Is crusing still a bargin ?

We have been avid supporters of cruising and Princess specifically, we love the islands. Is it just me, but it seems over the past 3 years the prices have been going up and up and what you get is less and less. It's not the bargin it used to be and you get nickeled and dimed along the way. I was shocked that we just booked a week at an all inclusive resort, with an ocean front room for 30% less than we were going to pay for our next cruise in January. That is before any shore excursion, alcohol and dinners at the crown gill added on (and then tips). Anyone else see or feel this way? If you currently do not have to fly to get to Ft. Lauderdale, then I can still see some savings. In our case, we are flying anyway.

What do you consider a bargain?

Having cruised to the Caribbean in the early 80's, before Princess got there, I can say that these days cruising is indeed a bargain. I looked at our cruise fares from way back then, and we were paying more - in absolute dollars, i.e. if you have a $2000 cruise fare today, it was more than $2000 in 1983, no adjusting for inflation, nothing, I cannot believe how high the fares were then.

I think that if you want to go an all-inclusive and stay put, that is great and there is some attractive pricing available. On the other hand, the cruise ship takes you to different places and provides all the necessities included in the fare. If you want soda, alcohol...yup, it's more, and depending upon how you handle your time ashore it can cost a little or a lot more.

Yes, I've been watching the Hawaii run over the past few years. What used to be $999 for an interior cabin is now $1600 +/-. That's because they used to do b2b to Hawaii (2 from LA and 2 from San Francisco). They have since cut it down to one per month per terminal; cutting availability by 50%. Supply and demand.

Gone are the bargain 3-4 day cruises out of San Pedro.

I am so glad I did as much cruising as I did when it was a "bargain". Now I have to be more selective.

While on the subject....please bring back the Grand Class ships to San Pedro. Thank you, Princess, for not butchering the Coral Princess.

"A few years ago" we were in a significant recession, and demand was hurt. The cruise lines struggled, and lost money.

Now the economy is better, demand is up. As part of their attempts to attract people back, a number of big new ships were built (note RCI). Between covering their losses (those debts didn't just away on their own), building new ships (another huge debt that just doesn't go away) and various balancing of supply, they are in a place where they can charge more. Facts of business cycles.

I am always curious what critics think the cruise lines should be charging. It is always less than what in on the price list. Of course, in these last few years, as the economy recovered, no supplies or other expenses for the cruise lines have gone down, I am sure.

The worldwide redeployment of Princess ships has definitely firmed up Princess pricing, less so with some other cruise lines who still position almost their entire fleet in the Caribbean in during every winter season.

Srpilo

Part of it was there was always a price gap between Carnival and Princess and we had no problem paying the "premium" to be on a Princess ship as we really do love it. It seems the gap in pricing between Carnival and Princess is really starting to get bigger and bigger. I do realize there are still "bargins" to be had, and you can look at Carnival, but there is a reason a lot of us sail Princess versus Carnival. And for this price "gap", are we still receiving that much more on Princess ? Now they raised the AIBP and capped it. Hopefully they still let us bring water on board.......

I always look to pay $200 PP PD for a mini suite. When I compare that to Bus Trips such as Cosmos it works out to be a little more to cruise with less to see VS a bus tour. The biggest advantage I see in cruising is not staying in a different hotel every night with packing and unpacking my suitcase. I do see the rate per day has increased significantly on cruises and the crowds are bigger and the food less gourmet and less interesting. I am comparing smaller ships and see they are competitively priced right now such as Azamara and Oceania and Viking River.

I think cruises can still be a bargain. It depends on if you're willing to wait for a bargain price and take whatever cabin is left for a last-minute booking.

I don't really even notice anymore if it's a bargain. I guess I did when we had kids and then yes, it was definitely a bargain with food and entertainment included. Now, we go because we want to regardless of whether it's a bargain or not, but I agree with you - prices have definitely gone up. The nickel and diming is the WORST on RCI. Everything is an added charge with them it seems. It really raises the price of a cruise!

If you factor in the fuel cost for traveling from place to place, then cruising is a good value. We recently retired from full time work, so we were able to take advantage of Princess' "Drop and Go" fare to Alaska. If you are able to wait for a sale or take advantage of a last minute fare, then it's a great value. We loved the service and loved sitting out on our balcony, just gliding across the beautiful ocean. It was our first cruise, and it was FABULOUS. ( just our opinion). EBC

Bargain?

We can fly to any resort location in the North American "area" for around $ 1,500 total economy class, rent a b+/a- condo for around $ 3,500 a month, spend $ 4,000 total for things during the month. Around, $ 9,000 for a month.

Can we get the same on a Princess ship, NO. We definitely spend more.

But, it is a different experience.

I still get some good pricing (a bargain for me) on some last minute deals.

If you factor in the fuel cost for traveling from place to place, then cruising is a good value. We recently retired from full time work, so we were able to take advantage of Princess' "Drop and Go" fare to Alaska. If you are able to wait for a sale or take advantage of a last minute fare, then it's a great value. We loved the service and loved sitting out on our balcony, just gliding across the beautiful ocean. It was our first cruise, and it was FABULOUS. ( just our opinion). EBC

Drop and go was our thinking for retirement but... So far that hasn't worked out for us. We just keep booking cruises way in advance. D'Oh! We really do need to snag a drop and go one of these days but we have cruises booked already and only have so much time and money. My wife likes to take the summer months for land vacations so that further limits the drop and go availability. Someday we will really book one of those cruises.

Drop and go was our thinking for retirement but... So far that hasn't worked out for us. We just keep booking cruises way in advance. D'Oh! We really do need to snag a drop and go one of these days but we have cruises booked already and only have so much time and money. My wife likes to take the summer months for land vacations so that further limits the drop and go availability. Someday we will really book one of those cruises.

True -- you can still get good deals by taking advantage of sales like "Three for Free", etc., and you don't need to book "Drop and Go" fares. Or, you can just book at the regular fare rate when you see a cruise you like. I looked at your upcoming cruise itineraries, and you guys have some fabulous trips scheduled !! :)

I was meaning to explain to the OP that cruising doesn't have to be as expensive as it seems, compared to a land-based vacation, if it is possible to wait for a cruise sale of some sort.

We always thought that we could never afford to go cruising, especially as retired people on a modest fixed income. But, when they have those last-minute sales, it's too good to pass up. ( This is just our opinion.) - EBC

Look at it this way.

We are doing a two night cruise next month.

Mid ship balcony $AUS450 each

V

Hotel about $350 a night

Breakfast say $50 a day x2

Lunch $40 minimum

Dinner $150

Already at about $990 without a show etc

I suppose an all-inclusive resort would be cheaper (never tried one but we have friends who have) but to me it would be like being a prisoner in a gilded cage. You dine at the same place day after day and a person can only drink so much. There would be no adventure. We like to travel from place to place and explore. After day one, we would almost certainly rent a car and explore the area. We'd end up wining and dining at other places, taking excursions and doing all kinds of things that would negate any savings over a cruise. We did vacation for 10 days in Costa Rica and spent WAY more money than we would have on a 10-day cruise...eating, drinking, car rentals and just trying to entertain ourselves daily. Being explorer type vacationers, yes...we think cruising with Princess is a bargain in every way that matters, even cost.

After we learned how to get reduced rates using good TA's, Princess sales, and choosing cruises at lower rate times we have had many occasions in the past 15+ years to consider cruises vs. land vacations.

We still find Princess Cruises to be a bargain. Has the absolute daily cabin cost increased? Certainly. We always use balcony cabin pricing as the metric as it appears less influenced by lower cost lead in pricing given for inside cabins (the "come on" rates). We've watched as the metric of goodness went from $70/night/pp to 75 then to 90, then $100/night/pp for lead-in balcony rates. But at the same time costs on land have increased - in many cases doubled.

I've been researching land venues for an upcoming anniversary and the prices, just for decent housing start at the cost for a balcony cabin, and don't include meals or entertainment. We are not drinkers, so all-inclusive resorts don't really appeal. Bottom line, if we have a choice, we will cruise.

For me living in Australia we can fly from the Gold Coast to Phuket - Thailand on Airasia for less US$600 Rtn. We could live like Kings in a 5 star resort for under US$150pn. Breakfast is included, lunch and dinner along with drinks would be US$150pd if eating at a upmarket restaurant, but you can eat local food, green curries, sate's, BBQ Seafood, Pad Thai and so forth for under US$50pd. There is so much to see and do or just laze around the resort pool or beach.

When I worked out my up and coming 22 day cruise with Princess it worked out at US$536pd (Including 2 new beverage packages) so to me it just doesn't add up. That's not to say I don't like cruising, I do but when the price starts hitting the pricing I mentioned above you have to sit back and be realistic.

Look at it this way.

 

We are doing a two night cruise next month.

 

Mid ship balcony $AUS450 each

 

V

 

Hotel about $350 a night

Breakfast say $50 a day x2

Lunch $40 minimum

Dinner $150

 

Already at about $990 without a show etc

were are you staying and eating???

Bargain?

 

We can fly to any resort location in the North American "area" for around $ 1,500 total economy class, rent a b+/a- condo for around $ 3,500 a month, spend $ 4,000 total for things during the month. Around, $ 9,000 for a month.

 

Can we get the same on a Princess ship, NO. We definitely spend more.

 

But, it is a different experience.

Beg to differ -you can get an inside cabin for a little more than $100 pp per day which amounts to about $6000 per month

IMO, the price increase across the board...not just Princess, is a result of a new marketing scheme. "Free perks" are already priced into the base cost. You get nothing for free! The drink package is an extra ~$600 up front....

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Compared to other forms of travel Cruising Absolutely is still a bargain. A really good All Inclusive resort in Mexico would be about $225 pp per day. You can cruise in a balcony cabin with a beverage package or purchasing your drinks A La Carte for much less than that. Yes the early booking fares are higher now for lines like Princess, NCL, Celebrity and HAL when they offer a beverage package, but they all almost always offer a "No Frills" fare which is lover than the one that includes the beverage package. Sometimes those fares are offered side by side so you can compare, sometimes they are offered at a later date before final payment so that you can refare to the lower rate if you don't want the frills.

I think you still get a lot of bang for your buck with cruises.

I think cruises can still be a bargain. It depends on if you're willing to wait for a bargain price and take whatever cabin is left for a last-minute booking.

We just got a $499 Drop & Go for a 10 day cruise from NYC to FL. You do have to search to get a bargain. When I first sailed in 1970, cruises were expensive; however, drinks were $1. Fine wine for $10.

We just got a $499 Drop & Go for a 10 day cruise from NYC to FL. You do have to search to get a bargain. When I first sailed in 1970, cruises were expensive; however, drinks were $1. Fine wine for $10.

That's fantastic! Where do you find such deals?