When did Princess become so expensive?

[MCC retired]

Intriguing... But so much depends on your definitions. I may meet this criterion or I might not. I won't go into details of my own sitch but I would ask, which of these meet your criterion?

 

1. 
    
   
2. (I think I know this one) Delaying a cruise only so long as it takes to get the amount owed on the credit card low enough that the card won't hit the limit during the vacation.
    
   
3. Diverting a set amount from the checking account to a savings account every paycheck, and going on vacation when there is enough in the savings account
    
   
4. Buying stocks/bonds/real estate and redeeming the capital gain (aka selling at a profit) on these to pay for vacation
    
   
5. Buying stocks/bonds/real estate and using the passive earnings (dividends from stocks, interest on bonds, rents on real estate) to pay for vacations
    
   
6. Buying a house on credit, paying off the mortgage instead of rolling it over, and using one's otherwise thrifty ways to pay for vacations
    
   
7. Some people don't believe that buying a house is wise. So this alternative would be the same as the one above, but rewritten for the wise renter.
    
   

Of course neither of us are engaging in this discussion in order to pass judgement on the behavior of others. But some of us like or need to optimize our spending, and in that vein it is valuable to discuss and politely debate the finer points.

 

 

 

When did paying for your cruise get so complicated ?

 

 

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[Cruise Junky]

So saving money from my paycheck and depositing it in a savings acct. designated for travel is wrong. Who knew? ;)

 

Roz

Life is too short to worry about it. Travel while you can.

[umuva]

Don't worry, the cruise lines are making more profits than all of us put together.

Borrowing money (credit card debt) to pay for a cruise is foolhardy and can lead tov a debt trap.

One should enjoy financial freedom first, then plan any vacation

 

 

 

Since most Americans don't have financial freedom, they should never vacation? Sounds elitist. Only travel with your equals or betters (assuming your betters would want to vacation with you).

 

 

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[cardiffman]

If we went by drsel's advice, the travel and leisure industry would be devastated as millions who vacation do it either from credit cards or hard earnings.

 

Your comment implies we all pay off our credit cards and cancel any plans that involve future unsecured borrowing. That would be a calamity, if only briefly. Not all of us are going to follow drsel's advice, I can assure you. But those who do will be better off. And that would not be a calamity.

[Thrak]

Life is too short to worry about it. Travel while you can.

 

Yep. I had a friend who, when he and his wife were young, didn't want to cruise because "we can do that later when we're older and richer". His wife's parents kept after them to cruise with them so they gave in and did "one" cruise. They were hooked. They proceeded to cruise many times after that. One day about two weeks before a Hawaiian cruise he said he didn't feel good and two weeks later he was dead. He was in his very early 60's. If he and his wife had waited "until later" they never would have done any of the wonderful cruises they had together and his wife wouldn't have any of those memories. They weren't wealthy by any means. He had a good job and made good money but I don't believe they had any massive investments that would allow them to travel just using the "dividend" income or anything of that sort. They paid for their cruises and didn't carry debt from them but they did "use their hard earned money" to cruise.

 

Arrogant people who feel superior because they are more financially secure than others are annoying at best and disgusting at worst. I knew some other people who just kept inheriting money right and left. The wife felt vastly superior to people with lesser means even though the money she gloated about was money that other people had made. She was just the only heir for multiple people. I heard comments about waiters and waitress on the lines of, "If they could do anything else they would be doing it instead of just being a waiter/waitress". Wow. These comments were about young people who were working while gong to university. I guess if they were "smart" they would have just inherited money. (Her husband was a great guy liked by just about everybody. She, on the other hand...)

[umuva]

Your comment implies we all pay off our credit cards and cancel any plans that involve future unsecured borrowing. That would be a calamity, if only briefly. Not all of us are going to follow drsel's advice, I can assure you. But those who do will be better off. And that would not be a calamity.

 

 

 

My comment implies nothing of the sort. It simply says many people charge their vacations to CC. You must mean drsel. If people could not charge, it would be a calamity for the T&L industry with millions of jobs lost. Payday my off your bills at the end of the month is best. But it is not what all people can do. Americans take fewer vacations than other first world countries and the happiness index shows us ranking far below other countries. All work and no play.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

What gives you the idea they can afford a cruise? or any vacation at all!

Because most of the younger generation spend what they earn, save nothing & want everything they see.

So often I see posts about people wanting tip prepay the gratuities because they don't want the extra charged dollars to be on their credit card when they get home.

If that small amount means that much to you, you shouldn't be taking a cruise or any other vacation in the first place.

[Roz]

Some of us just like to prepay as much as we can. Has nothing to do with not being able to afford small amounts.

 

Roz

 

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[mellon1]

Yep. I had a friend who, when he and his wife were young, didn't want to cruise because "we can do that later when we're older and richer". His wife's parents kept after them to cruise with them so they gave in and did "one" cruise. They were hooked. They proceeded to cruise many times after that. One day about two weeks before a Hawaiian cruise he said he didn't feel good and two weeks later he was dead. He was in his very early 60's. If he and his wife had waited "until later" they never would have done any of the wonderful cruises they had together and his wife wouldn't have any of those memories. They weren't wealthy by any means. He had a good job and made good money but I don't believe they had any massive investments that would allow them to travel just using the "dividend" income or anything of that sort. They paid for their cruises and didn't carry debt from them but they did "use their hard earned money" to cruise.

 

Arrogant people who feel superior because they are more financially secure than others are annoying at best and disgusting at worst. I knew some other people who just kept inheriting money right and left. The wife felt vastly superior to people with lesser means even though the money she gloated about was money that other people had made. She was just the only heir for multiple people. I heard comments about waiters and waitress on the lines of, "If they could do anything else they would be doing it instead of just being a waiter/waitress". Wow. These comments were about young people who were working while gong to university. I guess if they were "smart" they would have just inherited money. (Her husband was a great guy liked by just about everybody. She, on the other hand...Hubby had cancer and we did what we had to to enjoy. Doing all we can to enjoy life. We don't have tons of money....we do make sure we tip appropriately for those who take care of us. It means tons to us

[poffles]

To circle back the beginning, as others have said, it would seem all cruise prices have gone up. I have not sailed Princess but I am always comparing prices and it seems to be across the board and just the way of supply and demand I guess and the increased overhead costs?

 

It seems that pricing cruises, especially for comparison, takes a lot of extra effort now. Firstly, as a Canadian I have to consider that our dollar has been bad for a while so that hasn't helped to really separate that from the real cost, but even taking that into account it is definitely getting more costly. Also muddying things is the inclusion of 'free' stuff. It would seem that prices are jacked up to allow for the perks and before anyone says that is not always the case I will say that may be true sometimes but more often it is padded.

 

It definitely takes a lot more work to get to the base price of what you got in the past compared to now, some wins some gains. I envy those that live near cruise ports to remove the airfare and pre or post hotel. I also envy those that don't have to take into account the any currency difference. Jealous.

 

All that said, it isn't stopping me from constantly looking and wanting to cruise.

[Aquahound]

I realize that the prices for all things go up, but it seems that Princess cruises have really skyrocketed in the last few years. I really like Princess and have been on 4 of its ships and Id like to go back...but its become very pricey. I used to be able to get balcony rooms for around or even under $1000 pp for 7 days, now they seem to start at $1500. What's changed I wonder? Its a shame.

 

I can only speak to my recent cruise searches. I'm looking for a 9 to 11 night cruise for late this year. I'm comparing Princess, Celebrity, HAL and RCI. All are within a couple hundred bucks of one another...ranging from $1100 to $1300 for a balcony. So at least for me, Princess still seems to have some pretty competitive prices.

[Kamloops50]

I can only speak to my recent cruise searches. I'm looking for a 9 to 11 night cruise for late this year. I'm comparing Princess, Celebrity, HAL and RCI. All are within a couple hundred bucks of one another...ranging from $1100 to $1300 for a balcony. So at least for me, Princess still seems to have some pretty competitive prices.

 

 

 

HAL has come down to price in the last few years. They are trying to get younger people and families to cruise with them. Some cruise lines been on the lower end.

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

We are paying more for our cruises on Princess. The economy is better and more people are cruising. That raises prices. There are still deals out there. It depends on if you want a specific category or cabin. We wanted balconies on our upcoming cruises so just decided we are ok with the prices. If things change financially we will book insides if we have to.

[benjaminwallace]

Personally, we only are cruising Princess because we are sooooo close to Elite and our laundry can be done by Princess!!! Yay!! :) But seriously, our best friends have cruised on all the cruise lines and keep coming back to Princess, one reason they say is the overall condition of the ships, not having to pay for Excursions up front, allowing Tips to be removed from account so that they can pay tips individually at end of cruise etc etc. We have a 30 day cruise booked for April 2018 (Singapore - Rome) and the cost is much better than if we did a land vacation covering the same Itinerary. Plus we GRAB those "sip and sail all you can drink packages"...which we got for the 30 day cruise. Plus ship board credit and a good Travel Agent who always gives us more perks. It can be done without breaking the bank.

[caribill]

Personally, we only are cruising Princess because we are sooooo close to Elite and our laundry can be done by Princess!!! Yay!! :) But seriously, our best friends have cruised on all the cruise lines and keep coming back to Princess, one reason they say is the overall condition of the ships, not having to pay for Excursions up front, allowing Tips to be removed from account so that they can pay tips individually at end of cruise etc etc. We have a 30 day cruise booked for April 2018 (Singapore - Rome) and the cost is much better than if we did a land vacation covering the same Itinerary. Plus we GRAB those "sip and sail all you can drink packages"...which we got for the 30 day cruise. Plus ship board credit and a good Travel Agent who always gives us more perks. It can be done without breaking the bank.

 

No longer true. Must pay in advance when you book in advance.

[spookyfudge]

Wow, we are booked in a suite for 2019 35 days and it is an increase of almost $9,000.00! I thought that was a HUGE increase. Hoping it will go down.

 

To keep the costs down what we have done is on our first cruise we had a suite, then 2 years later to keep the price the same we went with a mini, fast foward 6 years we now do a oceanview to keep the price about constant. We are looking at a 2019 T/A we now have to go on an interior:(. Probably in 2020 or beyound we will need to sign up as crew members just to be able to be on the ship.:eek:

[Iamcruzin]

I think they want to put some daylight between Carnival and Princess. A few years ago they were much closer, price-wise. They want Carnival to be the lower cost option.

 

 

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Yet every time I compare similar itineraries, Princess and Celebrity are the better value compared to NCL, Carnival and Royal. I don't see any bargains on those lines unless they happen to be running a sale or it's a last minute booking.

[drsel]

Yet every time I compare similar itineraries, Princess and Celebrity are the better value compared to NCL, Carnival and Royal. I don't see any bargains on those lines unless they happen to be running a sale or it's a last minute booking.

That's hard to believe, because Princess and Celebrity are a class above Norwegian, Royal and Carnival.

Do you have any examples of Princess and Celebrity being priced LESS than Norwegian, Royal and Carnival for the same itineraries?

[chisoxfan]

Interesting comments for sure. The OP spoke about the 1000 pp balcony cabin as the reference point for a 7 night Carib cruise and that struck a chord as that was our price point for years, Our last cruises have gone up but we gave also been able to add 'free' drink packages on HAL, Princess, and X that have at least made up for the higher cruise prices in 'extras' received.

 

We always look for value in our cruises and while we could afford to have a suite the need for one is lost on us. That said with artificial low interest rates killing us hard working 'savers' for the past decade (thank you Fed) and my sorry state of IL ratcheting up taxes as fast as they can (in a large measure so state employees can enjoy a wonderful pension- maybe they are in the suites) I may just switch my financial approach. While some admonish others for spending on credit for a cruise it seems to have worked for the government for the past decades. Let's drink and spend up!

[deliver42]

I haven't seen where Princess and Celebrity are less than Royal, NCL, and Carnival. Maybe Carnival on one of their new ships, which have gotten ridiculously expensive, or Royal on the Harmony only, but it would also depend on length and time of cruises. On NCL, I also opt for the "free" packages, whee you still pay the 18% grats, which brings the cruise a little higher, but still not as high as Princess. This is not to say Princess isn't worth it, as I'm booked on the Regal for Dec, 2018, and am happy with the price.

[lilant]

Where's that report? 78% of all statistics are wrong. :rolleyes: :D

 

 

 

LMAO. GOOD ONE!

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

That's hard to believe, because Princess and Celebrity are a class above Norwegian, Royal and Carnival.

Do you have any examples of Princess and Celebrity being priced LESS than Norwegian, Royal and Carnival for the same itineraries?

 

 

 

I can site one example - but as a general rule I agree that Carnival is cheaper.

 

We are on Dec 2018 Mexican Rivera on Ruby - with sip n sail. The cruise was $979 when we booked at, went to $999 and no change in rate or $1 deposit to add sip n sail. The comparable CCL cruise was $699, now $729. If you assume you are buying the AIBP on that cruise, the cost is over $1050. This kids are in an inside across the hall and the price is close to a wash - and if I can change to 3 for Free, Prince again will win.

 

I was willing to pay more to take "the love boat cruise" on the "Love Boat line" but am thrilled that it is now the better deal.

 

 

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[Thrak]

Where's that report? 78% of all statistics are wrong. :rolleyes: :D

 

Possibly because 63.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot...:rolleyes:

[Aulanis]

Where's that report? . :rolleyes: :D

 

Google not working in the US?

Google this

"us report 78% of full time workers living hand to mouth"

[RRFan]

No longer true. Must pay in advance when you book in advance.

 

 

 

We did a transatlantic in April '17 on Princess and booked all excursions ahead of time before they sold out. We wanted to use OBC to pay for them so we paid the cruise in full but none of the excursions (@ $1,000) and let them be charged to our shipboard account. No problem at all!

 

 

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