Price Increases

[RCVoyager]

Has anyone noticed substantial price increases?  I've been watching the Jewel out of San Juan for Jan or Feb of 24.  A month ago, I could have booked a balcony for 2 for about $1,000 each.  Now they are between $1400 and $1600.  Same ship.  Same time frame.

Is this happening other places?

[monctonguy]

I had booked this a Month ago or so..Jewel of the Seas.. for March,02,2024...it has gone up 25% or more compared to what I got it for. Glad I grabbed it when I did!

 

I had originally booked Oceanview and decided to upgrade to Balcony as it was only about $300 more at the time....so glad i did!!

 

I have 2 other cruises booked which really haven't changed much at all..both out of Florida though.

[OCSC Mike]

25 minutes ago, RCVoyager said:

Is this happening other places?

Yes, prices in general have risen. There are always exceptions, of course.

[Matt]

27 minutes ago, RCVoyager said:

A month ago, I could have booked a balcony for 2 for about $1,000 each.  Now they are between $1400 and $1600.  Same ship.  Same time frame.

It's just like airfare. Closer you get (and more booked up it gets), higher prices go.

It's why booking early is so critical.

[Ampurp85]

Yes.

All the prices across the board have increased by 50% or more. I booked a balcony this past Nov on Allure for Oct this year at $563pp, this is the current price

 

Just book something in April and prices have increased by $300. 

I also posted in another thread how the dining packages have increased, and it seem like the sale prices won't be the same.

[Ryan79]

Last May I booked a cruise with 2 balcony rooms, 2 people in each and it was $6,000 total. I just repriced this sailing with a mock booking and now it’s $16,000 total. Sure glad I didn’t wait to book!!

[Rfk]

Stories about cruise price escalation are all over the internet. Market is very strong. 

[wordell1]

The best day to book is the day it is released.You have the best choice of cabins and often the best price ever offered. If the price does go down, you can always rebook.

 

[Gilley]

9 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

The best day to book is the day it is released.You have the best choice of cabins and often the best price ever offered. If the price does go down, you can always rebook.

 

If you rebook, can you stay in same cabin?

[OCSC Mike]

35 minutes ago, Gilley said:

If you rebook, can you stay in same cabin?

Yes, rebook isn't really the right word. It's a price adjustment.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

Pretty sure the salad days are gone vis' a vis' bargains. We look back fondly on our first trip ever on Mariner last year. Coming out of the Covid lockdown, 4 days in a Grand Suite for under $1800..............(sighs heavily) 

[wordell1]

1 hour ago, Gilley said:

If you rebook, can you stay in same cabin?

Sorry, I meant price adjustment.  You would stay in the same cabin.

[Ampurp85]

Prior to the middle of 2022 I was able to reprice a ton of my cruises. Since then, I have yet to see any price lower than I have paid. I think with the new demand, repricing will be super rare when it comes to fares. The fact that instead of offering 35-50% of CP has been reduced to 5-25% lets me know that Royal knows they can pretty much charge whatever they want. Icon did that. I understand that cruising is still a bargain, believe me I know, I was planning a camping trip. With fees, equipment and food we were looking at $500pp for just three days, not including gas and such. Everything has gone up and I know that the days of really cheap cruises are long gone. 

[Traveling Mike]

I want to be upset about the prices going up, but I cannot.  I just paid $4.15 a gallon for gas.  Dinner for two at Taco Bell is $23.  Hamburger meat is $5.50 a pound.

We have had 2 1/2 years of high inflation.  We have to expect the cruise line to keep up with the climbing prices.

[Gilley]

37 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

Sorry, I meant price adjustment.  You would stay in the same cabin.

Got it.  Thanks.

[putinbay]

We booked our March 2024 Icon cruise back in October of 2023 right when reservations became available. The prices have more than doubled since we booked for the same exact cabin category... Crazy!

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, putinbay said:

We booked our March 2024 Icon cruise back in October of 2023 right when reservations became available. The prices have more than doubled since we booked for the same exact cabin category... Crazy!

Icon will likely be the extremely example of how much prices have risen.

Wonder out of PC was priced fairly high when it first came out (or at least not long after when I started checking). It has gone up but not like that.

[Neesa]

Our sailing in a few weeks 6/25 on the Wonder was booked day of release, for just under 12,000 CLS. Our friends who we were sailing with were looking to upgrade from their junior but couldn't because the lofts were sold out. A few months ago 2 lofts became available at just under 23,000 for 3 people. I thought no way, now they are going to sit. Nope, gone in only 24hours! A 2 bedroom Aqua suite was available for the 3 of us as I pondered an upgrade, but at 42,000 I opted for staying where I am. I thought maybe I'll place a minimum RUB, well that cabin was gone in 3 days. So while the prices are sky rocketing people are paying the higher amounts. The RUB minimums are also skyrocketing, I can't begrudge RCCL I'm just thankful for the sailings I did/do experience. In my very humble opinion it's still a smarter fiscal output then DCL and a lot of DCL fans are realizing this as well, heck the DCL Duo bloggers are having an amazing family vacation right now on the Independence of the Seas, and blogging about it! 

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, Neesa said:

Our sailing in a few weeks 6/25 on the Wonder was booked day of release, for just under 12,000 CLS. Our friends who we were sailing with were looking to upgrade from their junior but couldn't because the lofts were sold out. A few months ago 2 lofts became available at just under 23,000 for 3 people. I thought no way, now they are going to sit. Nope, gone in only 24hours! A 2 bedroom Aqua suite was available for the 3 of us as I pondered an upgrade, but at 42,000 I opted for staying where I am. I thought maybe I'll place a minimum RUB, well that cabin was gone in 3 days. So while the prices are sky rocketing people are paying the higher amounts. The RUB minimums are also skyrocketing, I can't begrudge RCCL I'm just thankful for the sailings I did/do experience. In my very humble opinion it's still a smarter fiscal output then DCL and a lot of DCL fans are realizing this as well, heck the DCL Duo bloggers are having an amazing family vacation right now on the Independence of the Seas, and blogging about it! 

I should have clarified that it definitely varies by category and how close to sailing you are. The GS's my FIL booked for us for next week were booked a year ago, not upon release, so obviously he didn't get the best ever price, but the last time I was able to see a price for one it had doubled as well. Interiors haven't increased as much if you're still booking out a decent length of time.

Enjoy the CLS! Our GS's weren't that much cheaper. In the end, my FIL was happy with the price (well, sort of, lol) and we have 3 adjacent cabins so I'm sure it will work out just as well as last year on Harmony and we'll have a great time (as long as we remember to double lock our balcony door so our nieces can't just let themselves in).

[Neesa]

@OCSC Mike Have an amazing family cruise, seriously you can't put a price on quality time with the ones you love. But I know how to enhance it....besides keeping the nieces out,  make an appointment & treat yourselves at the next cruise desk, just the two of you....enjoy it! Looking forward to your thoughts after you sail. 

[twangster]

Fuel is a significant expense for cruise ship operations.  

Since 2016 through to a peak in the summer or 2022 there was a 647% increase in the cost of MGO or marine gas oil.  

https://shipandbunker.com/news/world/366958-feature-10-years-of-bunker-prices

While they have down from the peak last summer they remain twice what they were in 2020.

Royal did hedge their fuel contracts so they were able to weather the worst of the peak but that contract doesn't last forever and fuel is significantly more costly than it was several years ago.

Inevitably higher fuel costs will get passed along in the form of higher cruise fares.

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, Neesa said:

@OCSC Mike Have an amazing family cruise, seriously you can't put a price on quality time with the ones you love. But I know how to enhance it....besides keeping the nieces out,  make an appointment & treat yourselves at the next cruise desk, just the two of you....enjoy it! Looking forward to your thoughts after you sail. 

Thanks! I will share my thoughts one way or another. A semi-live report isn't out of the question but I would likely post it across the street. Either way, I'll almost certainly cross-post a recap after I get home.

We already have two more Wonders booked for just us.  Unfortunately they had to wait until next spring break and summer. We would have likely tried to take a 2nd cruise later this summer but life got in the way.

We're also considering the first sailing on Utopia out of PC that will allegedly be July 15, 2024, but that will depend on the price. Never done an inaugural before but it seems pretty cool with some extra offerings, fan fare, etc. And if there aren't many extras, it will still be another fun trip to CocoCay but on a spiffy new ship.

[putinbay]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

Fuel is a significant expense for cruise ship operations.  

Since 2016 through to a peak in the summer or 2022 there was a 647% increase in the cost of MGO or marine gas oil.  

Wonder if LNG powered ships will be cheaper? Looks price natural gas prices have dropped significantly since 8/21/22 when it was $9.68 per therm. As of today, it's $2.35 per therm.  

[cruisellama]

Book early, book often.

[twangster]

31 minutes ago, putinbay said:

Wonder if LNG powered ships will be cheaper? Looks price natural gas prices have dropped significantly since 8/21/22 when it was $9.68 per therm. As of today, it's $2.35 per therm.  

More expensive.

In January AIDA and Costa switched their LNG ships to MGO because LNG prices went up more than MGO.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/11337-aida-costa-switch-lng-powered-ships-diesel-fuel

"According to Costa Cruises, its ships will be powered on MGO until the LNG energy market stabilizes.

Hansjorg Kunze, AIDA's spokesman said LNG had become 3 to 5 times more expensive. The price increase had been significant, not to say explosive, and delivery at reasonable operating costs was not possible."

Since then I think they have switched back to LNG but I can't find any news of that.

MGO has great energy density especially compared to LNG, but LNG burns cleaner.  It takes much more LNG to go the same distance due to the lower energy density.  Ships can be more sensitive to LNG price fluctuations because they need more of it relative to MGO.  

[monctonguy]

It cant and wont last forever...there is huge pent up demand after lockdowns for years.

 

BUT, it will come down to paying your mortgage or credit card bill or taking a trip for the average family soon.

 

When it does,  prices will drop, or only the wealthy will be able to cruise or travel.

 

Lets see by 2024 or 2025 when interest rates have been high for years, and people are defaulting on mortgages how high prices are.

 

When I see an inside cabin on Icon for almost $15k for an inside room for 2 people(drinks and tips)....thats not reasonable for almost anyone I know  of in my life.

 

Market trends wont support it...so Royal better enjoy this while it lasts.

[twangster]

7 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

Market trends wont support it...so Royal better enjoy this while it lasts.

I think that is exactly what they doing.  Make hay while the sun is shining.  Supply and demand.  With demand sky high so are cruise prices.  

Ultimately, we collectively set the price.  If others are willing to pay today's rates then we can only blame those that are paying the crazy fares.  

[Yo2slick]

I think good deals can still be had even on shorter notice.  Everyone is wanting the newest and biggest ships and I'm over here booking older ships with no care as to the time of year.  If its a good deal and it gets us on the water I'm booking it.  We did just book a Grand Suite Large Balcony on Anthem for next year and while it might have been more expensive, it was the last suite for the sailing and that is one of my bucket list cruises.  

It just boils down to how flexible you are and what exactly you want.  People are spending money like their pants are on fire right now, even buying cars at 15 percent interest not to mention the mortgage rates.  When people are out of money or tired of giving it all away, prices will eventually come back down. 

[Linda R]

I pretty much book cruises as soon as they come available.  Those seem to be the best prices.   If the prices drop at a later date, you can readjust your price.  As long as it is before final pymt.   The more cabins that get booked the more the prices increase.  Book early. 

[PL8SWPR]

 

Why do people act surprised when the prices increase.  Demand is high at the same time inflation has significantly increased the price of everything needed to operate a cruise ship.  Anyone who buys anything knows that the advertised 8% inflation numbers are bogus.  At some point, all that printed money, paying people to stay home (reducing supply of product), etc has consequences. 

[Carotthat]

Same as sky high prices for food in restaurants. As long as anybody is willing to pay exorbitantly high prices for the same quality food and the tables are taken, it will continue.

[twangster]

I don't eat a lot of fast food but I was on the road in Canada recently and didn't have a lot of options.  An A&W entry level hamburger and fries, no drink, was $17. 

If I had ordered an upgraded burger and large fries it would have been over $20.  

Seriously.  Is that what fast food costs these days?

It was basically a Windjammer burger and fries.  

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, twangster said:

Seriously.  Is that what fast food costs these days?

My wife and I rarely eat fast food (other than using up gift cards she gets to places like Chik-Fil-A as teacher gifts). We're pretty frugal in life and have been saying stuff like that for years. Fast food isn't actually that cheap.

The Playmakers burger with garlic parm fries for $9 is a steal compared to what you described!

(Rumor is Playmakers prices are going up but I found them surprisingly low so I don't think it's a big deal).

[teddy]

I didn’t realize how long it’s been since we ate fast food until yesterday.
 

My wife and I were driving back from our camp.   As we approached a McDonald’s, she said she was going to get some fries and asked if I was hungry.  I told her I’d grab something from the dollar menu.  
 

I don’t like it when she laughs that much at me.

[monctonguy]

16 minutes ago, twangster said:

I don't eat a lot of fast food but I was on the road in Canada recently and didn't have a lot of options.  An A&W entry level hamburger and fries, no drink, was $17. 

If I had ordered an upgraded burger and large fries it would have been over $20.  

 

Welcome to Canada.....its always been high prices here...its $9 for a gallon of milk...and that 15% sales tax on everything adds up real quick here as well...after losing 35% of your pay in taxes..its about a 50% tax bracket here when you add it all up.....

 

Hence the reason I always try to travel and fly out of the US....although when you lose another 35% on echange...it really hurts....$100 USD costs me approx $215 CAD in pre-tax income....

[FSUFAN]

We have booked 3 sailings in the last 12 months.  I put in a price tracker on all 3 and never saw the price dip below what we paid. We have sailed one of them and have yet to take the other 2 sailings.  Both of the upcoming sailings are showing sold out balcony rooms and suites.  I think the ships will be full.

We have 2 Airbnb rentals in the mountains of western NC.  Last year coming out of the pandemic, they were both slammed full of families wanting to get out and back into nature. They could still be out having a vacation, trail hiking, tubing, hiking to waterfalls, yet not in crowds.  This year we are busy, but bookings are probably off 10-15% compared to last year.

The cruise industry sems to be running a year behind as it seemed like last year there were lots of open rooms and soft/lower prices. Maybe people were still wary of being in large crowds.  As others have mentioned, those days seem to be gone (at least in the short term) as pandemic fears wane.  We got the "itch" to sail again and as stated we have 3 sailings in less than 10 months (one down, two to go).  We will probably roll back a little and do a cruise or two each year. I want to do some inland trips to National Parks and such.

[BrianB]

I’ve noticed how some fast food places have combined raising prices with shrinking products. I really thought I was going through a mid-life growing spurt. I remember when those burgers took two hands…using two hands now risks biting my fingers! And those fries boxes seem to have shrunk too!

As for the cruise prices…I have a few booked and nearly every single day I do mock bookings to check on the current price. I used to be able to find a few that dropped and I would call and reprice. But…it seems like those opportunities are becoming less and less.

As I learned on these forums…I book as early as I can and get the best price as they only seem to climb as time goes on. Demand is strong.

[RCVoyager]

On 5/29/2023 at 2:22 PM, Matt said:

It's just like airfare. Closer you get (and more booked up it gets), higher prices go.

It's why booking early is so critical.

It really has nothing to do with Early Bird.  Jan 25 also over $1400 in San Juan.

[DublinFC]

What I have noticed is the increase cost for a refundable booking.  An extra $400 or more on some sailings I have been playing with. 

[OCSC Mike]

12 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

What I have noticed is the increase cost for a refundable booking.  An extra $400 or more on some sailings I have been playing with. 

Try using a TA. They often have refundable deposit prices that are lower than non-refundable going straight through RC.