Tuesday, October 10, 2023
As vacationers emerge into a post-pandemic travel world, cruises have made a spectacular comeback and ticket prices are surging.
Cruise operators such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises are setting some ticket prices higher than pre-pandemic levels and are indicating they may raise them further, even as they post pre-Covid profits.
According to data from cruise review site the average price of a five-night cruise in the Caribbean for December of this year is $736, roughly 37% higher than the average price a year earlier.
Compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic decimated the cruising industry, December ticket prices are up 43%.
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said during a call with Wall Street analysts at the end of September that the company’s third-quarter net revenue per passenger per day reached a record high.
The company’s booking volumes likewise hit an all-time high, pushing cruise occupancy and revenue beyond 2019 levels, he said.
Especially as costs of labor, food and fuel continue to rise, Carnival executives noted on the call, the company, which owns multiple major cruise brands, is “well-positioned to drive 2024 pricing higher.”
A Carnival spokesperson declined to comment on the company’s specific future pricing actions but said in a statement to a news portal that the company has been able to deliver a value of 25% to 50% over “comparable land-based vacation alternatives.”
Carnival sees “ample headroom” to close that gap, the spokesperson said.
Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty echoed the sentiment, saying on that company’s post-earnings call in July that his company is also considering increasing prices to meet the surge in demand.
Are high prices here to stay?
Aaron Saunders, a senior editor at Cruise Critic, said part of what’s driving the price surge is the comparison to high airfares.
As inflation surges, airfare tickets have reached sky-high prices, with international airfare up 26% from 2019, according to an August estimate by a fare-tracking company.
With travelers facing higher costs across the broader sector, and considering cruises typically include additional amenities such as meals and entertainment, consumers are likely to gravitate in that direction, Saunders said.
That demand is being driven by both seasoned cruisers and first timers, he said, a dynamic the industry hasn’t historically seen much of. Even so, Saunders said he believes the high prices might be here to stay.
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