RCCL keeps pricing in tact, does not lower

FORT LAUDERDALE — Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said that the company’s 9-month-old price integrity policy had not been violated by its recent Wave kickoff sale, which offers up to $300 in onboard credit for cruises departing as soon as Dec. 10. Fain said the policy evolved to curb “super steep” discounts on the last 2% of empty cabins that didn’t raise “bupkus” in revenue but “antagonized the people who were most important to us — our travel agent partners and our customers.” Fain said the policy varies from banning discounts within 10 days of sailing for a five-day Caribbean cruise to 30 days for certain two-week European sailings.  The whole idea was to stop passengers from comparing prices and being penalized for booking early.  “We were creating a great deal of dissatisfaction for a relatively small group that from our point of view were gaming the system,” Fain said.
Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean’s vice president of sales, trade support and services, later said the line’s latest sale is really a buy-one, get-one promotion, in which buyers of a cruise get discounts of 25% or 50% on fares for second, third and fourth passengers in the cabin. Prices on the cruises would not be lower than those paid by guests who had booked earlier, she said.
On the subject of Internet at sea, Fain said that Royal’s Voom high-speed service now on Quantum- and Oasis-class ships should be rolled out to the entire fleet by the end of 2016. He said interest in Cuba alone is creating new demand for other Caribbean itineraries.  “All the publicity about Cuba has raised the level of awareness in the U.S. about cruising to the Caribbean,” Fain said.
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