Carnival prices just not cutting it .....

[elliair]

If you have a Discover card and are looking for a cruise on any of these lines, there's a 10% cashback bonus for booking. Presently, Celebrity, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Viking have 10% cash back. Others like Princess has a 5% cash back. The 10% offer expires on 3/31. So, if you're looking for the "deals" and what you get, it pays to shop around. On our upcoming cruises, we're getting over $800 cash back. Nice savings to put towards another cruise along with all the OBC.:p

[LMaxwell]

If you have a Discover card and are looking for a cruise on any of these lines, there's a 10% cashback bonus for booking. Presently, Celebrity, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Viking have 10% cash back. Others like Princess has a 5% cash back. The 10% offer expires on 3/31. So, if you're looking for the "deals" and what you get, it pays to shop around. On our upcoming cruises, we're getting over $800 cash back. Nice savings to put towards another cruise along with all the OBC.:p

 

AMEX is also offering $75 statement credit on $250 spent on carnival, and $100 statement credit on $500 spent on NCL; but you have to check your offers to see if you have it and then activate the offer. Good tip on checking Discover. Just shows that cruisers should check ALL their cards and figure out who has the best current offers

[Trumpster]

for MSC to be a serious threat they will need more than just one or two ships.

 

Not the time to get ahead of ourselves.

[LMaxwell]

for MSC to be a serious threat they will need more than just one or two ships.

 

Not the time to get ahead of ourselves.

 

There are 2 new ones coming; so that will be 3 in Miami. Plus they are building up an island in the Bahamas that will be a port of call with docking (no tendering). I would certainly not write them off; they will be very competitive with the big ships from RCI, NCL, Princess, and Carnival.

 

The more competition the better; the paying customer is the winner.

[Tapi]

The more competition the better; the paying customer is the winner.

 

 

Speaking of competition, don't forget the Virgin ships currently under construction which will also be deployed in the Caribbean. [emoji106]🏼

[HamSammie]

Speaking of competition, don't forget the Virgin ships currently under construction which will also be deployed in the Caribbean. [emoji106]🏼

 

I'm looking forward to these ships, but have a feeling they will have a hard time selling out.

[Thorncroft]

I'm looking forward to these ships, but have a feeling they will have a hard time selling out.

 

I remember the same thing being said about RCI's Oasis class.

[LMaxwell]

I'm looking forward to these ships, but have a feeling they will have a hard time selling out.

 

I don't have those concerns. Maybe a little bit of a slow start; but they will fill the ships.

[RuthlessBoss]

I'm looking forward to these ships, but have a feeling they will have a hard time selling out.

 

Of course. Won't they run out of virgins?:D

[Tapi]

I'm looking forward to these ships, but have a feeling they will have a hard time selling out.

 

 

I think that they will be wildly successful even before the first sailing.

 

Virgin has HUGE name recognition, specially in Europe. Just like many Europeans are flying to Miami to sail on MSC (a brand that they know well), I believe that they will do the same once Virgin is here.

 

Second, at 110,00 tons, these new ships will be big, but they won't be huge. In fact, they'll be considerably smaller than newbuilds from MSC, Carnival, Royal and NCL. Also, the ships will be launched over 3 years, which will allow for momentum to build.

 

Finally, Virgin will be headed by the guy that launched Disney, and if there's something that he has taught us is how to capitalize on a brand's recognition, make it wildly popular, and charge a premium for it.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Tapi

[LMaxwell]

Out of 1500 cabins that's not many. Even if they only unload five more they are still at 99% of rooms being full and I'm sure they'll do better than that.

Full can mean anything from 100% occupancy up to around 112 to 115% depending on the number of rooms with 3 and 4 people in it. There are plenty of times there are rooms unsold but a ship is at 110% capacity due to the 3 and 4 rooms being full and they are at lifeboat capacity.

[Hoosierpop]

Here is some advice. If you find a better deal on another cruise line, take it. I know, it may seem like way out there thinking. But, I think it's the way to go.

 

And no charge for that advice.

[Towel Critter]

I would agree with this view of the Divina for sure. It did not best our best carnival cruises but for the price it was pretty darn good.

At the time we sailed with MSC, on the Poesia, they were just breaking into the Caribbean scene, several years ago. They were having a BOGO sale. We booked one week at $699 for a balcony room and got the same cabin for an additional week - all new itinerary - for free. The first week was a Western itinerary, the second week Eastern. I doubt I ever see a deal like that again.

[missholly24]

Ok that makes sense!

[shof515]

Here is a fun glitch/bug on the fareviewer site:

 

This is for a short 4 day Canada cruise from NYC

 

Lucky, the main booking page on the Carnival shows the correct pricing.

[Doggielover68]

Why does everyone keep saying the "ships sail full". I check my sailing on Splendor for April 9th every couple of days ( I have a lot of spare time) and there are at least 20 open cabins.....Just wanted to add my two cents. ;) They probably do sail mostly full but because they give them away towards the end. They make more money from people being on board.

 

 

We sailed on one of the slowest weeks of the year (the week after thanksgiving) and our ship was definitely full. There were people in our roll call offering to pay to have people give up their cabins so their family members could join them on the cruise since it was sold out over a month ahead of time.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Sweettea6064]

Quite frankly, We've 15 cruises on 5 lines and went on a short cruise from Jacksonville a few weeks ago and even though it was cheaper to book the cruise with Carnival initially than to book Royal or NCL for a similar 4 day cruise, from experience it ended up being an experience with the Wamart of cruising. Possibly we were a little spoiled by our last cruise with Princess in October, but c'mon man...seriously you have to do better. The price per day we paid for the two was similar. The employees tried very hard, but even for the low cost it wasn't good. At least with Royal, or Princess either person can purchase a drink package with the other not required to and are they serious about limiting it to 15? What are we? 21 and in college? Maybe upward movement in Carnival's price point is a good thing. I saw many people on my last cruise with Princess drinking but no one drunk and disorderly. On this one I saw more than one person fitting that description. If the price point goes up maybe it filters out some of that. Just a thought.

[Podna's]

Quite frankly, We've 15 cruises on 5 lines and went on a short cruise from Jacksonville a few weeks ago and even though it was cheaper to book the cruise with Carnival initially than to book Royal or NCL for a similar 4 day cruise, from experience it ended up being an experience with the Wamart of cruising. Possibly we were a little spoiled by our last cruise with Princess in October, but c'mon man...seriously you have to do better. The price per day we paid for the two was similar. The employees tried very hard, but even for the low cost it wasn't good. At least with Royal, or Princess either person can purchase a drink package with the other not required to and are they serious about limiting it to 15? What are we? 21 and in college? Maybe upward movement in Carnival's price point is a good thing. I saw many people on my last cruise with Princess drinking but no one drunk and disorderly. On this one I saw more than one person fitting that description. If the price point goes up maybe it filters out some of that. Just a thought.

 

 

Stopped reading at the "Walmart"line. Real original. Makes absolutely no sense at all.

[Jana60]

I don't think they're getting out of hand at all. As previously mentioned' date=' supply and demand. Carnival is a very successful business for a reason and ships will continue to sail full.[/quote']

 

Just curious, When did you last cruise with Norwegian or Royal Caribbean?

[Podna's]

Just curious, When did you last cruise with Norwegian or Royal Caribbean?

 

 

3 years RCL and a little over 4 on NCL. One time on each. Enjoyed both but couldn't wait to come back to Carnival.

[sparks1093]

If the price point goes up maybe it filters out some of that. Just a thought.

 

Other lines have such a price point so it's easy enough for someone to choose another line to avoid the riff raff. I've never had an issue with it myself so I'm hoping the price point stays right where it is.

[ready2cruzagain]

I don't consider it a no brainer. By the time you pay gratuities on your free drink package and their higher daily gratuities, it's not that different. If one wants serenity, on NCL you must buy it or put up with what's happening. Also Epic has no outside decks to wander (as I understand from reading)

Wow really? Okay, gratuities are $1.50pp more a day so it will cost us $21 more in gratuities for 7 days to sail on NCL. The gratuities on the drink package for 2 was $173.88 total for 7 days.

 

So, that means our NCL cruises were $499pp with $87.50pp obc on each cruise from TA (plus $10.50 more for gratuities for the week pp and $86.94 pp more for 7 days for gratuities for the drinks) for an inside deck 13 for 7 nights with drink package included. That makes for a total of $509.50 for the NCL cruise for 7 days WITH the drink package when you add the cost of the extra gratuities.

 

Our Carnival cruise was $579pp with a $50obc on deck 8 for 7 nights...no drink package. Carnivals gratuities are $1.50 less pp per day. That was included in the above price for NCL. Carnival's price $579- $50 is $529 with NO Drink package. If I had to pay for the drink package...it will add $442.33 pp to the cruise making Carnival $971.33pp for a 7 day cruise to make the price equal.

 

As you can see, the price of the cruises do not even come close when you figure in the drink package.

 

Also, I can't even imagine there being NO outside decks? That doesn't make sense. Are you meaning there is no promenade deck that circles the ship?

Edited March 28, 2016 by ready2cruzagain

[Je Souhaite]

Speaking of competition, don't forget the Virgin ships currently under construction which will also be deployed in the Caribbean. [emoji106]🏼

 

That's a scary thought. All they need do is launch their line using Carnival's playbook pre-2008, at competitive prices, and they should be an instant success.

[golfb4cruzing]

Stopped reading at the "Walmart"line. Real original. Makes absolutely no sense at all.

 

Made perfect sense to me. There are distinct differences between cruise lines and distinct differences in clientele. For one not to believe this, you are only fooling yourselves.

[grandmarnnurse]

We are sailing this summer aboard MSC Divina. Family of 4 in a Fantastica balcony stateroom for 7 nights for $1357! And that includes all taxes and port charges! No other similar cruise for that week came remotely close in price. Carnival was double, Royal was triple, and Disney was 5 times more expensive!

 

It does pay to shop around. Pretty much every cruise that we've taken in the last 5 years has been cheaper than similar cruises on Carnival.

 

I've never looked into MSC before, but now I think I will check them out. I have always thought Carnival had the best prices, but they, too, are increasing theirs. My last two were on RCCL, and I thought they were pretty pricey. I got a great deal for my next cruise in January 2017 on the Norwegian Getaway. Cost of 7 day cruise for inside cabin (I always book inside because of limited time in cabin. To me, it is a waste to pay more. But that is my preference. I know it is not everyone's.) was only $549pp plus unlimited drink package. I was extremely happy with that, as I paid over $800pp on the Oasis with no drink package.

I am getting online right now and checking out MSC! Thank you for the heads up!