Why is the Pride so expensive now????

[Stefanosthecruiselover]

What is up with the prices of the cruise from Baltimore on the Carnival pride. For instance, for the past several years, the prices for the cruise on the first week of March have been from 379$ to about 399$. Now the price is 769$! All the prices have increased dramatically. I know the ship was renovated, but the price increase is ridiculous. :confused: :mad: :eek:

[13point1]

Supply and demand.. That week must be selling better than in the past.

 

Bookings are up on lots of itineraries from just about every port and the pricing reflects that trend.

 

There is always the possibility that closer to the sailing the prices will drop, but that won't always help those that need to make vacation plans well in advance.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Seems to me that as long as Pride sailings are significantly less than what can be found in NYC, there is going to be a huge market from the NE corridor, as well as PA, Ohio, WV, etc.,, with no competition. Hence much higher than expected prices.

 

For us, we had a choice between Pride, Charleston, and FL. Pride was a lot more, but when you factor in the travel costs of the other ports, it worked out about the same. So, we're on the (overpriced) Pride.

[ready2cruzagain]

It is not just the Pride, seems like prices are up on most ships. Have been trying to find a last minute deal for the last few months, not working out for us this year like in years past.

[Tapi]

I wouldn't call $769 "so expensive" but I would definitely call $379 "so cheap". I think that prices are aligning themselves with what this type of vacations truly cost as supply finally matches demand. We've grown used to ridiculous Motel 6 cheap prices, at least based on the comments from several posters. Any time that I think that cruises are getting expensive, I remind myself that I paid $700 to sail on the Tropicale and $1,000 to sail on the Monarch of the Seas 20 YEARS ago.

 

With that said, I think that there are still some great deals to be had with some flexibility and creativity. Looking at summer 2016, I reserved a Carnival Valor 5 night cruise to Amber Cove and Grand Turk for a mere $267pp (and that's high season!). I've also booked another 5 night cruise aboard the Empress of the Seas to Grand Cayman and Key West for a ridiculously low $202pp the first week of June.

[sparks1093]

I expect it's because NCL is charging so much for their sailings out of NYC. I priced a cruise for spring 2017 and NCL came in at $3300 (on one of their new behemoths) versus $1700 for the Pride (I think I looked at a May sailing). Since March is typical spring break time cruise lines try to cash in on the extra bodies. When we were on the Pride back in 2012 I believe we paid $1500.

[vlynn]

Supply and demand.. That week must be selling better than in the past.

 

Bookings are up on lots of itineraries from just about every port and the pricing reflects that trend.

 

There is always the possibility that closer to the sailing the prices will drop, but that won't always help those that need to make vacation plans well in advance.

 

We have found that you get the best price for sailings from Baltimore if you book as soon as the sailing opens. Our 2/7 sailing has done nothing but increase since we booked. 40 days prior to sailing and the price is over 200$ more pp than we paid in March. :eek:

[SkyMaster]

It seems to me that ALL the cruises are WAY more expensive this year than most of the times in the past. Also, we're getting into the spring/summer booking season, where prices usually go up anyway. I have to agree with you that prices this winter didn't seem to dip like they usually do. GEEZE,,,I hate when that happens! :mad:

 

"SKY"

[audcc77]

Tell me about it. We are going the first week of April 2016 for $1997 for 3 people in an Extended balcony. I bought this about 14 months prior.

 

This exact same cabin, same itinerary for April 2017 is now $2726 :eek:on a past guest rate. I just can’t justify it. By the time I add taxes/tips, we’re talking over $3K. I’ve never spent that except for a grand suite.

 

And … the strange thing is that ES is MORE expensive, at $2746.

 

I’m going elsewhere b/c going on the exact same cruise for the 3rd time in a row for an add’l $700+ isn’t going to cut it.

 

In the past, I’ve always been able to get a decent price b/c I’m willing to commit to the ES rate. But -- I don’t think that’s the case any longer.

 

Then, the same week in 2018, Pride goes to Nassau, Freeport & Port C. Really ?? Nope, pass.

[lorgir]

We have found that you get the best price for sailings from Baltimore if you book as soon as the sailing opens. Our 2/7 sailing has done nothing but increase since we booked. 40 days prior to sailing and the price is over 200$ more pp than we paid in March. :eek:

 

I'd love to sail out of Baltimore, but I find too that the prices are higher than flying into another port. How can you catch a new sail opening?

[jimbo5544]

It's all about supply and demand. Sailing out of Baltimore (or New York for that matter) on Carnival will be a little more expensive than Miami or Ft Lauderdale due to less competition. We are looking at the Pride for next New Years eve cruise and it is about $300 more per person than same day sailings from Florida.

[vlynn]

I'd love to sail out of Baltimore, but I find too that the prices are higher than flying into another port. How can you catch a new sail opening?

 

I keep watching for the new batch of sailings to open. For instance the summer 2017 sailings have now opened, we need to book one so we will be deciding which one very soon before prices increase. Plus if you book ES you will get any price drops if they do drop, so you WILL get the best possible price.

[jks336]

also could be that Carnival stopped sailing from NYC until summer. They no longer do winter cruising out of NYC

[footballbabe3]

I always look at the Pride out of Baltimore because then I don't have to fly, but the prices are usually just as high as if I fly to Florida

[microbuck]

January of 2018 you can get a balcony on the Pride for 489.

[iheartmarshall]

I've been looking at Pride sailings for May/June 2017 (I know, I know -- I'm a bit early) and it's around $2,100 for two people for the room/date combo we want. I thought that was incredibly overpriced considering our almost-Christmas cruise on the Conquest only cost $1,200 but when I consider what we paid to fly down and what not.... the Pride is the same, if not a couple hundred cheaper (we live in WV so Baltimore is our closest port at 6 hours away).

 

I guess that's just what we have to deal with as the demand increases. It also makes me justify booking so early in advance, as it gives us longer to make payments. In the end it'll work out for us when comparing travel costs to other ports but the Pride did give me sticker shock when I first looked. :eek:

[lorgir]

January of 2018 you can get a balcony on the Pride for 489.

 

Tempting....

[JMAE]

We will be sailing on the Pride for our fifth time in February in a category 8x. Our price range over our fist four cruises is $450 to $650. Our 2016 cruise the best I can get was $759 for a open balcony assignment. We looked at sailing from Florida but by the time you add air and transfers it cost the same as sailing from Baltimore with the hassle of the airport.

 

A few months back Carnival indicated they would be reducing sales to increase their profit margins and based on their recent earning they succeeded. They just announced adjusted net income for the full year 2015 of $2.1 billion compared to $1.5 billion for the prior year. :rolleyes:

Now we can talk cutbacks.

[Stefanosthecruiselover]

I find great deals for flights, so Florida is always cheaper for us. We payed 97$ per person round-trip from BWI to FLL.

[JMAE]

I find great deals for flights, so Florida is always cheaper for us. We payed 97$ per person round-trip from BWI to FLL.

 

I would agree if you lived near a major city you have more options. Airports near us very rarely have good deals like that to places you want to go.

[Stefanosthecruiselover]

I would agree if you lived near a major city you have more options. Airports near us very rarely have good deals like that to places you want to go.

 

We actually drive 8 hours to get good deals some times. Prices from Montreal, where we live, are absolutely ridiculous. 800$-1000$ per person for a 3 hour flight to Florida.

[going2cruz]

What is up with the prices of the cruise from Baltimore on the Carnival pride. For instance, for the past several years, the prices for the cruise on the first week of March have been from 379$ to about 399$. Now the price is 769$! All the prices have increased dramatically. I know the ship was renovated, but the price increase is ridiculous. :confused: :mad: :eek:

 

Its a non legislative tax imposed by the EPA when Maryland failed to clean up the bay after years of EPA warnings. The air scrubbers that Carnival had to install are very expensive and are expensive to maintain and operate.

[NPCIN]

It might be reflective of what other cruise lines are charging. Just prior to a cruise my GF and I just sailed on the Conquest this month, I found out she booked a cruise for us on the RCI (Grandeur-8 days) out of Baltimore for March 2016. She paid $2800 for a balcony without flights. I told her what we paid for the Conquest ($1440 total for balcony on the lido). She then cancelled the cruise and got her money back. Were now going to go on two cruises with the money instead of one cruise.

Edited December 31, 2015 by NPCIN

[mom2tcdx2]

I have checked the Pride pricing pretty often and personally I have always found them to be on the high side. We ended up booking a journeys cruise which I thought wasn't too bad, but when I look at 2017 for the journeys cruise the prices are way higher than what I paid for this coming years cruise. I still continue to just go to Florida because I just keep booking different ships. I really prefer to try out new ships, rather than doing the same over and over. This will be the second sailing on the Pride but we chose it more for the uniqueness of the sailing.