Return to Carnival?

[Yellowjacket1799]

Good morning everyone,

 

I decided to take a year off from Carnival (20 previous cruises) as prices seem to be less competitive in 2016 and incentives seem to be pretty good at some of the other cruise lines. I ended up taking three 7 day cruises on Norwegian this year and had a blast.

 

I'm in the planning phase for 2017 and while I'm probably going to try out Royal Carribean next year, I'm also pondering trying out Carnival again. I looked at Vista - I've been on all the other new ships Carnival has to offer, but was disappointed to see they are doing the 6 and 8 days sailings on Vista. I'd love the extra day of taking an 8 day, but am concerned that there will be less 20 and 30yr olds on an 8 day vs. 7, as there is already a noticeable difference in the amount on a 7 vs. 5 day. 7 day cruises just seem like the peak balance between short enough to get a nice diverse crowd and long enough to feel like you had a nice break away from reality.

 

Do you guys have any feedback on what's changed in the past year; good and bad? If I do book it looks like I'll probably avoid Vista since 6 is too short and I believe 8 would not offer the same crowd - although I'd love to try her out. I'll probably book Magic; though I have already done this ship when it was in TX.

 

An example of the pricing issue I mentioned is the Glory is around $550 to book in 2016 when back in 2004 - 2012 timeframe when the ship was newer, the same ship and itenary was $450-$480 all the time. I know they added things to the ship and remodeled, but I just don't see the value in paying more as a customer. Just my opinion.

[AdGuyMG]

If I do book it looks like I'll probably avoid Vista since 6 is too short and I believe 8 would not offer the same crowd - although I'd love to try her out.

 

An example of the pricing issue I mentioned is the Glory is around $550 to book in 2016 when back in 2004 - 2012 timeframe when the ship was newer, the same ship and itenary was $450-$480 all the time.

 

IMHO I don't see where -1 day (6) or + 1 day (8) would have a significant impact on the age demographic of what is essentially a week long cruise. The age demographic would be more affected by the time of year you cruise.

 

Cruise pricing is based on market supply/demand. 2010 - 2013 was a challenging time for both Carnival and the entire cruise and travel industry as a whole as the economy was still in recovery from the 2008 so making a comparison based on years past to the present is meaningless. 2016 cruise pricing seemed to be very strong and 2017 seems to be just as optimistic for the industry.

 

Should there be any major world events that affect the industry (economy / terrorism / high gasoline prices etc...) at that point you may see major pricing dumps.

[Hoosierpop]

I haven't seen that much difference in service on Carnival this past year (good or bad). I haven't been on the Vista though.

 

In other words, I would assume the service is going to be like you experienced before when planning your next cruise.

 

 

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