Look ahead, not liking cruise prices I see in the future.

[tallnthensome]

I always like to book cruises a year or even two ahead. I find the best prices are when booking early. I'm looking at 2019 cruises on Carnival. For comparison sake I did a mock booking on the new Horizon. I'm leaving on the Vista next month on the 8 day southern. I have my wife and two children in an Inside Cloud 9 Spa cabin. For the cruise, taxes, charges, grats, vacation protection, and airport transfer in was $3600. For an 8 day on the Horizon (vista's sister ship) in the exact same cabin and all the same charges it's $1500 more for 2019. I must say that is no small potatoes and quite a price jump. I find these high prices not only on CCL, but NCL and others. I'm beginning to think that come 2019 it may time to consider other vacation options. At some point the value of a cruise and what it brings may be no more in my opinion. Anyone else worried that they are going to get priced out in a year or two at this rate?

[johno1234]

At least you have the price drop guarantee.

[tallnthensome]

At least you have the price drop guarantee.

True, but like the Vista that I booked over a year out, it never dropped once since I booked. Only went higher .......

[johno1234]

Our upcoming April Mexican Riviera cruise looks roughly the same price in April 2019, but there is a change of ship.

[johno1234]

True, but like the Vista that I booked over a year out, it never dropped once since I booked. Only went higher .......

 

I'm finding the same thing on our cruise - only the guarantee balconies are dropping. I was starting to think that Carnival use this tool to prevent paying out on price drops, but I do see some significant drops on similar Carnival cruises coming up, e.g.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop/?order_type=drop&order_by=DESC&destination=&sail_month=03-2017&departure=&length=6-9&cruise_line=8&cabin_type=Balcony

[SNJCruisers]

I booked two cruises on the Horizon, 8 days out of NYC for August of 2018 and 8 day southern out of Miami for February of 2019. Both in inside Havana cabins. Was astonished by the prices. Luckily I found a TA that I snagged a 300+ discount on that made it worthwhile. Combined with the 10% gift card savings, it will be a little bit easier on the wallet.

 

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[krehberg]

True, but like the Vista that I booked over a year out, it never dropped once since I booked. Only went higher .......

 

Could be the new ship smell effect. I've gotten 2 price drops on my upcoming Conquest cruise on a Panarama deck balcony....1 prior and 1 after final payment.

 

My April 2018 booking on the Vista is nearly the same price for the same cabin type that I originally booked on the Conquest..before price drops. So technically more expensive net by about $200 total, but certainly not to degree of what you are seeing.

[winddawn]

I agree Carnival's prices are optimistic lately. I priced holiday cruises this week and found more premium brands to have better prices. Who'd have thought that?

[StolidCruiser]

I have a one word answer to your question.

 

Nope.

[gtalum]

Prices really do seem to be spiking for 2018. Take a look at MSC Cruises. I ended up booking an all-inclusive Grand Suite on MSC Seaside in 2018 for about the same price as a balcony cabin on Carnival for the same week.

[telebax51]

I look at the spike in pricing differently my DW shops at dept. stores and put things on layaway with 30 or less days to pay balance, cruises can be booked a year or two out so i stop drinking Starbucks coffee and have 12 to 24 months to pay it off that is how i can afford the 2 to 3 cruises a year i have booked

[tallnthensome]

Prices really do seem to be spiking for 2018. Take a look at MSC Cruises. I ended up booking an all-inclusive Grand Suite on MSC Seaside in 2018 for about the same price as a balcony cabin on Carnival for the same week.

Hahaha! Indeed! I'm already booked on the MSC Seaside for April of 2018. Booked that last April.

[iriegirl]

Yep. I'm returning to Carnival after a long stint on Royal, and I was looking at the Dream class for 2019. Holy cannoli...especially for the Breeze, which is my preferred ship! :eek:

[riclop]

They are going higher and quality lower.

[easyboy]

Market competition will still influence the price.

[nhsails]

Don't forget 3 important pieces to all this:

1) more anxiety in North America about safety of travelling to Europe & Asia, so bookings in Norrh & South America up.

2) Economy more stable, more disposable income, more people travelling.

3) More players in the party bringing newer more advanced ships.

So prices go up. Supply & Demand.

[SOMEBEECH]

I have been looking at 2018 for a while and can't believe the prices. For almost the same price my family of four could fly to Cozumel and stay for a week. Or I could just take my boat and cruise around the Bahamas. If I really wanted to I could rent a Captain.

 

 

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[krehberg]

I just put in a price protection claim this morning for my April 2018 Vista cruise - which would bring my fare increase between my upcoming April Conquest cruise to a total of $95. Though, I guess I should say, this year's itinerary includes Aruba and Curacao, which seems to always have higher fares (probably due to demand) than any itineraries that don't include the ABC islands. I could easily find cheaper fares on either RCL or Carnival for next April though, but my DW really wanted to go on the Vista, so I really didn't have an option. That said..only a $95 difference...with a years worth of possible price declines isn't all that bad.

[brooklynfc]

I don't think comparing the Vista to Horizon is exactly comparable. When the new ships first come out, the prices tend to be reasonable (pre-bookings, before the ship is even out of dock) and then a steady increase in the first 6 months to a year. They are paying off a new ship and they know they can get people to pay crazy prices for something shiney and new. I basically am paying 2,400 for my HCB in March of 2019 on the Vista. The ship will be close to 2 years old by then, but because I wanted that room, I had to book that far ahead. And as I check, the prices are not coming down and of course my category is sold out. So, no price drops for me.

[saharaga]

This is a big part of the reason why our last few Carnival cruises have been 5 days in an oceanview cabin. If you're sailing at a certain time, you can get 2 five day cruises for the price of one seven day;). I'm not thrilled with the ship choice for 5 day cruises but my goal is always to maximize our travel budget.

 

We're now forced to cancel an October Bermuda cruise on the Pride because our school system moved the scheduled Fall break to the week before the cruise. I am having the hardest time switching that booking to a cruise in 2018 or 2019 that is not severely overpriced. I couldn't even find a reasonably priced replacement cruise for the actual week of Fall break this year. We ended up booking the Oasis of the Seas because the price was slightly better than Carnival and we got OBC and prepaid gratuties from our TA.

 

It's a little disappointing because we love Carnival but we will not hestiate to cruise other lines if they are offering a better value.

[BNBR]

Maybe the higher prices will drive a better quality crowd? :confused:

[gtalum]

Maybe the higher prices will drive a better quality crowd? :confused:

 

I have to say, in a dozen cruises on Carnival I've never noticed a problem with the "quality" of the crowd aboard.

[saharaga]

Diito.

 

I have to say, in a dozen cruises on Carnival I've never noticed a problem with the "quality" of the crowd aboard.

[krehberg]

I have to say, in a dozen cruises on Carnival I've never noticed a problem with the "quality" of the crowd aboard.

 

Agree. A bigger bank account does not necessarily mean better quality.

[BNBR]

Agree. A bigger bank account does not necessarily mean better quality.

 

Exactly. Which is why people intentionally move to economically depressed neighborhoods for the better quality people...

 

Lighten up guys... it was a joke.