Cruise Price Changes Due to Coronavirus?

[SeaWatcher65]

Has anyone seen your cruise price go down recently?  I wonder if cruise prices will go down if fears of Coronavirus cause people to cancel and book fewer cruises.  People not being able to get off the ships at port, closed pools, buffet changes, quarantined to rooms, etc.  I don't see NCL lowering prices at all to fill ships.  We have cruises for this year and 2021 - just booked a month ago.  One cruise (same room and perks) is now $900 more, the other (Hawaii Pride of America) is $1600 more!  

[joeyancho]

I guess you answered your own question. 

[SeaWatcher65]

27 minutes ago, joeyancho said:

I guess you answered your own question. 

True.  Sailed on NCL Encore Nov. 2019 and for the year before sailing, the price of the cruise pretty much stayed the same.  I can't understand why NCL prices this year are incredibly higher and going up.  Difficult to say now, but I think prices will go down if the Coronavirus gets worse and people don't want to cruise because of it.

[luv2kroooz]

I think it is a bit too early to know. Had NCL not pulled the Spirit away from Asia, I think you would have seen great deals, so that was a wise move. As for the rest of the world, well, time will tell and a lot will depend on whether or not a vaccine is developed or not and if the spread of the virus can be contained.

 

With respect to NCL pricing, many people believe they are adopting a model where they inflate prices well in advance of sailing and hook who they can, and then closer to sailing, they drop the prices significantly to fill the ship. For example, just about every 7 day Caribbean cruise leaving in February 2020 is priced under $499. 16 and 14 day cruises from $699. These are last minute interior, sail away rates, which work for some but not for all. Cabin location is not guaranteed, no free perks, and last minute.

 

So, yes, while advance pricing has definitely increased, you can get bargains if you have the ability to be flexible and travel last minute.

[ready2cruzagain]

I think it is too early to tell. Just off of the Breakaway for 21 days last week and they were starting to do measures for the Coronavirus the last day.  Not going to do a review but if I get time want to do a comparison to MSC which we did 21 days in Dec. Hint ... Hint... MSC won hands down...especially on spa and food

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, blcruising said:

I think it is a bit too early to know. Had NCL not pulled the Spirit away from Asia, I think you would have seen great deals, so that was a wise move. As for the rest of the world, well, time will tell and a lot will depend on whether or not a vaccine is developed or not and if the spread of the virus can be contained.

 

With respect to NCL pricing, many people believe they are adopting a model where they inflate prices well in advance of sailing and hook who they can, and then closer to sailing, they drop the prices significantly to fill the ship. For example, just about every 7 day Caribbean cruise leaving in February 2020 is priced under $499. 16 and 14 day cruises from $699. These are last minute interior, sail away rates, which work for some but not for all. Cabin location is not guaranteed, no free perks, and last minute.

 

So, yes, while advance pricing has definitely increased, you can get bargains if you have the ability to be flexible and travel last minute.

Low last minute prices on inside sailaway rate is pretty common for NCL.  I think they try try to hold their prices up as long as they can, so those who must plan in advance or who want nicer cabins will have to book at the higher rates.  If that does not fill the ships, they lower the inside ( and sometimes ov) rate at the last minute to try to fill the ship.

 

The cancellation of certain passport holders and people who have traveled certain itineraries has probably increased the last minute availability somewhat, putting downward pressure on last minute pricing.  Perhaps some people are also less likely to book.

[benzygirl]

20 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I think it is too early to tell. Just off of the Breakaway for 21 days last week and they were starting to do measures for the Coronavirus the last day.  Not going to do a review but if I get time want to do a comparison to MSC which we did 21 days in Dec. Hint ... Hint... MSC won hands down...especially on spa and food

Was it Haven vs Yacht Club?

[pinklucky61]

cruising getaway march 1st, prices have gone up and down since booked last july,  i think. holding about the same price as a few weeks ago.

[ready2cruzagain]

1 hour ago, benzygirl said:

Was it Haven vs Yacht Club?

 

No it was inside versus inside.  If I booked Haven vs Yacht Club, I would not have been able to sail 42 days in 2 months. 

[luv2kroooz]

4 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

No it was inside versus inside.  If I booked Haven vs Yacht Club, I would not have been able to sail 42 days in 2 months. 

I hope you get the time to do a comparison. I just can't pull the trigger on giving them a try to a lot of bad reviews.... it sounds like you had a decent experience.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Occupancy is the trigger for lower pricing but I'm sure the coronavirus fears are a factor in the occupancy. 

[Koali]

I sail in 2 weeks to the Caribbean but I have noticed price drops. I have thought about cancelling our trip too mostly in fear that somehow we would get put on a 14 day quarantine after the trip. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I do have the cancel for any reason insurance. I plan to call tomorrow to see if I can get an upgrade since prices have dropped and pay only a small difference. 

[fstuff1]

11 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I think it is too early to tell. Just off of the Breakaway for 21 days last week and they were starting to do measures for the Coronavirus the last day.  Not going to do a review but if I get time want to do a comparison to MSC which we did 21 days in Dec. Hint ... Hint... MSC won hands down...especially on spa and food

yes, please do a comparison and put the link in this thread.

[vpearlkc]

I don't think the prices will be lowered unless the Coronavirus fears spread and the bookings drop. We have a Southern Caribbean cruise booked for April 2021 and, God forbid, this thing has not been resolved by payment date we will cancel.

 

I think this mess will be over long before then. We have been through this many times and the fear has always been worse than what really happened.

 

[JamieLogical]

I don't think it will have a significant impact. The reality is, final payment has already been made for sailings into June. Even if people cancel, most won't be getting a refund from NCL, that will be coming from their insurance. So, NCL won't have to drop prices to fill those rooms. They can just sail with them empty, if need be. Most people who are booked to sail in the second half of June or beyond, aren't going to cancel right now over Coronavirus fears, because who knows how things will be panning out by then?

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, blcruising said:

With respect to NCL pricing, many people believe they are adopting a model where they inflate prices well in advance of sailing and hook who they can, and then closer to sailing, they drop the prices significantly to fill the ship. For example, just about every 7 day Caribbean cruise leaving in February 2020 is priced under $499. 16 and 14 day cruises from $699. These are last minute interior, sail away rates, which work for some but not for all. Cabin location is not guaranteed, no free perks, and last minute.

Isn’t that what any good business does. You have a retail price for your product. Offer a few sales along the way. And when the product gets near it’s “sell by date” you sell it at cost to get it out of your inventory. The cruise fare is a tiny part of the revenue generated by each passenger onboard. 

Edited February 10, 2020 by BirdTravels

[luv2kroooz]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

Isn’t that what any business does. You have a retail price for your product. Offer a few sales along the way. And when the product gets near it’s “sell by date” you sell it at cost to get it out of your inventory. The cruise fare is a tiny part of the revenue generated by each passenger onboard. 

While that may be the model of other businesses, that does not accurately describe the historical  pricing model of the cruise industry.  Carnival, Royal, Princess, or Celebrity don't subscribe to that model....if they did, I'd be sailing them, too. Their prices are more consistent and steady.... a few hundred up or down, often selling out weeks before the cruise. NCL has extreme price fluctuations with regular cabin dumping and waiver of single supplement. It's an interesting pricing structure and, as the beneficiary of countless bargains, I've saved thousands of dollars by booking three days before instead of three months before the cruise, while greatly reducing the possibility that I am adversely impacted by changing ports and itineraries, or fears of viruses that are unknown at booking time.  No complaints here. 

[njkate]

IMO I don't see prices dropping. All of the Spirit cruises canceled until end of year, that has to be a big financial hit and NCL is probably already figuring out how to minimize it

[marktwothousand]

I think the situation will have to get worse before we see an impact on pricing. There are usually last minute deals to be found though - 24-72 hours prior to sailings, insides usually drop to the range of a few hundred bucks for a solo.

[Nola26]

22 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I think it is too early to tell. Just off of the Breakaway for 21 days last week and they were starting to do measures for the Coronavirus the last day.  Not going to do a review but if I get time want to do a comparison to MSC which we did 21 days in Dec. Hint ... Hint... MSC won hands down...especially on spa and food

Were you in Yacht Club on MSC?

[AL3XCruise]

2 hours ago, blcruising said:

While that may be the model of other businesses, that does not accurately describe the historical  pricing model of the cruise industry.  Carnival, Royal, Princess, or Celebrity don't subscribe to that model....if they did, I'd be sailing them, too. Their prices are more consistent and steady.... a few hundred up or down, often selling out weeks before the cruise.

They all follow a similar overall model in terms of revenue management, but as you noticed different companies will choose to be more or less aggressive in their strategy.  Aggressive changes arguably provide a line with the ability to extract the maximum willingness to pay from each cruiser, but (as you point out) educated consumers can often use this system to their advantage.  In addition, major price changes tend to have a negative PR impact, which some lines consider more than others.

 

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The cruise fare is a tiny part of the revenue generated by each passenger onboard. 

The cruise fare accounts for the majority of the revenue generated by major cruise lines.  RCI's 2018 annual report showed more than 70% of passenger related revenue coming from the base fare.  You may be thinking that without onboard spending added into the equation the lines would struggle to be profitable, which is true.  

 

 

[Zippeedee]

1 hour ago, njkate said:

IMO I don't see prices dropping. All of the Spirit cruises canceled until end of year, that has to be a big financial hit and NCL is probably already figuring out how to minimize it

I am wondering if all of the people with cancelled cruises rebook to a different destination that may drive up demand for the all of the other ships. I booked with the 20% off deal and can't find anything even remotely close in price to my cancelled Spirit cruise. I'd rather lose the 10% credit than rush to book at the highest prices.

[fstuff1]

2 hours ago, njkate said:

IMO I don't see prices dropping. All of the Spirit cruises canceled until end of year, that has to be a big financial hit and NCL is probably already figuring out how to minimize it

ncl stock was at $58 3weeks ago.

it's now at $51

[luv2kroooz]

4 hours ago, njkate said:

IMO I don't see prices dropping. All of the Spirit cruises canceled until end of year, that has to be a big financial hit and NCL is probably already figuring out how to minimize it

They aren't really cancelled. They are just repositioning the ship to a different geographic location.

[ColeThornton]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

ncl stock was at $58 3weeks ago.

it's now at $51

 

 

https://www.barrons.com/articles/cruise-line-stocks-slip-coronavirus-fears-51581357041?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo