Last year, everyone seemed to be worried about whether anyone would have money to spend on travel. As a result, cruise lines responded quickly and, to some extent, beyond what was necessary, to price cruises more attractively.
What I would call "stupid deals" became prevalent. By stupid deals, I mean prices so low that it would be stupid to stay home. Many savvy travelers took advantage of these times to lock rates for cruises they planned to take anyway. I jumped on that to book a family trip to a wonderful Princess cruise to Northern Europe at prices I had never seen before.
This year, I have received a lot of inquiries that start by mentioning a deal from last year. "Last year, I saw this two week Australia cruise with free airfare for less than....." "Do you have any of those special deals for teachers like that cruise last year where...." "I want that Alaska cruise tour I almost went on last year but the price seems higher, so...."
Even last year, many itineraries had such strong demand that they filled up easily without any cruise line discounting, while others found an overflow responding to the special deals, leading people to ask about their availability this year. In short, if you went last year, congratulations. However, it doesn't mean you should wait for the same deals this year. There are, make no mistake, great deals out there, just maybe not quite as "stupid."
In any case, as I look at cruises for the summer, I've definitely noticed most ships are filling up, and the ones that demand premium pricing, whether that be on lines like Crystal where everything is higher, the newest ships on popular mainstream lines like Royal Caribbean and the suites, are filling up the fastest.
Today, I received an e-mail from Carnival which sums it all up. And you don't need to read between the lines to know that you need to book your summer vacation now or miss out altogether.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES REPORTS RECORD WAVE SEASON ACTIVITY
Summer Price Increase Effective March 22
MIAMI (February 24, 2010) - Carnival Cruise Lines is reporting record wave season bookings, with strong reservations activity for 2010 departures. As a result of the strong booking volumes, a general price increase will be implemented effective March 22 for all summer sailings in June, July and August.
For the period of Jan. 1 through Feb. 21, 2010, bookings were at unprecedented levels for the line's 22 ships which operate three- to 15-day voyages from a variety of convenient North American home ports.
Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said, "We're seeing significantly increased volume as consumers are taking advantage of the incredible value that a Carnival cruise provides. And while pricing hasn't fully recovered to 2008 levels, we are increasing prices and will implement an across-the-board increase effective March 22."
He said that the price increases will vary by departure date but will be up to 5 percent.
Cahill attributed the record booking activity to a wide range of factors, including strong travel agent partner support, targeted marketing initiatives, itinerary enhancements and the wide variety of close-to-home departure points.
Wave season typically runs from about mid-January through early spring and is traditionally the busiest, most important booking period in the cruise industry.
Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 "Fun Ships" operating voyages ranging from three to 15 days in length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England and Europe.
Carnival also has two new ships on order -- the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic, which is scheduled for delivery in 2011, and a sister ship set to debut in 2012.
Thank you for helping us achieve these record booking volumes.
Sincerely,
Carnival Cruise Lines
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