Whatever happened to all the cheap cruise deals?

[miamicruising1991]

I've been on a bunch of solo cruises and I always seem to find the cheapest of prices, now i can't find nothing close to what i use to pay... ( $500 - 800 ) per 7 night carribean cruise with carnival or norwegian and I always travel solo....

 

 

 

Anyone outthere help me with some deals? Everything is above 1 stack..... its incredible lmao:'):'):')

[cfr70]

I'm in the same boat too, pardon the pun. :)

 

Used to travel solo (and also with friends, but I always need to have my own cabin anyway!) and would generally be able to snag a 7 day OV cabin for $700-$800 all in, but these days the closest I can find to stay within that price range, at least with Carnival is a 6 day on Conquest in December for $843 all in....and that's a 1A. Of course I grabbed it lol.

 

An OV solo jumps up to $1063 (still not bad I guess, but I just can't personally justify spending that much on a cabin. That $1k mark is my limit.)

 

I guess chalk it up to inflation?

[rjl1977]

And the economy has bounced back and more people are cruising.

[HawkIVette]

Old adage of supply & demand. Economy is better, more people crusing, add in a little inflation and costs are going up.

There are some sales once in a while, but you really just need to buy early and watch for price reductions.

[jasong38501]

Old adage of supply & demand. Economy is better, more people crusing, add in a little inflation and costs are going up.

There are some sales once in a while, but you really just need to buy early and watch for price reductions.

 

Exactly. Cruise lines are selling cabins at a faster rate at higher prices. You can hear that from every CEO in every quarterly report. That is why we are seeing schedules out farther ahead than ever and why orders are coming into the ship yards farther ahead than ever. MSC has orders all the way out until 2026, a sure sign the market for cruising is strong.

[CGinMTL]

At least, you are in US dollars. I am in cad and that adds another 30 percent

 

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[ABQrobin]

Cruising is just more popular now, with families as it is cheaper than going to Disneyworld, etc.

Overall, it just seems to be the better option for vacations as you can get on the ship and let it take you places....rather than flying on a plane here and there, renting a car and driving. I like the idea that the ship moves at night, so I am not missing any activities on land during the day, and I can visit places I may not want to see for a day but not a whole week. Airfare is just so expensive and unpleasant, I hate flying out of country anymore.

[Micahs Grandad]

Supply and demand, business is good so why should they discount cabins when they dont have to

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

I've been on a bunch of solo cruises and I always seem to find the cheapest of prices, now i can't find nothing close to what i use to pay... ( $500 - 800 ) per 7 night carribean cruise with carnival or norwegian and I always travel solo....

 

 

 

Anyone outthere help me with some deals? Everything is above 1 stack..... its incredible lmao:'):'):')

 

I know! I love 30 minutes away from The Port of Miami, and they used to have amazing deals! I have sailed solo 6 times out of my 29 cruises, and I would always find great deals when I sailed by myself. Make sure to sail on the 4 day aboard the Victory the week before Christmas. They always have great deals at that time, but you must book it 2 months in advance because the last month the price really increased.

[spleenstomper]

I've noticed this also.

 

We have RC coming back to New Orleans, so I'm hoping for better prices once that happens.

[robin13]

I too sail solo and the cheapest I have ever sailed was $479 for a 7 day Med cruise on NCL Epic. Now that was in their studio cabin but since I was only in there to sleep it was no big deal. Unfortunately the airfare from Dallas to Barcelona cost me $1200 so my cheap cruise went out the window. My up coming Breeze cruise in September is costing me a total of $968 in an inside cabin which is the cheapest I have found in numerous years. If you cruise solo you are just screwed since we have to pay double for the cabin. Wish Carnival still had their cabin mate plan where they would put you in a cabin with the person of the same sex so you could save money. This was back in the early 90's.

[SNJCruisers]

Cruise in a solo cabin on the NCL Escape during the cheap times of the year and you'll do great. Pick early December or early January and it will run you about 1000 and that will include all taxes, gratuities and a drink package as your perk.

 

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[riclop]

It's a thing of the past.

[richstowe]

It's a thing of the past.

True but I'm betting , at some point , it will be a thing of the future . ;)

No it's not a good thing but recession , wars , terrorism and any other issues can occur and that's not even mentioning oversupply . Prices don't stay high , or low forever . If you are flexible deals will appear .

[Micahs Grandad]

True but I'm betting , at some point , it will be a thing of the future . ;)

No it's not a good thing but recession , wars , terrorism and any other issues can occur and that's not even mentioning oversupply . Prices don't stay high , or low forever . If you are flexible deals will appear .

 

Cruise lines have a lot of new and larger ships on order so they are betting market will continue to grow. At some point economy will go into recession and better pricing will be offered.

[ray98]

Yup....the last 2 years have been nothing like the 8 or so before it. The deals I once found pretty regularly have gone away. More demand so they don't have to send prices to the rock bottom to fill the ship.

 

I remember taking many cruises that averaged around $50pp per night. One of the best I found was back in late winter of 2010 on RCCL, southern Caribbean in an inside cabin that was like $339. Those were the days.

[sc4125]

There has definitely been a change in just the last year. Getting casino deals (Pack n Play) last year compared to this year: Marchl 2016 - 8 day on the Breeze out of Miami - sister & I both got the deal and were able to get separate interior cabins next to each other - with taxes and port charges, the total for my interior cabin was less than $300 and we each got a $100 OBC - so an 8 day with my own cabin, after OBC was less than $200.

 

This year - Pack n Play - much fewer options - none of the cruises offered were over 5 days & though we both got the offer, this time if you wanted to sail solo, you had to pay for double occupancy - so:

 

June: 5 day on the Paradise. Both in one interior cabin, with a total of $100 OBD ($50 each) total for cabin = $676.50 or $338.25 each. Still not a bad price, but no where near as good as the deals last year.

 

So, even the casino deals - while much better than regular fare - cost more and have far fewer choices.

[aztekpm]

The only last minute deals I've been able to find were on NCL. There was nothing at all on Carnvial.

 

NCL doesn't necessarily advertise the solo discount on specific cruises, even on those vessels without studios, until you start going the selection process. I nearly went solo out of NY on the Gem for an oceanview with 2 picks, for approx. 900 USD$. I stuck with my land vacay, but was thisclose to changing my mind and jumping on that deal!

[ancfun]

Yup....the last 2 years have been nothing like the 8 or so before it. The deals I once found pretty regularly have gone away. More demand so they don't have to send prices to the rock bottom to fill the ship.

 

I remember taking many cruises that averaged around $50pp per night. One of the best I found was back in late winter of 2010 on RCCL, southern Caribbean in an inside cabin that was like $339. Those were the days.

 

Yes! We had one that worked out to be $29 per night. Paying a pretty penny now.

 

 

I wonder how many more casino offers are being doled out now. Back when we were able to book much more affordable cruises, I didn't hear a ton of people talking about getting freebies from them. Now, it seems to be that the only deals to be had, are through the casino. I could be wrong though. Who knows.

[bury me at sea]

It seems to me in the current market, if your schedule isn't flexible enough to book extremely late, then book extremely early at a refundable rate.