Reasons for Price Increase from 2022 to 2023

[Dittos]

Help me understand why I am seeing such a huge price difference between cruises in 2022 and 2023?  I am hoping to book an Island or Emerald Princess Cruise around the British Isles for June 2023.  The starting prices are twice as much as the ones for the same cruise in August of 2022.  Any ideas?

[Babr]

It may be that Princess is trying to maximize revenue. All cruise lines have been operating at reduced capacity, and Princes has borne some of the shoreside costs of Covid isolation for passengers who test positive.

 

My first thought is that they need to return to profitability after some lean years with increased costs. There could be other factors. I’m just considering the obvious.

[cruzin4us]

Many things......cruise lines are trying to get back in the swing of things, but many people are still concerned about covid.    Only vaccinated people (or 90%) can cruise which prohibits many people from sailing right now.    The cruise lines aren't operating at 100% either.  They can't get the staff/crew which is prohibiting some venues from being open or partially open.   I think they are hoping that in another year things (covid wise) will be more back to normal.   Many people don't want to wear masks yet they don't want to get covid either.    The possibility of being quarantined on the ship or on land is a big possibility and many people don't want to risk it.   The covid testing is another reason people are holding out.    So, the bottom line is cruise lines are pretty much begging people to cruise (I've had many free cruise offers thru the casino).    Until customer confidence is back, the won't be able to offer cruises at full price.  The 2023 prices are the cruise lines hoping things will be back in full swing and there will be a supply & demand issue which results in higher prices.    There are still mechanical issues the cruise lines are dealing with (Crown) and Carnival's fire.   People aren't convinced it's worth investing a lot of money on a cruise when anything can happen from Covid to Mechanical to Specialty Dining being shut down.....nobody wants to pay full price for a less than stellar cruise.

[JimmyVWine]

All of the above plus FUEL COSTS. And the “less than full capacity” sailings cannot be underestimated. The CNBC show years ago that followed an NCL ship from start to finish explained that when a ship leaves port to start its cruise, it is running at best “even” in terms of profit. In other words, the fares and extras that people paid to get on board puts the sailing in a zero profit posture. All profit is generated by on board spending. Fewer people on board means less profit. So they are now trying to make up for that by raising fares. Of course, that CNBC show was produced before pre-paid all-inclusive beverage packages, pre-paid excursions and pre-paid specialty dining fees were a thing, so it is now possible (likely) that when the ship leaves port full it is in the black. But the cruise line still relies on other on board spending to bump that profit. So sailing at 80% or even 90% full can put a dent in that. The result is a 10%-20% increase in fares to offset that loss. 

[GonzoWCS]

Inflation?

 

Cheers

[CineGraphic]

Have you not been to the gas pumps or grocery store in the last 6 months!?

Fares are going up because the price of everything else is going up.

[JimmyVWine]

10 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Inflation?

 

Cheers

Inflation is what we call the aggregate effect of price increases. It is not the cause of price increases.

[Dittos]

Based on my experience going on a HAL cruise last month, the cruise was not at 100% capacity and the entertainment was VERY scaled back.  I think they are having growing pains getting back into business.  I imagine there are 100 reasons for the 100% increase in prices! And hopefully with 2023 we will have COVID behind us!!!

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Dittos said:

Help me understand why I am seeing such a huge price difference between cruises in 2022 and 2023?  I am hoping to book an Island or Emerald Princess Cruise around the British Isles for June 2023.  The starting prices are twice as much as the ones for the same cruise in August of 2022.  Any ideas?

Think of it as very good "on sale" prices this year.  We have incredible value with our OCT 2022 Europe voyages after about 8 re-fares since original booking. 

[KKB]

Same thing is happening this year as last--people were itching to cruise & optimistic so were booking at higher prices. Then as COVID continues to rear it's ugly head, some back out. Prices drop to reflect demand.

Inflation is surely a factor as well.

 

We booked the UK on the Emerald for Sept. 22 in Sept. 21.

Had our cruise price drop over $1K over the last few months.

I did Live Chat & either got a price adjustment or cancelled/rebooked 4 times.

If it is the vacation you want to take & are comfortable with the price, book it.

You can always get the price adjustment or cancel/rebook.

(still kicking myself for not booking a 30 day S. Pacific cruise for Apr. 23--price has gone up $2K since then; could have cancelled if we decided not to take it)

Edited May 28, 2022 by KKB

[Coral]

If you are looking at August pricing now, it is due to low demand this summer. 

 

They don't know demand for next summer. Prices always seem high when they first come out. Sometimes they go down due to demand, other times they stay high. 

[prmssk]

Supply and demand. Fear of quarantine, especially in a foreign country is keeping bookings down for this year (at least for some parts of the world) so they decrease prices to convince people to take the risk. People are more optimistic that things may be better next year and so more are booking 2023 at least at this time. If the same concerns continue into 2023, people will cancel and prices will likely drop again. 

[beckntom]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

If you are looking at August pricing now, it is due to low demand this summer. 

 

They don't know demand for next summer. Prices always seem high when they first come out. Sometimes they go down due to demand, other times they stay high. 

Bingo!

[cruzin4us]

I think Princess starts high and hopes people will book and then banks on those people never checking again to see where the prices are.   For some people getting the "perfect cabin" is more important than the price......Those Aft Grabbers 🙂

[Daniel A]

I'm no financial analyst so take what I say with that in mind.  I think during the shutdown, Carnival Corp really, really went into the red.  In order to conserve what cash they had on hand, they offered future cruise credits with a percentage bonus in lieu of cash refunds for cancelled sailings.  Most of those FCCs need to be used by the end of this year.  How would it look if a cruise line offered 125% FCCs instead of cash refunds and then in the year the FCCs needed to be used, they doubled the cost of the replacement cruise making the FCCs virtually worthless?  By keeping the prices lower in 2022, they are keeping to a commitment to those who opted for the FCCs.  In 2023, it's likely time to start paying the piper (or paying the vig depending on how you view it.)   JMHO.

[Roberto256]

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

All of the above plus FUEL COSTS. 

Can't princess simply re-instate their fuel surcharge whenever they wish?

 

They can use it like hotel resort fees ... raise the price without being too obvious.

[cruzin4us]

17 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

Can't princess simply re-instate their fuel surcharge whenever they wish?

 

They can use it like hotel resort fees ... raise the price without being too obvious.

 

Hush!!!  Don't give them any ideas 🤣

[Coral]

I have no doubt there are individuals who book a cruise and have no idea there can be price reductions and that cruise fare can be adjusted. They book it and move on.

[caribill]

32 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

Can't princess simply re-instate their fuel surcharge whenever they wish?

 

They can use it like hotel resort fees ... raise the price without being too obvious.

 

When they implemented the fuel surcharge once, it caused quite of bit of ill-will from those who had to pay more.

 

So Princess decided to build anticipated fuel prices into the basic cruise fare.

 

Although the price of oil has been above the "trigger" price for the surcharge much of the time pre-pandemic, the surcharge was not implemented.

[voljeep]

34 minutes ago, Coral said:

I have no doubt there are individuals who book a cruise and have no idea there can be price reductions and that cruise fare can be adjusted. They book it and move on.

Just like our first 'big cruise' in 2007 - had no idea - left everything to TA and didn't know better

[Syracusefan44]

5 hours ago, Dittos said:

Help me understand why I am seeing such a huge price difference between cruises in 2022 and 2023?  I am hoping to book an Island or Emerald Princess Cruise around the British Isles for June 2023.  The starting prices are twice as much as the ones for the same cruise in August of 2022.  Any ideas?

Cruises are still going out in some cases at 50% capacity and the cost of food/fuel are skyrocketing. Without price increases to offset the loss of passengers and their overhead costs they simply can’t make a profit.

 

Carnival Corporation reported debt of $33.2 billion for the 4th quarter of 2021 and that increased to $34.9 billion for the first quarter of 2022.  If things don’t change in the near future the cruising industry as a whole is in big trouble.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Syracusefan44

[patrickmoran]

5 hours ago, Dittos said:

Help me understand why I am seeing such a huge price difference between cruises in 2022 and 2023?  I am hoping to book an Island or Emerald Princess Cruise around the British Isles for June 2023.  The starting prices are twice as much as the ones for the same cruise in August of 2022.  Any ideas?

Hope springs eternal! P hopes people will suck it up and pay ridiculous prices.

[deliver42]

You answered your own question by putting in "starting out". They start high, hoping enough people without any knowledge of price reductions will bite. Book now to hold your cabin, and reprice as you go along before final payment.

[AF-1]

Airfares are going up too.  

[Ombud]

8 hours ago, Babr said:

... maximize revenue. .... shoreside costs of Covid isolation for passengers who test positive.

 

8 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

Only vaccinated people (or 90%) can cruise which prohibits many people from sailing right now.   

 

8 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

FUEL COSTS.

 

8 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Inflation 

Costs them more to operate

5 hours ago, ChC said:

sales tactics.

 

3 hours ago, Syracusefan44 said:

Cruises are still going out in some cases at 50% capacity and the cost of food/fuel are skyrocketing. Without price increases to offset the loss of passengers and their overhead costs they simply can’t make a profit.

 

Carnival Corporation reported debt of $33.2 billion for the 4th quarter of 2021 and that increased to $34.9 billion for the first quarter of 2022.  If things don’t change in the near future the cruising industry as a whole is in big trouble.

So exploring sale of Seabourn to Saudis 

11 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Airfares are going up too.  

Yep .... basically this year could be a wash if a large % of bookings are covered with FCC