Marketing is a bit of a dark art.
The idea is a noble one – try to get people interested in whatever product you’re selling by talking up the benefits.
Somewhere along the line some marketing professionals decided to try to use “the new math” to market their wares. So how does this apply to the cruise lines?
Some of the mass-market cruise lines are quite blatant about bumping up their prices the same day they advertise a 50% off sale. That’s not really chatting up the benefits of your product as much as it trying to baffle people with the math.
In reality, there are cruise deals worth watching for. The struggle we have is when someone contacts us, and thinks they are actually getting a 2 for 1 deal. Sorry – those deals don’t exist… or I should say that no one ever pays full price, so the 2 for 1 does exist. It just exists in perpetuity.
So how can you make sure you’re getting the best price?
Here are a few things you can do or avoid to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck:
- If you want to take a cruise at peak season – you’re going to pay peak price. This probably seems obvious, but if you want to go to the Caribbean in March, or Alaska in July, you should be prepared to pay whatever the posted rate is – because the cruise lines don’t have any trouble filling their ships at those times
- Conversely – consider shoulder season. We really like Europe in April and October, for example. You don’t go to Europe to bask in the sun, so why not go when there are fewer people there? Alaska is worth considering in late April or May for the same reason. The Caribbean is cheaper in August/September, but it is hurricane season so be prepared. The Panama Canal often has great deals when they are relocating the ships in spring and fall.
- Look at the entire package. People often become far too fixated on the fare, when they need to also look at the included amenities. Some of those amenities like free gratuities, or on board credits are really easy to value. Beverage packages, free specialty dining, spa treatments or other goodies are worth as much as YOU would be willing to pay for them. Different people will assign different values to these things, so figure out what it’s worth to you.
- See where the cruise lines are adding capacity. Any consumer driven business is subject to the laws of supply and demand, and cruising is no different. There are literally thousands of new rooms coming onto the market every year. Part of this growth will be consumed by the increasing number of people choosing to make cruise ships their format of choice for vacation, but in other cases there will be some extra capacity in the system. In 2019, we see some extra rooms in Alaska – there are four new ships there this coming year (two of them over 3500 passengers), so that will put some downward pressure on prices – particularly in the spring and fall.
The moral of the story is that it is always good to look at the sales, but rarely do we see substantial discounts in the cruise market – particularly in mass-market cruise lines where things are already very competitively priced compared to other vacation options.
Planning a Cruise? I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
