Cruise Price Increases
I’m a travel agent, but I love just researching and talking about travel. That’s why I became a travel agent! I normally don’t discuss prices on this blog, but the recent announcements of price increases deserved some discussion. As a traveler, my goal is to always have at least one trip booked, and I am in heaven if I have more than one booked. Doing so requires me to pay close attention to not only sales, but also price increases like were recently announced.
On February 24th, Carnival Cruise Lines announced that they would “implement an across-the-board increase effective March 22.” They indicated price increases will “vary by departure date but will be up to 5 percent.” Norwegian Cruise Line followed with their own announcement that prices would increase fleet-wide up to 7 percent on April 2nd.
I don’t consider this a scare tactic, since prices will increase. But, I love the honesty and directness of these press releases. Prices have been lower than I’ve ever seen these past twelve months. I booked some guests in an inside stateroom on a 7-night cruise to Alaska for just $350 per person last year. Unheard of, but I told everyone I talked to last summer, if you’ve ever considered cruising Alaska, now is the time to book that trip. The cruise lines could have just started easing their prices up, so I appreciate the directness of these announcements. I know, back in the day, I’d be checking dates, itineraries, and prices. I loved booking our cruises, just as you do, so these press releases would have caused me to start furiously checking my latest cruise prices again.
Other cruise lines may also announce similar price increases … or they may just start increasing their prices without an announcement. Regardless, if you are considering a cruise right now, you may want to get it booked sooner rather than later. You know you want to! Let me know where you’re traveling next.