Recession hurting cruise bookings??

[madforcruising]

How do you know if the price drops.

Just watch it;)

[Cuizer2]

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 agree. The way to go is to book as early as possible. Then if prices go up you keep the old lower price. If prices go down, you can ask for the new lower price.

 

I booked more than a year in advance for two Royal Caribbean cruises. Prices for both have gone down. In one case it resulted in a refund to me because I had already paid in full. In the other case the final price I will have to pay will be less.

 

The ONLY disadvantage to booking early is the interest lost on the deposit. For that small amount, I get my choice of cabins and I get a hedge against future price increases.

 

My first cruise on Royal Caribbean involved a complete change in both ships and sailing date. I booked that cruise through a well known online agency and had no problem switching from an October 2004 cruise on the Monarch of the Seas to an August 2004 cruise on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

My advise is to book now (yesterday would be better) and just keep an eye on prices.

[Mydnite]

One thing that may have an impact is not less demand, but a slow down in the growth of the demand when considering the increasing capacity with all the new ships that will be around in the next few years. With more cancellations and more capacity there may be some good deals esp. at slow times,.

[Host Mick]

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.

 

I was just thinking the same thing. Where can you go to get a vacation for less than $100 per day that includes food, lodging and entertainment but doesn't involve a tent or a relative's spare room?

Often the air fare to the port is almost as much as the cruise. If you don't go overboard on the nickle-and-dime stuff on the ship then it can be very economical.

[Cuizer2]

How do you know if the price drops.

You go online and check the price.

[Cruising89143]

For a vacation, cruising is still one of the best deals around. It doesn't look like many are cutting back.

[codyboy]

We just paid our cruise for the Aug of 2009 Mexican Rievera as we thought you know pay it full now and that way we have over an year to put some money on side for fun times. YEah the recession is around but we just have to cut back and do some changes but we also need to have a vacation to our selves. I find myself after camping more than 20 years that cruise is what I really enjoy as it was my first time last Oct. This trip save me alot of time such as go look for food or resturant to eat, worry about rental, gas etc... this is soo much easier and less hassel for us. :)

[Familyx4]

I think the key word is "bookings". Many trips were booked before the downturn in the economy and even now, as many of you have posted, it is always better to book in advance. That's why bookings are still good. For most regular cruisers the economy will not cancer their plans. However, you will begin to see an impact with those who cruise once a year or every other year and families with kids who can only cruise in the summer. We're still not at a point where final payment is due for summer cruises. Yes, the smart thing is to be "booked" but if the economy does not improve don't be surprised to see cancellations starting in mid April. Maybe the Europeans will fill the void by taking advantage of the low dollar....

[jaxon41]

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/

 

Funny, I read an article the other day where Carnival's CEO was whining about not wanting to give back the 40 million in "ill gotten" retroactive fuel surcharges saying the recession was hitting them, and people were spending less money on board than in the past. I posted it on the Carnival boards. Maybe folks are abandoning them for RCI because of the surcharge flap?

[jaxon41]

..., 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.

 

I hear ya! Your utilities, gas, health insurance was never in the "shopping cart," for calculating inflation, just your food. It is the only thing the government monitors, so I am going to be really interested to see what the inflation rate is next year -- maybe they will take the food out of the shopping basket, next, and we'll do a guesstimate on the air?

[CroozeAddict]

This really grates on me!!! The definition of a recession is 3 consecutive quarters with negative growth. So far, we have had zero. Why do people keep listening to the drive-by media and believing it as though it were gospel?:rolleyes: The economy is definently in a slow down but that doesn't equate to a recession.

[MrPete]

I'm waiting. All this talk of recession will make people start watching their $$, regardless of whether we are in one or not.

[Bakincakes]

People need to slow down. Debt is getting worse. Far too many people are spending above what they can afford. Credit cards make that easy to do and people feel more than ever that they need to keep up with the "Joneses".

 

A friend of mine has an aquaintance that "cruised" himself into over $25,000 of credit card debt. He felt his family "deserved" nice vacations. Too bad he couldn't afford them.:(

[mohavemommy]

I think the stimulus checks will help bookings slightly, but I still look for a downturn soon. Just my two cents worth!

I also will not "charge" a cruise... and when I am on a cruise I watch my spending. The most I have ever had on my final onboard bill I believe was about $300.... and the least was around $10. It CAN be done! :D

[MLG4MEE]

With the price of oil going up & up and the airlines passing the cost of that on to the flying public plus now starting to charge for extra luggage I wonder when people will say enough is enough. Are you willing to pay more for your flight than the price of your cruise? Someone flying from the northern part of the country to say Florida, San Juan or out to the Pacific Coast and paying $800, $900 or $1000 per ticket, maybe not right now but it seems to be heading that way, when do you say I can't afford it? My wife and I love cruising but if the price of flying to get the ports gets to be to much I'll have say "I'm through" and I don't like the thought of that.

[veryhotred]

Right now I have to generally pay more for my airplane ride than the cruise so for now, I am fine. If I had to pay $1000 for the airline ticket then I would not cruise but I doubt it will come to that high of a price. It seems there is always a deal to be had with cruising so I will look for the deals and then pay the higher price to fly. But of course I will still look for airfare bargains too. I booked my Thanksgiving cruise four months ago and have been watching airfares ever since. If I find a good one I will book it!

[Lynnees]

That's as very good question. With the cost of flying from Canada it is getting to be a problem. More often than not the cost of flying is always the same as the cost of cruising sometimes more.

 

We're lucky, we can fly from Buffalo and even with having to always change plans the savings is worth the aggravation.

 

As for being able to take less because of the additional charge for luggage I'm considering that a boon. It has taught me to pack better.

 

I started packing this weekend for our upcoming TA and so far have each of us under 25 lbs. Now I haven't got everything packed so it will be more weight but I'm putting much more thought into what I pack.

 

Marilyn

[hungt23]

I am very fortunate to live in Houston so the port of Galveston is about an hour drive. We probably stop cruising when all of the cruise lines stop making Galveston one of their departure ports and the airline tickets are sky high. New Orleans is about a five-hour drive so we might drive there if Galveston is not available.

[pmfan]

Hopefully I will never stop cruising. I hate flying but with the cost of gas sometimes I could fly cheaper than drive. I may have to change and start flying to save on my cruises.:(

[jdh]

Never...unless they move all RCL ships out of Florida. I live about 40 miles from Port Canaveral and 3 hrs from FLL/Miami. Lucky me!!!

[xpcdoojk]

Cruising is a luxury. It is not a necessity. If you don't want to pay the price there are other options. Camping is fun.

 

I have never had a bad vacation, whether I am sailing on a cruise, camping in the woods, fishing in Canada, driving thru Yellowstone, hiking in Yosemite, or going to a museum in a large city. It is all good. Still if you are staying in hotels or resorts, cruising is still very competitively priced even with higher airfare. I paid more for airfare last year than I paid for the cruise when we did the Transatlantic sailing. Choose an inside cabin instead of a suite. Go in the off season when airfare and cruises are cheaper. Lot's of choices, not a single black or white choice.:cool:

 

jc

[rubrrick]

Sometime before I stop breathing!!:D :D

 

It's a terrible addiction, so far the doctors tell me that there is no cure.:D

 

Rick

[tmoret]

I really hope that I never have to stop. I do understand that the flights alone are starting to get way over priced but hey I just have to save more...

[stsomewhere]

When my kids stop taking my ashes..LOL

[Minoushka]

With the price of oil going up & up and the airlines passing the cost of that on to the flying public plus now starting to charge for extra luggage I wonder when people will say enough is enough. Are you willing to pay more for your flight than the price of your cruise? Someone flying from the northern part of the country to say Florida, San Juan or out to the Pacific Coast and paying $800, $900 or $1000 per ticket, maybe not right now but it seems to be heading that way, when do you say I can't afford it? My wife and I love cruising but if the price of flying to get the ports gets to be to much I'll have say "I'm through" and I don't like the thought of that.

 

Unfortunately coming from Canada we have ALWAYS paid very high air fares so I guess we are used to it

Now there are 2 companies flying out of border towns from Montreal which are a little cheaper but it does involve driving to Plattsburgh NY -1 hour plus border wait

or 2 hours plus border for Burlington VT

In winter I must say it is not very convenient

I now hear another American company will be offering its services out of Plattsburgh I cannot remember its name

Air Tran ?? could it be

 

 

I have almost always paid more for air then cruise

My next transat air is more then Voyager cruise rate

 

Bottom line you make choices

I am now trying to find companies that give you "free air "or cheap add-on air . However you get what they want/ same day flights /not always the most direct arriving a little stressed and very tired due to VERY early flights

Them are the breaks

I think cruise companies should buy more cheap bulk air so we can keep

cruising at a reasonable price or all inclusive air+ cruise for 1 price

Oceania cruises does it

MOre companies should do the same

ANYONE LISTENING OUT THERE !!!