Carnival Prices DID go up, and NOT just for summer!

[jordanaire]

I've been watching a particular cruise that my wife and I are considering now for several weeks. Yesterday, Carnival initiated a price increase in which they stated for "all summer cruises" (June-August). Well, they have raised this particular cruise for every cruise, for the rest of the year!

 

And on some of these cruises, they have eliminated the "Past Guest Rate" altogether!

 

Each of these cruises raised an average of $40-$50 per person for the rest of 2010!

 

:cool:Bill

[Nunu]

Our August, 5 night on Elation went up over $300 yesterday.

[Frank12]

Wow.

You're right. My June 2010 cruise on the Inspiration went up $50.00pp overnight. I'm glad I booked last month. I can't help but think bookings are going to go down? :confused:

[jks336]

i think alot depends too on how fast the bookings are going. the cruise we're on is still the same, but the one the week after was raised last week, this week it went back down to what ours is. so again, i think it depends on when the cruise is and how are the bookings going. if your not ready to book, just keep an eye out for the next couple weeks and see if it drops or not. 50 is better than that ones 300 wow. lol

[elcuchio24]

Diddo, I had my eye on a wicked good deal on the liberty in Oct. Balcony when from 599 to 699 since yesterday. Guess I should decide if I want to book it soon!

[Tenga1899]

The Past Guest Rate doesn't always apply to a sailing, it comes and goes just like the state resident discounts. And many cruise prices have been raised lately but that is just simple economics as a result of Carnival's brilliant idea to "advertise" a rate hike. That causes people to purchase early to avoid a higher fare, however, simple economics tells us higher demand will result in higher prices, so by artificially forcing people to book in the last few weeks to avoid this 5% increase, they have be able to collect higher fares across the board due to increased demand.

 

Consider if this had occurred differently. Had Carnival kept their decision to raise rates internal rather than advertising them, they could have just as easily done so without causing an uproar since cruise fares fluctuate all the time and no one would have paid much attention to a $50 increase on all summer sailings if it had happened privately.

 

As it is, there have been reports from months before their announcement that people booked at a price and never saw a decrease in fare and were either glad they booked when they did or upset that they didn't save more with early saver. As well, my particular cruise on the Valor has had decreased Fun Saver rates for about 4 weeks now from when I booked but slightly increased Fun Select rates. It is what it is... :(

[Nunu]

The Past Guest Rate doesn't always apply to a sailing, it comes and goes just like the state resident discounts. And many cruise prices have been raised lately but that is just simple economics as a result of Carnival's brilliant idea to "advertise" a rate hike. That causes people to purchase early to avoid a higher fare, however, simple economics tells us higher demand will result in higher prices, so by artificially forcing people to book in the last few weeks to avoid this 5% increase, they have be able to collect higher fares across the board due to increased demand.

 

Consider if this had occurred differently. Had Carnival kept their decision to raise rates internal rather than advertising them, they could have just as easily done so without causing an uproar since cruise fares fluctuate all the time and no one would have paid much attention to a $50 increase on all summer sailings if it had happened privately.

 

As it is, there have been reports from months before their announcement that people booked at a price and never saw a decrease in fare and were either glad they booked when they did or upset that they didn't save more with early saver. As well, my particular cruise on the Valor has had decreased Fun Saver rates for about 4 weeks now from when I booked but slightly increased Fun Select rates. It is what it is... :(

 

CC has demanded a moratorium on this phrase starting April. 1.

[bobar]

if they dont continue their booking counts,they will come down. still a great way to travel and 40-50pp really isnt much in the grand scheme of things..ive seen prices go up and down on a weekly basis as an agent. some get real high right before sailing if they are hitting capacity and some drop...in the long run they just need to make sure they stay less than the lines that are better than them and they wont have problems booking.:cool:

[wasiii]

I've been watching a particular cruise that my wife and I are considering now for several weeks. Yesterday, Carnival initiated a price increase in which they stated for "all summer cruises" (June-August). Well, they have raised this particular cruise for every cruise, for the rest of the year!

 

And on some of these cruises, they have eliminated the "Past Guest Rate" altogether!

 

Each of these cruises raised an average of $40-$50 per person for the rest of 2010!

 

:cool:Bill

 

.....does that mean you're not going to book the Aug. 28 Freedom cruise?

 

We were hoping to see you come back to the roll call.

 

wasiii

[matj2000]

The idea of Carnival announcing a price increase is probably most likely a marketing scheme to get a sudden boost in sales for the Summer months.

The prices will fluctuate as cabin sales go up and down on a particular cruise.

There is probably a formula on % of capacity a ship has left at certain points before the cruise. Ex: 50% of cabins on the ship should be sold at 8 months out.

Prices will drop for short times to make these goals.

[howard6933]

I wonder if Carnival is raising the rates instead of adding on the fuel supplement that they added some months ago when crude oil went over $70 per barrel??? Crude oil is now over $80 per barrel, so maybe this is their way of avoiding the fuel add-on.

[Fourseventeen]

we all knew that was coming. My PVP told me that they said they were raising summer rates but from what he see's coming is rate increases across the board. Thats why I had 3 cruises booked now in advance :D

[Ilovepj]

I just checked and my cruise is still the same to the penny. So maybe it's not all of cruises, but I am sure they will go down again, like someone said I always see prices go up and down.

[Tenga1899]

I just checked and my cruise is still the same to the penny. So maybe it's not all of cruises, but I am sure they will go down again, like someone said I always see prices go up and down.

 

And it shouldn't have risen for you due to Carnival's rate hike as it was only for Summer 2010 sailings (June, July, August) and not for cruises beyond that time so you are certainly proof they held to their word. :) I think all the cruises from now til September that are raising in rate have been due to increased bookings due to panic sales. There are still deals to be had for Spring sailings too though, if I were to book a guarantee right now I'd save about $60 over what I would have paid if I had done guarantee when I did book. However, if I had picked a specific cabin as I did, I'd pay around $45+ more, hard to tell since my category has been sold out for 3 weeks. :)

[mamalicious]

Mines went up 400.00.

[SAC69]

My cruise next week on Triumph went up $50 PP and they still have lots of cabins in almost every category.:rolleyes:

[Tiffany1203]

My Jan 2011 one did NOT change at all.

[bcs819]

my septemeber Dream cruise went up a few monthes ago and has been holding steady....

[Luv2Travelnow]

If prices did go up it's good news for me.

 

I just finished my 5 day cruise and was contemplating another cruise for the summer.

 

But I was at 11-12% body fat before my cruise, and 15% body fat after my 5 day cruise.

 

Last night I spent 3.5 hours at the gym lifting weights, doing cardio to work off the extra weight gained.

 

This means I won't be too tempted to book a cruise for the summer...

[BBigfoot613]

Personally I don't see what the big uproar over the past few weeks has been. It's simple business 101. Supply and demand. They have the supply and when demand is high they can charge what they want (and get it) and when demand is low they cut prices.

 

My cruise in May hasn't changed one penny. A co-worker is doing the same sailing in june and his didn't change one penny either. I think personally it was all a hype to get people to book earlier than they would have to boost sales and what changes we are seeing are standard supply/demand raises and nothing else. Now I could be wrong since it's happened before LOL

 

Like the other person said...it is what it is. That's a good ole work phrase for me!

[rrraydon]

Mine went down $10.

[bmwmj]

Our December Miracle went up $20pp since yesterday. I'm inclined to agree that it is in lieu of the fuel surcharge. Sure hope that's it!

[Traveler353]

"Carnival Prices DID go up, and NOT just for summer!"

 

Not exactly a 100% correct statement, rather dramatic. My cruise on the Triumph in September has not changed the prices. They are the same as they have been for the past 2 weeks. I also have been tracking 5 other cruises for this summer and none of them have changed prices up or down.

[Cindy]

We booked the Conquest for next March when we were on board last week. I just checked, and prices for our cabin type went up $100pp from our rate. Since we also get the $100 OBC for booking while we were on the cruise, I'm feeling pretty good about that move.

I'm not sure if/how much the Ecstasy and the Dream went up...I remembered the Conquest fare because it was actually $20pp less than we paid last week. I don't know the exact rates for the Ecstasy and the Dream without checking my paperwork.

[shof515]

On my glory cruise at the end of the September, past guest rate is now N/A and the early saver is 519. Soo glad i only paid 399