THE RIGHT PRICE…………….$699
November 2, 2010: Fort Lauderdale (return) to Eastern Caribbean, 10 days
Bonus: $150 shipboard credit
Ship: Holland America Maasdam
Contact: cruise.com
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Have you ever wondered how much cruisers pay for the “theme” in theme cruise?
The researchers at Cruise Critic came up with an interesting item this week about the two “Nickelodeon All-Access” theme cruises that Norwegian is promoting for next year. Identical cruises on the same ship are much cheaper.
How much?
Just by visiting this page on NCL’s website, Cruise Critic discovered that the theme cruise on the Norwegian Jewel that costs $899 from New York on February 20, 2011, is advertised for $549 on any other date from February through May.
Similarly, when we checked this page on NCL’s site for the same theme cruise on the Epic, next July 24 from Barcelona, the starting price was $1,349 (inside, per-person). The identical cruise on the Epic any other week but July 24 next summer was $749.
So, what price theme?
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One of our favorite authors is the renowned storyteller John Grisham. Like most people, we enjoyed his legal thrillers most but, when he deviated from his formula and wrote Skipping Christmas (which later became a movie), we liked that, too. So when we heard about the opportunity for cruisers to “skip Christmas” by going on a ship, it became a natural way for us to introduce the subject.
All the cruise lines have holiday itineraries at that time of year, and Royal Caribbean’s looks a little different than anything we’ve seen. Not only does it have holiday cruises — it’s politically incorrect to call them Christmas cruises even though that’s what they are — departing from eight U.S. ports (check here to find a list), but all its ships will be, err…decked out…with decorations.
A Catholic priest will say mass at midnight, a rabbi will do what rabbis do for Hanukkah, holiday movies will be shown in the theaters, crew members will sing carols, and passengers can decorate cookies, watch holiday skate shows or send kids for special programs.
So really, it’s not “skipping Christmas”…it’s just celebrating it in an unusual way.
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It seems cruise passengers like being organized. In response to consumers inquiries (or demands), Celebrity now makes it possible to book just about everything before boarding its ships. The latest additions to the list are spa, salon and personal fitness appointments.
The process is gradually being rolled out over the Celebrity fleet. Last week, it was available on the Solstice. This week, the Eclipse (right). Next week, appointments can be booked on Equinox sailings. And next year, naturally, the new Silhouette. In fact, it will happen on six of the nine Celebrity ships by mid-November.
Cruisers can already book online not just shore excursions but also drink packages, specialty dining reservations and Select Dining reservations.
What’s left?
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Our colleague Phil Reimer had a particularly interesting Ports & Bows blog yesterday (they’re ALL interesting), assembling some facts that support the belief that cruise ships are shifting more and more to the European. One is that cruise lines increased the number of “beds” they put in Europe by 8% over the last two years while the number of ships embarking from U.S. ports fell to 66% from a high of 77% six years ago.
Phil’s theory is cruisers who have been to Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii want a change of scenery and, down the road, Asia will become a favored destination.
What say you?
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That’s it, we’re done.