Strong reaction to high summer cruise pricing in North America

[chiguypaul]

I'm a 19 time RCL cruiser. I typically book way in advance - usually a year and not less than six months. I was just looking at booking a cruise this summer out of US ports and could not believe 1) the high prices, and 2) low availability. Good for Royal. Great to see people cruise again. I know RCL has a lot to make back from covid losses. All that being said, I still can't believe what certain ships were going for. We're within 90 days of most of the sailings we're looking at so not really expecting much in price drops. Anyone else having a similar reaction to prices this summer?

[Mary&Jim]

I agree. We just completed our 41st RCL cruise. We usually cruise September thru April and then do land based trips over the summer. However, our granddaughter is planning on moving in with us in the fall for school. Because of that, we decided to take a quick cruise sometime from May thru July before she moves in and takes over the house.  Ha! I know all about summer prices, but yikes. Seems like prices are out of sight this summer. Lots of sold out categories as well. 

[CruisingWalter]

10 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

We're within 90 days of most of the sailings we're looking at so not really expecting much in price drops. Anyone else having a similar reaction to prices this summer?

 

Price drops are not happening very much at all of late. Ships are sailing 100%+ full so there is no need to drop pricing. Instead they're going the opposite way. I've seen 3 night cruises with Interiors going for $1900pp on ships like Mariner. Right cruise lines are rewarding people for booking far in advance and if you want to get on a ship last minute, you just might be paying 2 to 3x what everyone else on the ship paid. 

[FlatFooted Freda]

Agreed. DH & I found a very nice conference at sea, in July. Just happened to be on the Wonder. Price of conference was appropriate. But then we found the  interior room would cost approx $2500 each, for a 7 d Caribbean cruise. Nope. 

We'll be doing a nice land based conference instead. 

[ARandomTraveler]

I booked a 12-day summer cruise (august) 10 months in advance. I've checked every day for price drops and the price has only gone up (by a lot!). That's the first time in 7 years that I haven't caught a price drop.

 

I decided I needed a beach a little sooner and started looking for a last-minute april or may cruise and have been surprised that most of what I looked at was priced almost just as high as my 12 day cruise. April and May used to be inexpensive months to cruise.
 

I took a land vacation to a beach last week instead for half the price. 

[loman]

I booked a September cruise in January of this year , and its more than doubled in price for an oceanview balcony on Harmony. 

I have never seen than much of an increase happen before. 

As i look for future sailings , prices have certainly gone up quite a bit also.

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, loman said:

I booked a September cruise in January of this year , and its more than doubled in price for an oceanview balcony on Harmony. 

I have never seen than much of an increase happen before. 

As i look for future sailings , prices have certainly gone up quite a bit also.

Lol me too. Someone wrote sept 17 was sold out so I went to look and only ov sold out but the prices oh my. Insides showed over 1k per person. Even with my solo discount showed like 1550 plus tax and fees for a inside. ..for sept typically a cheap month. I was shocked. OVs also sold out for harmony sept 24. I didnt know OVs were so popular this far in advance. 

 

Sept is high hurricane season ...and prices so high??!! I hadnt been bothering to check so didnt realize how crazy high prices were.

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, loman said:

As i look for future sailings , prices have certainly gone up quite a bit also.

 

Yep, it's not just the summer.

[mramella]

Prices are crazy right now. The Icon cruise we booked in October of 2022 for March of 2024 is up over $4k more than what we locked in back in October of last year. Yikes! Sure glad we locked in the price when we did! We had several other friends and family interested in going, too, but they did not lock in their reservation, and have decided to pass.

[TheBucketLister]

This especially holds true for those limited sailings.  We booked a Panama Canal cruise on Radiance in a Grand Suite next October (2024).  We booked the morning the deployment was out and got the cruise for just under $6000 for two of us.  All suites were sold out within 2 weeks of deployment and now a balcony stateroom is substantially ($2000+) more than what we paid.

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by TheBucketLister

[loman]

16 minutes ago, mramella said:

Prices are crazy right now. The Icon cruise we booked in October of 2022 for March of 2024 is up over $4k more than what we locked in back in October of last year. Yikes! Sure glad we locked in the price when we did! We had several other friends and family interested in going, too, but they did not lock in their reservation, and have decided to pass.

Yes , Icon prices are substantially higher than Oasis class , and although i would like to sail on it once , i can wait until things settle down.

We prefer Oasis class anyway , but pricing is up on this class also.

It appears that lots of people have the cruising bug.

[smokeybandit]

Just now, loman said:

Yes , Icon prices are substantially higher than Oasis class , and although i would like to sail on it once , i can wait until things settle down.

We prefer Oasis class anyway , but pricing is up on this class also.

It appears that lots of people have the cruising bug.

There was a survey recently that found that the percentage of first time cruisers who planned to cruise again was up significantly compare to what it was before the shutdown.

 

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I booked a 12-day summer cruise (august) 10 months in advance. I've checked every day for price drops and the price has only gone up (by a lot!). That's the first time in 7 years that I haven't caught a price drop.

 

I decided I needed a beach a little sooner and started looking for a last-minute april or may cruise and have been surprised that most of what I looked at was priced almost just as high as my 12 day cruise. April and May used to be inexpensive months to cruise.
 

I took a land vacation to a beach last week instead for half the price. 

My sister and I book a beach house every summer for our families (12 total), this summer it’s $1500 a night before taxes and fees, I’ll be cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry every day. It has really increased since Covid.

[RosieRoo]

We are booked out til 2025 and every one of the cruises has almost doubled in price since we booked.  

[BirdTravels]

14 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

I'm a 19 time RCL cruiser. I typically book way in advance - usually a year and not less than six months. I was just looking at booking a cruise this summer out of US ports and could not believe 1) the high prices, and 2) low availability. Good for Royal. Great to see people cruise again. I know RCL has a lot to make back from covid losses. All that being said, I still can't believe what certain ships were going for. We're within 90 days of most of the sailings we're looking at so not really expecting much in price drops. Anyone else having a similar reaction to prices this summer?

It’s basic supply and demand. There is a pent up demand to travel. It is the same throughout the hospitality industry. Airlines are having all time high bookings,,, higher than pre-COVID and,,,, like the cruise industry are charging what the market will tolerate. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by BirdTravels

[sdrocks]

Booked an 8 day cruise in January of this year for March 2024 on Symphony in a JS.  Prices now

$3500 more.  Wow.

[sdrocks]

Our Panama Canal cruise for October 2024 $1000 higher for an ocean view balcony.  We booked a refundable JS.  No suites available.  Guess will be booking WAYYYY ahead to be able to afford to

cruise.  Yikes !!!

[coaster]

Only sailed once in the summer in 30 cruises and that was due to the Empress taking longer in drydock before her return to Royal and had to rebook for July. Pricing is always high in the summer which keeps us from booking. Discovered some Celebrity cruises priced lower per day than Royal at the start of this year and towards the end. Going to take a break from Royal for awhile at the price levels they are at now.

Edited April 29, 2023 by coaster

[Tatka]

We used to book maybe up to 3-4 cruises ahead, now we have 7 and are watching 3 more. All from Bayonne and Baltimore though. We don’t cruise during summers except for cruises attached to Memorial and Labor Day. We feel we got pricing we won’t get after. Insides for Thanksgiving 2023 and January 2024 on Anthem are more expensive than obstructed balconies we got.

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Tatka

[Giantfan13]

I am not doubting anything said in this thread, but we have 4 TA's booked this year and next, and the prices have come down on two and remained the same on the other 2.

 

Cheers

Len

[rjrpar]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

It’s basic supply and demand. There is a pent up demand to travel. It is the same throughout the hospitality industry. Airlines are having all time high bookings,,, higher than pre-COVID and,,,, like the cruise industry are charging what the market will tolerate. 

Plus they are facing high inflation for fuel, food, etc.  It’s evident almost everyday in our normal lives.

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

I am not doubting anything said in this thread, but we have 4 TA's booked this year and next, and the prices have come down on two and remained the same on the other 2.

 

Repositioning cruises almost always have low per day fares. They really can't be compared to standard closed-loop US-based cruises.

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Yep, it's not just the summer.

That is correct, it isn't just the summer. Prices are out of sight period. People are welcome to pay them but I'm not booking at these prices.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is correct, it isn't just the summer. Prices are out of sight period. People are welcome to pay them but I'm not booking at these prices.

 

I just need to find some middle ground between the deals I have gotten over the years (GGG, Friends & Family, random last minute since we live in FL, etc.) and some of the crazy prices I'm seeing. I'm willing to pay more than I used to, just not THAT much more.

 

Of course, like any purchase, everyone has to decide what it's worth to them.

[Another_Critic]

10 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

I am not doubting anything said in this thread, but we have 4 TA's booked this year and next, and the prices have come down on two and remained the same on the other 2.

 

Cheers

Len

TA cruise prices down, but not one-way TA airfare.

 

My upcoming TA was dirt cheap, but one-way return air is $2500pp.  Luckily I was able to book the same flight for 30K FF miles + $195 taxes/fees.