Recession hurting cruise bookings??

[thesawch]

I was thinking of booking our cruise sooner then later.however with the downturn of the economy i am wondering if it will be better to wait and hopefully the price of the cruises will go down.Or am i dreaming ?? Any thoughts on booking now or waiting since it looks like the economy is going into the toilet in the US and people will stay home and save there money instead of traveling???. Thanks Thesawch

[Travel Angel]

According to cruiseline execs., bookings in 2008 have been higher than same time in 2007.

That being said, I would suggest booking the cruise you are interested in now, getting the preferred stateroom and at rates you are comfortable with. Then watch your sailing for any additional promotions or discounts that may be applicable to your sailing.

[Honey's Gal]

The advantage to booking your cruise sooner is you have a better selection of cabins. If you like a specific one or a specific area you may be able to get that. Also, if the price goes down you can take advantage of that. Either book with RCI directly or a TA that will not give you a hard time about price drops. If the price of the cruise you want is a price you are willing to accept, take it. Remember, the price can also go UP

 

I don't think too many prices will go down as you are thinking. The price of fuel and food and many other things that go along with cruising are rising. I know my food bill has crept up so high, I may have to stop eating (LOL)

[madforcruising]

I agree with the others. With RCCL honouring price drops it´s better to book early and have the better cabin selection. If the price goes up well you can lean back and smile, if the price goes down, call for lower price.:cool:

[firefly333]

I think it depends on how loose your date is. If you can book any date that drops more than another last minute, RCL has some good last minute rates, more so than other cruiselines.

[Barkeeper]

Cruising for us was a once in a lifetime experience to celebrate our 30th anniversary and we saved hard for over 3 years to pay for it. Having said that we enjoyed it so much we are now saving again and hope to cruise again next year. I would be prepared to holiday ever other year if each time it was a cruise. My DW would not agree, she teaches and needs a break away each summer.

Having used this web site for the past 12 months it is obvious that there are a majority number of people who have no money problems and cruise almost constantly. It will take an enormous downturn in the world economy to make cruise lines reduce prices because these folk have stopped cruising and they need to attract us once in a while people and those not yet lucky enough to have taken part.

[cruisePRN]

I would book directly with RCL so you can call them yourself and take advantage of price drops.

[madforcruising]

Cruising for us was a once in a lifetime experience to celebrate our 30th anniversary and we saved hard for over 3 years to pay for it. Having said that we enjoyed it so much we are now saving again and hope to cruise again next year. I would be prepared to holiday ever other year if each time it was a cruise. My DW would not agree, she teaches and needs a break away each summer.

Having used this web site for the past 12 months it is obvious that there are a majority number of people who have no money problems and cruise almost constantly. It will take an enormous downturn in the world economy to make cruise lines reduce prices because these folk have stopped cruising and they need to attract us once in a while people and those not yet lucky enough to have taken part.

 

 

I agree with you that reading these boards might give you the impression about everyone being able to constantly cruise, but don´t loose the prespective.

The people posting on boards like this mirror only a very small percentage of the cruisers. And of course the people post on these boards because they frequently cruise. Many people (yes I know this is a generalization that might not be accurate) that only cruise once in a while don´t post here constantly. So I don´t think this is an indication about economy.

 

However the cruise market is still booming and the cruise lines are on their way to get into new markets like Europe, South America and Asia.

I don´t see any major price drops.

[RetireeWannabee]

I can't be the only one holding this opinion: even in an economic downturn, I will be employed and will need to vacation. Whether or not a cruise is the vacation of choice has to do with many factors with the national economy not figuring into it.

 

While it may sound smug to be so certain that I'll be employed, I'm in an industry that will not be cast out when times get tough. There are many such industries. There are also many individuals wealthy enuf to not have to be concerned about the state of the economy on their personal lifestyles.

 

I would not hold off on booking a cruise on the theory that the prices will plummet because I do not believe demand will plummet to cause such a reaction by cruise lines. Even if it were to occur, I believe it would take quite a while for the ripple effect to take hold. As in Years, not Months.

 

just my own crackpot theories, of course :)

[Michele Noel]

Booked a cruise in December for April. In January, decided to cancel and got my money back. In late February, rebooked same cruise - saving of $150 and this time I was even able to get an outside. Surprising to me.

[kingsgirl]

I was thinking of booking our cruise sooner then later.however with the downturn of the economy i am wondering if it will be better to wait and hopefully the price of the cruises will go down.Or am i dreaming ?? Any thoughts on booking now or waiting since it looks like the economy is going into the toilet in the US and people will stay home and save there money instead of traveling???. Thanks Thesawch

 

Dream away. The amount of ppl cruising is going up. See this MSNBC article on recession & the cruise industry: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23674324/

[negc]

Booked a cruise in December for April. In January, decided to cancel and got my money back. In late February, rebooked same cruise - saving of $150 and this time I was even able to get an outside. Surprising to me.

 

A very nice surprise, indeed.:) However, if you hadn't cancelled you still would have been able to get the outside at that $150 savings when it became available in late February. The point that most are making is that booking early doesn't put you at a disadvantage if prices drop at a later date and since you have the widest selection of rooms when you book early, you have the best of all possible worlds if the price goes down later on.:)

[rt1092]

If you book now. The only drawback is paying the deposit. You can change the reservation to another ship if you like at no extra charge, if the price drops you can call RCL and they will adjust the price.

I have done this a few times. I used to book on board (now I just get a Next Cruise reservation), and tell the loyalty ambassador to pick the cruise. I would select the approximate date and the number of days.

Then I would watch the website and call and change when I saw one I wanted. You can even change the dates but you must pay in full by the due date of the orginal cruise.

Also when I call RCL I call C&A I get a much brighter person that way.

[morgan1312]

I've been pricing a couple of cruises out of NJ for this summer since November, the prices keep going up, by the time our party got around to deciding which one to take, we're now driving 6 hours to Norfolk Va instead of 2 hours to Bayonne to save about $1500, but there were no longer any quad cabins available so the 4 of us are in 2 doubles. which is even more expensive.... So.... book early and watch for the price drops if there are any. Last year we did get a price drop after we booked, no problem.

[stompy]

I have no hard data to support this but I would think that in a down economy cruising makes MORE sense. Pricing has remained relatively constant for cruises and is cheaper than car rentals, paying for gas, eating in restaurants 3X a day and paying for a hotel.

 

We did a "free" trip to Toronto several years ago and I paid more for my "free" hotel stay than I did for a cruise the following year.

[mohavemommy]

My guess is that we will see less bookings for this quarter as well as more cancellations in the near future... which will mean more sailings in the "Sales Event" flyers.

[pmfan]

I don't think the prices will come down. I think that most cruisers will continue to cruise no matter what the economy does.

[Morgsmom]

There have been some interesting articles lately indicating that travel- and cruising specifically- are up this year. Ships are going out full, and filling up earlier than normal. The dollar's demise vs the Euro has made cruising in Europe much more affordable than staying in hotels (where even a 3 star will cost $150) and eating 3x day, etc. Additionally, as other posters have said, cruising is (like an all inclusive) a vacation that you can know exactly how much you are getting yourself into $$-wise. Once onboard you can control expenditures as everything you truly need you have for the duration (food, beverages, a place to sleep, entertainment, etc.)

 

What I think we might see is people still getting away but being a little more tight-fisted with the Sea Passes and controlling their on-board spending. I hate seeing folks fighting the last day of the cruise because of their $1500 onboard charges. We (DD and myself) normally leave with only gratutities on our account. Difficult to do? Yes, it takes some resolve to say "no" to the photos and tshirts and other things, but we get to cruise 2 or 3 times each year using this strategy. I know that some people prefer to "blow it out big" because "they are on vacation" but I'd rather "make the memories" and take the free souvenirs RCCL gives us and plan our own on shore excursions.

 

So will cruise bookings go down? TAs will tell you no; they are as busy as ever right now. (And who knows, maybe we'll use the govt stimulus check to go on a cruise this year! that will stimulate the economy!!)

[dosherpack]

Most frequent cruisers won't slow down much, but it may impact those who only can afford to vacation once per year. DW and I are fortunate that we can afford to cruise once per year and do other vacations as well. Many people aren't as blessed. I agree that more cancellations will make for some better last minute deals.

[pepsicruiser]

I agree with you Stompy. I find if you are going to take a vacation and have the funds the best value is a cruise. You have to be diligent and shop around. We did the Freedom in October (although it could have been bad weather we had wonderful weather) and with Diamond/TA OBC/stock/Visa OBC/RCCL coupon we ended paying $700 pp with gratuties inc. for a balcony. We are paying less for a balcony on Mariner in May. So shop for price and price reductions. Do the Visa/Stock thing if possible. Look for coupons etc. Or if all else fails go to Carnival, NCL etc. Afterall a good day at sea is better than no day at sea.

 

Oh yes another bonus is being able to fly out of NY to Fla where I never pay over $100pp each way. Still is a bargain.

[TEXASMUNK]

If you got caught in the housing bubble of CA, NY, FLA or AZ, then thing smight look bad.

 

The unemployment rate still is way BELOW 5%!!!! We went through the "glory" years of the 90's with unemployment running 5.5-5.7%.

 

Energy costs are soaring. Not because we are using more oil, US consumption has actually gone down this past year.

 

We cannot drill, we cannot refine. If the economy sinks, we will need a mirror to focus onn who to blame.

 

We spend billions on ethanol..made from corn. Corn that used to feed our farm animals and make food stuffs for humans....all for votes.

 

Ships continue to sail full. Bookings, from industry observers, are strong for the future.

 

Guess much of it depends on what news channel you watch and which political party you yearn to win in November.

[dclark]

 

The unemployment rate still is way BELOW 5%!!!! We went through the "glory" years of the 90's with unemployment running 5.5-5.7%.

 

 

Ships continue to sail full. Bookings, from industry observers, are strong for the future.

 

 

A 5% unemployement figure is misleading, actually, it isn't accurate. After a person is off of employment, they no longer count as "unemployed". Neither do people who are getting a severance package (like my best friend, who got one year package). So, the actual number of people is higher than 5%.

Sailings are still going out full because the pricing is attractive to foreigners whose money has not not been greatly devalued. On my last Xmas sailing, I think over a third of the passengers were foreign with with the majority from Mexico!

Yeah, govt, will use rigged statistics to claim that unemployement is low, just like they have been claiming for years that inflation is low. In the last 5 years, gas has tripled, our monthly utility bills have more than doubled, our health insurance has doubled and food has gone up by 25% but yeah, the govt. says inflation is low. sorry, but I'll believe my wallet before what the govt. says.

[Maraprince]

I don't think you will see a drop in the number of passengers cruising anytime soon. You have to remember with the Euro climbing ever higher vs. the declining $, many Europeans are choosing to travel in the US.

 

Cruising, while not all inclusive, is still a better deal than a land vacation. You will probably find passengers not spending as much on extras while on board, choosing to do their own excursions or book them independently rather than from the cruise line. There are ways, once on board, to keep your total cruise cost down. Just because the options are being offered, you don't have to buy them (bingo, sodas, spa services, drinks, etc.).

 

Unless a sailing is not selling well, pricing will not drop. When you see coupons and big discounts on certain sailings, it means the ship is not filling up as quickly as the cruise line would like. If you want to save money, these should be the sailings to look for. If you have a ship sailing from your city, book it instead of flying somewhere to meet the ship and having to pay for a hotel room by coming in a day ahead and then having to pay for meals as well. Unless the pricing is too good to pass up, book at a lower category and see if the prices drop. If they do, try to move up a category or two if it will cost less or just a little more than the category you booked at. If the prices do not drop, just be happy you are sailing!

 

Since you will not see the people on board your ship again, you do not need to go out and buy a new wardrobe (unless your clothes do not fit). This will cut down on the cost as well. You can bring snacks with you (from the ship's buffet)to take on shore instead of buying meals there as well.

 

If you put your mind to it, there are many ways to save money and still enjoy your cruise. You are still more fortunate than most to be going on a cruise.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[madforcruising]

You can bring snacks with you (from the ship's buffet)to take on shore instead of buying meals there as well.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

 

While this is way OT on this thread I hope you are aware of the fact that this violates the laws in many counntries and I´m talking about laws here not rules. Violation can result in some hefty penalties when caught. Just as a heads up.

[tbear2762]

How do you know if the price drops.