2025 costs up, casino offers less, ships filling up……

[Globaler]

Looking at cruises for next year, it appears costs are up, ships are filling up with minimum deposits, and my offers are not as good as 2024. The issue with casino offers is you have to pay in full. If I wait to book then the cabin location may not be available. Will offers improve, will costs go down, will people cancel? I guess I could book with insurance and if I need to cancel either get my money back or get a future credit.

[Coral]

I was reading an article the other day which indicated that ships are full and that it is too bad that cruise lines had to sell off ships during COVID because the cruise industry is incredibly healthy now and they they could easily have filled up those ships as well if they were still in their fleet.

Edited March 21 by Coral

[TRLD]

The SEC filings indicate that occupancy is once more running over 100%, though in the most recent filing it was still about 5% below 2019 numbers.

 

 All 3 of the CEOs of the major cruise line holding companies ccl, rcl, nclh, have commented during the past year that cruise prices have dropped further behind equivalent land based vacation costs compared to past norms (around 15% pre covid to 35 to 45% in 2023) and their intent to narrow the gap. They started with on board revenue which now makes up 35% of cruise line revenue compared to 25% precovid, and now that occupancy is getting back to normal are pushing fare higher.

 

Unless there is an economic downturn or some other event that impacts occupancy one can expect prices to continue upward.

 

Do not have any idea about casino offers though.

[Globaler]

2 minutes ago, TRLD said:

The SEC filings indicate that occupancy is once more running over 100%, though in the most recent filing it was still about 5% below 2019 numbers.

 

 All 3 of the CEOs of the major cruise line holding companies ccl, rcl, nclh, have commented during the past year that cruise prices have dropped further behind equivalent land based vacation costs compared to past norms (around 15% pre covid to 35 to 45% in 2023) and their intent to narrow the gap. They started with on board revenue which now makes up 35% of cruise line revenue compared to 25% precovid, and now that occupancy is getting back to normal are pushing fare higher.

 

Unless there is an economic downturn or some other event that impacts occupancy one can expect prices to continue upward.

 

Do not have any idea about casino offers though.

Thanks for the comments and I agree. Basically my offers are based on casino play and the cruise costs I am seeing are quite a bit higher than 2024 but then again cruise prices have gone up also.

[karatemom2]

2 hours ago, Globaler said:

Looking at cruises for next year, it appears costs are up, ships are filling up with minimum deposits, and my offers are not as good as 2024. The issue with casino offers is you have to pay in full. If I wait to book then the cabin location may not be available. Will offers improve, will costs go down, will people cancel? I guess I could book with insurance and if I need to cancel either get my money back or get a future credit.

 
We are noticing the same thing. Kicking ourselves now for not booking with some of our really good casino offers that expired at end of February. We hesitated due to the non refundable deposit and not being fully certain of the days I can take off work next year. But we didn’t really worry because we have always had multiple offers going. I guess as they say, you snooze you lose!! At this point we are just going to wait and see what kind of come back offer we get after our summer cruise. 

[Globaler]

20 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 
We are noticing the same thing. Kicking ourselves now for not booking with some of our really good casino offers that expired at end of February. We hesitated due to the non refundable deposit and not being fully certain of the days I can take off work next year. But we didn’t really worry because we have always had multiple offers going. I guess as they say, you snooze you lose!! At this point we are just going to wait and see what kind of come back offer we get after our summer cruise. 

Well I am mulling that over now. We sail 4/5 and 6/8 so bounce backs may be appealing but I was thinking they had to be taken within the next 4 months after sailing (I could be wrong). Also what about location, we like to be midship and with prices going up new offers probably will be more expensive than this year. 😳

Edited March 21 by Globaler

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I was reading an article the other day which indicated that ships are full and that it is too bad that cruise lines had to sell off ships during COVID because the cruise industry is incredibly healthy now and they they could easily have filled up those ships as well if they were still in their fleet.

Discretionary leisure travel spending is a leading indicator of a healthy economy. It correlates to both consumer confidence as well as actual financial health of the spender.  What we are seeing is the predicted recovery of the worldwide economy and a return to normal.  The media sells itself on doom and gloom news and endlessly trumpets how "bad" the economy is.  But some things just can't be faked, and leisure travel spending is one of those things.  Airlines are flying with full planes.  Hotels are at pre-Covid occupancy levels while charging higher rates, and cruise ships are sailing full.  Those numbers don't lie and they tell an economic story far better than the negative Nancys in the media.   

[karatemom2]

4 minutes ago, Globaler said:

Well I am mulling that over now. We sail 4/5 and 6/8 so bounce backs may be appealing but I was thinking they had to be taken within the next 4 months after sailing (I could be wrong). Also what about location, we like to be midship and with prices going up new offers probably will be more expensive than this year. 😳

Yes, that is the downside of comeback offers - you have 45 days to book and you have to take the cruise within 6 months. But we have also noticed that after a cruise with a comeback offer, we also start to get flooded with other promotions. So fingers crossed! 

[Globaler]

1 minute ago, JimmyVWine said:

Discretionary leisure travel spending is a leading indicator of a healthy economy. It correlates to both consumer confidence as well as actual financial health of the spender.  What we are seeing is the predicted recovery of the worldwide economy and a return to normal.  The media sells itself on doom and gloom news and endlessly trumpets how "bad" the economy is.  But some things just can't be faked, and leisure travel spending is one of those things.  Airlines are flying with full planes.  Hotels are at pre-Covid occupancy levels while charging higher rates, and cruise ships are sailing full.  Those numbers don't lie and they tell an economic story far better than the negative Nancys in the media.   

I agree people are spending money and global governments continue to pour money in but debt both governmental and individual has risen to record levels. Of course this can last a long time until it can’t!

[suekel]

2 hours ago, Globaler said:

Looking at cruises for next year, it appears costs are up, ships are filling up with minimum deposits, and my offers are not as good as 2024. The issue with casino offers is you have to pay in full. If I wait to book then the cabin location may not be available. Will offers improve, will costs go down, will people cancel? I guess I could book with insurance and if I need to cancel either get my money back or get a future credit.

I board Saturday.  I plan on introducing myself to the casino host and see if I can get any information on casino cruises. I used to get hearts offers all the time,  even did a prestige cruise once,  I'm gambling the same and nada. Luckily I got 3 booked when I had offers.

[JimmyVWine]

7 minutes ago, Globaler said:

global governments continue to pour money in

Discretionary travel expenses are more tied to wage and investment income growth. The DJIA may very well cross the 40,000 mark this week.  That is driving cruise bookings as much as anything else given the average age of cruisers.  Investment income is a key component to the spending of many cruisers. 

Edited March 21 by JimmyVWine

[Globaler]

Just now, suekel said:

I board Saturday.  I plan on introducing myself to the casino host and see if I can get any information on casino cruises. I used to get hearts offers all the time,  even did a prestige cruise once,  I'm gambling the same and nada. Luckily I got 3 booked when I had offers.

Please let us know if you hear if you find out anything! I may just book and pay for the platinum insurance were we can cancel and if need be get a credit if I don’t go. I don’t see the cost of cruising getting cheaper until as mention a recession kicks in. But then again us retiree boomers are paying up and spending the kids inheritance 😂

[Globaler]

1 minute ago, JimmyVWine said:

Discretionary travel expenses are more tied to wage and investment income growth. 

Again as long as investment growth is there - I guess all governments will just keep printing money.

[20165]

12 minutes ago, Globaler said:

us retiree boomers are paying up and spending the kids inheritance 😂

I think there some real truth to that.  Im a GenXer so still working and take a couple vacations a year, but my sisters are 10-15 years older than me and retired so right in that boomer age range and the amount they spend on vacations is staggering, at least in my view.  

[Globaler]

I know this isn’t going to be a popular comment but I would love to see Princess increase the deposits and or move the payment days up to reduce those booking multiple cabins and booking on a whim.

[memoak]

We are still getting free balcony offers and have 7 booked through 2025. Our free play however which used to be $600 to $1,000 per person and those are now $250 to $400. We sail next month for 16 days most of which are at sea. We will see what offers we get

[azbirdmom]

My casino offers definitely improved during the Covid pause and continued after.  Since I hadn't had such good offers pre-Covid I rightly assumed that this was a temporary situation that would not continue after the restart of cruising.  The offers that I receive aren't as good as they were but I am still getting them.

 

As for paying upfront that's less of an inconvenience if you're taking only the "free" category in which case you are paying the $200 non refundable deposit (which turns into OBC once you board) and port fees.  If you buy up to a higher category as we do it's a bigger financial outlay but still the amount in excess of the deposit is subject to the normal Princess cancellation schedule.  So I still don't think it's a bad deal.

 

I haven't used a CBS offer in quite a while since the email / snail mail offers tend to be better and more flexible.  By the way I am still seeing that the true high rollers are getting great offers but I totally understand that it's a business and they now can pivot to focusing on enticing these folks to book more cruises.

[JamieLogical]

33 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Discretionary travel expenses are more tied to wage and investment income growth. The DJIA may very well cross the 40,000 mark this week.  That is driving cruise bookings as much as anything else given the average age of cruisers.  Investment income is a key component to the spending of many cruisers. 

 

Now if only cruise line stock values would go back to pre-COVID levels, I would be rich from having bought them all at under $10/share!

[Globaler]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

We are still getting free balcony offers and have 7 booked through 2025. Our free play however which used to be $600 to $1,000 per person and those are now $250 to $400. We sail next month for 16 days most of which are at sea. We will see what offers we get

You aren’t perhaps on the Regal 4/5 are you.

[memoak]

Just now, Globaler said:

You aren’t perhaps on the Regal 4/5 are you.

No Ruby 4/14. Much prefer the Grand class to Royal

[Globaler]

3 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

My casino offers definitely improved during the Covid pause and continued after.  Since I hadn't had such good offers pre-Covid I rightly assumed that this was a temporary situation that would not continue after the restart of cruising.  The offers that I receive aren't as good as they were but I am still getting them.

 

As for paying upfront that's less of an inconvenience if you're taking only the "free" category in which case you are paying the $200 non refundable deposit (which turns into OBC once you board) and port fees.  If you buy up to a higher category as we do it's a bigger financial outlay but still the amount in excess of the deposit is subject to the normal Princess cancellation schedule.  So I still don't think it's a bad deal.

 

I haven't used a CBS offer in quite a while since the email / snail mail offers tend to be better and more flexible.  By the way I am still seeing that the true high rollers are getting great offers but I totally understand that it's a business and they now can pivot to focusing on enticing these folks to book more cruises.

We do buy up but I have found that amount is not part of the normal Princess cancellation policy.

[Globaler]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

No Ruby 4/14. Much prefer the Grand class to Royal

Have fun!

[Globaler]

5 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Now if only cruise line stock values would go back to pre-COVID levels, I would be rich from having bought them all at under $10/share!

I totally agree and did buy Carnival for the stock perk. Love the perk and stock appreciation 🍻

[azbirdmom]

19 minutes ago, Globaler said:

We do buy up but I have found that amount is not part of the normal Princess cancellation policy.

It absolutely is under the cancellation policy and is noted as such on the booking confirmation (screenshot is for an upcoming April 27th cruise).  I have had to cancel two of these offers and got the full refund on the upcharge to the higher category as well as the port fees on both cancelled before the "normal" final payment date.  On both I had Princess insurance and had the option of getting a refund on the insurance OR keeping the insurance and using cancel for any reason to get the deposit back.  In both cases the insurance cost was slightly higher than the deposit so I opted to get the insurance refund.  And for one of the cruises I had the deposit forfeiture waived because they royally messed up a new reservation so I've only had to lose the deposit once.  If you haven't been able to get $$ back according to the cancellation schedule on a cancelled casino cruise I would definitely escalate it.

 

[Globaler]

2 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

It absolutely is under the cancellation policy and is noted as such on the booking confirmation (screenshot is for an upcoming April 27th cruise).  I have had to cancel two of these offers and got the full refund on the upcharge to the higher category as well as the port fees on both cancelled before the "normal" final payment date.  On both I had Princess insurance and had the option of getting a refund on the insurance OR keeping the insurance and using cancel for any reason to get the deposit back.  In both cases the insurance cost was slightly higher than the deposit so I opted to get the insurance refund.  And for one of the cruises I had the deposit forfeiture waived because they royally messed up a new reservation so I've only had to lose the deposit once.  If you haven't been able to get $$ back according to the cancellation schedule on a cancelled casino cruise I would definitely escalate it.

 

WOW - mine show a cheap deposit and then I get an email saying balance due. I’m going to ask my cruise planner what’s the deal.