Why Carnival Cruise Line passengers should expect higher prices

Cruise vacations generally cost a lot less than land vacations when you consider what’s included. Book a cruise and you’ll not only get the cabin, but an almost endless supply of free food and countless entertainment options included.

Take a traditional land excursion, and while you might get a free breakfast and/or some happy hour snacks, lunch, dinner, and late-night meals aren’t included. And while the hotel may offer pool or beach access, most entertainment options will cost extra.

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That’s why both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line believe the market will support higher cruise prices. People may be paying more to cruise than they did last year – and even more than they paid in 2019 before Covid – but cruising offers great value.

The market appears to support this, according to Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein.

“Right now, 2025 is an all-time record for both occupancy and price. All base deployments are priced higher than last year. Every brand in our portfolio is well booked at higher prices in 2025, demonstrating our continued benefit. demand generation efforts in our optimized portfolio,” he said during his company’s third-quarter earnings call.

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Onboard revenues were also higher.

Image source: Carnival Corp.

Cruise prices continue to rise

Cruise prices are based on demand. If the cameras don’t sell, then the prices go down, but when the inventory shrinks, they go up.

“In fact, over the past few months, our price advantage for 2025 reserved positions over last year has actually expanded for the full year and each individual quarter. And with almost half of 2025 already booked, we feel confident in maintaining our trajectory.” said the CEO. “…This incredibly strong book position for 2024, 2025 and 2026 drove record customer deposits in the third quarter to $7 billion, and that’s coupled with continued growth in pre-cruise purchases of onboard revenue.”

Carnival has already sold over half of its 2025 cabins. This is helped by the fact that the fleet is not really growing.

“We forecast a capacity increase of only seven-tenths of a percent compared to 2024. We are well positioned to increase prices for 2025 with less inventory left to sell than at the same time last year,” Weinstein said.

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The cruise line wants to keep pushing prices even higher. Weinstein explained that Carnival takes a very measured approach to doing this.

“So despite the fact that overall we’re in a record position, we’re obviously looking at it with a much more clinical eye and making sure we’re doing what we need to do to optimize revenue,” he added. .

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Can you still book a cheap Carnival cruise?

While overall prices are on the rise, that doesn’t mean there aren’t value options. If your main focus when booking a cruise is price, then you can still find deals.

Generally, this means sailing on older ships during less desirable times. And unlike in the past, when there were often last-minute deals, the best prices can often be found by acting early.

In addition, some non-traditional sailings, such as a transatlantic cruise or a repositioning cruise, can offer much lower nightly prices. And in some cases, there are just navigations that prove unpopular.

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If a travel agent is looking for you, they can help you. In addition to having access to blocks of rooms at discounted prices, they also learn when part-charters lose their charter client or other very occasional situations when prices drop without warning.

READ ALSO: The best travel agents tell you how to get the best price on your cruise

Weinstein, however, reminded people that price and value are not the same thing.

“We’re still an outstanding value for onshore alternatives,” he said. “… We’re doing a better job of getting the word out better marketing, more eyes on the industry, more eyes on us. accident.”

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