Carnival prices just not cutting it .....

[LMaxwell]

They might be if you can be flexible I guess but I just priced a cruise for October and it came in at $2600, about $900 more than our CCL cruise.

 

Was that for Yacht Club? They've been advertising 2 for 1 $999 Balcony for quite a while. I am sure if you want better location, more perks, etc. it goes up, but $2600 sounds pretty steep if not in yacht club. Have seen interiors in Caribbean as low as 369 a person. Kids 12 and under are free.

Edited March 28, 2016 by LMaxwell

[vwrestler171]

If the other lines have to offer perks like that to get other people to book on them, what does that say about the rest of their product?

[Towel Critter]

They might be if you can be flexible I guess but I just priced a cruise for October and it came in at $2600, about $900 more than our CCL cruise.

Flexibility definitely helps when booking any sort of travel. I just saw, less than five minutes ago, a seven nighter on the MSC Divina for $650. That's for a balcony. The catch is it's for April 23. Throw your stuff in a suitcase and hurry! Of course, the problem with last minute cruise deals is air fare. What you gain on the price of the cruise, you lose in higher air fare. I think I need to move closer to a cruise port. Those guys get all the good deals. :-)

[tallnthensome]

But I must point out that the Vista is the newest carnival ship. I don't care if you are booking after her first year out or not. She is going to be pricey for about a year or two. And you are booking her before she has even sailed yet, then you are def. paying for her "newness." I bet if you looked at the Dream or event he Breeze for the same 8 days, it wouldn't be as bad.

I'm the OP of this topic. I agree with your statement about newness of ships and the price. That's what I was doing when I said I felt I was getting the least with Carnival with the three cruises I have booked. NOW, I say that because the comparrisons I'm making are on 3 cruises that sail to the carribean, are in April each year, and all are the newest ships in their fleet. It's easier to see the best deal when comparing apples to apples. I would have not started this thread if I was comparing, let's say, NCL's oldest ship and good price with Carnival's new Vista. Yes, one would instantly be a better deal if on a 15 year old ship though. All 3 of mine are new. If I wanted the lowest of the low price and best deal I would find the oldest ship in their fleets most likely. Simply put, NCL's brand new Escape and MSC's new Seaside gave me, in my opinion, a better deal for my family than the Vista. A balcony on the Vista was over $1000+ more than the others with no perks included or OBC.

[sparks1093]

Was that for Yacht Club? They've been advertising 2 for 1 $999 Balcony for quite a while. I am sure if you want better location, more perks, etc. it goes up, but $2600 sounds pretty steep if not in yacht club. Have seen interiors in Caribbean as low as 369 a person. Kids 12 and under are free.

 

No, that was for a regular balcony cabin without any of the perks.

[sparks1093]

Flexibility definitely helps when booking any sort of travel. I just saw, less than five minutes ago, a seven nighter on the MSC Divina for $650. That's for a balcony. The catch is it's for April 23. Throw your stuff in a suitcase and hurry! Of course, the problem with last minute cruise deals is air fare. What you gain on the price of the cruise, you lose in higher air fare. I think I need to move closer to a cruise port. Those guys get all the good deals. :-)

 

Yes, we typically will book more than a year ahead of time. Maybe when we retire and become snowbirds we can take last minute cruises but that's not in our cards yet.

[ready2cruzagain]

If the other lines have to offer perks like that to get other people to book on them, what does that say about the rest of their product?

:confused::confused:Have you sailed on them, evidently not. Celebrity does it and all I can say is it is really a step above Carnival, not going to quote on NCL...not sailed them in 10 years or longer but will let you know come Dec.

[Karnyval]

Bookings are strong for Carnival. The others are trying to play catch up. MSC in particular, is desperate to break into the US market. The last time they tried was an "epic" failure, and they have a bad (but deserved) reputation they need to try to overcome.

[RuthlessBoss]

Was that for Yacht Club? They've been advertising 2 for 1 $999 Balcony for quite a while. I am sure if you want better location, more perks, etc. it goes up, but $2600 sounds pretty steep if not in yacht club. Have seen interiors in Caribbean as low as 369 a person. Kids 12 and under are free.

 

I thought it was a bit out of whack too:) Don't know what level they were pricing to compare.

[BenjiRodney]

Sorry but I am still seeing much better pricing on Carnival than Royal. I think we paid too much on Royal for the cruise this weekend we are taking but we are going with a group of family/friends so I sucked it up and dealt with with. Next four however are back on Carnival.

[RuthlessBoss]

Bookings are strong for Carnival. The others are trying to play catch up. MSC in particular, is desperate to break into the US market. The last time they tried was an "epic" failure, and they have a bad (but deserved) reputation they need to try to overcome.

 

That was quite a dig. Epic had a rough start but is doing well. As far as being "desperate", no they are not. People don't remember their huge and profitable earnings in Europe. They were doing well prior to testing the American/Caribbean waters.

[Karnyval]

That was quite a dig. Epic had a rough start but is doing well. As far as being "desperate", no they are not. People don't remember their huge and profitable earnings in Europe. They were doing well prior to testing the American/Caribbean waters.

 

MSC does do well in Europe. The privately held cruise line is still desperate to expand into North America and is investing billions. They are betting a lot and need to get people on the ship.

[richstowe]

I'm the OP of this topic. I agree with your statement about newness of ships and the price. That's what I was doing when I said I felt I was getting the least with Carnival with the three cruises I have booked. NOW, I say that because the comparrisons I'm making are on 3 cruises that sail to the carribean, are in April each year, and all are the newest ships in their fleet. It's easier to see the best deal when comparing apples to apples. I would have not started this thread if I was comparing, let's say, NCL's oldest ship and good price with Carnival's new Vista. Yes, one would instantly be a better deal if on a 15 year old ship though. All 3 of mine are new. If I wanted the lowest of the low price and best deal I would find the oldest ship in their fleets most likely. Simply put, NCL's brand new Escape and MSC's new Seaside gave me, in my opinion, a better deal for my family than the Vista. A balcony on the Vista was over $1000+ more than the others with no perks included or OBC.

OP , I just don't understand your anger . You don't think Carnivals prices match up . Fine , book with another brand . Problem solved . They can ask for whatever price they want and you can choose who you wish to sail with . What is the issue ? Do you believe that Carnival "owes" you low prices ?

[traceytd]

I just booked a MSC cruise on the Divina for November 2016. I paid $1400.00 for 2 in an aft facing balcony. Fantastical experience....

[CeleBrat]

So...we have sailed many cruise lines (see my signature), as I am a bargain hunter! I go where the prices take me! And, I can share this: we just sailed NCL last week, and as a result my kids have DEMANDED that I stop trying to price hunt and only stick with Carnival, as for them, it's more fun.

 

And I wold kind-of have to agree. The slides/pools are much, much better on Carnival. The NCL ship we were on had 1 pool, and the slide was hands-down the worst I've ever experienced. I am a very -fast slider, and 10 feet down the slide I came to a grinding halt. The for-fee restaurants were ala carte, so our ala carte meal for the 4 of us was well over $80, and the kids only ate pizza! And, cabin sizes are indeed much smaller. The very first MSC cruise we went on, we weren't sure how we were going to survive in our interior cabin, as the bunks came down really low (so that you couldn't sit on the lower bed) and the cabin was very, very small.

 

I think it's good that you shop around and try other cruise lines. But for us, it will probably be primarily Carnival (or Disney) from now on.

 

CeleBrat

[mibarron]

I just booked a MSC cruise on the Divina for November 2016. I paid $1400.00 for 2 in an aft facing balcony. Fantastical experience....

 

 

At this price, I could probably book 2 cruises a year, versus only the one I usually do. Next year, I will need to shop around more. I normally tend to limit myself based on the port and only go during summer months. I may need to change that. [emoji848][emoji1]

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

MSC does do well in Europe. The privately held cruise line is still desperate to expand into North America and is investing billions. They are betting a lot and need to get people on the ship.

 

They're doing all the right things. I predict that they will do well. This is not their first rodeo.

[Trumpster]

They're doing all the right things. I predict that they will do well. This is not their first rodeo.

 

The Divina was a very good adult cruise and a ok family cruise. Its prices were good but it did not best our better carnival cruises. Or NCL.

 

Kids had fun but expressed a desire to not go back if possible. They suggested they liked it better than celebrity and in some ways Royal. I think they would like Royal better now, on the otherhand I wouldn't like Royals prices as much.

 

Its a great ship, but didn't have the bells and whistles the kids wanted and became spoiled with. They prefer Breeze, Getaway and similar ships. Thus they have already been agitating for the MSC Seaside in 2018.

 

I would take my spouse on the Divina and Yacht Club it but maybe not the kids while younger.

 

I liked MSC and hope they do well. Their prices now are good, lots of kids sail free opportunities, and wish they would keep the overnight in San Juan.

[tallnthensome]

If the other lines have to offer perks like that to get other people to book on them, what does that say about the rest of their product?

It means they want to make you happy, maybe happier than Carnival wants to. Believe me, there are better products out there than Carnival. I see you've only sailed Carnival. New ships with perks does not mean bad product.

[sparks1093]

It means they want to make you happy, maybe happier than Carnival wants to. Believe me, there are better products out there than Carnival. I see you've only sailed Carnival. New ships with perks does not mean bad product.

 

What's the difference between Applebee's, Olive Garden, and Chili's? They are all mass market restaurants catering to roughly the same demographic. I view the main stream lines much the same way. There are some differences between them but they are more similar than not. To me "the food is better" or "the staff is friendlier" or the "the decor is nicer" isn't enough incentive to pay substantially more for an experience, especially for an experience that is driven more by the people that I'm with (my family) than an outside influence like a cruise.

Edited March 29, 2016 by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

I thought it was a bit out of whack too:) Don't know what level they were pricing to compare.

 

I compared balcony to balcony in mid-October. I tried to compare them to what we are paying for the Glory but they don't have anything out that far yet.

[jimbo5544]

They're doing all the right things. I predict that they will do well. This is not their first rodeo.

 

 

True, but wasn't their other rodeo sea shipping?

[Thorncroft]

True, but wasn't their other rodeo sea shipping?

 

Yeah, it was. What's your point?

[Trumpster]

Yeah, it was. What's your point?

 

 

They have some work to do if they want to be an American market monster.

 

If they Americanize to much it won't be MSC, to little and they won't make money. The Divina was originally going to stay and well... but now she's back and hopefully they weather it out.

 

Great prices if you don't mind a level of service tier.

[sparks1093]

Yeah, it was. What's your point?

 

The difference between driving a semi-truck and a bus is my guess what the PP's point was.