WOW! :nw:
THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS WONDERFUL

Ngaire - please don't think I was nagging you for prices....I wasn't! I know you are extremely busy. I really appreciate all the effort you go to for us.

And Marc - since no one has bothered to ask, I will: why would a Florida guy be hooked on a Colorado hockey team???????

And after last night's overtime win (which I slept through) how can you NOT root for the Flyers?????? (Unless you live in Toronto, that is.)

Bobbi I did not take it that way at all. No one is more anxious that me to get these on. I was so delayed because they came out the DAY I stepped on the Navigator. Whenever I get back it takes a lot to just get caught up. Today I caught up and my focus on every spare minute will be to get pricing out. It was my frustration if you read any frustration in my response nothing at all do with your post.

The Singapore to Sydney 14 day pricing is not out yet. I would anticipate it being less than the World Cruise Voyager pricing per day. I am sure they are considering the combinations and how to price this. It is almost like the Grand Asia Pacific trip that just took place on the Voyager.

I wanted to do this itinerary years ago on the Song. I could not make it that year it was about four or five years ago. This is the first time this has been offered since then and Komodo Island is on my list as a place I just want to visit. We do love to see wildlife in nature and this is the only place in the world you can see the Komodo Dragons. I am sure they will be ugly and smelly but I want to see them anyway they are one of a kind. I have learned that if you like an itinerary that is a little different do it while you can because it may not be offered again. Europe will always be there. That is the reason I am high on Dubai to Rome. May not see it again for a long time.

Combining that with N.Z. I would dearly love to do but unless something major changes in my office I cannot be gone that long at one time. If there was a two week lag in there Marcie I might have done the Singapore to Sydney - flown home for two weeks and then joined again for Sydney Auckland. I love to go to N.Z. it is my home and I love to visit.

I have a new assistant joining the staff on June 7th. Her name is Julie and she worked for me for about five years and has been gone for about four years. She is moving back to Dallas and joining the staff again. I hope that this will help considerably when I am gone so that I can stay onthe ship longer when I go. The more I cruise the longer I want to stay onboard. So who knows I may be able to do that - just depends.

RE 2005 prices - Is it my imagination or are the 7 day Bermuda prices for 2005 less than the 2004 prices? I was looking at them this am on the RSSC website because for now, I have decided against the 9 day Bermuda on Mariner next April.

Claudia

No, Bermuda prices are higher. This year they were 2 for 1 starting at $1548. Next year they are 2 for 1 starting at $2098.

Bobbi, I lived in Colorado Springs when the Nordiques moved to Denver. I have always liked crisp hockey vs bang them up hockey; therefore, I can never support a Northeastern team.

Michael, I probably will root for the Lightning. But, it is great to see the Atlanta Flames finally doing well too.

As for pricing, I'm surprised at all of this uproar over $600 per diem brochure rates. After all, balconies on PG are well over $600. I would be surprised if Radisson can get close to that for a Cat H on any itinerary; I'm hoping Asia comes in at closer to $400.

I am sorry if this is a silly question, but when you are computing daily rate, is this rate you are quoting, per person? I am dividing our cruise fare total by the amount of days.

Denise, yes. I am dividing cruise rate by number of days for each person. The "effective" rate is dividing actual total cost after all discounts(and adding port charges) by days. For my own comparisons, I always include credits such as Amex credit when calculating effective per diem.

Olivia,

That upgrade WAS with miles...NO way could I afford to actually pay for business.

In all fairness though, I should tell you that my horrendous experience in coach was probably more due to our seat assignments and the airline (United) we flew. We were in the very last row on the plane, smack dab in the middle of the middle section. Our seats didn't recline, we were squished in between rather large strangers, we couldn't see the movie screen...AND we got one meal...a frozen ham sandwich, which even I couldn't eat...I usually can eat everything!

I AM going to make it back to that part of the world in the not-so-distant future though..perhaps we will find ourselves on the same trip!

You're right, Marc. I "overlooked" that litle detail!

Claudia

You know, one thing I don't think anybody has mentioned about the fare increases for '05 is the astronomical fuel costs now faced by the cruise industry. Those ships don't exactly get good fuel mileage! This undoubtedly is part of the reason. But a 25% increase on the discounted price of the Bermuda cruise? My math says the oil price increases over the past year don't account for all of this, by a long shot.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard:

This year's Bermuda deal was added after cruises weren't selling....only first 50 cabins. If the 2005 2 for 1 are replaced by a 25% off, the price would be similar to the current deal. My only point is that the Radisson is being a lot more creative in terms of discounting.

Also, there is nothing new in terms of hiking price up then marking down. Voyager was supposed to go FLL to LA last Thanksgiving. Fares started at $7085 (I don't remember if it was undiscounted or 50% off second pax). When the transit was changed to over New Year's to accomodate World Cruise passengers, it was announced as a 2 for 1. However, they raised Cat H from $7085 to $8085....not as good a deal as I first thought.

Richard, I think you're right in that current commodities volatility is a factor in the price increases. However, it seems like the Silversea prices didn't go up by the same amount. Does this mean that someone at Radisson didn't properly manage exposure to commodities volatility or are there other nice "improvements" (read: open bar) in the works as well?

Lawrence:

Of course, only the corporate "insiders" have the answer. I'm not one, and I'm not sure I'd like to be one at this point. I can make a couple of educated guesses, though.

Radisson MUST believe that the negative effects of a rather steep price increase will be offset by rising demand for cruising, and their product in particular. They appear to believe that they are in a price inelastic position. I'd also guess that they don't fully realize the possible impact of Silversea "pulling up on them" in the "good deal" department, on which Radisson has been the leader for several years on its "specials." That's why we have cruised Radisson an obscene number of times in the past couple of years. Fear that the good deals wouldn't last (as they rarely do, in our economy.) Heck, the second week on our Feb. '03 PG back-to-back came in at $143 per diem, and we had even managed an upgrade to a balcony. We took it not out of extravagance, but out of a sense of "better grab it now, as it may not ever return." Looks like we were right.

My fearless prediction is that Radisson will have to institute deeper discounted specialls off its increased '05 prices to reasonably fill its ships. As you point out, there is intensified competition, and personal income just isn't rising very much.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard, please explain these higher 2005 prices. There is a higher base price but it seens almost every cruise is discounted. I have not seen any effective price increase except over the "first 50 suites" specials in 2004.

Marc:

Correct me if I'm wrong here. Yes, most cruises are discounted, and some are 2 for 1. But it looked to me that whatever the % discount was, it was applied to a higher "list price" resulting in a proportionately higher discounted price compared with '04, when discounts were abundant also. This time, I HOPE I am wrong.

Thanks,
Richard

Looks like Alaska is $111 more for a week next year. Med cruises look to be up around $200 per week next year. Maybe someone can download the complete pricing and do a full analysis.

I, like Richard, hope Radisson is doing well enough to deliver a great product but not so well that they will raise prices significantly. When I started "luxury" cruising, I thought entry price was $500 per diem. Luckily, we have yet to pay anything close to that. However, the last thing we want is for Radisson to have to cut corners, or worse, discontinue operations.

Another thing I'd like to comment on is what I called "Silversea competition" due to it's new deeply discounted specials. Upon looking into these discounted Silversea cruises more fully, I could not find a deeply discounted cruise with an itinerary and/or a sailing date that we personally like and can live with. There is a great 7 day Aruba to Aruba deal, but it is in December when family obligations make it hard for many of us to go. And there are cruises on special of 12 days, but 5 of them are sea days, which does not personally appeal to us.

Given our tastes (others may be different of course), it looks like the Silversea specials are all on cruises with timing or itinerary problems. Maybe that's why they are so deeply discounted? On the other hand, Radisson's deeply discounted cruises include some with itineraries that should be mor popular with more people.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)