Brochure Prices

[Paul Motter]

Why why why do cruise lines still put "brochure prices" on their brochures, or even online?

They are totally ignored by everyone and they have not been relevent since the Internet was invented.

I was just looking at a cruise line's paper brochure, and I saw cruises listed for $14,499 "brochure price" on sale for "two for one pricing plus free airfare"

So - after all that they give you the "real price" next to the brochure price, $4999.

Why bother? Why all the crap about brochure prices, two for one air, blah blah blah. Just give us the price of the cruise.

It has gotten like selling cars - the most popular car places now are the ones with the REAL PRICE on the invoice.

But unlike cars, it isn't like you are going to go to a cruise agent and negotiate a price (maybe some of you do, I dont know), but for any mainstream cruise the price IS the price.

So - what possible good does all the confusion do????

Luxury lines are the most guilty here. It just wastes my time and the travel agents - who has time to figure out which price is real. You have read the fine print just to know if your "free airfare" has already been fiugured into the price or if it is extra.

STOP!!!!! Just give us the price; of the cruise, of the airfare, per person, and tell us what it includes.

[Trip]

Many years ago, in the 80's, my boss and his wife, actually paid brochure price!:eek:

[Bruce Chafkin1]

A surprisingly high number of cruisers today are naive enough to pay that brochure price.
This amounts to rather substantial pure profit for the cruise lines - and probably contributes to keeping cruise fares down.

Why wouldn't the cruise lines continue with a practice that has served them so well for so many years?

Why would we want them to stop?

[Lakers Fan]

Originally Posted by Bruce Chafkin1

A surprisingly high number of cruisers today are naive enough to pay that brochure price.
This amounts to rather substantial pure profit for the cruise lines - and probably contributes to keeping cruise fares down.

Why wouldn't the cruise lines continue with a practice that has served them so well for so many years?

Why would we want them to stop?

I've met people who booked directly with the cruise line and paid the listed price

[Kimbopolo]

But aren't the brochure prices in print always right next to the "special offer" prices? In that case, who would pay retail?

I always assumed the brochure price is listed so the shopper will feel like s/he is getting a great deal and be that much more motivated to book.

[Bruce Chafkin1]

Kimbopolo,

The people who think their cabin cleaner is named "Stewart", ask about the wave generating machine in the swimming pools, believe that being showered in Purell hand cleaner will prevent NLV, need to speak with the Captain about toilet paper quality, try to enter an elevator before the others can exit, line up for "supper" at 4 in the afternoon, bring candles and charcoal BBQs on a cruise, don't know the name of the ship or cruise line they are sailing, and have no idea where the ship they are on is going, belong to the rapidly growing People Without a Clue Club (PWAC).

Many of these same people also belong to the "Not Paying Attention Club" (NPAC).
These are the people who are normally standing in line frequently at the Front Desk, protesting loudly that "Nobody told me...........
...I have to pay for satellite calls
...internet is not free
...soda costs extra
...they don't accept US dollars in Japan
...I need a visa for India
...I can't wear a bathing suit in the dining room on formal night
...this repositioning cruise doesn't return to New York for 6 months
...I must go through Customs and Immigration

These are the same people who look at the brochure price and they pay it. We own a big Thank you to all these people for subsidizing our cruise fares.