Anyone bothered by the latest prices?

[iancal]

8 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

There are two basic reasons that we will probably not cruise again for a very long time if ever:

 

* We are not interested in paying good money to travel on a hospital ship with draconian medical regulations.

 

* We are worried about losing our payment due to the very real possibility of bankruptcy for some of these lines.

 

Since the draconian regulations will probably remain in place long after this virus is history we will find other things to do with our time.

We feel the same way.

 

The last thing we want is an FCC or to wait months on end for the return of a deposit.  We feel the same way about cruises, AI;s, hotels, airlines, etc.   Many are offering a free cancellation clause but that will be meaningless if the firm goes bust.

 

A low price  now with the threat of an increase or an attractive FCC is not enough to compensate us for the future unknown of what the travel environment will be like. 

 

Ultimately pricing and availability post covid will be decided the way it always has.  It will be based on supply/demand and the comparative price of other travel product options.  Just as it always has despite the how the cruise lines are currently attempting to position price and fare increases.

Edited August 29, 2020 by iancal

[airboss1998]

Thank to the original poster, as I was headed here to post the same thing.

 

Looking at an 11 night in Jan 2021, at roughly $4200.  Granted this includes free gratuities, drinks, dinner package, so we expect to pay something extra for that (but it was only $300 more than without the extras).  Even if I drop that to $3900, last Feb we paid $1500 for a 7 night in the same cabin type.  Simple math would say 11 nights, using Feb 2020 rates would cost roughly $2400, not $3900-4200.

 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@airboss1998   Shop around.  Many travel agents may have access to promotional group space at a lower rate, often even lower than the publicly available rate without perks.  Not all agencies have promotional group rates on the same sailings so it does pay to shop.  Often times you have to call as they may not show online.  Agent  promotional group rates automatically combine with the Have It All promo.

[Boatdrill]

On 8/28/2020 at 1:06 PM, f1jon said:

Hi All,

 

We want to book the 18-day Hawaiian cruise, sailing in 2022, since our 2021 cruise was cancelled. The exact same ship and exact same cabin (VE) is $1,200 more. As much as we want to go (and use our cabin credits) we just can't. It's against our principles not to be taken advantage of.  What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Jon

Sincerely curious to know what would be an acceptable fare raise for you, for a cruise  that is more than a year away. 

The $1200 fare hike breaks down  to $600 more per person, and  $600 divided by 18 days is $33.33 more per day, per person. 

 

I'm sure you weren't expecting the 2022 cruise fare to be the same, or lower, than what you were looking at in 2021. Yet you feel you're being taken advantage of.  What would be a fair price hike ?  If HAL asked you how much more are you willing to pay for your 2022 Hawaii cruise, what would you say ? 

 

   

Edited August 29, 2020 by Boatdrill

[Mary229]

That cruise has always been on my husband’s list.   I have seen large fluctuations in price. How far in advance was your last booking?  You may have unknowingly had the advantage of a sale price last time.  As I said earlier with HAL you can change fares if your sailing is discounted prior to final payment.  

Edited August 29, 2020 by Mary229

[sambamama]

What I have noticed is that HAL is pricing solos right out of the market. All the cruises I look at are 200%, and have basically no shipboard credit. At this rate, I won't be cruising any more (and I may not be because HAL has still not refunded me anything on my 2 cancelled cruises other than my one shore excursion.) I rebooked the cruise I had on the Maasdam before it was sold, it is almost triple the price with no shipboard credit. Before, I had $950 in shipboard credit, a free Pinnacle dinner and free gratuities. 

[DeeDee Groff]

9 hours ago, bennybear said:

 

Just confused by the math?  If the reprice saves 5734.60 how does it cost 2134.60?   Maybe I’m not reading it correctly?  

 

The reprice saves me $5,734.60.  If I had opted to stay with the original reservations, I needed to consider that I would have $1,600.00 for air credits and $1,000.00 for OBC for a total of $2,600.00 in "goodies."  Subtract $2,600.00 from $5,734.60, and I would still be paying $2,134.60 more than the reprice even factoring in the air and OBC's.  Sorry to have confused you!