Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 So I thought I would post this observation. I'm not sure if it is just a coincidence for my sailings or if others notice it on theirs too, but I am curious... As some of you know, I track prices constantly on my sailings. For the longest time (since about November 2017) my Symphony sailing (for the end of July 2019) and my Oasis sailing (mid-March 2020) were the highest priced sailings for those ships in those months. Both of the itineraries that I booked do not involve Coco Cay. Over June, I've slipped a bit in my checking. Got distracted by Mariner and other stuff, but this morning, as I sat down to check, I noticed that my sailings are now not the highest priced ones for those ships for those months. For each one, the sailings involving Perfect Day are now higher in price compared to the sailings without (for the months I am sailing). Not sure if I've confused anyone. I could post screen shots but I'm having a lazy morning lol. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has noticed the same thing? If so, Coco Cay is costing more not just upfront but also in the actual cruise fare. CraftyCat05 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 14 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: So I thought I would post this observation. I'm not sure if it is just a coincidence for my sailings or if others notice it on theirs too, but I am curious... ... If so, Coco Cay is costing more not just upfront but also in the actual cruise fare. Or perhaps the announced upgrades to Coco Cay have created a significant increase in bookings so available cabins are more expensive due to increased demand. Just a thought. RestingBird and accio7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 7 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said: Or perhaps the announced upgrades to Coco Cay have created a significant increase in bookings so available cabins are more expensive due to increased demand. Just a thought. Maybe...I did have that thought too. That's why I was curious to see what others have noticed. I have only monitored the months that I am sailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: If so, Coco Cay is costing more not just upfront but also in the actual cruise fare. How else do you think they are paying for it! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 I'm betting on increased demand. That has always been the most significant factor in cruise-to-cruise price variations over the years. I often cruise off-peak for that reason. Consistently there are a few weeks every year that are the same cruise as a month later but significantly less in price - lower demand. Airlines do this too. If a team or group of people book 10% of the plane suddenly all prices go up for that flight. It's mostly automated rather than human beings checking each cruise and adjusting prices manually. accio7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 Don't forget that as time progresses and you get closer to any sailing, price tends to go up. It's not surprising at all that in the months since you booked and/or been tracking prices that the price of the cruise would go up. accio7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 31 minutes ago, Matt said: Don't forget that as time progresses and you get closer to any sailing, price tends to go up. It's not surprising at all that in the months since you booked and/or been tracking prices that the price of the cruise would go up. Yes, that part I do get. My own sailings have gone up. But what I was trying to point out was that although prices have gone up, they have all followed the same trend in increase. Until now....but you guys are probably right in that it's due to increase and demand. I was just wondering if anyone else had noticed anything. Holiday here so I'm bored. These are the things I notice when I'm bored lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 I see prices rising on Royal. I too, watch the prices all the time. I am glad that I booked my cruises in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 We all know prices go up the fuller it gets or the closer to the final payment date usually. However, if the cruises that include CocoCay are rising quicker or out of step with other cruises then there could be something more to it. If the cost of the reno's on the ship was $120 million just to get ypu to Coco cay, then I would hate to see how much Coco Cay is costing Royal. They have to get that money back somehow! And while I don't know much about costs of ships....I find $120 million a lot for what they did on Marnier...considering they didn't even update the rooms..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 9 minutes ago, monctonguy said: However, if the cruises that include CocoCay are rising quicker or out of step with other cruises then there could be something more to it. This is exactly what I was trying to say, but you said it better. monctonguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted July 4, 2018 Report Share Posted July 4, 2018 I would suspect they are applying differential pricing. They do it for bigger ships, they do it for newer ships, they do it for holidays, why would they not do it for destinations that just cost them a ton of money ? accio7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 21 hours ago, jticarruthers said: They do it for bigger ships, they do it for newer ships, they do it for holidays, why would they not do it for destinations that just cost them a ton of money ? You're not wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 12:59 PM, HeWhoWaits said: Or perhaps the announced upgrades to Coco Cay have created a significant increase in bookings so available cabins are more expensive due to increased demand. Just a thought. I don't think the demand is up....LOTS of cabins left on these cruises from what I can gather.....like anything they do, raise the prices as high as possible in hopes that people will be willing to fall for it...if not, then you can lower the price slightly..call it a "sale" and still make more money than you would have. This whole Coco Cay thing has rubbed me the wrong way from the start...its going to cost everyone more no matter what, whether you use it or not. Never mind all the other arguments about how its going to change the island the vibe and the "free" options. That's how Royal does it and all big companies....slow changes in hopes that people don't notice and before you know it, people have fallen for it...hook, link and sinker! Before you know it..we will be talking about the "good old days" when there used to be a MDR that served "free" food......don't laugh...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_john Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 We're sailing on the Mariner to CocoCay next June and I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra money to do a half or full day "thrill" pass. It's our first cruise and we don't really know what to expect, but I was surprised that the whole waterpark portion isn't included in the cruise fare. Makes even less sense if the fares are drastically higher than other itineraries. Depending on our experience, it might be our first and last visit to CocoCay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 20 minutes ago, psu_john said: We're sailing on the Mariner to CocoCay next June and I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra money to do a half or full day "thrill" pass. It's our first cruise and we don't really know what to expect, but I was surprised that the whole waterpark portion isn't included in the cruise fare. Makes even less sense if the fares are drastically higher than other itineraries. Depending on our experience, it might be our first and last visit to CocoCay. You got it...I think a lot of people will feel and think like this. And these are just intro prices.....they can range even now and will be going up in the future once everything is working and completed. psu_john 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 1 hour ago, psu_john said: We're sailing on the Mariner to CocoCay next June and I'm trying to decide if it's worth the extra money to do a half or full day "thrill" pass. It's our first cruise and we don't really know what to expect, but I was surprised that the whole waterpark portion isn't included in the cruise fare. Makes even less sense if the fares are drastically higher than other itineraries. Depending on our experience, it might be our first and last visit to CocoCay. Here's a video and a few links by @Matt. Maybe these can help you decide. Even now, the extra activities at Coco Cay all carry an additional charge. I have very mixed feelings about the expansion. Personally, if I wanted to go to a water park, I wouldn't be on a cruise. I also don't want to pay a premium cruise fare for itineraries that include this (if this is the case, which is why I posted this topic to begin with). However, this is a great way for the cruise line to reach out to new cruisers (or even veteran cruisers) who enjoy this sort of thing. I don't even know what the price difference is between full and half day but I would imagine you need to know your family. Is your family an "all day, out in the sun" kind of family? Or would a few hours out there satisfy their curiosity? With the activities that are there, could you imagine spending and entire day there? Those are the questions I would be considering. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/cococay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_john Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 This trip it's just going to be my wife and I, so at most a half day pass would work for us at $44/pp. Our cruise price doesn't seem inflated either, but I'm guessing that's because much of the island won't be fully open by early June. I'm just a little disappointed at all the "extras" they're changing for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 9 minutes ago, psu_john said: This trip it's just going to be my wife and I, so at most a half day pass would work for us at $44/pp. Our cruise price doesn't seem inflated either, but I'm guessing that's because much of the island won't be fully open by early June. I'm just a little disappointed at all the "extras" they're changing for. Understandable. But just remember, there are still complimentary areas available (Matt noted it in one of the links above) and even now, activities there are "extra". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accio7 Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 2:43 PM, twangster said: I'm betting on increased demand. That has always been the most significant factor in cruise-to-cruise price variations over the years. I often cruise off-peak for that reason. Consistently there are a few weeks every year that are the same cruise as a month later but significantly less in price - lower demand. Yep, I'm glad I have a flexible work schedule that allows me to cruise in early December when rates are really low Not going to be as fortunate with this family June 2019 Mediterranean cruise as we are dependent on the itinerary. On 7/2/2018 at 3:39 PM, Matt said: Don't forget that as time progresses and you get closer to any sailing, price tends to go up. It's not surprising at all that in the months since you booked and/or been tracking prices that the price of the cruise would go up. And people laughed at me for booking my Adventure, Harmony cruises 16-20 months ahead in advance! RCB 1, Royal Caribbean 0 Sweety 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 I have a little piece of possible evidence for this thread. Ever since I booked my Grandeur Canada & New England trip for Sept. 2019, this cruise (C & NE) was always listed second in the list of cruises for September 2019 with the Bermuda & Bahamas cruise always first....meaning that the Bermuda & Bahamas cruise was slightly less expensive than the Canada & NE cruise. Now, they have renamed the Bermuda & Bahamas cruise to Bermuda & Perfect Day cruise and it is now second on the list, meaning that it is now more expensive than the Canada & NE cruise. Granted, it's only a $5 difference, but they have reversed positions after being the other way for a long time. This would tend to indicate that the price on the Perfect Day cruise has increased. I cannot verify this as I never tracked the prices on this cruise. I am booked on the Canada & NE cruise but I CAN verify that the price on the Canada & NE cruise has not changed since I booked it so logic would indicate that the price has to have changed on the other (Perfect Day) cruise. Sweety and Lovetocruise2002 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 @WAAAYTOOO, I am going on Adventure next year for Canada/New England. I am booking Grandeur for 2020 same places. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T. Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 @Lovetocruise2002, I thought I would add my experience on pricing for the Mariner. I booked near the end of April (2-1/2 months ago) for January 2020. We are doing a B2B with a 3-night/4-night. Original price difference between a balcony cabin and a junior suite was $800. I wanted to book the balcony, but my husband insisted on the junior suite. So I booked the junior suite. I checked my prices yesterday. The balcony cabin for both cruises has increased $700 total. So, now the balcony price is almost what I paid for my junior suite. The junior suite price has increased about $600. These days, I always find that I get a much better deal by booking as early as I do. I was surprised to see that much of an increase in only 2-1/2 months though. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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