HMC Villas are listed as $999.99 now?!?!

[jimbo5544]

19 hours ago, jsglow said:

I want you guys to imagine a time when a 7 night cruise on Celebration visits Nassau, HMC (once the pier is built), Amber Cove and the new Grand Bahama complex. In that instance, Carnival captures well over 90% of most everyone's total vacation dollars on its biggest ship doing its 'family vacation special'.   That's the future for the two biggest mass market cruise lines. Carnival and Royal will do it slightly differently in that Royal will build bigger/fancier and make you pay significantly more.  Think of that as a Target vs. Walmart decision picking on the moniker used for our favorite line.  

 

Now contrast that from our early days of cruising.... Destiny for 7 nights out of San Juan and down the islands; Miracle for 8 from Fort Lauderdale with ports of St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts; and Freedom from Ft. Lauderdale for 8 to Cozumel, Costa Rica and Colon, Pamana.

 

It's literally a different product/vacation except for the fact that an ocean going ship is involved, right?  Now Carnival will still provide some more exotic itineraries and the corporation will still have other lines (HAL/Princess) that will regularly provide those, many even on ships near or below 100k tons.  But talk about an evolution of the overall business model, eh?  It's called progress, I suppose. Not necessarily complaining; just observing. Sail on.

As it has been and will continue to be, cruising as we know it continues to evolve.  There is no culprit in cruise lines want ing to build mega liner after mega liner, because it def appears that is what their clients want.  RCCL, by far, is leading the charge where the SHIP is really the destination, not the ports of call.  All that said, there are still MANY opportunities for those who enjoy the “old classic” way.  Options are a pretty good thing in this discussion.

[missholly24]

32 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

As it has been and will continue to be, cruising as we know it continues to evolve.  There is no culprit in cruise lines want ing to build mega liner after mega liner, because it def appears that is what their clients want.  RCCL, by far, is leading the charge where the SHIP is really the destination, not the ports of call.  All that said, there are still MANY opportunities for those who enjoy the “old classic” way.  Options are a pretty good thing in this discussion.

Well said! Agree. 

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

As it has been and will continue to be, cruising as we know it continues to evolve.  

and we know it will never again be as cruising was in 2019. There will be a new normal.

 

 

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

 

There is no culprit in cruise lines want ing to build mega liner after mega liner, because it def appears that is what their clients want. 

Until they don't...

 

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

RCCL, by far, is leading the charge where the SHIP is really the destination, not the ports of call.  All that said, there are still MANY opportunities for those who enjoy the “old classic” way.  Options are a pretty good thing in this discussion.

and those who put all the eggs in one basket have no options.

 

Destination ships, private islands, or old fashioned ports of call will all get stale will some people.

[jimbo5544]

10 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

and we know it will never again be as cruising was in 2019. There will be a new normal.

 

 

Until they don't...

 

and those who put all the eggs in one basket have no options.

 

Destination ships, private islands, or old fashioned ports of call will all get stale will some people.

It will never be the same post covid, of that there is no doubt, much the same way that air travel will never be the same post 9/11.  Facts we all live with.

[BlerkOne]

2 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

It will never be the same post covid, of that there is no doubt, much the same way that air travel will never be the same post 9/11.  Facts we all live with.

Kinda funny was a couple of months ago when flying domestically in Argentina I could carry on bottles of water, or for that matter booze. My last name on the ticket was misspelled and didn't match my passport. No problem. Apparently one mistake was no problem, two was getting iffy, and on the third a supervisor might have to flip a coin. OTOH, no liquids over 100ml, even if purchased after security,  were allowed on the international flight back to the US. Duty free was delivered at the gate so was okay.

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Kinda funny was a couple of months ago when flying domestically in Argentina I could carry on bottles of water, or for that matter booze. My last name on the ticket was misspelled and didn't match my passport. No problem. Apparently one mistake was no problem, two was getting iffy, and on the third a supervisor might have to flip a coin. OTOH, no liquids over 100ml, even if purchased after security,  were allowed on the international flight back to the US. Duty free was delivered at the gate so was okay.

LOL, no one said we lived in a perfect world.

[wemjam]

Ok, so there have been many discussions about the price increases, reduction in service etc.  I have pretty much gone with the flow and understand the cost of everything is increasing and service over time is ever evolving.  In 20+ years of cruising there are going to be changes, right?  Things will come and things will go.

 

So we have two cruises (May and Aug) going to HMC.  We always get a cabana while there, and I had already pre-purchased ours.  I saw the price had increased to $449 (ouch!) when I booked.  I remember back in the day it was about $300, then $350... and now $450.  I  chalked it up to the price you pay in this day and age.

 

I just happened to be looking at excursions for the May cruise again and OMG - the same cabana is now $699!  Seriously?  I though, OK some kind of fluke and went and looked at the August one and same thing - $699 now.  I am SO glad I booked mine at $449 now.  This is the single decker 4 person ones.  The double decker house ones are now $999.  I just told hubby this may be the last year in a Cabana on HMC. 😞

 

Does anyone know what gives... that is literally over a 50% mark-up all of a sudden!  Is anyone seeing any other HUGE mark ups like this on anything else? Excursions, Dinning Options, Pre-Purchase things through gift shop?

 

I have seen things (internet, gratuities, etc.) go up 10-20%... but over 50% that seems really excessive.

[klfrodo]

Maximizing profits. That's why they're in business.

 

They will continue to raise the price until they reach a price point that people won't pay, then drop it $50 and they'll sell out again.

Carnival's not the dummies, passengers paying $699 or $999 are.

Edited April 19, 2023 by klfrodo

[mz-s]

That’s just the beginning.

[hapytobehr]

Here's a link discussing (and ranting) about the cabana price increase:

HMC Villas are listed as $999.99 now?!?!

[wemjam]

1 minute ago, hapytobehr said:

Here's a link discussing (and ranting) about the cabana price increase:

HMC Villas are listed as $999.99 now?!?!

Thanks... I see I am not the only one that feels the same way.  

 

I guess it will remain to be seen.... will they sell or won't they.

 

I know at this price point I am out!  Got my two for this year at the old price and that's it for me. 😆

[LUVMYGSDOG]

I added a cabana to the cart for our November, 2023 cruise and it was $499.99.  I was going back and forth about paying that much (last one we rented was $249 or something like that).  Decided I would pay the $500 since son is cruising with us and he has never been to HMC.  Went in to pay a few days ago and it had increased to $699.99.  No way am I paying that.  It’s not worth it.  Promptly removed from cart.  😡😡

 

 

Kim

[mz-s]

I agree the prices are obscene...but apparently people are paying it. It's easy money for Carnival, they might as well get as much as they can for it. Maybe they will offer "sales" onboard if not sold out in advance. Or maybe it will be like Genie+ at Disney where the price adjusts based upon demand.

[icft]

I think folks are nuts to pay these prices but I have to think it is something other than Carnival trying to maximize profit.

 

One of the basic principles of economics is that you keep adding capacity until the cost of adding one more unit equals the revenue you will get from that additional unit. That maximizes profit (a mathematical fact). That Carnival's response to high demand is to raise prices so much makes me think that either they think the level of demand is temporary (unlikely) or the cost of adding units is very high or there is something that prevents them from adding capacity.

 

I have to say, I am curious as to the reason.

[mz-s]

16 minutes ago, icft said:

I think folks are nuts to pay these prices but I have to think it is something other than Carnival trying to maximize profit.

 

One of the basic principles of economics is that you keep adding capacity until the cost of adding one more unit equals the revenue you will get from that additional unit. That maximizes profit (a mathematical fact). That Carnival's response to high demand is to raise prices so much makes me think that either they think the level of demand is temporary (unlikely) or the cost of adding units is very high or there is something that prevents them from adding capacity.

 

I have to say, I am curious as to the reason.

I think to some extent carnival does see this bubble as somewhat temporary. Otherwise carnival would be completely renovating the costa ships for example. That’s confusing to the consumer because it’s not a true carnival experience, however, it allows carnival to grow with this expected bubble, and then shrink back down when necessary. 

 

I doubt they’ll cut the price of the HMC cabanas and villas unless they can’t fill them anymore. 

[Lee Cruiser]

It's just like FTTF.  As long as there are people out there that are willing to pay these ridiculous amounts, then they will continue to charge them.  Why should they change?  There are only a limited amount of spots/ items available and as long as they keep selling out, there's no reason for Carnival to charge less.  Until enough people decide they are not going to be taken advantage of, then the prices will continue to skyrocket.  We made a determination that many of those extras simply aren't worth the money and that we would save that money for future cruises.

[Lee Cruiser]

2 hours ago, wemjam said:

I am SO glad I booked mine at $449 now.  This is the single decker 4 person ones. 

$449 goes a long way towards another cruise.  No way we would pay that for a few hours at the beach and be glad we did.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

I agree the prices are obscene...but apparently people are paying it. It's easy money for Carnival, they might as well get as much as they can for it. Maybe they will offer "sales" onboard if not sold out in advance. Or maybe it will be like Genie+ at Disney where the price adjusts based upon demand.

I agree with you.   My cruise isn’t until November but still shows as 10+ cabanas available.  I know in the past these would sell out as soon as they were available to reserve.  Will be interesting to see what happens.

 

 

Kim

[Jamman54]

5 minutes ago, LUVMYGSDOG said:

I agree with you.   My cruise isn’t until November but still shows as 10+ cabanas available.  I know in the past these would sell out as soon as they were available to reserve.  Will be interesting to see what happens.

 

 

Kim

Patti and I have just about always gotten a cabana when going to HMC, but no way with these price points. The line has been drawn and we're not crossing it. On the few occasions that we couldn't get a cabana we made do just fine. Same thing for Mahogany Bay. Haven't seen if they have raised Grand Turk yet,  but I'm sure it's coming. 😎

[missholly24]

57 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti and I have just about always gotten a cabana when going to HMC, but no way with these price points. The line has been drawn and we're not crossing it. On the few occasions that we couldn't get a cabana we made do just fine. Same thing for Mahogany Bay. Haven't seen if they have raised Grand Turk yet,  but I'm sure it's coming. 😎

I agree with drawing the line. Hopefully it's an experiment. LOL. They are both still available by the way! We cruise in Feb. They were released about two weeks ago. If "tickets available" means the precise amount of Cabins and Villas then 10 for Cabins and 3 for Villas. (I'm guessing they still sell out but its taking a minute)

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

 Maybe they will offer "sales" onboard if not sold out in advance.

as I mentioned some time ago. Same as they do with Loft 19.

 

Change happens. The price was clearly too low since they sold out so quickly.

[sammee]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti and I have just about always gotten a cabana when going to HMC, but no way with these price points. The line has been drawn and we're not crossing it. On the few occasions that we couldn't get a cabana we made do just fine. Same thing for Mahogany Bay. Haven't seen if they have raised Grand Turk yet,  but I'm sure it's coming. 😎

Same here, I'll just book a clamshell and a float and be happy. I never got a cabana for Grand Turk so I'm not familiar on prices, but if I want one for my November cruise, 199.99 for the retreat and 399.99 for the actual cabanas. My cabana on MSC next month is only 250, no a/c or snacks, just bottled water and floats, but that's all we need.

[LaRue1975]

15 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti and I have just about always gotten a cabana when going to HMC, but no way with these price points. The line has been drawn and we're not crossing it. On the few occasions that we couldn't get a cabana we made do just fine. Same thing for Mahogany Bay. Haven't seen if they have raised Grand Turk yet,  but I'm sure it's coming. 😎

Totally agree and I am so happy I booked the Mahogany Bay Cabana next week the minute it was released. It will be one and done for us unless we are cruising with friends. Funny thing is after selling out quickly a month or so ago 3 opened up and they are still available. I also booked the Amber Cove Cabana for next year and I agree  that will be going up too. 

[Theosprey247]

The Amber Cove Ocean Cabana went up to $499!!! Wow!  Glad I booked it when it was cheaper.

[staceyglow]

20 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

As long as enough people decide they are not going to be taken advantage of, then the prices will continue to skyrocket.  

It's a luxury item that people are voluntarily paying for, and they know exactly what they are going to get. 

 

No one is being "taken advantage of".