Where is the breaking point?

[Rob & Beckys mom]

But then you would be right next to that cranky lady from last week, you wouldn't want that. :eek:

 

But seriously, demand fuels pricing, so if less people book the price will drop. My Splendor cruise has dropped 1/3 in value since I've booked :D

 

 

I keep hearing about this price drop, any cruise I have ever taken just goes up up up. I keep checking, but to no avail...sigh

 

Jan

[LADYBUG34113]

The government has finally admitted we are in a recession. I am in an industry where customers would give up that first to cut corners, but on the other hand, in a town that booms during the winter months up north. As long as I have a job, I will try and cruise but we are skipping 2009. They have cut bonuses and low raises this year. We had already booked this April cruise almost a year ago. I hope things turn around quickly but I don't see gas going down any time soon. Summers here are our "slow season".

[VentureMan_2000]

I did a month long vacation, family of 5, in Maui... condo on the beach for $350 a day (for all). Included air, car, condo, and cooked / BBQ'd everything ourselves, plenty of evening cocktails, and some souveniers, maybe two meals out... the rest BBQ.

 

About the best I can do for a family of 5 on a cruise, including airfare, one night pre-cruise hotel, some ship spending money, and no excursions is twice that... about $700 a day.

 

The difference is that I do not have to do any work on a cruise... nothing but service. And lots of entertainment. and fun ports to walk around.

 

Kind of hard to compare... they are really not the same vacation.

[VentureMan_2000]

The government has finally admitted we are in a recession.

 

 

 

The difference between a recession and depression is:

 

Recession is when you are having a hard time scraping up enough money for a cruise...

 

 

Depression is at the end of the cruise when you get your Sail & Sign bill... :eek:

[LADYBUG34113]

The difference between a recession and depression is:

 

Recession is when you are having a hard time scraping up enough money for a cruise...

 

 

Depression is at the end of the cruise when you get your Sail & Sign bill... :eek:

 

LOL VentureMan

[sandij]

I couldn't imagine not cruising and we are spoiled by those balcony cabins. Luckliy we too live in Florida and have a choice of three ports to go out from that are within a couple hours or less drive. Every 5 years we do a big cruise and it happens to be this year and we booked the mediterrean on Freedom. By booking early both the cruise and the flight weren't too bad and I did all the excursions through Carnival so paid for them in dollars but ouch those euros. That's where you find out how little your dollar is really worth. But we're going and going to have a great time, next year we'll stick closer to home.

[Mikel1733]

Next year (2009) will be our 35th anniversary. We hope to take our children and their spouses on a nice cruise. But I'm not going to commit to one until we have a handle on where the economy will be and how much airfares are. If gasoline is $4.00 plus a gallon who knows what airfare will be? If the right cruise and price came along I guess I could book it and then cancel if things were out of sight. But we may all be doing interior rooms:(

[lgerrish]

Cruise Ships have fantastic economies of scale that continue to get better, but Planes have hit a wall. Both the size of the planes and the limits of the infrastructure (airports) are hard to push any further. Plus, Cruise Ships can adjust their itineraries to compensate for fuel prices, since the ship is as much a destination as the ports it sails to. However Planes by the very nature of things have to get you where you need to go. They are nothing but transportation.

 

So, if the price of fuel keeps going up and up, I would expect the cruise lines to push deeper into local markets, spreading out their ports of embarkation so fewer passengers have to fly to board the boat. Even if gas hits $10 a gallon (or oil hits $250 a barrel) they could probably offer a 7 day cruise to nowhere leaving Portland, ME and price it so the ship sells out.

 

..I could really swing that! The airfare kills us flying out of Bangor, ME and a cruise to nowhere - how relaxing!!!!!

[aggieastrosfan]

We ae very close to sailing out of Galveston only. DH knows there's no way I'm cancelling October, and I'm trying to convince him to keep April booked. After that, though, if we go on any cruise it'll be out of Galveston. And we definitely won't fly to any cruise that has ports we can hit out of Galveston, even if it means sailing on the same ship over and over.

[360]

I wish a ship sailed out of Indianapolis. I would be on it every weekend!

[dec2007w3boys]

I wish a ship sailed out of Indianapolis. I would be on it every weekend!

Ditto for Dayton. I would even drive to Cincinnati and catch the Ohio River to the Mississippi River down to New Orleans. We may be on to something here!!:D Actually, the Miami River that goes a few miles from my house flows into the Ohio.... I may be able to carry my stuff from my home to the ship.

[VentureMan_2000]

Just think how the Folks in Wyoming feel... :eek:

[FunDayAtSea]

I would stay in the engine room before I wouldn't cruise :p

 

 

Ditto.....Nothing will ever make me stop cruising...

 

I would give up my luxuries at home before I stop cruising....

 

Jodi

[LegalCat]

You are sugar coating it.

Did you forget about the High cost of parking as you stated your within a 10 minute drive.

$650 total PP for a Balcony including taxes,and port charges? When,what ship?

 

How about tips?Another $70 PP

 

So thats $220 per couple per day minimum.

Do you take shore excursions?

The entertainment is the same shows over and over again except for the comedians.

 

 

Really if you want me to start pricing cruises for you, I'll be happy too.. let me just add in my commission.... I didnt say it had to be a balcony, I'm talking about in general... just for example an inside guarantee on an upcoming carnival 7 day cruise prices out at 92.36 a day including taxes, fuel surcharge AND taxes.... thats $184 a day for all your hotel, travel, meals, some drinks, entertainment, etc... a lot of people would be perfectly happy to go on a cruise without taking any excursions and if they havent cruised before or havent cruised often, maybe they wont be so bored with the entertainment...

[livestocruisetoo]

Cruise Ships have fantastic economies of scale that continue to get better...So, if the price of fuel keeps going up and up, I would expect the cruise lines to push deeper into local markets, spreading out their ports of embarkation so fewer passengers have to fly to board the boat. Even if gas hits $10 a gallon (or oil hits $250 a barrel) they could probably offer a 7 day cruise to nowhere leaving Portland, ME and price it so the ship sells out.

 

Maybe we'll see 7 day eastcoast, (Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Charleston) or westcoast, (San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Seatle) itineraries.

[dan40]

When my money's all gone, I'll just stow away.

Dan

[sailaway4]

We're (husband,2 sons and me) driving from western Chicago suburbs to New Orleans.It's still cheaper than flying and can stay with in-laws on the way.This is our first cruise,husband is a teacher, so we always do as many vacations as possible.I just wish we could go at the cheaper time of year would love to try a balcony.We have the worse landscaping on the street because I would rather save my money for fun.I would also trade my house for a smaller one if it meant more (cruises?).

[TCF]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=blue]For us it is not the cost of the cruises that is stopping us it is the cost of air fares and other related costs.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]For example, we just cancelled our Carnival Splendor cruise for this fall....not because the cost of the cruise...12 days in a Cat 11 on a brand new ship for $7400 is a pretty good price. It is the air fare to Europe from the west coast of Canada....the exchange rate between the $ and the Euro, and the cost of excursions that killed the trip for us. Between air fares...excursions...hotels...meals off the ship and incidentals we were paying about $10,000 to take a $7400 cruise.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]We switched to a 36 day HAL reposition for the same money...of which only $750 is air fare!!! The key for us is that the ship leaves from Vancouver...and does nothing else but cruise....cost in US$ for everything else. We just couldn't beat it.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]When we go to the Med in '09 we will probably look at a trans- atlantic reposition out of Miami to cut the airfare in half and reduce the ports of call to those that we REALLY want to see in the Med.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]All that said, I can see where it will soon be so expensive to cruise that many ordinary working folk will be squeezed out of the market...and not necessarily by the cruis[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]e lines![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[meluvtogocruise]

I will continue to cruise until my husband is unemployed or Al Gore stops me, whichever might come first.

Cruising is still the best vacation value I've found.

Meluv

Putting on my flame gear!

[cathyoo]

eckkk... I shouldn't stop and think about it. Since I pay in increments I don't ever think about the full and true cost of cruising. Only $1850 for the two of us. We can afford that... I never really think about the air fare, hotels, meals, excursions, extra tips, taxis, and all those other secondary costs that make the vacation much more than a couple of thousand.

Truth is I have no business cruising, it is a vacation that is out of my budget. But I guess until the wolf is banging on my door I'll keep cruising once a year.