HAS PRINCESS PRICES GONE UP

[mcrcruiser]

Seems to us that we are paying more for a booked Sept 2022 ,Ruby Princess   Alaska cruise than we had paid in the past  . We have a HAL Hawaii cruise for Feb2022 & that price seems  fair  as well as our Carnival Hawaii cruise Oct 2022 

 

 What has been your experience with  the cruise prices &  promotions  ?

[skynight]

We have two cruises booked for Feb/Mar 2022. The fares are in line, actually somewhat better, with fares of the past. In checking your cruise I think the fare is also in line with the past for an Alaska cruise. Post Covid, 2022 or 2023, expect there will be high demand, thus increased fares. 

[adam7392]

price for 2022 Baltic on Enchanted is much higher than for identical 2020 itinary on Sky both end July .  We did book the Sky cruise in December 2019 so 7 months out whereas the Enchanted one is 18 months out so hoping prices will drop by next Christmas to similar level.

 

Prices for balcony including gratuity, drinks, wifi, tax, fees per person:

Sky end July 2020-  £1715   (booked Dec 26th 2019)

Discovery end July 2022 - £2485  (as at 13/01/2021)

only a 45% price increase!!

[Tak8]

I have an end of may '21 and May '22 Caribbean cruises booked.  Within the past month, I opted for the new promotion on both and saved $500 on each.  I'd say in line or a little cheaper and yes I'm surprised to write this given the current situation. 

[roxievegas]

The prices with Princess are much better than Celebrity.  I have a cruise booked for September 2021 with Celebrity that has gone up in price by $600 for the cabin and that is with out the perks we received.

 

This same cruise with Princess is way less and we get the perks.  I think Princess has held the line,

[voljeep]

we had a 6 day April 2021 cruise on the CB cancelled and booked a 7 day on the CB, same exact cabin for April 2022.  Price is about $40 pp pd more at this time, plus we 'lost' $ 300 in OBC

 

our PVP is working on both 'issues' for us

 

we'll see

[Coolmama_1]

I think the prices for the cruises I have looked at are pretty much in line with what I have booked in the past.

[fluffybunny22]

We had the Sky booked for June 2020 Baltic and now have the same itinerary booked for June 2022 on the Enchanted and the price is very close to what was for 2020. Same exact room and perks,

[atchisog]

2020 25 day Transatlantic to Baltic on Sky: $13,600 in S7 Window Suite

2022 25 day Transatlantic to Baltic on Enchanted: $20038 in S7 Window Suite

 

from my perspective, my cancelled cruise in 2020 has gone up 50% in 2022 

 

[Italy52]

When I was researching Alaska 2022 cruises I noticed that the prices were higher than in the past.  Think they are trying to get people to unload their FCCs. 

[capriccio]

We had a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise cancelled last summer.  When the 2022 summer cruises were opened in November I re-booked it for the same week in 2022, same ship, same cabins, same perks, for just about the same price (less than $50 difference +/-) for 6 adults and 2 children. 

[Hlitner]

We have posted a few comments about cruise price increases seen with several cruise lines.   So consider this scenario (which I like to call the BIG CON).  Most cruise lines have done their best to convince folks to accept generous Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) is lieu of refunds for cruises cancelled by the cruise lines.  While the cruise lines are obligated to give folks a 100% refund if the cruise line cancel a cruise, the lines are very good at convincing many folks that taking a generous FCC is a win.  But suppose I give you a 125%  FCC which has time restrictions (such as it must be used in the next year) and then increase the price of nearly all my cruises by 30%.  Suddenly that generous FCC is not such a great deal...especially when you could have opted to simply get your money back.  With the money in your hand you could then shop around among all the cruise lines and even look at other travel options.  But that generous FCC gets you stuck with a single cruise line and forces you to book something else within a certain time frame.

 

We recently ran into an issue with HAL where we had a pretty generous cruise credit.  When we tried to book a HAL cruise our cruise agent was told that we could not use our FCC for the cruise deposit.  So even though we had thousands of dollars of FCCs we had to give HAL more money if we wanted to book a certain future cruise.  Once booked we could use our FCC to reduce the overall price (and final payment) of that cruise.  Of course the really big question is will that cruise line even survive until that future cruise and will that future cruise actually happen.  If not, I guess we would simply get more FCCs to use for another future cruise which may not ever happen.  Almost sounds like a lame Ponzi scheme except the truth is that the cruise lines are as much a victim as the cruisers.   So we now have to live long enough to take a cruise that may never happen?   What a world.

 

Hank 

[Ombud]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have posted a few comments about cruise price increases seen with several cruise lines.   So consider this scenario (which I like to call the BIG CON).  Most cruise lines have done their best to convince folks to accept generous Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) is lieu of refunds for cruises cancelled by the cruise lines.  While the cruise lines are obligated to give folks a 100% refund if the cruise line cancel a cruise, the lines are very good at convincing many folks that taking a generous FCC is a win.  But suppose I give you a 125%  FCC which has time restrictions (such as it must be used in the next year) and then increase the price of nearly all my cruises by 30%.  Suddenly that generous FCC is not such a great deal...especially when you could have opted to simply get your money back.  With the money in your hand you could then shop around among all the cruise lines and even look at other travel options.  But that generous FCC gets you stuck with a single cruise line and forces you to book something else within a certain time frame.

 

We recently ran into an issue with HAL where we had a pretty generous cruise credit.  When we tried to book a HAL cruise our cruise agent was told that we could not use our FCC for the cruise deposit.  So even though we had thousands of dollars of FCCs we had to give HAL more money if we wanted to book a certain future cruise.  Once booked we could use our FCC to reduce the overall price (and final payment) of that cruise.  Of course the really big question is will that cruise line even survive until that future cruise and will that future cruise actually happen.  If not, I guess we would simply get more FCCs to use for another future cruise which may not ever happen.  Almost sounds like a lame Ponzi scheme except the truth is that the cruise lines are as much a victim as the cruisers.   So we now have to live long enough to take a cruise that may never happen?   What a world.

 

Hank 

Or cash the FCC in and give up the bonus FCC 

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, Ombud said:

Or cash the FCC in and give up the bonus FCC 

Given the interest rates, this is a no lose proposition.  I accepted a “double” bonus for my two cancelled cruises.  The fact that I can decide to give up the bonus and take cash later makes it worth the risk to me. If the cost of the cruise does not go up by 30% as Hank suggests, I can decide at that point.  

 

 

[susancruzs]

I'm booked for Enchanted Med + TA Nov. 2021 and Baltic + TA Aug./Sep. 2022.  I had these cruises booked and cancelled by Princess.  Fortunately no final payments were involved.  I am paying less for both cruises, cabins I want, and all the perks. 

 

It worked out better for me, one was because of a casino credit and I was shocked to be saving close to $3,000.  I did book 4 cruises, rather than Grand Adventures, worked out to be a better price.  Not normally the case, this time it was.  Casino deal really helped, usually most cruises I choose don't qualify, nice surprise.

Edited January 14, 2021 by susancruzs

[mcrcruiser]

20 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have posted a few comments about cruise price increases seen with several cruise lines.   So consider this scenario (which I like to call the BIG CON).  Most cruise lines have done their best to convince folks to accept generous Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) is lieu of refunds for cruises cancelled by the cruise lines.  While the cruise lines are obligated to give folks a 100% refund if the cruise line cancel a cruise, the lines are very good at convincing many folks that taking a generous FCC is a win.  But suppose I give you a 125%  FCC which has time restrictions (such as it must be used in the next year) and then increase the price of nearly all my cruises by 30%.  Suddenly that generous FCC is not such a great deal...especially when you could have opted to simply get your money back.  With the money in your hand you could then shop around among all the cruise lines and even look at other travel options.  But that generous FCC gets you stuck with a single cruise line and forces you to book something else within a certain time frame.

 

We recently ran into an issue with HAL where we had a pretty generous cruise credit.  When we tried to book a HAL cruise our cruise agent was told that we could not use our FCC for the cruise deposit.  So even though we had thousands of dollars of FCCs we had to give HAL more money if we wanted to book a certain future cruise.  Once booked we could use our FCC to reduce the overall price (and final payment) of that cruise.  Of course the really big question is will that cruise line even survive until that future cruise and will that future cruise actually happen.  If not, I guess we would simply get more FCCs to use for another future cruise which may not ever happen.  Almost sounds like a lame Ponzi scheme except the truth is that the cruise lines are as much a victim as the cruisers.   So we now have to live long enough to take a cruise that may never happen?   What a world.

 

Hank 

Hank I follow your logic as fact  . Seems to me that is exactly what Princess has done .  In our case we applied the FCC to a Alaska cruise Sept 7 ,2022   round trio SF

 

 Cliff

[compozer]

my 2020 Alaskan cruise tour was canceled - booked again for 2021 at higher price and just did a back up one for 2022 and it is even more.

[GonzoWCS]

So looks like the jury is still out here?  I am reading mixed signals.

 

Cheers

[compozer]

It probably depends on the itinerary.

•  

[CineGraphic]

The average daily all-in prices for our currently booked 2021/22 sailings are about 30% higher than our 2020/21 cancelled sailings. However, if I factor in the bonus FCC funds from the cancellations, we come out ahead.

Itineraries are the same, but the dates are not.

[dog]

I have the 12 day canary island cruise booked for spring 2022, but have not priced it in the past. I am ok with paying the extra cost over my cancelled Panama Canal cruise, which had higher port fees & taxes then this one. Plus I am getting the 5 perks, casino OBC, my FCC, FCD & now the extra $100 OBC for the cruise Princess cancelled that I had a $1.00 deposit on.  I certainly hope this cruise happens. 

[Casey12]

The prices right now are unreasonable. Will be doing land trips for awhile.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Casey12 said:

The prices right now are unreasonable. Will be doing land trips for awhile.

And that is where the law of supply and demand comes into play. There are alternatives to cruises in the travel industry. If the price is set too high, at some point many potential customers will take these alternatives instead of cruises.

[caribill]

20 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And that is where the law of supply and demand comes into play. There are alternatives to cruises in the travel industry. If the price is set too high, at some point many potential customers will take these alternatives instead of cruises.

 

True. Carnival Corp has said they want to have cruises priced so they cost less than a land vacation.

 

But not necessarily a lot less. Just enough less that people will choose cruising instead of a land vacation.

[13cheermom]

Well for us, cancelled Alaskan cruise (5/16/20), rebooked for Panama Canal (3/13/22) last August 2020.  Right now I just checked fares and they are up by $200/pp for same perks.  So for us prices are definitely going up, glad I went ahead and re-booked when we did.  Also the pay in full incentive gave us additional 10% off fare as well as $200 OBC extra.  Since we had paid with gift cards to begin with, nothing to lose by paying it in full.  Gift cards can sit in the safe here at home or be applied for the extra discount, was a no-brainer for us.  Again I agree with above post, it truly depends on itinerary.  For us we will only be cruising from east coast ports that are drivable for the next year or so.