Looking for a last minute fall vacation that won’t break the bank? Consider a cruise.
With bookings for fall cruises weaker than expected, some cruise lines are offering extremely low fares to fill ships in the coming months. At one major cruise brand, Carnival Cruise Line, base rates for some four-night fall cruises have dropped as low as $26 a day.
A three-night Carnival cruise sells for just $99 — not per day, but for the entire voyage.
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“If you’re looking to book a fall vacation, you’re unlikely to find a better value than at sea,” industry watcher Chris Gray Faust, managing editor of cruise website Cruise Critic, told TPG on Monday. “We’re seeing some really incredible deals right now from the Pacific to the Atlantic.”
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As Gray Faust noted, there are a wide range of fall cruises to the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera and Pacific Coast currently available for under $50 a night, a low fare for a cruise. It’s something that’s all the more remarkable given that such fares include not only accommodations on a ship, but also meals and entertainment on board, she said.
The lower base fares on some fall cruises are so low that cruisers will pay more taxes and fees to various government entities when they book one of the voyages than they would on their own cruise line’s base fare—a situation with upside down which is relatively rare in sailing.
The $99 fee for the aforementioned Carnival cruise, a three-night cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas scheduled for Oct. 17, for example, is well below the $131.27 in taxes and fees that each passenger to book the cruise.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Cruise Line
Many of the lowest fares available for the fall are on ships operated by Carnival and Holland America, two lines that are particularly aggressive in discounting to fill ships. MSC Cruises also offers low fares on a number of fall cruises.
Some cruise brands, such as Norwegian Cruise Line, are keeping their base fares higher but bringing in lots of freebies like unlimited free drinks, specialty dining, excursions and Wi-Fi.
Norwegian on Monday was selling three-night cruises to the Bahamas in November and December that included all of the above for free starting at $279 per person — about $93 a day.
Cruise deals from $26 per day
Among the particularly low fares for fall sailings that cruise lines were advertising on their websites as of late Monday:
- or Four-night carnival cruise out of Miami on Nov. 28 starting at $104 per person — approx $26 per day. The trip to the Bahamas will take place on the 2,980-passenger Carnival Conquest.
- or Four-night carnival cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida, on Nov. 28 starting at $104 per person — approx $26 per day. The trip to the Bahamas will take place on the 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty.
- or five-night Netherlands to America trip from Vancouver, British Columbiaon Oct. 24 starting at $179 per person — approx $36 per day. The trip to the Pacific Coast will take place on Koningsdam with 2,650 passengers.
- or Six-night MSC Cruises cruise from Barcelona on Nov. 6 starting at $299 per person — approx $50 per day. The Mediterranean voyage will take place on the 4,500-passenger MSC Bellissima.
- or Seven-night Holland America cruise from Florida Port Everglades to Fort Lauderdale on November 27 starting at $299 per person – approx $43 per day. The Caribbean cruise will take place on the 2,106-passenger Nieuw Amsterdam.
As is typical of cruise fares advertised online, fares do not include government taxes and fees, which often run around $100 to $200 per person, per cruise. They also do not include the cost of flights to get to the ship, which can be high. That said, there are plenty of low-cost cruises available this fall from “drive-thru ports of entry” near major US population centers that many passengers can reach without flying.
Passengers who book many of the lowest fares available will also pay extra for things like alcoholic beverages, Wi-Fi and service fees during the cruise.
Related: 11 Cruise Ship Surcharges That Will Drive You Upset—And What To Do About Them
Current status of the cruise price
However, even with such additional fees, the cost of such cruises is remarkably low when compared to the rapidly increasing cost of staying at a resort or hotel on land. The price of a cruise this year has fallen far behind prices for land-based accommodation, with some Wall Street analysts covering the travel industry saying the difference is now in the 30% to 50% range.
The cruise price for some itineraries, in particular, has not kept up with the rate of inflation since 2019, the last normal year for the industry, while the price of hotels is much higher than it was a few years ago. The cumulative rate of inflation in the United States since 2019 is nearly 16%, as measured by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
The low fares for fall cruises come as cruise lines struggle more than land-based resorts to return to normal occupancy levels in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carnival Cruise Line’s parent company, Carnival Corporation, on Friday announced that occupancy levels across its nine brands averaged just 84% during the peak summer travel months of June, July and August – below the 87% that Wall Street analysts had expected and well below normal levels.
Carnival Corporation, which also owns Princess Cruises, Holland America and Costa Cruises, typically reports ship occupancy during the summer months above 100% – something possible when more than two people stay in a cabin.
Carnival Corporation’s summer passenger ticket revenue also came in well below Wall Street’s expectations.
The company on Friday also said its cumulative advanced book position for the fourth quarter was “below the historical range” — a change from earlier in the year when the company said fourth-quarter bookings were within historical ranges.
Shares of Carnival Corporation fell more than 23% on Friday to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.
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