Cruise vacations still generally cost way less than land vacations when you consider what’s included. Book a cruise and you not only get your cabin, you also get 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 may 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, according to Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein.
“At this point in time, 2025 is a historical high on both occupancy and price. 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,” he said during his company’s third-quarter earnings call.
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Onboard revenue has been higher as well.
Image source: Carnival Corp.
Cruise prices keep creeping higher
Cruise prices are based on demand. If rooms don’t sell then 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. And with nearly half of 2025 already booked, we feel confident in maintaining our trajectory,” the CEO said. “…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 pre-cruise purchases of onboard revenue.”
Carnival has already sold over half of its 2025 cabins. That is helped by the fact that the fleet is not really growing.
“We are forecasting a capacity increase of just seven-tenths of a percent compared to 2024. We are well positioned to drive 2025 pricing higher with less inventory remaining to sell than the same time last year,” Weinstein shared.
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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 your core goal 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 often last-minute deals, the best prices can often be found by acting early.
In addition, some non-traditional sailings like a transatlantic or a repositioning cruise can offer much lower per-night prices. And, in some cases, there are just sailings that prove unpopular.
Having a travel agent searching for you can help. In addition to getting access to blocks of rooms at reduced prices, they also learn when partially chartered ships lose their charter customer or other very 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 to land-based alternatives,” he said. “…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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