Princess Prices have jumped A LOT!

[Wishing on a star]

Unfortunately, I think caribill is right.

The one reason that we are looking at the cruise that we are is that it is not on one of the newest ships, where they have added cabins, just obliterated the adult pool area, taken away more public and deck space.

 

I have no desire to vacation like livestock penned in tiny tiny rooms and limited open spaces.

 

Everything is dedicated to MORE bars and 'Theme Park' type venues.

And more and more and more tiny cabins.

Don't have to be on a cruise ship for that.   

 

For me, anyhow, I think that the mainstream cruising industry, in general, has been going in all the wrong directions.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Wishing on a star

[nocl]

In general prices on many things have gone up considerably. Everything from grocery items, to housing, to services.

 

The cruise industry has traditionally been an industry with limited pricing power due to heavy competition not only with other cruise lines but with the rest of the travel industry.

 

As they restart there are indications that they will not be bringing all of the ships back immediately.  Between the FCCs, pent up desire to cruise, limited number of ships there is a period where they do have pricing power and the prices reflect that.  This is also impacted by large portions of the globe not being attractive for international travel at this time.

 

As more ships return to services, the FCC's get used, and the pent up demand normalizes I expect that the normal price pressures due to competition will return.  I expect it will take 2-3 years for pricing to normalize.

[MishelleMcc]

13 hours ago, franktown said:

I have a Caribbean cruise booked for February 2022 that I booked last November and have seen the same type of price increase maybe not quite as dramatic.  I would of not booked the cruise with today prices.  Would of booked a all inclusive instead which I did for 2021.   I think a lot of the cruise pricing is being driven by the amount of FCC out there.  The thing about pricing is people tend to get used to the new price and as long people have disposable income most will continue to book.

That totally makes sense!  So once the FCCs are used up, then the prices will level out some....

 

We had another Cruise for 2023 (Panama Canal) that I wanted to change but may keep it the way it is because of the pricing surge... 

[donaldsc]

A lot of people such as me who are not addicted to cruising will find other ways of doing leisure travel. There are a lot of great land trips out there and I guessing that the costs for DIY land trips will not go up too much.  Also, when the pent up demand for cabins drops, the cruise companies will drop the prices.  What goes around comes around.

 

DON

[caribill]

17 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

A lot of people such as me who are not addicted to cruising will find other ways of doing leisure travel. There are a lot of great land trips out there and I guessing that the costs for DIY land trips will not go up too much.  Also, when the pent up demand for cabins drops, the cruise companies will drop the prices.  What goes around comes around.

 

DON

 

There have been press reports of higher pricing for hotels in many parts of the country due to increased demand and, in some cases, less capacity with some hotels out of business for good.

 

Also, some national parks which are capacity limited have been reporting very few time slots still available to reserve.

[memoak]

It seems to me the fact that  so many of us had cruises canceled for 2020 and 2021 that we immediately rebooked for 2022 and 2023. That means now there are less cabins available so prices go up. By the way we scored a February  2023 canal cruise for a great price the day they opened up. Of course our casino discount helped 

[Iamcruzin]

In terms of travel the world has been locked down or restricted for over a year. Now that the masks are off there is a stampede to get back to traveling. It will eventually all even out in time. For many who cruised, myself included it was because cruising was a good value. If it no longer holds a good value and the cost outweighs the experience many will rethink where they spend their vacation dollars. I haven't been on a cruise since June 2019 and I don't have the DBTs and am I'm not curled up in a corner rocking back and forth so I know I can wait it out.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[jean s]

We have four cruises booked for late 2021, 2022 and 2023.  Each of the cruises has risen in price.  Glad we booked in advance.

[Pizzasteve]

Was thinking this is why we had several relatively great deal cabins booked on Princess booked in advance that seemed that could have sailed preemptively cancelled.  Suspect they wanted to reroute and reprice, but hard to verify that type of action was economics driven.  I guess our rights are limited by contract.

[MishelleMcc]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

All those cruise ships on order will affect supply someday, but not immediately especially in comparison to pent up demand. And the demand is even more because of all the future cruise credits from cancelled cruises.

I think you are very right about this!  It will be up to us to stay vigilant and book ahead!

[MishelleMcc]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

There have been press reports of higher pricing for hotels in many parts of the country due to increased demand and, in some cases, less capacity with some hotels out of business for good.

 

Also, some national parks which are capacity limited have been reporting very few time slots still available to reserve.

Sue and I manage a County campground in Eastern Oregon (1.5 hrs from Boise ID) (also the reason we can only travel in the winter...) for about 10 years now and we have never been as busy as we are now!  Every weekend booked weeks to months out! (our season is April 15th to November 15th.)  It is crazy busy!!

[MishelleMcc]

48 minutes ago, memoak said:

It seems to me the fact that  so many of us had cruises canceled for 2020 and 2021 that we immediately rebooked for 2022 and 2023. That means now there are less cabins available so prices go up. By the way we scored a February  2023 canal cruise for a great price the day they opened up. Of course our casino discount helped 

Ours is Ruby Princess Feb 10, 2023 and might switch to Island Princess Jan 5, 2023 (wanted to do old locks...) but we got a great deal early last January and - of course - our Casino credit was a HUGE help!!  😉  If we are on the same cruise, I bet we run into each other in the Casino!!!! 🤣

[John99]

Some very good comments about why the prices increased in Princess bookings -- from supply and demand, gratuities & fuel increases, future cruise credit, etc…

What about Carnival Corporate debt? 

 

The debt has grown rapidly over the last 2 years and reached $26.5 billion by the end of February 2021. During the February, the company raised $3.5 billion through a bond issue and announced plans to raise another $1 billion. In addition, the company has committed to a $4.2 billion refinancing that expires in 24 months.

 

Carnival long term debt for the quarter ending February 28, 2021 was $26.522B, a 172.36% increase year-over-year.

Carnival long term debt for 2020 was $22.13B, a 128.73% increase from 2019.

Carnival long term debt for 2019 was $9.675B, a 22.51% increase from 2018.

Carnival long term debt for 2018 was $7.897B, a 12.93% increase from 2017.

Source:  Marketrends.net

 

It is expected that the cost of the ships will increase exponentially once the ships begin to sailing.  Some costs are related to fully re-fuelling the cruise ships, flights and the testing or vaccination of thousands of crew members, etc. 

 

The pandemic has serious implications for all cruise lines including Carnival (Princess) and it will take many years for them to fully recover.  John

 

[Steelers36]

Consensus seems to be that recent price increases are more significant in the past, but we all should keep in mind that in past years it was very common - almost universal - that folks reported on here not seeing lower prices since they booked if booking very early when voyages released in combination with a Princess promo.  So, not surprising to see cruises in the next 6 - 12 months at higher prices than ever before.

 

[AF-1]

3 hours ago, dog said:

Like OP my cruise has increased too. It is up by $3,150. Per cabin 

is this price over and above what you paid for your cabin?

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

One problem is that all those cruise ships on orders by Princess and other major line4s are large capacity, so the supply will not be in smaller ships that can do more unique itineraries.

 

The increased supply will mean more overcrowded ports in Alaska, the Caribbean (think St. Maarten, St. Thomas, etc.), and Europe (think Barcelona, Santorini, etc.).

And for those who have sailed on small ships, the small ship experience will be missed. 

[MishelleMcc]

1 hour ago, John99 said:

Some very good comments about why the prices increased in Princess bookings -- from supply and demand, gratuities & fuel increases, future cruise credit, etc…

What about Carnival Corporate debt? 

 

The debt has grown rapidly over the last 2 years and reached $26.5 billion by the end of February 2021. During the February, the company raised $3.5 billion through a bond issue and announced plans to raise another $1 billion. In addition, the company has committed to a $4.2 billion refinancing that expires in 24 months.

 

Carnival long term debt for the quarter ending February 28, 2021 was $26.522B, a 172.36% increase year-over-year.

Carnival long term debt for 2020 was $22.13B, a 128.73% increase from 2019.

Carnival long term debt for 2019 was $9.675B, a 22.51% increase from 2018.

Carnival long term debt for 2018 was $7.897B, a 12.93% increase from 2017.

Source:  Marketrends.net

 

It is expected that the cost of the ships will increase exponentially once the ships begin to sailing.  Some costs are related to fully re-fuelling the cruise ships, flights and the testing or vaccination of thousands of crew members, etc. 

 

The pandemic has serious implications for all cruise lines including Carnival (Princess) and it will take many years for them to fully recover.  John

 

Fantastic info!  thank you for sharing!!

[MishelleMcc]

41 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

is this price over and above what you paid for your cabin?

I would say yes:  The booking I was referencing as OP was for a 15 day Hawaiian cruise originally booked at $5,400 total.

[nocl]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

There have been press reports of higher pricing for hotels in many parts of the country due to increased demand and, in some cases, less capacity with some hotels out of business for good.

 

Also, some national parks which are capacity limited have been reporting very few time slots still available to reserve.

Many of the lodging units in national parks,  are only opening a limited number of rooms.  This is due to both Covid restrictions as well as limited staffing.  Between the reduced lodging units and the number of campgrounds that will remain closed this year opportunities to stay in National Parks will be pretty limited.  Most have been already booked for this year.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, John99 said:

Some very good comments about why the prices increased in Princess bookings -- from supply and demand, gratuities & fuel increases, future cruise credit, etc…

What about Carnival Corporate debt? 

 

The debt has grown rapidly over the last 2 years and reached $26.5 billion by the end of February 2021. During the February, the company raised $3.5 billion through a bond issue and announced plans to raise another $1 billion. In addition, the company has committed to a $4.2 billion refinancing that expires in 24 months.

 

Carnival long term debt for the quarter ending February 28, 2021 was $26.522B, a 172.36% increase year-over-year.

Carnival long term debt for 2020 was $22.13B, a 128.73% increase from 2019.

Carnival long term debt for 2019 was $9.675B, a 22.51% increase from 2018.

Carnival long term debt for 2018 was $7.897B, a 12.93% increase from 2017.

Source:  Marketrends.net

 

It is expected that the cost of the ships will increase exponentially once the ships begin to sailing.  Some costs are related to fully re-fuelling the cruise ships, flights and the testing or vaccination of thousands of crew members, etc. 

 

The pandemic has serious implications for all cruise lines including Carnival (Princess) and it will take many years for them to fully recover.  John

 

If a company could raise prices anytime they wanted to to pay off debt, prices would in general be much higher.  A company can usually only raise prices when the market/competition/demand gives them the opportunity.

[dog]

1 hour ago, MishelleMcc said:

I would say yes:  The booking I was referencing as OP was for a 15 day Hawaiian cruise originally booked at $5,400 total.

Yes. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

I can see why the prices are so much higher now. Simple.

No revenue for over a year.

Only 50-60% capacity.

Spent a lot on getting the ships renovated with very expensive A/C conversion and more.

Enlarging the medical staff and rooms.

I hope, once they area able to book at 100% capacity the prices might go down.

However, so many right now just want to cruise and the price is not a problem.

It is for us. We have 3 booked for this year. 4 for next year and 1 for 2023

Booked a long time ago. Checked on them and a few have increased $300 - $400 per person if you were to book now. So, time will tell.

 

[memoak]

3 hours ago, MishelleMcc said:

Ours is Ruby Princess Feb 10, 2023 and might switch to Island Princess Jan 5, 2023 (wanted to do old locks...) but we got a great deal early last January and - of course - our Casino credit was a HUGE help!!  😉  If we are on the same cruise, I bet we run into each other in the Casino!!!! 🤣

We are on February 25 canal cruise on Ruby as well as Hawaii Jan 16 2022 on Ruby.  We do love that ship

[franktown]

5 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

I can see why the prices are so much higher now. Simple.

No revenue for over a year.

Only 50-60% capacity.

Spent a lot on getting the ships renovated with very expensive A/C conversion and more.

Enlarging the medical staff and rooms.

I hope, once they area able to book at 100% capacity the prices might go down.

However, so many right now just want to cruise and the price is not a problem.

It is for us. We have 3 booked for this year. 4 for next year and 1 for 2023

Booked a long time ago. Checked on them and a few have increased $300 - $400 per person if you were to book now. So, time will tell.

 

The CDC is not requiring them to sail at 50 or 60% capacity. CDC requirements now are all about vaccinations.  My PVP who has been with Princess for over 10 years told me that they plan to sail at full capacity and that there are no cabins be held back from ships that have a US departure port.

[Steelers36]

17 minutes ago, franktown said:

The CDC is not requiring them to sail at 50 or 60% capacity. CDC requirements now are all about vaccinations.  My PVP who has been with Princess for over 10 years told me that they plan to sail at full capacity and that there are no cabins be held back from ships that have a US departure port.

You would think they need to hold at least a minimal number in case of a breakout of sorts so they can isolate the individual(s).