Lack of deals right now and pricing higher than normal?

[kteachcruiser52]

For our October cruise, Riveria and Main deck insides now cost more than we paid for our 7th floor balcony. We did get a nice upsell from a French Door inside to an extended balcony for our 21 day Journey cruise for $400- less than $20 per day for the cabin. In January of 2015 we sailed for 8 days on the Freedom and 6 days on the Conquest for cabin rates of $31 pp per day for a 2 person inside on Deck 10 and Main Deck guarantees. I don't see any rates close to that.

[kelkel2]

We were just discussing this on our roll call. The prices have shot way up! But it must mean Carnival's ships are selling well.

For us consumers I think you basically have 2 options, book early before the ship gets full and they raise the prices, or wait it out and see if prices come down after final payment time.

I know we booked a year out and got a fantastic deal on an aft extended balcony, but now we would be paying about the same price for a cove balcony. Prices sure have gone up. But, it's not because Carnival is struggling! They have no reason to put out incentives or deals if us consumers are paying the list price!

[cruising maniac]

The prices are ridiculous. I stuck with this cruise because I am ES, but I can't believe that the price has gone up $400 since we booked in February. I don't think Carnival is the best deal anymore, at all.

[tbjl24]

The market is good right now so there is no need for Carnival to fill its ships with cruisers who buy the underpriced cheap seats and then spend nothing on board.

 

Not necessarily true....I got a steal of a rate on my October Sunshine cruise. $274/each for a family of 4 in a balcony guarantee. It was a pack and go rate and was gone the very next day.

 

Just have to pounce quickly!

[GreytRacer]

Personally we find that Carnival sales are anything but a sale.

 

 

We booked a 4 night for $149 per person during the 36 hour sale that just ended. Seems like a sale to me...

[sfaaa]

There were some pretty good deals 2 months ago. I scored one for 12/15. You need to act fast when you see one or they will be gone.

[Breadman54]

Just wondering if I am missing something. We typically take one cruise per year on carnival in November. For the past 4-5 years the rates have been awesome and a no brainer, this year the rates are much higher and the only Vifp deal currently I have is past guest, there is no casino deals or anything. Very strange. Is there a method to this and I should wait and see what pops up in the next few weeks or just go ahead and book a all inclusive vacation elsewhere? I got in on a pack and play deal last year and went super cheap.

 

There are deals out there you just have to be checking them when they put them out there.This last Saturday we checked our offers and found we had a Premier Cruise offer with some casino cash avalible.I called my PVP and ask how much casino cash was avalible for me and my wife,found out we had $900.00 between the two of us and our 7 day Western Cruise out of Port Canaveral was $913.96,we only paid $13.96.Deals are out there you have to checking at the right time.

[DebJ14]

I got a great rate on a suite for November on a 3 day sale they had in July. The price on our cabin is $180 more per person now.

[lollylew]

We cruise hurricane season for great rates but this year we paid more than we have before but thought that ES would get us some obc but so far rates just keep going up.

 

 

 

Apparently they are getting strong bookings.

 

 

I've been reading that one reason the rates are up even for hurricane season is that supposedly it's supposed to be not a very active one so people are getting over their fears and cruising[emoji3]

[Earthworm Jim]

I agree. Prices have increased and don't seem to be coming down much before cruise time for any OBC. We checked into going to Europe on the Vista because the Euro is way down and I almost fainted. When combined with airfare a Med cruise is out of our price range for sure.

 

I saw some cheap Med cruises for October on another line recently. Check for cruises stopping mostly in Greece and Turkey. I don't think they are selling well because of the Greek economic issues and Turkey's proximity to Syria. (Not that the regular cruise stops are anywhere near Syria, but people still worry)

 

The airfare I saw on ITA Matrix Flight Search was cheap too. $600+ to Rome with Turkish Airlines, which is a 4 star airline (same rating as British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, etc.). Again, must be people worried about changing planes in Istanbul.

[gullgeorge]

About 6 months ago I starting checking on a couple of sailings out of Port Canaveral for September and the price changed very little during that time. There were different deals, but the final price was always about the same. Finally booked a balcony on Lido deck 33 days before the cruise departure and within hours the price went up and the cabins started to disappear. Looks like the upgrade fairy started to call because the balcony and outside rooms disappeared and the inside room availability increased.

 

The best deals were on a guarantee cabin, but there are many cabins that are not very desirable to be stuck in for 7 days (of course that is a personal preference).

 

The final price was about 20% higher than last year but last year's price was the least we have paid for a cruise for the month of September in many years.

[chriscec2012]

As luck would have it I woke up this morning and had a casino offer. It's not a great offer so I'm going to wait another month or so and see if the prices decrease.

[Miller_KC]

I think people took advantage of good prices early in the year to buy up a lot of rooms through the end of the year. We took 2 extra cruises this year just because we found them too cheap to pass up. We have balcony rooms on a 10-day in October that only cost us $699 pp. The only rooms open now are 9 suites. I expect the upgrade fairy will start calling soon and other rooms will open up, but prices were pretty high the last month as they were selling out.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

We just got a dirt cheap deal on Princess. Carnival prices aren't dropping like they used to.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Rates usually drop after final payment dates which hasn't happened yet for November cruises. I'm on a Nov 7th cruise and my final payment is coming up so I would think prices for my cruise may drop by then but currently up from what I paid a year ago for upcoming cruise.

Edited September 1, 2015 by AZ Karaoke Girl

[JPEvans]

It's supply and demand. Carnival just can't decide to keep prices higher than in the past years, they are primarily concerned with having every ship sail full. As long as that is happening, prices will keep rising.

 

Or Carnival is pushing the "pay what we demand, or you don't cruise".

Recently Royal Caribbean said they were going to raise prices even if it

Means cabins remain unsold. The airlines have been doing that for years

For flights to Europe.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Or Carnival is pushing the "pay what we demand, or you don't cruise".

 

Well, duh! And this concept is foreign or weird.

 

I am totally in awe of the consumer who actually feels that Carnival owes them a "good deal"...."or we won't cruise". If Carnival wanted "you"(and I'm not referring to the poster of the quote) they would sell cheap cruises. But, it seems, right now that they can charge what they are charging and are getting people to cruise...and if they don't sail "full" they probably are aware that the cheap seats don't often bring in additional revenue through on board extras. If consumers are holding out for "great buys" they obviously have an agenda which is about spending less.

[fuddhist1]

Do people really not understand how business works? If the ship is filling up at a higher rate, why would they lower the rate just to please you? It doesn't matter that the price of fuel went down or the price of this same cruise was cheaper last year. It is all about how much people will pay now. Want lower cruise rates? Stop paying the prices and they won't fill the cabins and only then will the prices come down. It's that simple. Ok rant over.

[Texbam]

Look up Titans At The Table on Bloomberg (utube) and look for cruise episode. Carnival and RCL CEOs were on there. It's all about profit margins. Carnival CEO said fares will be increasing even if the ships don't sail full.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Texbam

[ellykay555]

For me it's best to be flexible when looking. There are deals out there, but they may not be the exact dates, ship or itinerary I am looking for. We decided on a whim to join some friends on a 4 day out of Long Beach at $169 pp. At that price we couldn't afford to not go! Even with tax and tips it's less than $75 pp per day. On the other hand, we are doing a big birthday cruise in 2017 that we wanted a specific date and route and the rates are just so-so, but have come down $40 pp since booking in July.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

This is a Carnival board so probably not appropriate to mention NCL Hawaii prices but they have skyrocketed. My first cruise there was $1924 for 2 of us in an inside cabin. I went again in July 2011 and had a balcony for $2,543 for both of us. Prices for July 2016 in the same cabin is more than doubled at about $6K for both of us. Bottom line, I decided not to do that cruise even though it is my 25th anniversary. Taking a cruise elsewhere instead because I can't justify the price. But you know what, people are still booking that cruise without me. Its okay, but I know when to draw the line and not give in. There is something out there that is more affordable and I don't have to pay it.

[Surfwench]

7 days on Glory in November - Eastern Caribbean. $350.00 inside Empress. Same price we paid for 7 day Western Caribbean on Sensation inside Riviera in 1999. :)

[erby2283]

I usually always cruise in November and agree that I can always find an awesome cruise deal. Usually under $700 (with taxes fees) for a 7-day balcony. Good luck finding that nowadays. I have a Journey cruise booked for January in which my friend got that awesome VIFP rate but my mom is having some health issues and I'll have to decide before final payment on whether to cancel or not. I really hate to - how often can you book an 11-day balcony for $500 plus OBC?

[knight2096]

Carnival was a good product for a good price, now with their high prices, horrible entertainment and loads of cutbacks they are not worth it anymore. As long as you have mindless cheerleaders cheering Carnival and the other cruise lines on nothing will change and things will just get worse. Plenty of AI resorts out there to enjoy.

Edited September 2, 2015 by knight2096

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Carnival was a good product for a good price, now with their high prices, horrible entertainment and loads of cutbacks they are not worth it anymore. As long as you have mindless cheerleaders cheering Carnival and the other cruise lines on nothing will change and things will just get worse. Plenty of AI resorts out there to enjoy.

 

Well, don't keep people hanging. Where are all these great AI deals?