NCL cruise prices up and up for 2015

[4774Papa]

I had talked my cousin into taking a seven day NCL cruise out of Tampa next January after her Son graduated from college. It would be six of us on the cruise.

 

Prices quoted earlier this year were

$399 per person for an inside cabin.

Prices have gone up significantly.

Price up to $499 pp for inside.

 

That is about a 33% increase. All the cruise lines have increased their prices, but percentage wise, NCL has no longer become the bargain that it was.

[Va. Plumber]

All the cruise lines did not raise prices during the economic situation.

 

I suspect if everyone is raising prices and NCL was lower before, they will still be less than the others.

[Demonyte]

I had talked my cousin into taking a seven day NCL cruise out of Tampa next January after her Son graduated from college. It would be six of us on the cruise.

 

Prices quoted earlier this year were

$399 per person for an inside cabin.

Prices have gone up significantly.

Price up to $499 pp for inside.

 

That is about a 33% increase. All the cruise lines have increased their prices, but percentage wise, NCL has no longer become the bargain that it was.

 

Only 25% increase, 33% would be $530.

 

Also, it's completely normal for prices to rise somewhat after the initial (period of many times lowest) pricing and final payment (the period when most cruises are booked) - nothing new there. For non-high-season cruises it's usually best to book either as early as possible or wait for the possible price drops if the ship is not full enough.

[Seanote]

It’s the free market economy that is driving up the prices of cruising. Blame the cruising public, not the purveyor; they are merely the beneficiary of the higher prices. The recession repressed pricing for a period of time and has made cruising a truly affordable vacation alternative for many. As the demand for cabins increases, so will the pricing. Cruise lines have spent a lot of money marketing their product in an effort to fill the ships in a time of ever-increasing capacity as larger and larger ships are built.

Furthermore, as on-board spending becomes a greater part of cruise line’s revenue, there will still be bargains to be had in off-peak seasons as it becomes financially beneficial to fill the ships regardless of the cabin’s selling price.

Lastly, I do not think a random sampling of one cruise on one particular date would be considered an economic harbinger.

[chengkp75]

Further to all of the above reasons, I believe all lines will have significant increases in prices (haven't surveyed across the board) for 2015, as the stricter US ECA (emissions control area) fuel requirements come into play. Basically, ships will either have to have an exhaust scrubber fitted on each engine (at $1-1.5 million a copy), or use low sulfur marine gas oil at a 80-150% price increase over the current fuel. Fuel cost is about 20-25% of total expense (depending on itinerary), so a doubling of fuel cost will result in an increase in cabin prices.

[4774Papa]

Only 25% increase, 33% would be $530.

 

Also, it's completely normal for prices to rise somewhat after the initial (period of many times lowest) pricing and final payment (the period when most cruises are booked) - nothing new there. For non-high-season cruises it's usually best to book either as early as possible or wait for the possible price drops if the ship is not full enough.

You are correct, I once did math in my head very well, but age is cruel.

[newmexicoNita]

I know sometimes these prices seem high and seem to keep increasing, but go back and check what we paid 5, 10 or 20 years ago? You might be surprised at how low the prices really are when you consider inflation? We are paying $1019 for an outside, mid ship cabin on the Pearl next April. At first I thought: wow, that is high, but then I remembered it is a 10 day cruise. That is barely over $100 a day. I was shocked at the difference between outside and balcony. I have to wonder where we could vacation for $200 a day, including as much food as we could ever want, travel, room being cleaned twice a day, outstanding entertainment and a chance to see many places in a short time.

[hunterjackson]

We just booked alaska for the end of the 2015 season. It is about the same price, if you look at the same cabin category, that we got a deal on in 2010.

 

Now, if you compare the same cruise in 2014 to 2015, for an SC suite, it is about $500pp less right now! So we booked early...

[SissasMomE]

We booked for December 2015 on the Escape and it was soooooo much cheaper than I expected!!

[ColinIllinois]

I guess all things are relative on what people consider a bargain. Even at $499 (plus DSC) that comes out to about 84 bucks a day, if the math in my head is right.

 

What do you get for 84 bucks a day? Nice room, as many meals as you want to eat in a day, transportation to different ports in different countries, getting waited on hand and foot, memories that last for years.

 

To me....that's a bargain. But then again, I'm always a "glass half full" kind of guy. :D

[hunterjackson]

I guess all things are relative on what people consider a bargain. Even at $499 (plus DSC) that comes out to about 84 bucks a day, if the math in my head is right.

 

What do you get for 84 bucks a day? Nice room, as many meals as you want to eat in a day, transportation to different ports in different countries, getting waited on hand and foot, memories that last for years.

 

To me....that's a bargain. But then again, I'm always a "glass half full" kind of guy. :D

 

 

I can't live at home for that price! That is about $30k/year on an annual basis for living expenses.

[Clay Clayton]

I can't live at home for that price! That is about $30k/year on an annual basis for living expenses.

 

Which is why I am working on my Retire@Sea (trademark pending) business plan!:D

[SissasMomE]

Which is why I am working on my Retire@Sea (trademark pending) business plan!:D

 

LOL! Good idea!

[dexddd]

Which is why I am working on my Retire@Sea (trademark pending) business plan!:D

 

You're going to buy the Sky and make it a floating retirement community?

[JasonV1]

Price go up and down all the time. I use a price tracking site and this is just one example (Cat IX for anyone curious) from my upcoming Getaway cruise:

 

Price Created Updated

$ 1,049 2013‑08‑02 2013‑08‑06

$ 1,099 2013‑10‑31 2014‑01‑23

$ 1,079 2014‑01‑23 2014‑01‑23

$ 1,099 2014‑01‑24 2014‑02‑14

$ 1,049 2014‑02‑15 2014‑02‑17

$ 999 2014‑02‑18 2014‑02‑23

$ 979 2014‑02‑24 2014‑02‑24

$ 999 2014‑02‑25 2014‑04‑11

$ 1,029 2014‑04‑12 2014‑05‑07

$ 899 2014‑05‑07 2014‑05‑14

 

This is for a new boat; older boats that aren't as popular will have even more price changes. Not to mention with a sail date 80 days away there is still room for many more drops (or increases), and they can happen as late as 3 days from sailing.

[DMH15]

Which is why I am working on my Retire@Sea (trademark pending) business plan!:D

 

 

Where do I sign up?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[martinchem]

First TA I looked at offered $429 for three of four weeks in Jan 2015 out of Tampa PLUS $75 OBC.

[mking8288]

Never mind 2015 - worry about it then? For those of us that are fortunate to go on short notice - bargains next month out of NYC, which doesn't have lots of ships circulating the piers - Breakaway sailing to Bermuda, discounted to as low as $399 p/p for 7 nights this June, plus taxes - come to $1,178 + DSC for Inside GTY.

 

It doesn't come any cheaper than that, I think?

[numberguy]

Price go up and down all the time. I use a price tracking site and this is just one example (Cat IX for anyone curious) from my upcoming Getaway cruise:

 

Price Created Updated

$ 1,049 2013‑08‑02 2013‑08‑06

$ 1,099 2013‑10‑31 2014‑01‑23

$ 1,079 2014‑01‑23 2014‑01‑23

$ 1,099 2014‑01‑24 2014‑02‑14

$ 1,049 2014‑02‑15 2014‑02‑17

$ 999 2014‑02‑18 2014‑02‑23

$ 979 2014‑02‑24 2014‑02‑24

$ 999 2014‑02‑25 2014‑04‑11

$ 1,029 2014‑04‑12 2014‑05‑07

$ 899 2014‑05‑07 2014‑05‑14

 

This is for a new boat; older boats that aren't as popular will have even more price changes. Not to mention with a sail date 80 days away there is still room for many more drops (or increases), and they can happen as late as 3 days from sailing.

 

Are you allowed to give the name of this site?

 

--Michael

[nutzo]

I can't live at home for that price! That is about $30k/year on an annual basis for living expenses.

 

 

That's per person, so that would be $90K for a family of 3.

 

I don't know where you live, but even here in expensive southern California, we get buy on alot less than that per year, especially after ttaxes.

 

However I do have to clean my own room and cook my own food :p

[newmexicoNita]

That's per person, so that would be $90K for a family of 3.

 

I don't know where you live, but even here in expensive southern California, we get buy on alot less than that per year, especially after ttaxes.

 

However I do have to clean my own room and cook my own food :p

 

obviously it is meant as tongue in cheek for heavens sake. But when the op talks about rates increasing this brings up the subject we hear so much about: I paid X number of SSs and now the price is lower: I want my money back, but now someone is griping because the price has gone up. Had they booked a few months ago they would have gotten the lower price. See it works both ways, you take the chance and book when the rates seem right, but be prepared for increases if you sit on your bottom waiting for them to go down.

[barnacle_boy]

For those curious, here's what NCL's pricing was like 40 years ago in 1974.

 

[Seanote]

At an average inflation rate since 1974 of 4.13%, the multiplication factor is about 5.04x. Thus, the cheapest 7-day cruise listed at $463 would cost $2,335 in today's dollars, per person. That's a tiny inside cabin on a tiny ship with no Blue Man Group.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Seanote

[barnacle_boy]

At an average inflation rate since 1974 of 4.13%, the multiplication factor is about 5.04x. Thus, the cheapest 7-day cruise listed at $463 would cost $2,335 in today's dollars, per person. That's a tiny inside cabin on a tiny ship with no Blue Man Group.

 

That's essentially what I write whenever these threads about "increasing prices!" pops up. And this also goes for pricing into the late-80's and early-90's too. Cruising used to be a much more costly vacation option. Pricing is not only low due to various contemporary factors such as the recession, it's also extremely low in the historical context. Sheehan and the other industry leaders have been talking for years now about trying to raise prices to correspond with the products they are offering. These numbers show that they have a point, at least in a historical sense.

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

You are correct, I once did math in my head very well, but age is cruel.

 

Only once? Bummer.