are you guy booking 2023 cruises or wait for better Covid news/pricing?

[E46M3]

I have a booking on hold for April 2023 when my kids are on spring break. I booked it thru a TA and we're sailing on the Oasis from Miami. My concern is covid for obvious reasons and also pricing. Total cost came out to roughly $3500(ocean view balcony guarantee) which I thought was a decent price as I know how RC cruises can go north of $6k for a family of 4. This includes gratuity for two as well. Should I lock it or wait? And for what reasons do you base your recommendation on?

 

Thanks,

Jimmy

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by E46M3

[iancal]

Waiting.  When we do book again it will be within a week or two of sailing.

[Woody14]

booking with refundable deposits.  Can always request repricing if the price drops.

[ldubs]

I agree with Woody.  Book a refundable fare.  You have plenty of time between now and the payment date to see how things develop.  

 

I hope it goes well for you.  

[wowzz]

We booked a March 2023 cruise back in April 2021. Bit late to be booking now !😁

[gerryuk]

It seems to me that fares for later this year and into next year are very high. I don't think for one minute this is due to pent up demand. Seems to me that the cruise lines are just hoping for people to book now (and get the money) hoping that covid will be, all but over. I would expect prices to come down nearer the time as there is a huge oversupply of cabins.

[sparks1093]

We booked our cruise for April of 2023 quite some time ago. We booked it with Carnival and used their Early Saver fare, which guarantees that you will receive price drops (with certain conditions, of course) up until 48 hours prior to sailing. (As an example I found a price $250 less than what we were paying for our 2/20 cruise and applied for the adjustment. One of the conditions is that you give up the benefits of your prior booking and accept the terms of the new fare. I gave up $50 OBC and knocked $250 off the price. Since then the price has gone up and stayed up.) I think that Royal will allow you to do this at least up until the final payment date. Knowing Royal's pricing I believe the price you have is a good one for a family of 4 and I would book it. 

[Honolulu Blue]

I have three cruises in the next three months, and I have a cruise booked for 2024, but nothing for next year yet.  I'm not really waiting for a resolution to the pandemic to book.  I want to see how much I enjoy these cruises to figure out what to book for next year.

[ontheweb]

We were not really looking to book a cruise, but then we saw an itinerary we both fell in love with for August 2023 (including a sea day on our wedding anniversary. It starts in London (Southampton), and then goes to Amsterdam, Brugge (for Brussels), 3 stops in Norway, and 3 stops in Iceland ending with an overnight in Reykjavic.

 

Our deposit is refundable.  

[navybankerteacher]

Prices are virtually certain to climb - with US national debt passing $30 trillion and no end in sight of inflation, a "commodity", such as a locked-in cruise fare, is a good addition to your portfolio.   If you think the price of toilet paper is getting to be a concern...

[antmaril]

I have had a cruise booked for January, 2023 for over a year.  We have a refundable deposit, so we won’t have to make our decision until final payment is due in October.   The price has increased since I booked it over a year ago.  

  

[cruisemom42]

For cruises in the near future, it seems to me that demand is low. I see quite a few last-minute reductions and deals. Given the disruptions due to omicron and the hurdles for cruising outside the US, I think some are reluctant to cruise right now.

 

However, who knows what the situation will be like in 2023 and beyond?

[calliopecruiser]

I just booked November 2022. 

[Joebucks]

What would you be waiting for? COVID to disappear? Perfect economic conditions? I understand some of the timing, concerns, etc out there. Some of you need to move on. We are now 2 years into this. 2 years ago, many of you mistakenly thought the grass would be greener now. Now you think it will be greener in the future. Maybe? Maybe not. The amount of "stress and anxiety" people post about on here is off the charts. I get not wanting to fail the COVID test. It's not the end of the world though.

 

Meanwhile, many people are cruising now. I can assure you. They are overwhelmingly not stressed and anxious.

[paul929207]

We are booked for 40 days on Enchanted Princess starting end of January 2023

[calliopecruiser]

30 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

What would you be waiting for? COVID to disappear?

I'm waiting until I the transmission levels are low enough that I feel comfortable travelling through airports without contracting the disease, and comfortable enough that I won't get stuck in a foreign city, unable to get home, because I tested positive.  My concern isn't getting really sick, though there is a little concern that --  because transmission rates are still high -- I would get sick enough to feel like I wasted my vacation investment.  Worse would be that I was stuck testing positive and unable to fly home......yes, it's not "the end of the world", but it's a significant investment in time and money that I don't want to have to make.  Money for room and board, additional time off work, money lost because of additional time of work......If I lived close to a cruise port, I wouldn't worry about closed loop cruises -- it's all about airports.

 

I don't think anyone thinks it's going to disappear, so that's a strawman argument.

[Keksie]

Waiting for the unenjoyable protocols to go away.  Even if that takes a long time.  The grass is greener other places.

[Azulann]

While on a Viking cruise in October ,  we booked a 2023, 11 day Viking cruise to Alaska. 

Always get a a great benefit by booking  a future  cruise while on  board. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

We have two cruises booked in 2023, and one in 2024 - all refundable deposits.

 

Short term, we have a land tour booked in Japan scheduled for October '22, even though Japan is still currently closed to visitors.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that the pandemic subsides and we are allowed to travel there.

 

I am not worried about the 2023-24 cruises.

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

What would you be waiting for? COVID to disappear? Perfect economic conditions? I understand some of the timing, concerns, etc out there. Some of you need to move on. We are now 2 years into this. 2 years ago, many of you mistakenly thought the grass would be greener now. Now you think it will be greener in the future. Maybe? Maybe not. The amount of "stress and anxiety" people post about on here is off the charts. I get not wanting to fail the COVID test. It's not the end of the world though.

 

Meanwhile, many people are cruising now. I can assure you. They are overwhelmingly not stressed and anxious.

 

Waiting for cruising to be like any other vacation I book (no tests, no masks, no quarantines). It looks nothing like it, in it's current form. Plus, I have zero confidence that any lines survive at this point. Royal CEO stepping down? Writing on the wall? Taking the money and running? Norwegian has even less of a chance with their fiscals. Carnival is on the floor with a seven-count at this point too. You'd have to totally ignore any minuscule shred of business acumen to completely ignore the financial straights that these companies are in. Even rounding up mass funding and private equity, to position yourself as "too big to fail", which in turn increases your survival odds by enjoining large investments, has it's limits; though a brilliant move to be sure. Even those guys didn't see this lasting this long or being this bad. I'll bet they too, want their money back with no penalties at this point lol. How much longer can they prop up the stocks, dump money and keep the charade going? I'm not getting a nice APR on money that is sitting in their fiscally upside down accounts. Why risk it?

 

I'd cruise but would only pay right before booking. I'm WAY too apprehensive about the solvency of any line at this point. Not a chance I'm leaving any money tied up right now, or in the near future. I'm very thankful and relived I was able to get all my cruises canceled through 2024 and money back with no penalties. I'll be cheering from the sidelines and keeping any bookings limited to pack and go and pay and go. One or two more variants, which is highly likely according to the scientific/medical community, and it implodes. It'll be sad to see, for those of us who love cruising, but the one or two lines that emerge from the rubble may be better off for it in the grand scheme of things. Fresh starts aren't always a bad thing when your're way in over your head and leveraged to the hilt.        

Edited February 2, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[calliopecruiser]

31 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

I'm not getting a nice APR on money that is sitting in their fiscally upside down accounts.

Then again, I'm not getting a nice APR with my money sitting in the bank, either. 

[cruisingguy007]

1 minute ago, calliopecruiser said:

Then again, I'm not getting a nice APR with my money sitting in the bank, either. 

 

Plenty of investment opportunities, both short and long term and a multitude of other options/opportunities to put your money to work for you. Dead money sitting in a bank is such a waste. You sleep, get woke.  

[calliopecruiser]

8 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

You sleep, get woke.  

Oh, I have ample investments, but for that small amount of money (the cruise deposit) and the expectation of a refund from the cruise company (fair to good), there aren't many other short term investments that are better. 

[weltek]

I am only willing to risk a low deposit amount and won't give the cruise lines any more of my money until it's time for final payment. At final payment I'll decide. December and January seem the sketchiest times (post Thanksgiving and post Christmas) for cruise lines themselves canceling. 

I only booked a December 2022 cruise because of an expiring deposit. Otherwise, I'd be shunning cruising for a few more years. If I'm not comfortable at the time final payment is due, I'll take the loss and eat the expiring deposit (that cost me $150).

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, weltek said:

I am only willing to risk a low deposit amount and won't give the cruise lines any more of my money until it's time for final payment. At final payment I'll decide. December and January seem the sketchiest times (post Thanksgiving and post Christmas) for cruise lines themselves canceling. 

I only booked a December 2022 cruise because of an expiring deposit. Otherwise, I'd be shunning cruising for a few more years. If I'm not comfortable at the time final payment is due, I'll take the loss and eat the expiring deposit (that cost me $150).

I actually doubled the low deposit we needed to pay for the cruise I mentioned earlier for 2023. Doubling it was still a small deposit, and it earned me an immediate $100 credit on American Express.  And the entire deposit is still refundable.