Cruise Fares Rising, Say Agents
by Andrew Sheivachman /Three years along from the rampant discounting and low fares instituted by cruise lines after the Costa Concordia incident, cruise-selling travel agents are finally seeing fares creep up.
Package deals are likely the source of higher fares, as cruise lines have become creative in marketing amenities in order to attract more consumers.
“Fares are definitely inching up, because of the inclusiveness of the product,” said Vicky Garcia, chief operating officer of Cruise Planners. “It’s an opportunity for the lines to look forward instead of nickel-and-diming consumers.”
Cruise deals
Agents say that buy-one, get-one-free deals, along with inclusive airfare and complimentary shore excursions, are major factors in the slight uptick in average cruise fares.
“I booked a group and with the current BOGO, I got the rate they had back in the fall, which is much better than the current rate,” said Karen McCrink, director of vacation travel services at Atlas Travel, an Ensemble-affiliated agency.
“The fares are creeping up overall, but a lot of the deals are less strong.”
Consumers have increased their spending, creating stronger profits for agents. Cruisers are more likely to splurge on a drink package or dinner package than in the past, according to Garcia.
“The value is still strong, and pricing is nearly the same as it was 20 years ago,” said Garcia. “But today there is so much more inclusivity, so the value is really resonating with the consumer and helping the travel agent keep profit levels up.”
A focus on groups, early booking
Discounts on group bookings, and those with a long booking window, are encouraging cruisers to upgrade their cabins and book next year’s vacation today.
“Some of the bigger lines are offering strong discounts,” said McCrink. “I booked a group more than a year out, and part of [the early booking] is giving them a pretty good discount because some of the folks came back and wanted to upgrade their cabin.”
Top-line product can demand higher prices even as more new ships flood the North American cruise market, according to Tony Lostumbo, a Cruise Planners agent based in Weston, Fla.
“Three-day cruise pricing has doubled since last year, primarily during the summer when families want to go,” said Lostumbo.
“I have a group that wants to go on the Anthem of the Seas out of New York in 2016 on a five-day cruise; $3,300 for two cruisers used to be $1,500 last year.”
Wave Season was big for Lostumbo this year because his clients were comfortable with paying slightly higher fares.
“I’ve had a 15% increase in sales this wave season, and it a lot has to do with strong pricing,” said Lostumbo. “Pricing is up, which means sales are up for agents.”
Inclusive air is big
Agents said inclusive air is now especially attractive to cruisers, since airfare has remained pricey, especially to top destinations.
“We’re not doing as much in Europe compared to previous years, due to airline prices,” said McCrink. “It’s not so much on the cruise line side.”
Since inclusive air from the cruise lines often locks in lower rates than cruisers can get direct from the airlines, cruise packages including air are becoming more popular with clients who don’t mind booking their cruise far in advance of the sailing.
“We’re definitely seeing more offers of inclusive airfare from cruise line packages,” said McCrink.”It’s pretty reasonable compared to the published fare.
“When I compared them myself for a client, it was cheaper to have the air included in the cruise package due to them contracting the air in advance.”
More product in North America
Fares for new product are increasing, while inclusive packaging and other value-adds are attracting cruisers to ships in regions like the Caribbean.
Booking windows continue to lengthen as consumers look to make the most out of available packages and savings.
“There is a lot of inventory, because you don’t ever want to get to the point where it was last year when pricing was so low,” said Garcia. “We’re definitely seeing that bookings for 2017, and 2016 is stronger than this year in the same booking window; cruise lines are doing a good job of marketing for the future.”
The glut of product in North American waters has driven many clients to inquire about more exotic cruises for their next vacation.
“I’ve had a lot of people who have taken a Caribbean cruise and then wanted to take a Baltic or Mediterranean cruise,” said Lostumbo. “Many even want to take a 14-night cruise somewhere.”