Highest Prices We Have Seen

[AFNavigator]

14 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

I have a $25 deposit on a Panama Canal cruise over Christmas. If there is a huge price drop, can I just cancel (eat the $25) and rebook?

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by AFNavigator
duplicate answer

[ChinaShrek]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

As long as you are before final payment you can ask HAL to re-fare.  You may or may not lose any perks attached to your old fare, things like OBC, complimentary dining, etc….  You can keep your room and your reservation.  I have never been asked for additional deposit either 

Thanks. I have a Verandah booked for Christmas at $4000 (including HIA) and that seems high to me.

[AFNavigator]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Did not know that.  I just saw a headline 

Sorry, didn't intend to make it sound like a personal dig.  I intended it more to let all posters discussing Emirates that the Apr 1st announcement was a joke.

I probably wouldn't have realized it either if I hadn't seen two YouTube vids talking about this joke.

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, AFNavigator said:

Sorry, didn't intend to make it sound like a personal dig.  I intended it more to let all posters discussing Emirates that the Apr 1st announcement was a joke.

I probably wouldn't have realized it either if I hadn't seen two YouTube vids talking about this joke.

No problem, I appreciate the correction.  I just saw a headline in an economic news source who probably later retracted. 

[Guest ldtr]

7 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

yup Carnival stock down again in early trading  April 4,2023 .shares now at $9.86  .Analysts are leery about CCL 

Not really.  CCL shares are pretty much fair valued considering dilution that occurred during Covid and the level of debt.  The current price is fair valued for a return to pre-covid revenue levels.  CCL has already turned cash flow positive on operations, and out of the last quarter losses most was due to depreciation (basically a paper write down of money already spent.  During the last quarter CCL lost 686 million of which 582 million was depreciation.   So even with debt payments they are very close to be cash flow positive and  clearly able to manage their debt load.  Primary impact of debt is spending on new ships and other expansion items, not any threat to continued operations.

[albingirl]

4 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

And a boring dress code, everyone wearing the same outfit. 

With all this news, I  may stay home and iron all my old boring clothes.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Their rates were locked in before this rate hike cycle.  Those ships were in stream prior to the pandemic.   
 

what will happen if there is a downturn is the smaller players will exit. Branson declared bankruptcy today.

 

however on the other side Emirates just announced a new cruise line.  If business was so bad I don’t think they would be entering 

Virgin Orbit the company declared BK, not Branson himself, nor did Virgin Voyages.  While he certainly started Virgin Orbit, just as with most of his startups, they are done with OPM. He has had several ventures go BK over the years, mostly after most of his investment, if not all,  was out of the venture.

[Guest ldtr]

43 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

We just don’t know.  And that is their right as a privately held company but we can’t have a clue.  

Back before they launched Viking Ocean there was an interview with the head of Viking.  Part of the discussion was how they were funding their rapid expansion of river cruises.  His response was that they were doing it without taking on debt. That is was funded out of company cash flow.  So pretty clear on the river boat side.  Cannot say on the Ocean side. Also they probably did have to take on debt during the shutdown since that last pile of cash would have either had to have been refunded of converted to FCC.

[JeffElizabeth]

23 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Not everyone gets those.  Hopefully there will be less freebies so they don’t have to up charge the rest of the prices.

Cruising has always been interesting because two customers with adjoining cabins most likely paid very different prices for their vacations depending on when they booked and other differences.  

[moscow123456]

13 minutes ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Cruising has always been interesting because two customers with adjoining cabins most likely paid very different prices for their vacations depending on when they booked and other differences.  

This is also true for airline travel.  No two people pay the same fare.  I always book at a cost that I feel comfortable with and then simply "let it go."  What others pay or do not pay is of no concern to me as long as I got a fare that I feel is fair and what I am willing to pay for that particular service. 

 

Seems to me that cruising should be the same philosophy.  Find a fare that you feel is "fair," pay it, and then do not concern yourself with what others may or may not be paying for the same cruise.  

[Curlingwhiz]

12 minutes ago, moscow123456 said:

This is also true for airline travel.  No two people pay the same fare.  I always book at a cost that I feel comfortable with and then simply "let it go."  What others pay or do not pay is of no concern to me as long as I got a fare that I feel is fair and what I am willing to pay for that particular service. 

 

Seems to me that cruising should be the same philosophy.  Find a fare that you feel is "fair," pay it, and then do not concern yourself with what others may or may not be paying for the same cruise.  

 

[Curlingwhiz]

Like moscow123456 - we tend to figure out what price we are content with and do our booking based on that.  However, I do check pricing about once a month prior to departure.  On about 50% of our trips we have managed to either get "better" pricing or increased OBC based on current promos.  (Once we were really lucky and got a free upgrade to a Neptune)  We always do the onboard booking deposit so it gives us flexibility in our deposits.

 

We have definitely noticed that the meal selection and portion size have both changed - not for the better - but if you have gone out to a restaurant in the last 6 months, you will not be surprised as labour costs, food costs and transport costs have got most people reeling.

[Florida_gal_50]

22 minutes ago, moscow123456 said:

This is also true for airline travel.  No two people pay the same fare.  I always book at a cost that I feel comfortable with and then simply "let it go."  What others pay or do not pay is of no concern to me as long as I got a fare that I feel is fair and what I am willing to pay for that particular service. 

 

Seems to me that cruising should be the same philosophy.  Find a fare that you feel is "fair," pay it, and then do not concern yourself with what others may or may not be paying for the same cruise.  

That's fine if it works for you.  Everyone doesn't have to subscribe to that theory.  Everyone has a different financial situation.  I'm not going to tell people how  to feel.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Cruising has always been interesting because two customers with adjoining cabins most likely paid very different prices for their vacations depending on when they booked and other differences.  

Same with two customers on the same plane, or for that matter two people in the same type room in the same hotel.

 

Dynamic, demand level pricing is showing up in many places these days.

Edited April 4, 2023 by ldtr

[Sea42]

53 minutes ago, moscow123456 said:

Seems to me that cruising should be the same philosophy.  Find a fare that you feel is "fair," pay it, and then do not concern yourself with what others may or may not be paying for the same cruise. 

Agreed. If I'm comfortable with what I pay for what I get, I'm not going to fuss about what others pay.

If I feel it's so unfair that I'm paying more than others than I wouldn't pay that price.

[moscow123456]

25 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That's fine if it works for you.  Everyone doesn't have to subscribe to that theory.  Everyone has a different financial situation.  I'm not going to tell people how  to feel.

But this isn't about what others "feel" - it is about worrying about (or concerning yourself with) what others are paying.  Those are two different things.  Your argument conflates "feelings" and "payment (that you deem acceptable) for services."

[RD64]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Same with two customers on the same plane, or for that matter two people in the same type room in the same hotel.

 

Dynamic, demand level pricing is showing up in many places these days.

Exactly - Economics 101 and dynamic pricing. About six weeks ago I booked a room at a Schipol airport hotel. I thought it was an exhorbitant price, but for convenience and location I booked it. Six weeks later the price has more than doubled. Guaranteed the people in the rooms to my left / right paid more / less than what I paid. At the end of the day I paid a price that was more or less acceptable to me and that is all that matters.

[ocean sounds]

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We did book it in December; but we canceled it  just recently .The booking was for 14 night Zaandam Mexico Eclipse .We just can't see $5600 for a outside cabin deck 3 .HAL is  refunding $200 deposit for 2 of us

Sorry you canceled.  I understand, I was taken aback at the cost for my outside cabin, but it has a great itinerary with ports I hadn’t been to before.  Plus I’ve signed up for the conference speakers (Astronomers and Astronauts).  I decided that for me - I could justify the price for the unique itinerary, the Total eclipse at sea, and the Astronomy  conference. 
 

We’ll miss you!

[cruisemom42]

12 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Unless you are booked in either Aqua Class or the Retreat with Celebrity, there is nothing "premium" about Celebrity anymore. On the new E class ships only Suites and aft facing verandah cabins get a real open traditional balcony, everyone else gets a window that opens, IV cabins, which cost more than a real balcony on HAL newer ships.

Just wanted to give my perspective as a cruiser on Celebrity and HAL who generally books the “cheap seats/real estate”. 
 

If you take cabin category & amenities out of the mix, I still feel the Celebrity onboard experience offers some things HAL does not. Like live music in many venues throughout the day. Like a lively scene at several areas such as the Martini bar/Atrium. The Caffe Al Bacio venue is head and shoulders above HAL’s premium coffee venue. And the MDR in my experience, offers a more polished dining experience* and ( in my opinion) more varied offerings. I also prefer Celebrity specialty restaurant choices while recognizing they are pricier.

 

That said, HAL can offer a lot to the budget cruiser, not the least of which are some very excellent itineraries and friendly, comfortable service. To give an analogy, sailing on HAL is like staying in a more suburban hotel while Celebrity is like a more hip city hotel. Some prefer one and some prefer the other. But I do feel X has a certain “spark” that HAL is lacking at the moment.
 

* I eat in the MDR most nights on cruises. Compared with Celebrity the HAL experience just seems rushed and lacks finesse. At virtually every meal there is something requiring me to speak up: e.g., my butter is missing or my bread never arrives or my utensils are missing or my wine arrives with no wine glass to pour it into (or worse, got a dirty glass one night with obvious lipstick on rim). Salt and pepper frequently missing from table. And so on. These types of slip ups seem much rarer in X’s MDR.

[mcrcruiser]

8 hours ago, ldtr said:

Too funny.  On the business channel from analysts whose job is to track the hotel companies and the corresponding booking volumes and hotels prices.

 

So far it has stuck around quite a bit.  People are still traveling and filling those hotel rooms, especially the luxury brands where increases are even higher.  Reality is that the people traveling are mostly not those feeling the impact from higher prices.

 

On the other hand you seem to want to complain about cruise line prices and do not appear to want to believe that there are reasons why.

We are more cautious considering the condition of the national debt ,so instead of cruises we are adding more precious metals to our portfolio . Seems to me that is the wise thing to do with escalating prices  for every thing . With 70% of our population living from pay check to pay check what truly does the future hold for our country ?  We came from a generation of savers not spenders .Thus ,we have been through hard times most people have not

[BEAV]

The OP has for a number of years posted threads exactly like this on the HAL and Celebrity boards. So don’t let the topic get to anyone too much! 
 

Just today the media reports 500,000 people per week are applying for passports (or passport renewals). I submitted my passport for renewal on January 8. It’s remained in “received” status until yesterday, and is now finally “in process”. So it’s sat dormant for nearly 3 months because of the huge backlog. Staffing shortages only add to the equation. 
 

We knew this day would come post-Covid where everyone would want to get back to traveling. It’s nothing more than the age-old theory of supply and demand at work (and add inflation to boot). 
 

I can’t blame cruise lines for increasing prices as demand rises. As I said to the OP a few years ago, cruise lines (and travel suppliers) are not non-profit community service organizations. 
 

Do i enjoy paying more? Of course not! 

[SargassoPirate]

Benjamin Franklin — 'The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.'

[3rdGenCunarder]

10 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are more cautious considering the condition of the national debt ,so instead of cruises we are adding more precious metals to our portfolio . Seems to me that is the wise thing to do with escalating prices  for every thing . With 70% of our population living from pay check to pay check what truly does the future hold for our country ?  We came from a generation of savers not spenders .Thus ,we have been through hard times most people have not

 

I would characterize myself as more of a saver than a spender. I don't spend more than I'm comfortable with, but I'd rather sit on a deck chair than a pile of gold or palladium. 

[kangforpres]

10 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are more cautious considering the condition of the national debt ,so instead of cruises we are adding more precious metals to our portfolio . Seems to me that is the wise thing to do with escalating prices  for every thing . With 70% of our population living from pay check to pay check what truly does the future hold for our country ?  We came from a generation of savers not spenders .Thus ,we have been through hard times most people have not

Is it up to 70%? Last I heard was 60% but that was before the pandemic, if true it's unsustainable to just have 2 economies in one society

[AFNavigator]

15 hours ago, ldtr said:

Same with two customers on the same plane, or for that matter two people in the same type room in the same hotel.

 

Dynamic, demand level pricing is showing up in many places these days.

 

15 hours ago, ldtr said:

Same with two customers on the same plane, or for that matter two people in the same type room in the same hotel.

 

Dynamic, demand level pricing is showing up in many places these days.

The huge difference with cruise lines is you can usually get a price adjustment for price drops prior to full payment, and possibly onboard credit for price drops after final payment.  Try to get a fare adjustment on a non-refundable airline ticket...