Pricing

[Mrs. Thomas]

@Al Miller I've seen those other ships and they just don't appeal to me. Maybe I've been spoiled (which is very possible) but I also am not a fan of the ports that CCL goes to. They don't go to St. Maarten and seem to love going to San Juan. I wish they (and Royal for that matter) went to different ports.

[Al Miller]

I only brought it up because they are the same class Ship as Jubilee which you mentioned you might consider if it were closer to you. No big deal. The main thing keeping me off other lines right now is the hassle of the Manhattan Cruise terminal compared to Cape Liberty. But I may just have to get over that and book NCL.

[jeffmw]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

I keep looking at CCL but every time I do it feels like I'm trying to go to Waffle House instead of a good steak house to eat. I know we will be ok and probably have an ok time, but I also know that it won't be as nice, maybe a little dirty, and I won't get exactly what I want. Not to mention there may be a fight or two. LOL My kiddos are older and finding things for them to do becomes more than just being in the pool too. If CCL's newest ship that is in Galveston was in FL then I would look at it harder, but we can't get to TX to sail and the Western area doesn't appeal to us. So for now, we will just keep our eyes open and save where we can. However, I highly doubt we will be taking any more cruises after this next one unless somethings drastically change.

I don't know that I'd quite equate it to Waffle House vs. a good steak house. Royal is a step up from Carnival, but I wouldn't call it that much of a step up. Maybe more like Walmart vs. Target 

I also have heard really great things about the newest Carnival ships. The newest (particularly Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee) I've heard are super nice and a massive step up for the brand and much more in line with Royal (with comparatively more complementary dining options as well). If it weren't for building loyalty points on Royal (which, tbh, I don't even get much for and won't for the foreseeable future), I'd definitely consider trying one out, particularly with the price comparison. 

[Mrs. Thomas]

17 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

I don't know that I'd quite equate it to Waffle House vs. a good steak house. Royal is a step up from Carnival, but I wouldn't call it that much of a step up. Maybe more like Walmart vs. Target 

I also have heard really great things about the newest Carnival ships. The newest (particularly Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee) I've heard are super nice and a massive step up for the brand and much more in line with Royal (with comparatively more complementary dining options as well). If it weren't for building loyalty points on Royal (which, tbh, I don't even get much for and won't for the foreseeable future), I'd definitely consider trying one out, particularly with the price comparison. 

I could probably handle the ships if they went to better ports or just ports that interest me more. I also enjoy the musical shows that are on RCCL. 

[Laura Dion-Jones]

9:21 Laura Dion-Jones

1d • €

Truthfully, My family & I just returned from a glorious week aboard the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas & it was everything several of you say it’s not worth the price.

The entire cruise WAS totally Indescribable from the second we set foot out of our limos until our final walk down the gangway. I actually cried once back in Miami when it was time to disembark.

This was one of the most fabulous vacations I've ever had.

Royal Caribbean International is truly "The Icon of the Seas." No other cruise line even comes close.

Everyone on board was superb. Always smiling, friendly, eager to please. Fantastic food. Spectacular, Broadway quality entertainment, more activities than you could ever imagine.

Never a dull moment.

It's totally indescribable and WELL WORTH THE PRICE! . OV

Comment as Laura..

[Fastfaller]

23 hours ago, Laura Dion-Jones said:

9:21 Laura Dion-Jones

1d • €

Truthfully, My family & I just returned from a glorious week aboard the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas & it was everything several of you say it’s not worth the price.

The entire cruise WAS totally Indescribable from the second we set foot out of our limos until our final walk down the gangway. I actually cried once back in Miami when it was time to disembark.

This was one of the most fabulous vacations I've ever had.

Royal Caribbean International is truly "The Icon of the Seas." No other cruise line even comes close.

Everyone on board was superb. Always smiling, friendly, eager to please. Fantastic food. Spectacular, Broadway quality entertainment, more activities than you could ever imagine.

Never a dull moment.

It's totally indescribable and WELL WORTH THE PRICE! . OV

Comment as Laura..

I don't doubt the experience was wonderful, and maybe for you it was worth the money ... Maybe money isn't as much of an issue for you as it is me. But dropping 10-15% of my annual Gross salary to go on Icon is certainty NOT worth the money for me no matter how good the food or entertainment is.

I mean we have another thread going right now about a guy that dropped $100k on an ugly royal Caribbean cup. I am sure all RC cruises are worth the money to him too.

 

[Floski]

I've been trying to talk myself into another late Feb cruise next year, but I just can't justify the ridiculous prices.

Then, when you add in all the other stuff you have to pay for (don't think the local hotels aren't aware), it's jut too high.

And we just turned Diamond on our Wonder cruise last month.  I may never see those benefits.

 

Maybe it's time for us to take that trip back to Germany that we've wanted.  

[PhillyLady]

How interesting that this same type of conversation is happening across many different cruise lines, and across many different types of vacations.

Finding bargains is never a one-shot easy experience anymore, but yes, they are out there.  It takes patience and diligence, and sometimes flexibility.

Often cruise lines send out oodles of emails to customers when they try to fill ships last-minute at super-cheap prices. Yes, I always get a lot of those offers, but work schedules and boarding our dogs does not allow for last-minute travel. I also agree to look ahead a year or two to check out pricing.  Off-peak times are still much cheaper in price than on-peak times, so consider a variety of calendar options.  

If you have your heart set on one specific ship or itinerary or date, that could also be the issue.  

Yes, it can be a bit of work to try to save money, but it is always worth it, because then you have savings for the next trip!

P.S. I have two upcoming cruises, and my pricing is phenomenal IMO.  Just came back from Switzerland from a ski vacation (end of season), and booked again for December-(beginning of season)-double the hotel cost--so dates always have an effect.

[steverk]

18 minutes ago, Floski said:

I've been trying to talk myself into another late Feb cruise next year, but I just can't justify the ridiculous prices.

Then, when you add in all the other stuff you have to pay for (don't think the local hotels aren't aware), it's jut too high.

And we just turned Diamond on our Wonder cruise last month.  I may never see those benefits.

 

Maybe it's time for us to take that trip back to Germany that we've wanted.  

I never try to justify the cost. That sounds harsh, but there really isn't any way to justify it the same way you might justify a car repair for example. 

I look at the cost and decide if I can afford it and if I want to go.

Unfortunately,  all travel us now outrageous. Therefore,  choosing a different type of vacation never reaches the savings I anticipate.

[TXCoastPatriot]

We are simply offsetting the higher rates with fewer cruises.  In 2023, we sailed 7 times all 7+ nights in GS.

This year we only have 5, that is nearly a 30% reduction.  

In 2025 we are planning land packages to Sedona, Key West, and Aruba with only 3 cruises.

[OCSC Mike]

13 hours ago, steverk said:

I never try to justify the cost. That sounds harsh, but there really isn't any way to justify it the same way you might justify a car repair for example. 

I look at the cost and decide if I can afford it and if I want to go.

Doesn’t sound harsh to me. Essentially that IS your “justification” (or reasoning, logic, thought-process, call it whatever you want).

I look at it pretty similarly to you. We can mostly only sail when school is out b/c my wife is a teacher. For March 2024 - March 2025, we initially booked 4 cruises (all 7N on Wonder so it’s really apples to apples). The spring break cruises were a good bit cheaper than June & July. But that’s what we wanted to do this summer so we chose to pay the premium. Sure the March cruises are a better value but the Summer prices were worth it to us.

For similar cruises further out, prices were even higher and March was similar to June/July. For now, we decided they were still worth it to us (booking refundable group rates helps b/c we have plenty of time to change our minds). There are a couple other factors that will make the total costs closer to the earlier cruises but that doesn’t really matter as far as my main point…

Everyone values things differently. If cruising at current prices is still worth it to you, great! If it’s not, that’s fine too. I would never buy an expensive car or jewelry but if someone values those things & can afford them, no judgment here.

[Pattycruise]

Seeing reactions from passengers on current cruises how they can’t afford to book the same cruise the following year I believe we’ll see a surge in land travel and/or $$$ being put into backyard paradises or home improvements. 

[Vancity Cruiser]

On 4/6/2024 at 1:34 PM, Laura Dion-Jones said:

9:21 Laura Dion-Jones

1d • €

Truthfully, My family & I just returned from a glorious week aboard the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas & it was everything several of you say it’s not worth the price.

The entire cruise WAS totally Indescribable from the second we set foot out of our limos until our final walk down the gangway. I actually cried once back in Miami when it was time to disembark.

This was one of the most fabulous vacations I've ever had.

Royal Caribbean International is truly "The Icon of the Seas." No other cruise line even comes close.

Everyone on board was superb. Always smiling, friendly, eager to please. Fantastic food. Spectacular, Broadway quality entertainment, more activities than you could ever imagine.

Never a dull moment.

It's totally indescribable and WELL WORTH THE PRICE! . OV

Comment as Laura..

You lost me at 'the second we set foot out of our limos'. 

[Fastfaller]

19 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

You lost me at 'the second we set foot out of our limos'. 

Haha yeah and I thought it was just me.

 

[smokeybandit]

I rode home from a cruise in a limo once. But only because the driver needed the limo for an airport pickup, so we just got lucky.

[b_resh_uh]

The industry is incredibly cyclical. Bargains will be different as we progress through the cycle. Whenever the next correction comes, something will normalize and we'll see where we land. 

 

However, I've said this in another thread before, I do think the insane pricing going on at the Orlando theme parks has a part to play in this. If someone is flying into the market, they can easily take a three-day cruise out of Port Canaveral for a lower price than what they might pay for park tickets. I think it's becoming more a viable option for people and RCL knows this - hence their investment in the short cruise itineraries. 

[DunkelBierJay]

Adding this for a perspective on this nutty pricing and their glitchy website

Adventure of the Seas May 4 sailing for 6 nights -- the RC site shows $1,612 base pricing double occupancy in an interior. A dummy booking brings the total cost for the booking to $1,860 with the fake discounts. I wouldn't pay this for this ship on this itinerary and can't believe people are actually paying it right now.

 

 

[smokeybandit]

It's also a cruise that leaves in less than a month. Not the best of benchmarks.

[jeffmw]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:29 AM, b_resh_uh said:

I do think the insane pricing going on at the Orlando theme parks has a part to play in this

Assuming we operate under the dastardly capitalist assumption that a product is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it, Disney realized it had underpriced it's vacations for decades and jacked everything up over the past 10 years or so. Disney went from -- in the 80s and 90s -- being a vacation most families could afford, to something comparable to a cruise or resort vacation, to a trip difficult for a family of 4 to pull off for less than $8k+. 

The cruise industry is now realizing the same thing. Why offer something for $6k if you can sell it for $9k and people will still pay it? If Icon is the high-end Royal experience that competes with Disney World, why shouldn't it cost about the same as a week at Disney World? 

I keep saying, we are all in for disappointment over the next several years. Royal's prices are going up by significant %s, and they won't be going back down. This is the new pricing standard. The budgets we are accustomed to for our vacations are obsolete. 

 

[JoTaylor]

In Nov of 2022, when Royal opened the 2024 cruises, I was able to book a 2-bedroom Aquatheater Suite on Harmony OTS for $14,400.  There are six people staying in it which comes out to $2,400 per person, and that comes out to $300 per day (8-night cruise).  In Nov of 2023, when Royal opened up the 2025 cruises, I looked at the same thing, two bedroom aquatheater suite for a 7-night cruise for a total of $26,850 for four people. NO THANK YOU!!!!  We are (have been) loyal to Royal since 2015, but we are looking at other cruiselines.  Can't afford to keep up with Royal

[Southern Dan]

That is almost double.  That is crazy.

[Keanoknick]

41 minutes ago, JoTaylor said:

In Nov of 2022, when Royal opened the 2024 cruises, I was able to book a 2-bedroom Aquatheater Suite on Harmony OTS for $14,400.  There are six people staying in it which comes out to $2,400 per person, and that comes out to $300 per day (8-night cruise).  In Nov of 2023, when Royal opened up the 2025 cruises, I looked at the same thing, two bedroom aquatheater suite for a 7-night cruise for a total of $26,850 for four people. NO THANK YOU!!!!  We are (have been) loyal to Royal since 2015, but we are looking at other cruiselines.  Can't afford to keep up with Royal

What time of year were you looking at booking for 2025?   
I booked a Spacious 2bdrm Aquatheater suite  ( A1 ) for 7 nights on Harmony in Oct 2025, with 4 adults,  on the day they were released for $12,626 before taxes and fees.   It came to $13,223 after taxes and fees.  Less than half of what you were quoted.

It went up in price several thousand within a couple of weeks.   No way I could afford $26k+,   really shouldn't do the $13k, but splurging for our 20th anniversary.   With the way prices are going, I'll likely not be able to sail star class again.

[JoTaylor]

44 minutes ago, Keanoknick said:

What time of year were you looking at booking for 2025?   
I booked a Spacious 2bdrm Aquatheater suite  ( A1 ) for 7 nights on Harmony in Oct 2025, with 4 adults,  on the day they were released for $12,626 before taxes and fees.   It came to $13,223 after taxes and fees.  Less than half of what you were quoted.

It went up in price several thousand within a couple of weeks.   No way I could afford $26k+,   really shouldn't do the $13k, but splurging for our 20th anniversary.   With the way prices are going, I'll likely not be able to sail star class again.

Yeah, I found some a little cheaper in the Oct/Nov time frame, but we were looking for June as I work for a school and the kids would be out for Summer. 

It is crazy because I got on Cruiseplum and looked at our cruise that we have the Aqua Suite booked for $14,400.............around Jan of 2024 I guess someone cancelled on the other as it opened back up and then 6 days later it was booked for $39,274.  THAT IS INSANE!!!!

Also, that is too funny that we in the same boat (no pun intended), but we shouldn't be doing this $14k but this was a once in a lifetime thing for us and it is also our 20th Anniversary as well.

[Doug_Texas]

On 4/10/2024 at 10:29 AM, b_resh_uh said:

The industry is incredibly cyclical. Bargains will be different as we progress through the cycle. Whenever the next correction comes, something will normalize and we'll see where we land. 

 

However, I've said this in another thread before, I do think the insane pricing going on at the Orlando theme parks has a part to play in this. If someone is flying into the market, they can easily take a three-day cruise out of Port Canaveral for a lower price than what they might pay for park tickets. I think it's becoming more a viable option for people and RCL knows this - hence their investment in the short cruise itineraries. 

Totallty agree, Disney ridiculous!

[tonyfsu21]

On 4/9/2024 at 7:03 PM, Vancity Cruiser said:

You lost me at 'the second we set foot out of our limos'. 

I think they mean “bus”. The entire post is AI generated by a person who clearly does not speak the language or the lingo. 

[Fastfaller]

16 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I think they mean “bus”. The entire post is AI generated by a person who clearly does not speak the language or the lingo. 

Disagree, you can Google the OP, I believe she thinks she is "cool" by telling her story, like she is someone special or important. I think it is more a PR thing that she is using her real name and she wants everyone to know who she is. 

Seems amateurish especially for a "mature" person.

[Fastfaller]

@tonyfsu21 that poster created another ridiculous thread bragging about her experiences that is why I am saying what I am saying. The post she made in this thread was a precursor to the other.

[tonyfsu21]

16 minutes ago, Fastfaller said:

@tonyfsu21 that poster created another ridiculous thread bragging about her experiences that is why I am saying what I am saying. The post she made in this thread was a precursor to the other.

Oh, this is the continuation of that other obnoxious saga that made no sense. Got it. This is the same person that “owned the clothing company”?