Rediculous Cruise Pricing

[Calnev1]

I’ve just noticed that Carnival is offering me some ridiculously low cruise pricing for cruises out of LA the next three and a half months.   Many of these cruises (under offer code P5Y) are $25 pp for interior, $50 for ocean view, and $100 for balcony cabins.  The offer includes 3 day, 4 day, and even 7 day cruises.

 

Yes, I get good casino offers from time to time, even though I am not a big gambler.   But this P5Y offer is styled as a VFIP offer, with no mention of the casino or any casino perks.  This pricing actually makes me nervous for Carnival going forward!

[urbanhawk]

That puts these cruises thru the end of Dec. These will be "vaccinated" cruises. Even though I had 2 vaccinations and will get the booster, I just didn't want to deal with the masks, and tests, while I was on vacation. Therefore, on Monday I rebooked my Dec. cruise to Mexico, out of Long Beach to August of next year. I believe that (many) others may be doing the same thing, which is why there may be more cabins opening up, and Carnival is wanting  to fill those cabins. This is all, just in my  own opinion.

[KmomChicago]

I don't think these represent the long term future. These are always off season because of school schedules, and many people don't want to deal with the protocols and/or are still nervous about pandemic travel. I can say that we didn't find the overall experience to be much different from cruises back in "the before" but of course YMMV and it is clear that the market is temporarily depressed.

 

I am not a gambler and my prices are not as low for VIFP as you mention, but still quite low - lots of 3, 4 and 5 day options this fall in the $100's for insides.  We can't do those, unfortunately,, but we did get a decent rate tor the Christmas week on Legend - the New Year's week is almost double.  Never have been able to make the $$ work for a Christmas cruise before. 

 

Getting the ships going and keeping them going is their priority right now, not printing bags full of money.  I saw where one interview or press release showed something like 37% occupancy is a break even point. This low occupancy rate has some extra benefits - it allows the crew to gradually get used to the new normal, manage shortages in the supply chains (looking at you, bacon!), helps with crowd management and social distancing. 

 

Don't forget that some/many people will make up for the low cabin rates with onboard spend - even thrifty people may feel looser with their pocket change when the base fare has them starting out well below a typical vacation budget.  It also may entice some first timers who could become hooked.

[tallnthensome]

Yes, I have some 6 day cruises listed for $10 in my offers. As said, they are for now through the fourth quarter of the year which is off  peak anyhow. Pricing will rise next February forward. If I were retired I’d be taking advantage of some of these offers. I thought my Panorama inside cruise at $200 a guest was good let alone $10. 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

even thrifty people may feel looser with their pocket change when the base fare has them starting out well below a typical vacation budget.

Yup. We are normally that thrifty cruiser who spends very little once onboard. But for our last cruise (2 weeks ago, MSC Meraviglia), our base fare for a balcony was $94 for 3 nights. Because we spent so little on the cruise fare, my wife went to the spa for a massage, we booked wave runners at Ocean Cay for the whole family, I bought an entertainment card for the kids, and we didn’t think twice about ordering another drink.
 

Our onboard account ended up being higher than the actual cruise fare and taxes, and that’s exactly what MSC intended. They lured us back onboard with a ridiculously cheap fare and hoped that we spent the extra money once onboard, which we did. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Tapi

[K_e_short]

A few travel agents and cruise experts have mentioned that cruise prices are going to stay very low until the restrictions are lifted.

As others have said, cruise lines are struggling to fill up their ships (well the reduced capacity) and need people on their ships.

Once you are on a ship you are going to spend more (up to 200% of your cruise fare) so they are trying to make money off you any way they can.

 

[cmukid87]

I have that same rate code.  Today I got a "free" room offer.  $100pp to book but includes $100pp OBC.  It's crazy how cheap my rates are right now.  Unfortunately we can't take advantage because we live in the north, have 4 school age kids, and wife is in her 3rd trimester.  If I could I would take multiple sailings.

[cxr133]

just checked.. 

No cake for me   😞

 

 

[ninjacat123]

I got the email yesterday and jumped on the $65/person for an interior 7 day cruise on MG!!  I'm so excited about getting to experience this new ship and I'm taking my mom!  It sails on October 2 which is so soon after my last cruise on Magic, Sept 4-9.  Like others have posted, I have already spent more than our fare on dinner at Rudi's, Bonsai Teppanyaki and an excursion in Roatan.  Looking forward to checking out MG!!! 

[KyloRen]

Man I wish I could get these kinds of rates!  I look daily. Maybe I need to quit looking so often. 

 

I'm only at Gold level what level are you guys all at?

[ninjacat123]

4 minutes ago, KyloRen said:

Man I wish I could get these kinds of rates!  I look daily. Maybe I need to quit looking so often. 

 

I'm only at Gold level what level are you guys all at?

I'm Platinum, at 80 days.  Don't know if that is a factor.  I never got the "special" Cheers rate before so maybe Carnival is trying to make up for that.😉

[KyloRen]

I'm booked on 3 at this point and I live near LA... I could literally just sit on a boat for cheaper than it would be to just be at home. XD Someone give me these rates! Cheapest I have is 165 bucks. Im only at 40D but I bet its got something to do with it. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by KyloRen

[mexicobob]

I have been on 6 Carnival cruises and have not received any offers. HOWEVER, today I went to Carnival.com and checked out cruises from New Orleans (near where I live). A balcony cabin of your choice was $270 for the September 26 date. The lowest interior cabins were FREE. 

Unfortunately, DW can not get off work so can not take advantage of this. I did a mock booking and went all of the way to hitting the "confirm" button before cancelling so this looks for real.

 

Unfortunately, Carnival can not stay in business with these low rates.

[mbglib]

I have been on 22 Carnival cruises and no low rates (like those anyway) for me. 😞

 

[mommysoncruiser]

3 hours ago, KyloRen said:

Man I wish I could get these kinds of rates!  I look daily. Maybe I need to quit looking so often. 

 

I'm only at Gold level what level are you guys all at?

I'm only red and I get the best offers. I was offered a balcony on the MG for $100 per person and I have only sailed carnival 2X and not since 2014. I don't gamble but get amazing casino offers. Don't think they have a rhyme or reason for these offers.

[momof3cruisers]

12 hours ago, KyloRen said:

Man I wish I could get these kinds of rates!  I look daily. Maybe I need to quit looking so often. 

 

I'm only at Gold level what level are you guys all at?

My sister and I are both gold. She has 26 days, I have 44. She currently has WAY better offers than I do. Like five day sailings for $600 total for 2 with $500 OBC. MNone of my rates are even close to that.

[ontheweb]

You wonder what kind of commission travel agents can make at these rates? 

[KyloRen]

Wow! This is incredibly helpful. Looks like for the majority its the opposite. It almost seems like less day cruisers get better deals. Im gonna start logging into my hubs number and see what he gets! 

Thanks you guys 🙂

[conwakr]

I just hopped on an emailed deal.  Just a short getaway but I'm totally looking forward to it.  Have a big cruise on another line in the spring so this is just a "taste". 

[momof3cruisers]

4 hours ago, 1stin71 said:

Been cruising since 1971......around 70 cruises under my belt (stopped counting).

Nothing even remotely close to these offers for me, although my wife did recently

get a $169 Panorama 7-day cruise offer under her account. She no longer wants

to cruise though. Problem is, despite numerous attempts, calls, emails, chats....

Carnival just won't allow you to cruise under your spouse's offer if spouse is not

on the booking.

IDIOTS!

 

Time to look for either:

a) a new cruising buddy male, female, gender-neutral or just plain confused ☺️😃😁

or

b) a new wife. 

 

I am in Southern California area, San Gabriel Valley if anyone is interested.....lol

Which option should I go with, guys? 😅😁😃☺️

Book it and then sail solo. Just don’t tell them she isn’t coming.  Say she’s arriving later.  Or, I will wear a mask and be your new wife. 😂😂

[Calnev1]

On 9/16/2021 at 9:01 AM, cmukid87 said:

.  Unfortunately we can't take advantage because we live in the north, have 4 school age kids, and wife is in her 3rd trimester.  If I could I would take multiple sailings.

 

On 9/16/2021 at 4:17 PM, mexicobob said:

 

Unfortunately, DW can not get off work so can not take advantage of this. I did a mock booking and went all of the way to hitting the "confirm" button before cancelling so this looks for real.

 

 

Yes, what really galls is that my wife and I are committed to caring for grandbabies through the end of the year, so we can't take advantage of any of these offers!!  Ugh!!

 

As a data point, we are both platinum cruisers, and have several cruises booked for next year (at higher rates), so I have really no idea how Carnival decides to send these cheap offers too.

 

4 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

  Or, I will wear a mask and be your new wife. 😂😂

Oh my, arent we looking for trouble.  Ha.  🙂

[ladychater]

My mom, who has cruised twice with Carnival and wasn't exactly a big spender on the ship (I think she bought a cheap purse and a scarf) just got the offer. Alas, she lives in NYC and nothing is going out near her. I'm in California and would LOVE to get in on those cheapie Long Beach cruises.

[KmomChicago]

We set up a casino account on our second Carnival cruise and I think they didn't link it up to our VIFP numbers or something because we have never seen the rates. I assumed it was because we didn't play enough on that cruise but seeing others who barely gamble I wonder if it was just missed.  Is there a casino group number I can call instead of the regular 800 number? Do I need a good PVP?

Edited September 18, 2021 by KmomChicago

[ninjacat123]

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

We set up a casino account on our second Carnival cruise and I think they didn't link it up to our VIFP numbers or something because we have never seen the rates. I assumed it was because we didn't play enough on that cruise but seeing others who barely gamble I wonder if it was just missed.  Is there a casino group number I can call instead of the regular 800 number? Do I need a good PVP?

I wish I could refer my PVP to you, she's great!

[mondello]

6 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

We set up a casino account on our second Carnival cruise and I think they didn't link it up to our VIFP numbers or something because we have never seen the rates. I assumed it was because we didn't play enough on that cruise but seeing others who barely gamble I wonder if it was just missed.  Is there a casino group number I can call instead of the regular 800 number? Do I need a good PVP?

Hi Annie, I called the casino line at #1-866-299-5859. They were very helpful back in June. I cancelled Oct./Glory and rebooked ValorB2B for 10 days July 2022.

Forgot to mention, just ask if they have your family's VIFP numbers in the Players Club. Maybe they'll offer something now or at least get you on their mailing list.

Edited September 18, 2021 by mondello