Pricey

[KMHNY]

Is it me our do cruise prices seem very high right now? I always start really searching in mid Jan for my March/April cruise, and I cant find a good deal anywhere. 

[CruiserBruce]

Specifics would be helpful in answering your questions. Cruise line, routes, cabin level, etc. 

 

In general the economy is good, and consumers are spending. This drives up prices.

[KMHNY]

we usually cruise the Caribbean, east, west, south doesn't matter on Rccl, Celebrity or NCL. Like balconies but it has to be a good value otherwise a window is fine we like to keep between 500-850pp with drink package. 

[MCC retired]

Not knowing what cruises you are pricing I can only guess that with all the Sales last year , they filled the cruises that you are pricing ? You may have waited too long ?

Edited January 30, 2019 by MCC retired

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, KMHNY said:

Is it me our do cruise prices seem very high right now? I always start really searching in mid Jan for my March/April cruise, and I cant find a good deal anywhere. 

 

IMO prices are high this year because Easter and Spring break for most K-12 students are very late, so the spring break season is lasting all of March and April.

 

I know we booked about a week ago for a mid- February trip and got a good deal.

[bonsai3s]

Exactly what we were thinking...perhaps you may have waited too long.

We usually book way in advance to make sure we get the cabin we like...then just regularly look for price drops...it has worked well for us, so far.

The cruises/dates you are looking for are approaching (if not already) its final payment date....so there's some good news for you:

1. Prices may drop after final payment (unlikely but it can happen). 

2. There may be some cancellations. 

3. Here on Cruise Critic, click on "deals", then click on "last minute deals"....scroll down and start looking...you never know, you may find something you like.  Hope you find something...Happy Sailing!

[SRF]

Yeah, final payment was Dec/Jan, so any deals from cancellations just before final payment are past.

 

So late booking, full ships (our 12 night April had 4 cabins available early this week), prices will be high.

[paul929207]

When sales are good, prices go up.

[cruiseaholic777]

Last March we booked the Navigator of the seas for 9 days for 1200$ (for 2 people). It went to the ABC islands. I can not find anything even close to that.

[boulders]

I'm on a March cruise to New Zealand and Australia. Prices are almost half of what they were when I booked. You have to be flexible with your destination and cruise line. 

[lauren009]

I book my cruises at least a year in advance to get the best prices. If you wait longer, NCL might have some good "Sailaway" rates but that won't include drinks and you don't get to pick your cabin location.
Also maybe check out Carnival this year. I've done Carnival and NCL. I love both, but prefer Carnival.

Edited February 9, 2019 by lauren009

[Hlitner]

On ‎2‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 4:08 PM, boulders said:

I'm on a March cruise to New Zealand and Australia. Prices are almost half of what they were when I booked. You have to be flexible with your destination and cruise line. 

I think you said it all :).  We have been preaching the same thing for about 20 years when we say be flexible, shop around, and book quickly when you find a good deal.  But many are set in their ways as to ships, itineraries, lines, etc.  Nothing wrong with that, but it limits one's ability to snag a great deal.

 

Hank

[lamchops]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:25 AM, lauren009 said:

I book my cruises at least a year in advance to get the best prices. If you wait longer, NCL might have some good "Sailaway" rates but that won't include drinks and you don't get to pick your cabin location.
Also maybe check out Carnival this year. I've done Carnival and NCL. I love both, but prefer Carnival.

I am doing a NCL 11 night Canary Islands cruise from Barcelona in 2 weeks that I purchased on January 2/19. The  sailaway cabin was $595us per person with port fees and taxes of$143us each. Airfare to Europe from the PNW is only a few hundred more than to Florida. We were assigned deck 10 and have put in a small bid for an upgrade to balcony but not hopeful as it would be a bonus. Like Hank said, there are deals if you don’t limit yourself. I cruise for the itinerary and use the ship as a floating hotel and not a resort.

[bakersdozen12]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:50 AM, KMHNY said:

Is it me our do cruise prices seem very high right now? I always start really searching in mid Jan for my March/April cruise, and I cant find a good deal anywhere. 

 

First of all, March and April are spring break months,  so if you are looking at a Caribbean cruise, they will be priced higher during these months. Second, January is way too late to look for a cruise in Mar/Apr. If we were in an economy that was hurting, maybe cruises wouldn’t be selling and you could find some good last-minute deals. But cruise lines don’t have any problem filling ships right now. If you want a good deal, booking as soon as itineraries are released is your best bet. Which means, more than a year in advance; sometimes two. 

[Hlitner]

The OP talks about March/April cruises.  Looking at a few cruise data bases we see all kinds of great deals on 7 day cruises.  But we assume the OP is looking at a specific cruise line, ship, or date.   When we talk about last minute bargain bookings we always stress that folks should be very flexible in terms of the cruise line, ship, and even itinerary.  

 

Hank

[LuckyStar]

On 2/3/2019 at 8:38 AM, cruiseaholic777 said:

Last March we booked the Navigator of the seas for 9 days for 1200$ (for 2 people). It went to the ABC islands. I can not find anything even close to that.

That's a killer price...Good for you.

 

[navybankerteacher]

The consumer economy is stronger now than it has been for years - with more money on peoples’ pockets, the cost of discretionary purchases trend higher.  Many people recall the scared time after 9/11 when many were simply unwilling to travel and lines really cut fares to fill ships;  or the several recession years after 2008 when discretionary funds were short.  I hope we do not have a repeat of the conditions that brought about those periods of low fares.  Finally, it may be that lines have much of the easier cost cutting - by shaving food,  entertainment and staff costs —- meaning that further cruise fares increases are on the way.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

For the first time in many years, we were stuck  with dates. We are taking DD  her partner  and son on their first ever cruise. They have  seen the photos/videos of our past RCCL cruises and wanted a cruise on a ship  with a Royal Promenade. For school holiday reasons it has to be in summer holiday time, and DD always travels with 10 tonnes of luggage, so we only have Southampton as departure. 

 

We don't really see the point in a 4 or 6 nighter, so we ended up with a 14 nighter, in July. 

 

Tremendously expensive! For what we are paying per guest we  could (almost) have booked a suite for the two of us of we went at our preferred period of Spring or Autumn.