Are Cruise Prices Increasing?

[kingoftheicedragons]

Or is it just me?

 

I was looking at the ships that have cruises posted for the rest of the 2014 schedule (Inspiration, Imagination, Ecstasy, and Magic) and some of these cruises seem extremely expensive....over $100/day for an inside cabin.

 

Or, is it just that they are still so far out that Carnival is waiting to see what the demand for these cruises could be?

[breenw]

In my opinion they are definitely priced higher. We did a Hawaii cruise in December 2011 and decided to do it again in January 2014. The same cabin we reserved was $2500 higher for the 2014 cruise than the 2011 cruise.

[beachbum53]

Or is it just me?

 

I was looking at the ships that have cruises posted for the rest of the 2014 schedule (Inspiration, Imagination, Ecstasy, and Magic) and some of these cruises seem extremely expensive....over $100/day for an inside cabin.

 

Or, is it just that they are still so far out that Carnival is waiting to see what the demand for these cruises could be?

 

Are you looking at specific dates, or just prices in general for the year? With increases in fuel prices, food, and other things, it's no surprise if cruise costs go up too. I do know that air fare has gone up since last year. Even if cruise prices in general do increase, it's still the best value for your vacation dollar.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Are you looking at specific dates, or just prices in general for the year? With increases in fuel prices, food, and other things, it's no surprise if cruise costs go up too. I do know that air fare has gone up since last year. Even if cruise prices in general do increase, it's still the best value for your vacation dollar.

 

Just looking in general. I would be very hesitant to pay $400/person for a 3-day cruise to Mexico in an inside cabin, for instance, or even over $1000/person for an inside cabin on a 7-day cruise out of Galveston to the Western Caribbean.

[golfadj]

Overall pricing seems to be about the same for this year compared to 2012

[nonna5]

I think pricing has gotten way higher since they did their new pricing structure. I believe they are trying to push you to go with a guarantee or not book early saver. I have several cruises booked (with three of them more than 10 months out) and since the new pricing the prices have gone way up except for the easy saver (guarantee) or whatever they call it now. And by the way the cruises I am talking are about have plenty of cabins still available.

[Almost Packed]

i think the prices are higher. i have price compared and been looking at several cruises.

 

i'd like to book a cruise or two but just can't seem to pull the trigger. we may stick to land vacations after our next cruise. :mad:

[ibcnusoon]

Pricing this year seems to be about the same as last year.

 

Then I went to price cruises for 2014 and saw the prices were very expensive. Doesn't pay to book early for 2014, I wasn't comfortable with any of the prices for 2014 and will wait and see if they go down in price.

[bindy1]

I think prices are up. We were looking at a cruise back in September 2012 for a cruise in Sept '13 and didn't book it then. We opted to wait until after Christmas. That same cruise is now $200 higher. Fyi - this was on cruise out of San Juan and airfares are about $200 higher rt as well.

 

Needless to say that is not the cruise we ended up booking. We are on the Dream instead and driving to port night before the cruise.

[misstopgun]

It seems not only higher for 2014 but also less competitive with other lines such as NCL. You might save a couple of hundred by Cruising Carnival but the cruise fare isn't the bulk of the cost anyway. It's the air fare and S&S costs. If Carnival wasn't my favorite, I would definatly be looking closer at other lines. There are some bargains out there.

[ready2cruzagain]

I agree that the prices for 2014 are high. Last time we booked at 522 days out and got a great bargain. When looking at the prices now for 2014...no way am I going to book at those prices.

 

I seen the cruise for the Conquest on Feb. 3rd this year is going for $269 for an IS for a 7 night cruise. After seeing that I know I will more than likely book last minute now. IMHO no advantage at all to book in advance anymore with the restructuring of ES.

 

And to be honest with you, not going to restrict myself to Carnival...other cruise lines are becoming quite comparable in price to them anymore.

[markntara]

Most recent is cheapest price paid for a cruise since we took the first cruise in Jan 2008.

 

This is our yearly family cruise w/ kids:

- All 4A Interior Cabins.

- All fantasy class except Celebration

- All 5 day

- All same time frame

- All Per Person

 

299.00 01/08 Celebration 5 Day to Key West / Nassau

319.00 01/09 Fascination 5 Day to Nassau / Half Moon Cay

279.00 02/10 Fantasy 5 Day Progresso / Cozumel

299.00 02/11 Inspiration 5 day Cayman / Cozumel

229.00 02/13 Ecstasy 5 day Freeport / Nassau / Half Moon Cay

[mchatt92]

I have been looking at 2014 as well. The prices are almost 500pp higher for the same week I just went on, and I noticed only two ports on the Galveston. I cruise to see the ports.

 

I am thinking that they are passing the 2.0 upgrades onto the consumers and the pending legal issues.

 

I also looked at other cruise lines. The prices are the same as Carnival's.

[srb2cruise]

Cruise prices are much higher than last year. I priced an all inclusive trip to Cancún with air and a cruise out of New Orleans with no air (same dates) for 7 nights. The all inclusive was $600 LESS than the cruise. Cruise was priced with an ocean view category (no balcony or suite) Resort was a five star resort in Cancún. We love cruises, but makes me wonder if the all inclusive isn't a better bang for our buck!

[Sargent_Schultz]

If you think the prices are too high for 2014, all the more reason to book Early Savers and take advantage of any price decreases, eh?

[cbCRR]

I'm curious what the "Vacation Awesome-ation" will do to prices. That is the next big thing, which starts Sunday.

My next cruise prices are much higher since the new rates too. I've checked numerous times, and tons of cabins available. We'll see what happens...

[laxlove6]

Prices have increased across the board. Prices decreased after the Concordia disaster and bookings dropped but now bookings are above the level they were at before the disaster.

[kingoftheicedragons]

To be clear, I'm not talking about the price that I would necessarily pay for a specific cruise....the prices I'm talking about are if you search all cruises, for instance, in July 2014, and the absolutely cheapest cruise price. In all but a very few cases, the absolute cheapest price is over $100/day. This would be for Carnival's lowest price structure. Early saver wouldn't make a difference, unless the prices do fall and you can get that money back. Myself, I would probably not play that game and just look for a cheaper line.

 

The last time I checked the prices for early 2014, they were still reasonable, but if Carnival is truly expecting to get these higher prices for their cruises come summer of 2014, then they may be pricing themselves out of existence.

[ready2cruzagain]

If you think the prices are too high for 2014, all the more reason to book Early Savers and take advantage of any price decreases, eh?

Correct me if I am wrong but you can't price match to such rates as Instant Saver and I am finding that lately Instant Saver is really the cheapest.

 

I do not see the advantage of booking ES anymore when you cannot price match to all of the categories.

[Groliv]

In general, cruise prices are definately on the rise. I was reading an article that says that cruise popularity and budget restraints have people now booking earlier than ever. That is reason one. Cruise lines do not have to drop prices for cabins people are willing to shell out for. Reason 2 is cruise lines offer the most promotions between January and April. Not necessarily lower prices, but they offer cabin upgrades or onboard credits to try and get people to book. They don't make any money on empty cabins, so they want to get them all booked early. I just think people are booking early so we don't see the sales like we used to.

[Darcy03231]

I think they're about the same as last year. We wanted to take a cruise in January 2013 and I started looking in late 2011/early 2012 and the prices were high (much higher than we paid in the past). I ended up booking in August 2012. By the time we sailed I'd booked the Legend, 7 day western itinerary, for 3 people in a balcony cabin (Verandah deck), for $1535 with a $75 on-board credit. That ended up being almost half the price that it was when I first started looking. I don't think it pays to book early anymore - unless you need to be on a specific sailing. For us it didn't matter what ship or where it was going, we just wanted to cruise!

[ccruisequeen]

Depends on time of year too. Winter are much less than late spring and summer, then fall in autum, except for holidays (at least on West Coast). There are a lot lower prices on the East coast.

[The4Cruisers]

I've noticed too that pricing has increased since their rate structure change on cruise itineraries that we normally take. In fact, I am holding off on booking our next one because I am not comfortable with the price changes and I don't like to play the Price Guarantee game. I may start leaning towards being flexible and booking a last minute deal cruise when the time comes.

[skridge]

If you go to the grocery store and the gas pump you should be able to easily see why the price of a cruise has gone up. :eek:

[cruzn buckeye]

In general, cruise prices are definately on the rise. I was reading an article that says that cruise popularity and budget restraints have people now booking earlier than ever. That is reason one. Cruise lines do not have to drop prices for cabins people are willing to shell out for. Reason 2 is cruise lines offer the most promotions between January and April. Not necessarily lower prices, but they offer cabin upgrades or onboard credits to try and get people to book. They don't make any money on empty cabins, so they want to get them all booked early. I just think people are booking early so we don't see the sales like we used to.

And the problem here is, if you are watching rates like I do, before I book, you will see that when the "sale" happens, there really isn't a change. They offer a 100 obc, but they have raised the price by the same amount. This is how it has always been... at least for the past several years...