Why are prices so high with lower fuel prices?

[summersigh]

Some of Carnival's potential customers will be able to afford to cruise going forward, but many other potential customers will get left behind as prices rise and wages stagnate or fall for some.

 

Another choice many families are making regarding their disposable income is the astronomical amount of money they are spending each month on electronics ->

I-phones, I-pads, tablets, gaming units, internet access, streaming movies and/or tv and/or music, video games etc etc...

 

We can easily be talking hundreds of dollars a month which then are not available for traveling or any other luxuries.

 

Add into the mix the $$ spent on eating out as often as many people do these days - not to mention frequent trips to Starbucks - and the disposable income takes another hit.

 

In my mind it's often about the choices folks make on how to spend the "extra" money they have. And, yes, I know there are people whose income won't allow them to cruise at this time of their life even without the electronics and eating out draining their funds but there are many, many who could if they spent differently.

 

I may have angered some reading this but the above are observations I've made and from knowing that, in the early days of our careers, DH and I could not have vacationed unless we watched our spending and saved our "extra" money.

[Tapi]

 

I don't really think I can change cruise lines right now but it pisses me off. If we went on Royal Caribbean we would lose all our privileges, long line to board, etc. Kind of feel like I wasted my time with Carnival all these years.

 

 

You'd be surprised at how little Carnival's "privileges" mean. Other cruise lines offer first time cruisers complimentarily what Carnival gives their past guests or charges for. When we sailed on Princess as first timers last year, our stateroom was available immediately upon boarding, we were invited to a special event, and they provided stateroom decoration and an anniversary cake at the MDR complimentarily. And their boarding process was so efficient that we breezed through it, faster than our Platinum boardings on Carnival. As you already know, these things either require pat guest status, FTTF, or a charge on Carnival.

 

Don't let past guest privileges dictate who you cruise on. A drink voucher and a bag of laundry are not worth it.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Tapi

[sparks1093]

Not sure what "taxes" from new EPA regulations you are referring to. If you mean the air emissions regulations within the US ECA (Emissions Control Area), those have been in place for over a year, and the EPA has no plan to make them any more stringent.

 

For the OP, maritime fuel is far less volatile than the crude oil or gasoline market, and in fact marine bunker prices have been rising for the last couple of months, as demand increases due to more ships sailing.

 

The cruise ships have also seen a near doubling of fuel costs over the last year, as they have had to switch to diesel fuel over residual fuel while in the US ECA mentioned above. While they can and do switch back to residual fuel outside the ECA, diesel fuel is more than twice as expensive for use within the ECA. Even those ships that have installed scrubbers to allow them to continue to burn residual fuel within the ECA, have done so at a cost of $6-9 million per ship, so they will not see any cost savings until that capital cost is repaid, in 6-10 years.

 

This plus increased consumer demand are probably the only answers that one needs.

[Micahs Grandad]

Give Princess a try. It is a serious upgrade from Carnival. I wish we would have done it long ago.

 

Very true. Have done two Princess cruises now and find it is very similar to what cruising was on Carnival 5-10 years ago.

[Micahs Grandad]

You'd be surprised at how little Carnival's "privileges" mean. Other cruise lines offer first time cruisers complimentarily what Carnival gives their past guests or charges for. When we sailed on Princess as first timers last year, our stateroom was available immediately upon boarding, we were invited to a special event, and they provided stateroom decoration and an anniversary cake at the MDR complimentarily. And their boarding process was so efficient that we breezed through it, faster than our Platinum boardings on Carnival. As you already know, these things either require pat guest status, FTTF, or a charge on Carnival.

 

Don't let past guest privileges dictate who you cruise on. A drink voucher and a bag of laundry are not worth it.

 

As Diamonds the perks are nice but just started with Princess as newbies and sorry now we didnt do this a few years earlier.

[skyeman27]

They did do a surcharge if oil prices went about a certain amount. It was added to your account after you sailed.

 

As far as I know Carnival never has used the fuel surcharge option, can you point out an instance when they did?

[cruiserNC]

Prices typically mirror the state of the economy and how much travelers are willing to spend. It really is that simple.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mzloolue]

You don't remember the fuel surcharges ??

 

I remember the surcharges.

Back when we were booking several cabins for the whole family.

[Tapi]

As far as I know Carnival never has used the fuel surcharge option, can you point out an instance when they did?

 

 

I don't remember the exact year, but it was sometime in the mid 2000's, I want to say in 2007. Carnival, and most other major cruise lines, added a per day fuel surcharge to all their cruises. I believe it was $5pp/pd so for a family of 4 on a 7 day cruise it was an additional $140. What really caused an uproar was that they started retroactively adding this charge to bookings that were already made and even paid in full. I know because I was one of the cruisers who got hit with this surcharge. I was beyond livid when I got an email telling me that I owed Carnival money after my booking was already paid in full. I ended canceling that cruise.

 

I understood adding the surcharge to new bookings, but not retroactively.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Tapi

[MCFTJCH2V]

We have been on 27 cruises with Carnival.

We decided to book the May 21st cruise on the Freedom out of Galveston. I thought the prices were kind of high. Carla always wants a balcony, I don't really care.

 

 

 

For us to get a balcony it is $1,928.32. In the past it cost around $1,200 and the last couple of years around $1,400 to $1,500 because of fuel prices they said. Fuel prices are way down right now.

 

 

 

While waiting for our personal cruise planner to call me back I went on Royal Caribbean just for the hell of it and looked. On May the first they have one out of Galveston, balcony is $1,797.98 with a $100.00 onboard credit. Going the same places except it goes to Falmouth Jamaica, which is supposed to be a nicer port. Nicer ship and better ports for about $250.00 less.

 

 

 

When my vacation planner called back I told her about this and she said all she could do is get us an extra $30.00 per person off. I asked why it was so high and she just said that cruising is real popular right now. Basically price gouging to me. I just told her I was going to have to think about it.

 

 

 

I don't really think I can change cruise lines right now but it pisses me off. If we went on Royal Caribbean we would lose all our privileges, long line to board, etc. Kind of feel like I wasted my time with Carnival all these years.

 

I think we are getting hosed from all angles from the oil industries and those that regulate it. The prices we are paying at the pump are SO MUCH HIGHER than when a barrel of oil cost the same in the past. The games they are playing between the grades, which historically was 10'cent spread each, are now sometimes 50 to 60'cent spreads, and some states are so out of whack with each other, historically lower priced states are suddenly higher in some areas.

 

And suddenly cash and credit prices are back.

[Micahs Grandad]

I think we are getting hosed from all angles from the oil industries and those that regulate it. The prices we are paying at the pump are SO MUCH HIGHER than when a barrel of oil cost the same in the past. The games they are playing between the grades, which historically was 10'cent spread each, are now sometimes 50 to 60'cent spreads, and some states are so out of whack with each other, historically lower priced states are suddenly higher in some areas.

 

And suddenly cash and credit prices are back.

 

In states such as NJ have had cash and credit pricing for years.

 

The oil companies think we should be so grateful for lower prices we will not notice they are higher than they really should be.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Gas prices may be lower but many states are quickly adding taxes to gasoline, grateful that more people are driving so that state coffers can be replenished and the thousands of miles of roads under disrepair can be addressed. (Nothing to do with the cost of a cruise but an interesting economic tid-bit, nonetheless).

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that economics is not a simple 1+1=2 and that just because a "single commodity" may be lower in price it doesn't necessarily mean that the end consumer will see a "net" change in everything else they purchase. We aren't lowering our prices where I work because our trucks are costing less to "fill-up". We are just happy to have a little more capital to work with to operate our business. Why should the end consumer get all the benefits...I'd rather have a raise.

[sparks1093]

In states such as NJ have had cash and credit pricing for years.

 

The oil companies think we should be so grateful for lower prices we will not notice they are higher than they really should be.

 

I have a friend that owns a convenience store/gas station and if a customer pays for his or her gas with a credit card he usually loses money on the transaction since what his business gets for gas is negligible and the credit card fee eats that up.

[cmukid87]

Simple economics on this one. Demand is up so cruise lines can keep prices high.

 

Now you are wrapping fuel prices into this and it's almost a catch 22. Cheaper fuel at home means more disposable income, possibly to go on a previously unreachable cruise...increasing demand for cruising...increasing cost set by cruise lines.

[gtalum]

Pricing on things like cruise fares and airfares rarely reflect the actual cost of providing the service. Cruise lines and airlines charge the maximum price they think they can get for each seat/cabin. Once the plane departs or the ship sails, those seats and cabins are lost forever, so it makes sense to extract every bit of revenue that they can before departure.

 

When demand is low, this is why they will sell cruises at dirt cheap fares right before departure, and when demand is high that's why prices increase.

 

If Carnival is too expensive in relation to other lines, the only logical choice is to sail another line. I have yet to find similar sailings cheaper on any other line, but if and when I do (even as a Carnival Platinum) I will book on that line.

[LynnA]

As far as I know Carnival never has used the fuel surcharge option, can you point out an instance when they did?

 

It happened to us. WE got a notice when booking that if oil prices went over a certain amount they would have to add $75.00 per person to our cruise. And they did.

[LynnA]

Carnival has always been a little cheaper out of Galveston than Royal Caribbean. That was why I was kind of shocked that they had a cheaper price.

[chengkp75]

I think we are getting hosed from all angles from the oil industries and those that regulate it. The prices we are paying at the pump are SO MUCH HIGHER than when a barrel of oil cost the same in the past. The games they are playing between the grades, which historically was 10'cent spread each, are now sometimes 50 to 60'cent spreads, and some states are so out of whack with each other, historically lower priced states are suddenly higher in some areas.

 

And suddenly cash and credit prices are back.

 

What really has driven the price of gasoline up in recent (last 10-15 years) in relation to crude oil prices has nothing to do with the oil industry or the regulatory agencies. What is to blame are the pension plans and mutual funds with their computerized trading programs. The typical barrel of oil is bought and sold six times before it even gets to the refinery. And each of those transactions has a profit motive, so the price will of course go up with each trade. If you're looking for a "bad guy", look no further than Wall Street.

 

And this is why cash and charge prices are back. The refiner, the gasoline company, and the local gas stations make so little profit on the product, that charge fees become a major obstacle to profit. Most of the profit on a barrel of crude oil is made between the wellhead and the refinery, by those not in the industry at all.

[Maleeni]

It happened to us. WE got a notice when booking that if oil prices went over a certain amount they would have to add $75.00 per person to our cruise. And they did.

 

I am of the impression that there were many that got this money returned to them, under legal duress.

[Maleeni]

In states such as NJ have had cash and credit pricing for years.

 

The oil companies think we should be so grateful for lower prices we will not notice they are higher than they really should be.

 

That's incorrect. I've been getting gas in Jersey for 16 years, and that only came back during the last major decrease prior to this one.

 

But the are still stations that charge the same.

 

But it's annoying that you have to go 30 miles into NJ to get their uninflated prices. Right now extreme northern NJ is about $1.55, and just south of Rt 80, significantly cheaper.

[chengkp75]

I am of the impression that there were many that got this money returned to them, under legal duress.

 

I believe this was only those who had already paid in full before the surcharge was added.

[Micahs Grandad]

That's incorrect. I've been getting gas in Jersey for 16 years, and that only came back during the last major decrease prior to this one.

 

But the are still stations that charge the same.

 

But it's annoying that you have to go 30 miles into NJ to get their uninflated prices. Right now extreme northern NJ is about $1.55, and just south of Rt 80, significantly cheaper.

 

So when are you saying cash and charge prices came back? Seems to me as a frequent visitor to NJ it has been around for quite a few years.

[bruadhin]

I believe this was only those who had already paid in full before the surcharge was added.

 

I do not recall the exact sequence of events, but I know we got ours back as OBC. I believe it was added after we booked, but I am not sure. I know we had paid it and that is why we got it back as OBC.

[bruadhin]

So when are you saying cash and charge prices came back? Seems to me as a frequent visitor to NJ it has been around for quite a few years.

 

Cash versus credit prices are a fairly new or at a least recently returned thing for most of the country. It has little to do with the oil/gas industry.

 

For years, Visa, Mastercard, etc. forbid different prices for cash versus credit purchases in an effort to promote credit cards over cash. As I recall, a court decision recently removed that rule from the merchant services agreement. Because the margins are so low on gasoline purchases, that is where you tend to see it.

[LynnA]

We ended up booking with Carnival. I was going to try RCCL but when I went on today the prices had gone up $100.00 pp since yesterday, go figure....

Glad that's over, I need a vacation...