I was thinking about how pricing is through the roof these days and given the recent earnings announcements, I wondered if a correction may be coming and how far off it may be.
I have no idea, because Royal Caribbean's marketing seems superior to the other cruise lines and demand seems disproportionate to Royal vs other lines. I looked for late May sailings from Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and Tampa. I compared the May 25 sailing on Icon, Symphony, Wonder and Enchantment for similar category cabins to compare with Carnival Celebration. I realize it's not completely apples to apples, but this was eye opening.
Results (guarantees when the option was available):
Carnival Celebration -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Miami -- total cost for two is $2,543.30 -- cost per night $363.32
Icon -- 7 night sailing on May 25 from Miami -- total cost for two is $9,767.38 -- cost per night $1,395.34
Symphony -- 6 night sailing on May 4 from Port Everglades -- total cost for two is $2,994.48 (the sailings from PE were limited to Symphony 6 night and 3 night -- not a good comparison) -- cost per night $499
Wonder -- 7 night sailing on May 26 from Port Canaveral -- total cost for two is $4,707.94 -- cost per night $672.56
Enchantment -- 7 night sailing on May 11 from Tampa -- total cost for two is $3,798.76 -- cost per night $542.68 per night --> What??!
I have to conclude that unless there is a correction soon, I may be trying other lines. I just don't see that the value that Royal has been known for exists right now considering a ship like Enchantment gets more for 7 nights than Carnival's second newest ship that has been getting good reviews. I am loyal to Royal, but there is a limit, and sadly, I am close to it. I don't think I will be "Loyal to Royal" much longer. I'm curious to know what others are thinking.