Reply To: JoCo Cruise Crazy 3: All About the Ship
@mrgoldenbrown: I don’t have solid numbers, but the lower-end lines (RCCL being a much-welcome-and-large step up from Carnival, but still solidly mass-market. Celebrity is RCI’s mid-premium line) do lowball the fares, knowing their target demographic is very fare-price-conscious, and once they have them onna boat in the middle of the ocean, it’s wallet-vacuuming time.
Guy I used to work with would cruise with his wife and 2 other couples on Carnival. They’d get adjacent outside-no-balcony rooms for dirt cheap, because they spent most of their time on the pool deck or in one of the bars onboard. He said their bar tab usually came to as much as or more than the fare, one bucket of Corona or Budweiser bottles at a time.
RCCL isn’t quite as dependent upon the booze sales — they’ll get you for a cheeseburger (Johnny Rockets), a cupcake, premium coffee, various other alternative “premium” dining, figure skating, surfing, rock climbing, etc. *and* the booze.