Help me understand cruise pricing

[firsttimer2018]

I'm comparing 3 Alaska cruises all Princess and all leaving the same day - June 2, 2018.

 

There is a Southbound on Star where the inside/OV/balcony are listed as starting from $437/$547/$917 on princess.com.

 

There is a Northbound on Golden where prices are $457/$797/$1453.

 

There is a Seattle roundtrip on Ruby where prices are $998/$1679/$1548.

 

All sailing go to Glacier Bay. Is the price difference the ship or itinerary or something else?

[myfuzzy]

Each sailing will give you a breakdown of each price, when you do a mock booking, do each date you are interested in and on a sheet of paper write down the price of the cabin and taxes and fees added on. Each port has different fees and taxes which could account for some differences. So if one itinerary goes to such and such ports and another goes to one of the same port and port such and such, there will be a difference, even though the port taxes and fees are not broken down on the bookings.

[partybarbie]

A lot has to do with supply and demand. If a particular cruise date has limited cabin availability, the prices go up. The Seattle cruises always seem to be more expensive. I believe that is due to cheaper airfare for a roundtrip to Seattle, then having to book two one-way tickets to Anchorage and Vancouver. The Seattle trips sell faster, so that equates to higher pricing.

[moki'smommy]

I booked a round trip (northbound and southbound) B2B. The port charges on one leg are $15 higher than the other, and the port times are significantly different, even though we are at the same ports. That might explain some of the difference. Seattle vs. Vancouver....higher port charges? Longer cruise route = more fuel used? And then the big difference--supply and demand. They have a computer system that raises the prices on certain cabin categories as they fill. This obviously benefits those who booked early. Then as the cruise date nears, if a category is not selling, you may see a significant price drop.

 

I've seen amazing price changes on cruises I've booked. as the cruise date neared--higher and lower.

[Reina del Mar]

Just a guess...

 

Maybe due to supply and demand related to the age of the ship !!!

 

I know that newer ships carry premium prices .

[Pam in CA]

Based on supply and demand. Check the itinerary and port charges for each cruise. Chances are you’ll see a difference in the port charges.

 

Don’t think the difference is due to the age of the ship in this case as the Golden is one of the older ships. Older than the Star.

 

Round trip cruises are more expensive as demand is higher due to shorter flights.

[Coral]

Seattle Roundtrips are usually more expensive but air is cheaper. One ways have much better itineraries but air is often more expensive. Though look at Princess for air because they have some deals on open jaw flights.

 

I much prefer the one way cruises. You get 2 glacier days and spend longer times in port.

 

I also like the Golden and Star. They have less passengers (less crowded) and have a covered pool.

[skynight]

I'm comparing 3 Alaska cruises all Princess and all leaving the same day - June 2, 2018.

 

There is a Southbound on Star where the inside/OV/balcony are listed as starting from $437/$547/$917 on princess.com.

 

There is a Northbound on Golden where prices are $457/$797/$1453.

 

There is a Seattle roundtrip on Ruby where prices are $998/$1679/$1548.

 

All sailing go to Glacier Bay. Is the price difference the ship or itinerary or something else?

The fares you mention are cruise only. Also, June 2, 2018 is only 3 weeks from sailing. I looked. It appears that the Star is trying to fill the ship by offering last min. fares from as low as $63/pp/day for an inside cabin to $130/pp/day for a balcony. The Golden appears to have an excess of inside and OV cabins, thus lower fares for those cats. The Ruby seems to be more fully booked, thus higher fares in all cats. Don't forget port charges are added to all fares. This close to sailing I would look for T.A.'s that may have some better pricing plus a few perks.

[wheezedr]

I'm comparing 3 Alaska cruises all Princess and all leaving the same day - June 2, 2018.

 

There is a Southbound on Star where the inside/OV/balcony are listed as starting from $437/$547/$917 on princess.com.

 

There is a Northbound on Golden where prices are $457/$797/$1453.

 

There is a Seattle roundtrip on Ruby where prices are $998/$1679/$1548.

 

All sailing go to Glacier Bay. Is the price difference the ship or itinerary or something else?

The technical term is dynamic pricing. One adjusts the price to reflect the current demand, trying to find the optimal point where sales generate the most income. This is especially important for the sale of items or services that basically lose all their value if unsold. Best examples would include cruises, hotel rooms, concert and sports tickets, etc.. Note these are all things that have a date of use, so that if unsold by that date the value is lost. A physical item, car, furniture, appliances, etc. if unsold on a given day can still be sold subsequently.

Why the price varies based on ship and itinerary is simply how and where people want to go and that certain classes of ships are more popular.

[neverbeenhere]

The prices are set by a group of four monkeys and an otter in a locked room. Each monkey sets a price for a particular sailing then the otter averages the amounts and rounds to the nearest dollar.

 

This is the exact same process the US Congress used to set tax rates.