2024 Alaskan cruise prices are much higher than prices for this year. Why?

[cruiseagona]

Looking to take my sister on her first cruise. Thinking about going to Alaska in 2024 at the beginning of the season. The prices are much higher in 2024 than they are for this April/May 2023. Any idea why? Like $500-$600 more. 

[LloydJr]

50 minutes ago, cruiseagona said:

Looking to take my sister on her first cruise. Thinking about going to Alaska in 2024 at the beginning of the season. The prices are much higher in 2024 than they are for this April/May 2023. Any idea why? Like $500-$600 more. 

Are you comparing equivalent ships, dates and itineraries?

[Karaboudjan]

51 minutes ago, cruiseagona said:

Looking to take my sister on her first cruise. Thinking about going to Alaska in 2024 at the beginning of the season. The prices are much higher in 2024 than they are for this April/May 2023. Any idea why? Like $500-$600 more. 

 

I'm not sure, but April/May are on the fringe of the traditional Alaska season.  They are coming up fairly soon and maybe they are not selling so well and prices have been reduced.  They probably would not do anything with 2024 yet.

[Cruise5life]

Because people pay the crazy prices.  
stop booking and prices will come down. Lol. 

[vacation44]

The prices for this April and May have come down a little.

[LloydJr]

First Encore sailing in May, identical itineraries:

May 2023: inside $649/balcony $1029

May 2024: inside $749/balcony $1549

 

So if OP was booking a balcony, the numbers check out ($520 more).  The May 2023 balconies were around $2000 for a year and a half and started dropping last April.  They didn't hit $1500 until last August.  I think this is more typical price trajectories than any kind of fundamental pricing increase.  

[www3traveler]

Like everyone else, thier costs are going up.

Marine Grade Diesel has gone

Costs a small fortune for food and drink along with all th other things needed to run a ship (toilet paper for one.

Employee salaries

Insurance

The list goes on and on

[cruiserbear55]

 

   A cruise in a mini-suite from Boston to Bermuda in April 2024 will cost $250.00 more pp than this year. ( 2023-$1429.00 pp; 2024-$1679.00 pp at today's advertised prices. With  DSC, Book Safe Insurance, and FAS you"ll pay approximately $4320.00 this year and app.$4890.00 next year. That is a whopping increase! Not to mention this years increase compared to last year is also exorbitant.

   If these increases continue, people, including us, are going to be jumping ship by the droves. Maybe it's time to go back to renting a lakeside cottage for a week! Are you listening Frank?

 

 

 

[LloydJr]

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

 

   A cruise in a mini-suite from Boston to Bermuda in April 2024 will cost $250.00 more pp than this year. ( 2023-$1429.00 pp; 2024-$1679.00 pp at today's advertised prices. With  DSC, Book Safe Insurance, and FAS you"ll pay approximately $4320.00 this year and app.$4890.00 next year. That is a whopping increase! Not to mention this years increase compared to last year is also exorbitant.

   If these increases continue, people, including us, are going to be jumping ship by the droves. Maybe it's time to go back to renting a lakeside cottage for a week! Are you listening Frank?

 

 

 

Are you new to this?  How do you know what the 2024 cruise will cost?  Sure, you can book it now, but WHEN the prices drop, you can get price adjustments.  This is how the game works folks!!

[v3cruiser]

Usually the 2023 cruises are cheaper than the 2024. Its pretty common for NCL current year cruises cheaper than next year. Prices do come down but not always. 

[Mistizoom]

You really need to look at the price history on the 2023 cruises to see if there really has been a big change. What were the 2023 cruises selling for at this time last year?

[LloydJr]

29 minutes ago, Mistizoom said:

You really need to look at the price history on the 2023 cruises to see if there really has been a big change. What were the 2023 cruises selling for at this time last year?

Balconies were about $500 more than the 2024 balconies are now.  See post #6.

[RocketMan275]

14 hours ago, cruiserbear55 said:

If these increases continue, people, including us, are going to be jumping ship by the droves. Maybe it's time to go back to renting a lakeside cottage for a week! Are you listening Frank?

Have  you been to a grocery store or a gas station lately?

It's called inflation.

Perhaps you might wish to check on the latest prices for lakeside cottages.  I suspect  they've gone up too.

[J0Y0US]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Have  you been to a grocery store or a gas station lately?

It's called inflation.

Perhaps you might wish to check on the latest prices for lakeside cottages.  I suspect  they've gone up too.

 

Eh NCL you just have to wait out the higher price. The prices were higher for 2023 as well but came down.

 

 

[kitkat343]

For me, Alaska is all about the ports.  Traditionally Princess and Hal did an amazing job there (they have Panamax ships that were built for the old locks and are narrow and are really good in Alaska).  NCL has been cancelling ports on other cruises after final payment (mine was the dominican republic and the morning in Antigua for environmental reasons) and on a Panama Canal cruise they dropped Costa Rica and Nicaragua for safety reasons (that might be legitimate in Nicaragua but they replaced the ports with Aculpulco and Jamaica, which haven't traditionally been considered safer than Costa Rica and cut the overnight in Panama to a late night stop, so no one will have the chance to see the locks in action from land (

 ).  At this point, if you are interested in an itinerary that is primarily about ports - Europe, Alaska, Panama Canal, you really might want to be looking at other cruise lines.  If the prices are expensive on NCL, then try RC or the others.  I've always found the lines to be more similar than different (with the exception of NCL dropping ports after final payment to help the environment; in my experience the other lines only drop ports this when there are a mechanical, weather or safety problems).

Edited February 19, 2023 by kitkat343

[itsnotjustme]

Do the 2024 fares include the option of reduced cost air travel?  I believe those go away at 6 months prior to the cruise, so they could lower the fare.

 

And if you booked the reduced cost air, your are out-of-luck on repricing unless you want to sacrifice the air.