Cruise Prices - Wow!!

[tmcraine]

I haven't been pricing out cruises for the last six months, but I got on-line the other night and couldn't believe the high prices! Even for an inside cabin in the summer! What happened? Does anyone have an explanation? Just curious.

[angel41]

My guess would be the cost of fuel. Maybe someone else knows better.

[Shifra]

I agree the prices are shocking. See what happens when you stay away for 6 months???

 

The feedback I get on the high prices is that cruise ships are having no problem filling the ships. It is simply a product of supply & demand. There are still some bargains out there but you have to really search for them. Remember after 9/11 the prices went way down. They have been creeping up since then to the levels now. I suppose if people stopped booking, the prices would start dropping. I have noticed even the so called "budget" cruiselines have high prices.

[cali-croozer]

I! Even for an inside cabin in the summer!

 

Summer prices, and any time kids are out of school, are high. Prices tend to go down a little beginning with August cruises. We sailed in inside cabins this past summer (have 2 high school aged kids, so no real choice but to cruise in the summer); a great vacation, but no bargains to be found. Glad we stuck with the mid to late June sailing; we avoided all the tropical storms and hurricanes that happened later in the summer.:)

[Sheffie]

And airfares have started to get horrid, also! Our friends' tickets to SJU have gone up over $100 pp since September!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Just like the airlines, cruiselines are having to struggle with astronomical fuel prices. They are passing that on to the customer in the time honored fashion, just the way Florida Power and Light has raised our rates here in South Florida and maybe your utility company, too. Drat the luck! These new high prices may mean fewer cruises for me.

[Host Caroline]

...but if you can go later in the off season the prices aren't any higher than this year ... the prices for the group I have on Explorer of the Seas next December (come join us!) really aren't much higher at all than those on the PRincess group this year AND it's not during hurricane season which is always cheaper but during which neither I nor some of my friends want to travel again due to disruption and the fact that some of them live in FL and don't want to be gone during storm season anymore for a while.

[montgomeryfamily]

Another way to avoid the high summer cruise prices is to join the August 19, 2006 Cruise Critic group cruise on the Caribbean Princess. In addition to great group rates, there are group amenities including shipboard credit and a photo voucher. Plus there will be a sailaway party and a meet and mingle. And there will be an opportunity to share shore excursions. But you can do as much or as little with the group as you want. There is no group dining--you eat when you want.

 

Its a great way for your kids to meet other kids before even getting onboard. And there are lots of activities for adults and couples. This is a terrific Eastern Caribbean intinerary--St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Princess Cay, the Princess private island.

 

The group rates are combinable with both referral credits/coupons and also future cruise credits.

 

Click on the links below for pricing/info or email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

[samtig]

We find the prices to be the cheapest booking in Feb. for Dec. cruises. Remains to be seen this year, though.

[serene56]

Kathy- Have you looked at Prices lately? I seen my princess cruise go up over 100pp since we booked- to think this cruise is for 2007. wonder how much more it will go up/

[masterbaker]

In our experience there are ways to get better pricing. Group cruises offer discounts and perks, or booking far in advance (especially if it is a popular time or itinerary), or booking very late if you can be flexible about what ship, itinerary and cabin you are willing to sail.

[CruiseFuse]

We were fortunate, I think. We booked our cruise at the end of September '05 for Dec. 18, '05 in an OV gty (6B). There are 4 of us sharing a room (we have 2 teens) and we were on a tight budget. Our cost after pre-paying tips, all fees and taxes was about $2800 total. Then we were upgraded to a 6E on Spa deck (Carnival Victory) and were thrilled. I found airfare from O'hare to FLL for $136 pp roundtrip, returning on X-mas Day, through Travelocity, and hubby found a limo from FLL to Miami port for $85, which includes tips. Our hotel was only $20 (Hyatt in FLL) since we have points saved up. It's my understanding that the summer months are really expensive due to the number of families wanting to book and holiday cruises are more expensive also. We're already looking at which cruise to book for next year and we haven't even taken our first cruise yet.

 

As a side note, the room we are in is now selling for far more than we paid for it and I didn't think we booked particularly early.

[jaw62901]

I was surprised at how cheap my room was with the single supplement added on. I had always figured that going on a cruise solo would be $$$$, but I guess deals can be found.

[serene56]

Summer is always higher-- check out Victory for a july sailing compared to Dec sailing. Dec is as low as 69 a day and July is 118 per day. same ship different time.

[momofmeg]

We were fortunate, I think. We booked our cruise at the end of September '05 for Dec. 18, '05 in an OV gty (6B). There are 4 of us sharing a room (we have 2 teens) and we were on a tight budget. Our cost after pre-paying tips, all fees and taxes was about $2800 total. Then we were upgraded to a 6E on Spa deck (Carnival Victory) and were thrilled. I found airfare from O'hare to FLL for $136 pp roundtrip, returning on X-mas Day, through Travelocity, and hubby found a limo from FLL to Miami port for $85, which includes tips. Our hotel was only $20 (Hyatt in FLL) since we have points saved up. It's my understanding that the summer months are really expensive due to the number of families wanting to book and holiday cruises are more expensive also. We're already looking at which cruise to book for next year and we haven't even taken our first cruise yet.

 

As a side note, the room we are in is now selling for far more than we paid for it and I didn't think we booked particularly early.

You think you got a good price? I don't think so back in Sept. 03 we booked an oceanview cabin on Inspiration for Dec. 03 for $500 a person for hubby and me-our daughter was $380 for the third person.

 

We could have booked Grand Princess and Carnival Legend balconies for $700 a person but the friends we were cruising with wanted to cruise out of Tampa as they had relatives that live in Tampa.

 

If I had had my choice I would have went for a ship with a balcony-we flew to Tampa-so we could have just as easily flew to Ft. Lauderdale-where at that time these other ships were cruising from.

 

We booked RCCL Mariner of the Seas a year before we took that cruise (this past Oct.2)-it cost us around $700 a person for an atruim cabin. We were just 2 to a cabin too. Our daughter shared a cabin with a friend. If she had been sharing with us we would have booked a balcony-I think that would have just cost us an extra $100-$200 if she had shared a cabin with us- but we were willing to book a less expensive cabin since she was able to room with our friend. We preferred the privacy for hubby and I- then having a balcony cabin with the 4 of us piled in together.

 

So my point is-you did not get a good price at all-just a so-so price. Not for Dec.-that is unless you are going over Christmas-New Years-that last week of Dec. is pricy but if you go before Christmas-you get the cheapest prices of the whole year.

[SWEETNLOW2005]

I think CruiseFuse got a good deal for the time. They will be returning on xmas day. This is during the holiday season. Dec18- Dec25. 2800/4=700.00-70.00 for tips =630.00+136.00(airfare)=766.00 for cruise during xmas vacation. Sounds like a deal to me. 2 years ago my family took a cruise out of Tampa during the xmas vacation. we were on the ship for xmas day and we paid $1000.00 per person

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

The December issue of Smart Money magazine has an article titled "Ten Things Your Cruise Line Won't Tell You." Item one is about how much cruise fares have increased recently. Here's one example, based on statistics from CLIA,a cruise line industry tracking organization. From 2004 to 2005 Carnival Cruise Lines raised their fares between 20 and 30 percent.

 

The main reason given for these large fare increases is that passenger demand has risen 9.4 percent in just one year for the ships tracked by CLIA. With higher passenger demand, the cruise lines can "charge what the market will bear." Deals come only when the cruise line discovers a particular sailing is not filling up.