Why are Australian cruises so cheap?

[RedLightVegas]

Last night, the husband and I looked at some Australian cruises next year and the year after. A lot of these are $42-$50/night which to me sounded insanely cheap. 

Is there a reason these are so cheap? Are the port fees different because you never really leave the country, just go up and down the coast and out to some islands. 

[ArchieCruise]

Port fees seem less in Australia than many other places plus there is not gratuities to add on.  Australia is just starting to open cruising.  When cruising was first opening in the US there were offers near free as well.  The only problem about these offers is the airfare to get there.  

[jerseyjjs]

14 minutes ago, RedLightVegas said:

Last night, the husband and I looked at some Australian cruises next year and the year after. A lot of these are $42-$50/night which to me sounded insanely cheap. 

Is there a reason these are so cheap? Are the port fees different because you never really leave the country, just go up and down the coast and out to some islands. 

 

 

Ok, book the cruise for the cheap rate.   Now......book your flight.

[tallnthensome]

11 minutes ago, jerseyjjs said:

 

 

Ok, book the cruise for the cheap rate.   Now......book your flight.

This ...... ^^^

[audcc77]

Yeah. I wish they’d not send me these $4 Australia offers.  Even if it’s $4, I can’t afford to fly there.  

[RedLightVegas]

I understand the flights are expensive and figured that had something to do with it. But even with expensive flights those prices seemed insanely cheap. 

 

Thanks all!

Edited March 28, 2022 by RedLightVegas

[ray98]

They need to fill those ships and insanely low prices are the only way to do it when the astronomical cost of the flight if factored in.

[csm5986142]

22 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

Yeah. I wish they’d not send me these $4 Australia offers.

 

I agree!  I was so excited to receive a premiere casino offer (free balcony rm, $500 FunPlay, Drinks On Us!  $200 OBC, etc.)

Then on to the fine print.....Only applicable for Seattle to Sydney sailing on September 6, 2022 ☹️

I can't do that 23 day cruise for a number of reasons! 

[n6uqqq]

Speaking of cheap cruises I just booked a fire sale to Alaska on the Splendor for May 2nd interior room for 859 dollars for two people included port fees but not the tips. I took advantage of now being called a " senior " at age 55 😉 . The cruise rate was 169 per person for an 8 day cruise but the fees really add up for Alaska. 

[Itried4498]

It has nothing to do with the cost of the flights.  Those cruises are targeted primarily to those living in/near Australia.  And the cost to fly to Australia during the US winter (when it's summer in Australia) is comparable from many large cities to traveling to Europe during the US summer (when it's also summer in Europe).  

 

The low fares exist to stimulate demand.  Australia is just lifting its restrictions, and travel to/from/within is still somewhat burdensome.  It's really no different than the plethora of domestic (US) low fares that have been offered to stimulate demand -- there's still restrictions to cruise, and many people are weary about cruising during the pandemic (even if it's waning).

[jerseyjjs]

8 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

It has nothing to do with the cost of the flights.  Those cruises are targeted primarily to those living in/near Australia.  And the cost to fly to Australia during the US winter (when it's summer in Australia) is comparable from many large cities to traveling to Europe during the US summer (when it's also summer in Europe).  

 

The low fares exist to stimulate demand.  Australia is just lifting its restrictions, and travel to/from/within is still somewhat burdensome.  It's really no different than the plethora of domestic (US) low fares that have been offered to stimulate demand -- there's still restrictions to cruise, and many people are weary about cruising during the pandemic (even if it's waning).

 

 

Targeted to Australians?  If that's the case, then why are people in the U.S. (I am one of them) getting $4 p/p offers to sail the Splendor out of Sydney?

Edited March 28, 2022 by jerseyjjs

[dlesh77]

We are booked on Splendor Nov 10th 8 night Barrier Reef. Insane deal, $450 total for both of us in balcony with $750aus in onboard credit. Flights are costing us 1k round trip pp. 

[chescocruisers]

Just booked an 11 day Australia New Zealand cruise for January 2024. Prices were so much cheaper than the other lines so we booked the wraparound balcony. Figure if we can't find a reasonable flight next year we will just cancel it was only a 75 dollar deposit

[Itried4498]

1 hour ago, jerseyjjs said:

 

 

Targeted to Australians?  If that's the case, then why are people in the U.S. (I am one of them) getting $4 p/p offers to sail the Splendor out of Sydney?

 

Probably because they're desperate to get people on the ships...

 

In the past, when Carnival Corporation based Costa ships in Florida during the winter, their primary target audience is domestic, not Europe...

[lakedweller64]

Just booked the 23 day cruise Seattle to Sydney 2000 dollars fun play with a balcony. To good to pass up.

[BubbaD123]

2 hours ago, dlesh77 said:

We are booked on Splendor Nov 10th 8 night Barrier Reef. Insane deal, $450 total for both of us in balcony with $750aus in onboard credit. Flights are costing us 1k round trip pp. 

What's that in freedom dollars?

[icft]

4 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

It has nothing to do with the cost of the flights.  Those cruises are targeted primarily to those living in/near Australia.  And the cost to fly to Australia during the US winter (when it's summer in Australia) is comparable from many large cities to traveling to Europe during the US summer (when it's also summer in Europe).  

 

The low fares exist to stimulate demand.  Australia is just lifting its restrictions, and travel to/from/within is still somewhat burdensome.  It's really no different than the plethora of domestic (US) low fares that have been offered to stimulate demand -- there's still restrictions to cruise, and many people are weary about cruising during the pandemic (even if it's waning).

I don't know that I agree with all your first paragraph but that doesn't matter. I think your second paragraph is the whole thing in a nutshell. Just like they were giving free cruises in the U.S. (and I still have one on my VIFP offers page for free balcony and $1,000 casino cash and until May to accept it) to get people cruising again they are doing that with Australia where cruising has just restarted.

[ehyup71]

For me, a trip to Australia has always been a bucket list item.  I was able to book for May 2023 a 9-day cruise in a aft-extended balcony, $1500 Funplay, drinks everywhere on the ship.  Total cost was $525.00 for 2 people (and we get $300 of that $525 back in OBC) 😁

 

Honestly, I will probably never get another casino offer that good, so even with the cost of airfare, no way I could pass that up.  We will add some days on each end of the cruise and make the most of it! Yeah!

 

I do spend some time in the casino but not typically a BIG spender.  Just before COVID shutdown we did a 16-night Hawaii cruise on the Legend, and we enjoyed ourselves and spent a lot more than we normally do.  Now I'm getting some pretty great casino offers, but I know they won't last.  I have to book them while I can!!  LOL

Edited March 29, 2022 by ehyup71

[pe4all]

I also have some of those incredible Australia offers. Now all I have to do is get dh to retire.....

[kdr69]

11 hours ago, lakedweller64 said:

Just booked the 23 day cruise Seattle to Sydney 2000 dollars fun play with a balcony. To good to pass up.

nice my offer was only 500 dollars fun play.  Still dont have the time off to do it though.

[Elaine5715]

16 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

It has nothing to do with the cost of the flights.  Those cruises are targeted primarily to those living in/near Australia.  And the cost to fly to Australia during the US winter (when it's summer in Australia) is comparable from many large cities to traveling to Europe during the US summer (when it's also summer in Europe).  

 

The low fares exist to stimulate demand.  Australia is just lifting its restrictions, and travel to/from/within is still somewhat burdensome.  It's really no different than the plethora of domestic (US) low fares that have been offered to stimulate demand -- there's still restrictions to cruise, and many people are weary about cruising during the pandemic (even if it's waning).

Not being targeted at those in or near Australia,  My globe says Michigan is a little far away.  I have been getting killer deals for Australian cruises since the return to cruising.  Since I don't have the flexible  time off and I don't want to run the hassle of getting cancelled

[Out of Iowa]

Be sure you know the cost of flights before you book that great cruise deal.  Several years ago, we got a great offer to cruise the Mediterranean and bought it immediately - then the cost of airfare brought a huge pang of regret. 

 

Our solution, of sorts, was to fly into and home from London.  We added more days and threw in some West End theatre, the Chunnel, days in Paris, the HGV train, days in Barcelona pre-cruise...Dover and Canterbury after.   That bargain airfare to London cost us far more than we saved - but made tremendous memories.

[Itried4498]

18 hours ago, icft said:

I don't know that I agree with all your first paragraph but that doesn't matter. I think your second paragraph is the whole thing in a nutshell. Just like they were giving free cruises in the U.S. (and I still have one on my VIFP offers page for free balcony and $1,000 casino cash and until May to accept it) to get people cruising again they are doing that with Australia where cruising has just restarted.

 

3 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Not being targeted at those in or near Australia,  My globe says Michigan is a little far away.  I have been getting killer deals for Australian cruises since the return to cruising.  Since I don't have the flexible  time off and I don't want to run the hassle of getting cancelled

 

If you re-read my postings, I said that the target passenger of the Australian cruises is people who live in/near Australia.  I never said that the target passenger of the offer.  Think about... Carnival is a for-profit corporation.  They're not offering (basically) free cruises from Australia because air tickets are expensive from the USA.  Carnival hasn't owned an airline since the 1990s and doesn't make a penny off your independent fare.  Carnival would make far more money shoving the cruise at another US port and doing Mexico/Caribbean/Bahamas... than giving away free cruises because airfare is high.

 

Carnival's own press release announcing Australia service in 2012 indicates the service would be targeted primarily toward the Australian market.  The reason Carnival launched service under its own brand rather than increase that of P&O is the same as why it has the Princess, Holland America & Seabourn brands domestically: to maintain a certain pricing integrity (that is, the Carnival cruises have been priced lower than P&O historically within Australia).  That Carnival has sent offers on these Australian ships to its US-based loyal consumers doesn't change this.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Itried4498

[WorkerBee74]

23 hours ago, RedLightVegas said:

I understand the flights are expensive and figured that had something to do with it. But even with expensive flights those prices seemed insanely cheap. 

 

Thanks all!

 

I think it's because of the uncertainty of when/if they were going to start again, not many people were probably going to book a flight to Australia in advance only to have the re-start delayed/cancelled etc.  Now that they are starting again, people are too close to the cheap cruise date to book a cheap airfare as you'd only get a decent fare well in advance.  Makes sense for them to deep discount to get people who already live there to cruise, not those flying in.  

[ehyup71]

5 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

Now that they are starting again, people are too close to the cheap cruise date to book a cheap airfare as you'd only get a decent fare well in advance.  Makes sense for them to deep discount to get people who already live there to cruise, not those flying in.  

 

On the offer I got had dates into 2024 to book.  We chose to book May 2023, so I still have over a year to shop around for cheap airfare.  You can't even book airfare this far out yet from my date.

Edited March 30, 2022 by ehyup71