Cruise vacations still generally cost way less than land vacations when you consider what's included.
Book a cruise and you get not only your cabin but also a near-endless supply of free food and countless included entertainment options.
Take a traditional land trip and while you might get a free breakfast and/or some happy-hour snacks, lunch, dinner, and late-night dining are not included. And while the hotel may offer a 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 that the market will support higher cruise prices. People might pay more to cruise than they did last year — and even more than they did in 2019 before Covid — but cruising offers great value.
The market seems to be supporting that calculation, according to Carnival Chief Executive Josh Weinstein.
"At this point in time, 2025 is a historical high on both occupancy and price," he said during his company's third-quarter earnings call.
"All core deployments are at higher prices than the prior year. Every brand in our portfolio is well booked at higher pricing in 2025, demonstrating the ongoing benefit of our demand-generation efforts throughout our optimized portfolio."
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Image source: Carnival Corp.
Cruise prices keep creeping higher
Cruise prices are based on demand. If rooms don't sell, prices fall, but when inventory dwindles, they rise.
"In fact, in the last few months, our 2025 booked positions price advantage versus last year has actually widened for the full year and for each quarter individually," the CEO said. And with nearly half of 2025 already booked, we feel confident in maintaining our trajectory." ...
"This incredibly strong book position for 2024, 2025, and 2026 drove record third-quarter customer deposits toward $7 billion, and that's along with continued growth in precruise purchases of on-board revenue."
Carnival has already sold more than half its 2025 cabins. That is helped by the fact that the fleet is not really growing.
"We are forecasting a capacity increase of just 0.7% compared to 2024," Weinstein said. "We are well positioned to drive 2025 pricing higher with less inventory remaining to sell than the same time last year."
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The cruise line wants to keep pushing prices even higher. Weinstein explained that Carnival is taking a very measured approach to doing that.
"So, despite the fact that, overall, we're in a record position, we are looking at that, obviously, with a lot more clinical eye and making sure we're doing the right thing to optimize that revenue," he added.
Can you still book a cheap Carnival cruise?
While overall prices are up, that does not mean there are no value options. If price is your key criterion when booking a cruise, then you can still find deals.
Generally, this means sailing on older ships during less desirable times. And unlike the past when last-minute deals often came available, the best prices can often be found by acting early.
In addition, some nontraditional sailings like a transatlantic or a repositioning cruise can offer much lower per-night prices. And some sailings simply prove unpopular.
Asking a travel agent to search for you can help. In addition to getting access to blocks of rooms at reduced prices, they also learn when partly chartered ships lose their charter customer or other occasional situations when prices drop without warning.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
Weinstein, however, reminded people that price and value are not the same thing.
"We are still a remarkable value [compared] to land-based alternatives," he said, adding:
"We are doing a better job of getting our word out — better marketing, more eyes on the industry, more eyes on us. Our new-to-cruise this past quarter was up about 17% year over year. That's not an accident."
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