european itinerary

[chris 2486]

could anyone please tell me why is it cheaper to go on a caribbean cruise than it is too cruise one of the european itinerarys. as were from the uk and it would be nice not to keep on getting long haul flights to go on a 7 night cruise.

[TrvlPro]

Cruise pricing is based on one thing, availability. They charge the maximum amount they can get away with and still fill the ship. If they're not filling a ship the price drops. If they're filling up a ship faster than projected the price climbs. There are so many ships running Caribbean routes from so many ports and the season is year round the availability of cabins keeps that market low cost. Europe, Alaska and other markets are seasonal and shorter. The cruiselines keep building more ships and adding more each year to the Med, Greek Isles and Northern Europe so pricing should soften unless demand continues to climb as it has in Alaska. With Baby Boomers retiring there is a very good outlook for the future of the industry. Pricing overall has not changed much in 30 years. Cruising continues to be a great value, more so in some markets than others.

Cheers, Neil

[chris 2486]

thanks neil i think ill stay with the caribbean more value for our weak british pound

[JuniorCruiser]

Yes, this is a issue. The Americans has cheaper cruise-vacations than they ever can imagine!

Cruising for europeans is kinda like this:
Caribbean: Expensive flight + cheaper cruise
European: cheaper flight + expensiver cruise

[chris 2486]

i know! like i said theres no comparison, nicer weather nicer people what more can you ask.

[tracy2011]

We too are from the UK, and are sailing on Liberty of the Seas in October (Western Caribbean itinery). We have also booked a 10 night med cruise for August 2008 and the cost is so much higher. We have an OS on Liberty and only a JS on Independence and it has cost us an extra £1000!
We wanted to try a Med cruise for a change but I definately feel that the Caribbean is better value. However when you have added flights etc. I guess there is not much difference.
What is your itinery?
We chose the 10 night one for cost purposes, we visit Gibraltar, Barcelona, Vigo and somewhere else I can't remember off the top of my head! I think the Med cruise will be more about enjoying the ship as we have more time on board that on our 7 night Caribbean cruise. We are looking forward to comparing them!
Tracy

[Raoul Fiebig]

chris 2486,

in addition to what Neil wrote, logistics costs for the cruise lines are also higher in Europe (and even more so in more remote regions of the world) than in the Caribbean or in Alaska where most lines have long-established logistics networks.

[JuniorCruiser]

Yes, I think Europe goes crazy about the Global Warming and wants not too many cruise-ships visiting us..
Very high port fees many places.
But I totally agree with the idea of ships to use eletric power when in port =)

[drlivingston]

Originally posted by TrvlPro:
The cruiselines keep building more ships and adding more each year to the Med, Greek Isles and Northern Europe

That is absolutely correct... When we were in Santorini a couple of months ago, there were six full size cruise ships sitting off the island tendering in.