Rising Fares!

So what is going on with fare pricing at Seabourn lately? The cost has been rising dramatically. When we took the 33 day Treasures of the Inca Coast & Patagonia cruise in November 2012 (staying in a V-5 suite) our per diem worked out to $896 for the two of us. A little over 2 years later, this rose by 9.6% to $992 per day for the 32 day New Zealand & Australia Adventure cruise in February 2015 (again in a V-5 suite). Now we are looking at the 36 day Amazon & Caribbean Exploration in February 2017 and find that the cost has risen by an additional 32% to $1,295 per day per couple for a V-5 suite. In just slightly over 4 years the cost has risen by a whopping 44.5% for the same category of suite. Given that the US 5 year inflation rate is running at approximately 9.5%, I am having a difficult time understanding what is going on.

Fares are based on much more than inflation adjustment. The greatest factor influencing a fare is competition. If there is little of it on a particular route, one will be paying a premium that far exceeds inflation adjustment.

And, if you are searching for fares using the internet, you might want to enable privacy settings for your browser. Sometimes fares are inflated because one uses a certain browser or because one is identified as a repeat customer.

Fares also reflect demand and Seabourn ships have been sailing pretty full recently. We just managed to squeeze on to our last cruise having been waitlisted and relying on cancellations and our next cruise, which is March/April of 2016 is already looking full.

In 2012 many were still feeling the effects of the economy so fewer people were booking ,usury cruises and fares were lower. That incentive seems to have disappeared.

In 2012 many were still feeling the effects of the economy so fewer people were booking ,usury cruises and fares were lower. That incentive seems to have disappeared.

After the last few days of market volatility we could see a return to 2012 levels.

Don't forget Seabourn now has only three ships afloat.

They sail full at whatever price these days and you do get what you pay for when you look at the competition.

Prices have been low for the last few years and now we see an increase.

Seabourn will need to keep prices high to keep the quality high.

You must decide at what point you bail out of the luxury market,like anything in life you either pay up or shut up and bow out gracefully.

It all comes down to supply and demand.

There were years where the demand was down and the supply was high.

Keith

Fares also reflect demand and Seabourn ships have been sailing pretty full recently. We just managed to squeeze on to our last cruise having been waitlisted and relying on cancellations and our next cruise, which is March/April of 2016 is already looking full.

Agree... we are on the Quest Transatlantic in March 2016 and I was surprised to see how many suites had already been booked seven months out...

Agree... we are on the Quest Transatlantic in March 2016 and I was surprised to see how many suites had already been booked seven months out...

See you there! :D

Agree... we are on the Quest Transatlantic in March 2016 and I was surprised to see how many suites had already been booked seven months out...

It's hardly surprising with only three ships to choose from.

It's hardly surprising with only three ships to choose from.

But it takes some getting used to. All my professional life I was used to taking travel decisions and even vacation decisions quite close to the date of travel. The idea of booking 6 months or more out is a bit foreign to us. We booked this next cruise some seven months out and only just managed to get what we wanted - and that took a little bit of gentle persuasion with Seabourn.

It was the same with our Far East cruise in February. It was already waitlisted when we booked and that was 10 months prior to the cruise.

Another interesting factoid from our TA. She said that the more expensive suites were tending to get booked first. So clearly price is not having a dampening effect on demand despite the increases that the OP complained about.

Just curious, does anyone think that world events might play a part? It seems there is some reduction of routes to some previously well traveled parts of the world (Egypt is the obvious first one). Could this be creating the "airline effect", fewer flights more crowded at higher fares? Just a thought. As others have noted, higher cost suites tend to book soonest, even on mass market ships. The only real "bargains" to be offered us lately are for European River cruises which seem to be approaching a glut of excess capacity with all the new river boats coming on line.

Fares are based on much more than inflation adjustment. The greatest factor influencing a fare is competition. If there is little of it on a particular route, one will be paying a premium that far exceeds inflation adjustment.

 

And, if you are searching for fares using the internet, you might want to enable privacy settings for your browser. Sometimes fares are inflated because one uses a certain browser or because one is identified as a repeat customer.

I know what you mean when you speak about using the internet as a means of pricing something. With so many companies now relying on data mining I have seen prices rise just because I go back a few times for online quotes (e.g. car rentals). However in all three of the examples I used here I dealt my regular travel agency not the internet. With respect to the quote for February 2017, my TA told me to that I should hold off as he feels that there will be significant decline in prices with all of the new luxury ships coming on line over the next two years.

You can certainly hold off but remember that if SB lowers their prices they will match that lower price before final payment so why not get the suite you want now and still get the lower price should it happen? Unless, of course, you wait until after final payment. You may get an even lower price or you may get locked out. Only you can decide if that's a risk worth taking.

Wripro

That is only true if you use a U.S. TA where you have the right to cancel 90 days before the cruise without penalty.

In the US penalties now start at 120 days - before final payment, in most cases.

Thanks-- I forgot that changed.

As others have said supply and demand. Seabourn is extremely popular and extremely full.

They are also in the business to make money so if the prices have been raised and the ships are full their business plan is working.

Seabourn has been sailing full. I would not wait as it is very rare to see Seabourn with any extra space. Also ways to attract guests with lower fares are disappearing. Reduced single supplements (a sign there is a lot of space) or being available on Interline sites (TAs that only book airline employees and their immediate family members). Years ago Seabourn had lots of guests that were airline employees and booked through Interline agencies. Interline is a greatly reduced rate. they filled the suites without Seabourn dumping product. None of the Interline agencies have Seabourn so at 90 days prior to sailing Seabourn is going out full or full enough they don't need to offer the public lower rates.

Also, to follow up on what someone mentioned the most expensive suites and the least expensive suites always go first.

As others have said supply and demand. Seabourn is extremely popular and extremely full.

 

They are also in the business to make money so if the prices have been raised and the ships are full their business plan is working

 

Seabourn has been sailing full.

 

Seabourn is going out full or full enough they don't need to offer the public lower rates.

Hmmm...full,full,full,full. That's been our impression as our 14 day Complimentary cruise award is about to expire unused.

As Yogi Berra said:

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." ;)

Hmmm...full,full,full,full. That's been our impression as our 14 day Complimentary cruise award is about to expire unused.

 

As Yogi Berra said:

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." ;)

I wasn't aware of an expiration date on the complimentary cruise. ??

I think SB prices have been unsustainably low for quite some time, that i really didnt know how they could provide what they did for what they charged.

I remember back to the early 00's that prices were similar to what they are now and the prices of other holidays and goods have gone up substantially since then. So i am not surprised they have upped prices. Whilst i know certain things have changed since 00's, in that quality has slipped slightly, but the basic premise is still the same and you struggle to get anything better for your money.

I wasn't aware of an expiration date on the complimentary cruise. ??

Neither was I.

I wasn't aware of an expiration date on the complimentary cruise. ??

Dan,

the booking has to be made by 24 months, (if not, the award is "debited"), but the cruise date can be in the future,(past the 24 months)..... but no changes, (too restrictive, imo).

Per Seabourn web site:

"Once a 14-day Milestone Cruise Award is earned, it must be booked within 24 months. If a Milestone Cruise Award booking is not confirmed within 24 months, the 14-day Milestone Cruise Award expires and 250 Redeemable Sailed Days will be debited from the guest’s Club account. If a Milestone Cruise Award booking is made within 24 months, for a sailing that departs after the 24-month period, that booking cannot be changed for any reason or the Milestone Cruise Award will be forfeited."

Dan,

 

the booking has to be made by 24 months, (if not, the award is "debited"), but the cruise date can be in the future,(past the 24 months)..... but no changes, (too restrictive, imo).

 

Per Seabourn web site:

 

"Once a 14-day Milestone Cruise Award is earned, it must be booked within 24 months. If a Milestone Cruise Award booking is not confirmed within 24 months, the 14-day Milestone Cruise Award expires and 250 Redeemable Sailed Days will be debited from the guest’s Club account. If a Milestone Cruise Award booking is made within 24 months, for a sailing that departs after the 24-month period, that booking cannot be changed for any reason or the Milestone Cruise Award will be forfeited."

Thanks for the heads up!!

I guess we both learned something.