I am shocked at the prices for cruises in 2023!

[oldmom]

Guess I have not been paying attention to this. We normally cruise once a year or every other year or so on RCCL. We are Diamond- finally in 2019. I have been able to get a balcony room for 7 nights on a Oasis ship at a "great price" , for years now. We go off season-early December -early May, etc. We got a great price in May 2022 ( also tested positive for COVID 2 days after) on Harmony. We have been busy with a family member passing away and having to pack up their house and all the stuff that goes along with that. SO-finally started looking for cruises for 2023.WOW! The "great price" is at least $1000-$1500 more than I have ever paid for the cheapest sailing week!! I knew inflation was bad-but I did not expect this much an increase from 2022. These are for 7 day cruises on an Oasis ships. I know the other ships are cheaper-but ? Wondering if this price will continue? We have done interiors to save money before-but these are pricey also now. Just sort of bummed.

[crzndeb]

They have to make up some lost revenue for not sailing for 2 years. Keep checking, prices may come down.

[flamingos]

I was looking at some short 3-4 days out of Canaveral on Independence, normally about $5-600 for a balcony. They want over $900 - the $500 is now for an oceanview.   We'll be saving our money and doing land vacations until they can settle this out.

[orville99]

15 minutes ago, oldmom said:

These are for 7 day cruises on an Oasis ships.

Which “Oasis” ship? The older ones typically price out lower than the newer ones, with Wonder being the highest - but then it is in its inaugural year. Wonder prices are currently significantly higher for the same cruise weeks in 2023 that we booked on Harmony in 2022, but they start to go down once the summer high season ends, and those weeks in 2024 on Wonder are more in line with Harmony pricing. 

[rizkeeper]

Just got off an 8 day cruise and was shocked to see the alcohol prices. $11 (after gratuity) for a canned corona beer…Blood Mary was $17. 

[John&LaLa]

Be flexible, lots of bargains

[Merion_Mom]

4 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Be flexible, lots of bargains

 

^^^This.

 

@oldmom- you didn't give any $$ quotes, like what you think is a "good price", so I can't know what you consider a "shocking price."

[ONECRUISER]

Deals are out there, just have watch all Ships and Dates

[smokeybandit]

What I'm paying for my 2023 cruises isn't much more than I was paying pre-restart

 

That said the current prices for those cruises is a lot higher than what I booked for

Edited November 28, 2022 by smokeybandit

[neverbeenhere]

I've booked a number of Royal bargains for 2023. This was the year we were going to use up all our Princess credits from 2020.

Edited November 28, 2022 by neverbeenhere

[jbrinkm]

Also try a TA. They sometimes have group rates that can be a good deal or can get you a discount you didn't know about.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, oldmom said:

Guess I have not been paying attention to this. We normally cruise once a year or every other year or so on RCCL. We are Diamond- finally in 2019. I have been able to get a balcony room for 7 nights on a Oasis ship at a "great price" , for years now. We go off season-early December -early May, etc. We got a great price in May 2022 ( also tested positive for COVID 2 days after) on Harmony. We have been busy with a family member passing away and having to pack up their house and all the stuff that goes along with that. SO-finally started looking for cruises for 2023.WOW! The "great price" is at least $1000-$1500 more than I have ever paid for the cheapest sailing week!! I knew inflation was bad-but I did not expect this much an increase from 2022. These are for 7 day cruises on an Oasis ships. I know the other ships are cheaper-but ? Wondering if this price will continue? We have done interiors to save money before-but these are pricey also now. Just sort of bummed.

Idk what category is 1k more   .. around sept and oct, the week that is less varys every week, 2023, allure to me is a bargain. Lots less than I'm paying for my dec allure b2b.

 

Vardy a lot by date. I already got allure b2b but sept 2023 is really inexpensive to me. Get a ta with group prices.  I saw john and them booked like 14 holiday cabins for a ov for a excellent price. Sold out before they posted lol. There are bargains.

[Stealthdog]

I looked at a few oasis class sailings for early Dec 2023 and the prices do seem significantly higher than this December's prices.

[firefly333]

Just now, Stealthdog said:

I looked at a few oasis class sailings for early Dec 2023 and the prices do seem significantly higher than this December's prices.

I  must have terrible prices for this dec, allure as harmony was cheaper next dec for the same dates. Harmony for boardwalk like $70 more vs $150 more. 

 

Either I paid too much for allure or 2023 prices are good. I'm booked dec 2022 b2b and 2023 b2b2b .. if I keep all 3. Also allure was the first oasis class in Galveston so it might have run more just because people were so excited to see a new big ship.

[wreckem2013]

34 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I  must have terrible prices for this dec, allure as harmony was cheaper next dec for the same dates. Harmony for boardwalk like $70 more vs $150 more. 

 

Either I paid too much for allure or 2023 prices are good. I'm booked dec 2022 b2b and 2023 b2b2b .. if I keep all 3. Also allure was the first oasis class in Galveston so it might have run more just because people were so excited to see a new big ship.

Im not so sure about that. Other than a handful of dates Allure is cheaper than other  Oasis class ships. One particular week is sky high compared to other ships and that’s the March 10 cruise. But that’s comparing to other Oasis class ships.

 

 

I’m booked on the Allure Xmas cruise and when I switched ships from Florida to Galveston, I saved $2500($1250 per person) for same cabin category. Granted that was going from Wonder to Allure but Allure was the cheapest of the Oasis class ships at the time. That was two weeks before final payment. Prices definitely shot up as it started to sell out all categories in November. That said the price I paid for Allure Xmas is still $500($250 per person) less than next years Harmony Xmas cruise.

 

As for the OP, for the dates I can travel I don’t really see much difference, with the exception of Suites. Suites just seem to be ridiculously priced now. I got spoiled on Adventure out of the Bahamas when we had a suite right at the very beginning of start up but I just cannot justify any Suite pricing right now. But I only sail during the highest peak weeks. So I’m always dealing with Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, Spring Break(2nd or 3rd week of March) and the first two weeks of July.

 

I think my next cruises after Xmas on Allure(classic Oasis) will be a tour of Oasis class ships. Oasis during Spring Break then do Harmony first week of July Sat to Sat then hop up to Wonder for Sun to Sun the second week of July. The prices don’t seem to be that bad to me. I have Icon booked for Spring Break 2024. If I could take two days off before and after Spring break I would have booked they dirt cheap TA on Symphony.

Edited November 29, 2022 by wreckem2013

[lcpagejr]

4 hours ago, rizkeeper said:

Just got off an 8 day cruise and was shocked to see the alcohol prices. $11 (after gratuity) for a canned corona beer…Blood Mary was $17. 

I was on same cruise... Thats why DBP is still a bargain... if you drink alcohol vs beer... breakeven price is less than 5 drinks a day.... I estimate I average 8 drinks a day....and before you tell me to enroll in AA... Mimosa with breakfast, drink with lunch, 2 drinks in afternoon , drink before dinner, 2 drinks with dinner, 1-2 after dinner.  Never a hangover because its spread out all day. 

[Stealthdog]

Im looking at some more and they seem hit or miss, and big variation between ships.  Ive never paid attention to galveston prices because I sail from Florida.  Symphony for 2023 looks several hundred over compared to this year.  Oasis looks similar.  The Texas rates for 2023 look really good.

[binro01]

Just booked 2 Central Park Balcony cabins on Allure of the Seas out of Galveston on April 30th 2023, The cabins are next to each other and one has the "secret" double balcony, so a nice triple balcony once we have the divider opened up. Price for the 2 cabins? $2,700.00. Each cabin comes with 50.00 OBC and one gets an extra $100.00 OBC from myVegas apps.

 

Deals are out there. You just have to search them out.

[teddie]

5 hours ago, oldmom said:

Guess I have not been paying attention to this. We normally cruise once a year or every other year or so on RCCL. We are Diamond- finally in 2019. I have been able to get a balcony room for 7 nights on a Oasis ship at a "great price" , for years now. We go off season-early December -early May, etc. We got a great price in May 2022 ( also tested positive for COVID 2 days after) on Harmony. We have been busy with a family member passing away and having to pack up their house and all the stuff that goes along with that. SO-finally started looking for cruises for 2023.WOW! The "great price" is at least $1000-$1500 more than I have ever paid for the cheapest sailing week!! I knew inflation was bad-but I did not expect this much an increase from 2022. These are for 7 day cruises on an Oasis ships. I know the other ships are cheaper-but ? Wondering if this price will continue? We have done interiors to save money before-but these are pricey also now. Just sort of bummed.

So sorry you’ve had tough times.  Right after we turned Diamond in 2013, cruising wasn’t part of the picture for a variety of reasons.  Then came COVID. 
 

We are back on track for 2023. I was extremely pleased to book an 8-day balcony cabin on the Anthem to the Caribbean out of nearby Bayonne earlier this month for less than $1600 total for two. Yes— this was during the 30% off sale and in combination with our Diamond balcony and state resident discounts. Higher prices are the way of the whole world right now, but there are still some deals to be had. 
 

I didn’t expect prices to remain unchanged over the past 9 years, but what I WAS shocked about were the up-charges for specialty dining (haha: it was like $20 per person back in 2013), cabanas (utterly ridiculous as we don’t travel with 6 others to divvie up a cabana for 8), and some of the excursions.  Finally, the humongous jump in fares from a balcony to a JS and then up to the rest of the suites — ouch.  
 

Hope you find a good deal soon! 
 

teddie. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by teddie
Added info

[ladytaekwondo]

Sale

 

 

[ARandomTraveler]

Tell me about it! A junior suite is selling for $4200 PER PERSON for my Spectrum sailing next summer. Over $9000 per person for a "sky" junior suite, and over $8,000 per person for a "sky" balcony. 

Want a grand suite? $9,883 per person. Owner's suite? $12,648 per person. 

 

Ultimate family suite? $37,264 per person. And the ship is almost fully sold out 🤣😵‍💫.

 

Granted, this isn't a typical 7 day Caribbean sailing, it's a 12-day Asia sailing, but still. I spent a lot of money on a regular balcony for this one, but it looks like I might be able to call for a Re-price because I see regular balcony rooms are available again (they were sold out before today), and they're only $2500/person now. 

 

 

[wreckem2013]

59 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

Im looking at some more and they seem hit or miss, and big variation between ships.  Ive never paid attention to galveston prices because I sail from Florida.  Symphony for 2023 looks several hundred over compared to this year.  Oasis looks similar.  The Texas rates for 2023 look really good.

Well, it seems with Allure and then Harmony RCCL has decided to do the same ports every week, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan. Maybe they did this before now I don’t know as I haven’t sailed out of Galveston in awhile but they used to offer other ports on 7 nighters. Western Caribbean out of Florida usually have 4 ports instead of 3 which is another reason Galveston is cheaper besides Allure being the least updated Oasis class ship.

Edited November 29, 2022 by wreckem2013

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

6 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Tell me about it! A junior suite is selling for $4200 PER PERSON for my Spectrum sailing next summer. Over $9000 per person for a "sky" junior suite, and over $8,000 per person for a "sky" balcony. 

Want a grand suite? $9,883 per person. Owner's suite? $12,648 per person. 

 

Ultimate family suite? $37,264 per person. And the ship is almost fully sold out 🤣😵‍💫.

 

Granted, this isn't a typical 7 day Caribbean sailing, it's a 12-day Asia sailing, but still. I spent a lot of money on a regular balcony for this one, but it looks like I might be able to call for a Re-price because I see regular balcony rooms are available again (they were sold out before today), and they're only $2500/person now. 

 

 

Those make my RLS plus both SLS cabins on my future family cruise look priced accordingly. 

[MightyMike]

Yes, prices are higher. I am on a cruise in April and the price for the same room today is more than double what it was when I booked. 

 

However, that same cruise--more than 4 months out from sailing--is already practically sold out! All interior rooms are sold out for a family of 3. All ocean view rooms are sold out for a family of 3. All suites are sold out for a family of 3. All Boardwalk and Central Park balcony rooms are sold out for a family of 3. The only thing left for a family of 3 are a few ocean balcony rooms. This is with 4 months to go!

 

Royal Caribbean is not going to leave money on the table. As long as demand stays this high, their pricing algorithms will continue raising prices.

[Merion_Mom]

7 minutes ago, MightyMike said:

Yes, prices are higher. I am on a cruise in April and the price for the same room today is more than double what it was when I booked. 

 

However, that same cruise--more than 4 months out from sailing--is already practically sold out! All interior rooms are sold out for a family of 3. All ocean view rooms are sold out for a family of 3. All suites are sold out for a family of 3. All Boardwalk and Central Park balcony rooms are sold out for a family of 3. The only thing left for a family of 3 are a few ocean balcony rooms. This is with 4 months to go!

 

Royal Caribbean is not going to leave money on the table. As long as demand stays this high, their pricing algorithms will continue raising prices.

 

April 2023 = Spring Break - Easter - Passover