2012 cheaper than 2011 (for now!)

[califgary]

Wow it pays to look way ahead on some cruises - I was comparing the 14 day Hawaii on the Golden against a similar HAL cruise we have booked - similar room is $1990 cheaper than the exact same HAL itinerary AND 2012 is $600 cheaper than exact cabin in 2011 - go figure! Now Im having to rethink which cruise line to pick love HAL and Princess - my two favorite lines -

[mtaylor04]

I just wish I could get the princess site to work, so I could do some comparision shopping. Frustrating :(

 

Sounds like you have a hard choice to make on which cruise to choose :)

[Toddy709]

Wow it pays to look way ahead on some cruises - I was comparing the 14 day Hawaii on the Golden against a similar HAL cruise we have booked - similar room is $1990 cheaper than the exact same HAL itinerary AND 2012 is $600 cheaper than exact cabin in 2011 - go figure! Now Im having to rethink which cruise line to pick love HAL and Princess - my two favorite lines -

 

Is HAL a 15 day itinerary, or are they 14 days, too? If they're still doing the 15 day, that would help me make my decision:D!

[Shifra]

Wow, tough decision. ;) Those are my two favorite lines also.

[califgary]

Is HAL a 15 day itinerary, or are they 14 days, too? If they're still doing the 15 day, that would help me make my decision:D!

 

The HAL itinerary is identical (14 days same port stops) which makes it sooooooo frustrating! I may just go with the cheapest - saving almost $2K will cover shipboard expenses. Oh well i have a while to enjoy making the decision!

[Loonbeam]

2011 is probably already trending up due to bookings (demand), while 2012 is still relatively light..

 

Side note - does anyone know where you might be able to find rack rates logged per day for a given category/ship? I'm trying to do some general trend analysis and don't have the resources right now to check multiple sites daily.

[ssbeagle]

The HAL itinerary is identical (14 days same port stops) which makes it sooooooo frustrating! I may just go with the cheapest - saving almost $2K will cover shipboard expenses. Oh well i have a while to enjoy making the decision!

 

You may see lower prices now for 2012 but if you wait too long the prices will go up. We book at least a year out although we just booked one for Nov 2011 at one price and when we went to the website a week later the price had jumped $2,000 for the same category cabin!:eek: I'm happy we booked when we did. The same with our cruise in October 2010. When we booked the cabin category was over $1500 cheaper than it was 6 months ago. So, the earlier you book the better the deals (unless you can get a last-minute deal but you don't know what cabin you will be in).

[LV2KruzCats]

We'll be on the Golden in October for Hawaii RT. Will this be too late to be able to book a good cabin of our choice, ~~~for the following October 2012 ?

[Jules59]

We just booked a back to back for January2012. One reason was cabin selection. We got the coveted E730. And if the price goes down, we will get the lower price. Plus, we need to save up for it.

[StLouisCruisers]

When I checked Feb. 2011 and 2012 for Hawaii on the Golden, 2012 comes up higher priced. That's using my Captain's Circle number, so you may have a difference due to that.

 

I wish the prices would come down more, they're quite a few hundred dollars higher than our last time to Hawaii in 2009.

[Pam in CA]

Wow it pays to look way ahead on some cruises - I was comparing the 14 day Hawaii on the Golden against a similar HAL cruise we have booked - similar room is $1990 cheaper than the exact same HAL itinerary AND 2012 is $600 cheaper than exact cabin in 2011 - go figure! Now Im having to rethink which cruise line to pick love HAL and Princess - my two favorite lines -

As most Princess itineraries fill early, and when they do, the prices go up, you almost always do better by booking as early as possible. Plus, you get a better cabin choice and your preferred dining. We almost always book 1 - 2 years in advance. Chances are, this is what's happening with the February 2011 cruise. Our January cruise has most cabin categories waitlisted and pricing is substantially higher than what we booked at, even taking into account our TA's group pricing.

[pris993]

We just booked two 7 day cruises one day apart in Florida for 2012. One is on the Ruby, which we loved, did a TA on her 2009. The other will be on the Celebrity Eclipse. We did the Equniox in 2009 as well in the Mediterranean. This time we upgraded to an Aqua class on Celebrity.

 

Two 7 day cruises is cheaper than a 14 - 15 day Panama Canal.

 

We like the idea of two ships, different entertainment and different ports.

 

Have 5 cruises booked between now and Spring 2012. Have to save our pennies and some. :D

[Pam in CA]

Two 7 day cruises is cheaper than a 14 - 15 day Panama Canal.

Of course that would be cheaper. There is a HUGE cost to the ship to enter the Panama Canal, which is passed on to the passengers. I think it's something like $300K - $400K per ship, depending on the number of passengers.

[ActiveTraveler]

]The HAL itinerary is identical (14 days same port stops) which makes it sooooooo frustrating! [/b]I may just go with the cheapest - saving almost $2K will cover shipboard expenses. Oh well i have a while to enjoy making the decision!

 

That is not true. Princess is Los Angeles round trip and HAL is San Diego round trip. It does matter where you embark at because you have to fly in a day early and sleep at a hotel after seeing a few local attractions. San Diego is ideal for this because everything you need - shops' date=' restaurants, hotels, and trolley/bus stops - and several attractions in the downtown area are within walking distance of the cruise ship pier. I have not visited Los Angeles yet, but anybody with a San Diego map can see very clearly it is the best place to start a Hawaii cruise without renting a car.[/font']

Another factor to consider is the time in port. The port order may be identical, but when you go back to the ship is not necessarily the same. Does Princess usually have an 8-5 schedule with one longer day in Honolulu? That is what I saw on HAL's schedule.

By the way, which Princess ship goes to Hawaii from Los Angeles? Compare that ship to the Zaandam, the only HAL ship that sails from San Diego to Hawaii. With eight sea days and almost identical itineraries, your decision should be about the ship and price.

[rdsqrl]

Of course that would be cheaper. There is a HUGE cost to the ship to enter the Panama Canal, which is passed on to the passengers. I think it's something like $300K - $400K per ship, depending on the number of passengers.

And worth every penny, don't you think?! Best. Cruise. Ever. (well, so far . . . )

[davaller]

We have booked on the Diamond for Feb 2012 39 days Sydney to Singapore and it is $1400 cheaper pp + 300 per cabin obc though our T/A than the same cruise 2011 it pays to be early we also booked last year for 25 days on the Sun to Asia june 2011 and saved $1100 pp on that one and that had 350 obc as well

David and Maureen

[Pam in CA]

And worth every penny, don't you think?! Best. Cruise. Ever. (well, so far . . . )

I'd put it on my top 10 list but have to admit that I've taken some other incredible cruises. :) Definitely worth every penny.

[Working 2 Cruise]

That is not true. Well, that would depend on where you live. We live in Los Angeles (thereabouts) and it is very easy for us to drive down and hop on the ship. Princess is Los Angeles round trip and HAL is San Diego round trip. It does matter where you embark at because you have to fly in a day early and sleep at a hotel after seeing a few local attractions. San Diego is ideal for this because everything you need - shops, restaurants, hotels, and trolley/bus stops - and several attractions in the downtown area are within walking distance of the cruise ship pier. I have not visited Los Angeles yet, but anybody with a San Diego map can see very clearly it is the best place (according to you) to start a Hawaii cruise without renting a car.

 

Another factor to consider is the time in port. The port order may be identical, but when you go back to the ship is not necessarily the same. Does Princess usually have an 8-5 schedule with one longer day in Honolulu? That is what I saw on HAL's schedule. Time in port is about the same.

 

By the way, which Princess ship goes to Hawaii from Los Angeles? Golden Princess for the most part, with the Sapphire Princess doing some of the routes as well. Compare that ship to the Zaandam, the only HAL ship that sails from San Diego to Hawaii. With eight sea days and almost identical itineraries, your decision should be about the ship and price.

 

If the price is $1900 cheaper leaving from LA versus San Diego, then it is a "no brainer."

[lovevacadays]

If the price is $1900 cheaper leaving from LA versus San Diego, then it is a "no brainer."

 

I agree. Plus there is enough to do in Long Beach area is you are from out of town and need to come in the day before.

[califgary]

yes $1900 is quite a difference isnt it? I live in North Calif so we are driving to the ship so LA or SD doenst make much of a difference. Since I have FCC's for both HAL and PRINCESS we snagged 2 awesome aft facing cabins for both trips to hold on to them. On HAL the cabin has a freaquishly large balcony. We really dont have to decide for sure until final payment is due in Nov 2011 so there is plenty of time. We love Princess but had the most awesome treatment last cruise on HAL. We are doing PRINCESS in Feb 2011 and HAL in June 2011 probably will wait til then to make the final choice.