Q – We have friends in Portland who claim to have booked a Crystal Cruise for $2305 per person. They’ve been bragging about the great deal they got but we wonder if this is really the rate. I don’t know exactly where they are going but I think they are traveling in April or May. My wife and I find this amazing because we’ve always heard that Crystal was one of the top lines. Can you shed any light on this? Cruise pricing is just one dark tunnel as far as I’m concerned.
A – We know. The best way to handle pricing issues is to understand that cruise lines just don’t go around to different top-producing travel agencies with different price offers. Cruise pricing is a surprisingly level playing field. All of the top agencies get exactly the same rates for their clients. If they didn’t, they would refuse to represent the line.
Your friend was telling you the truth – but not the whole truth. They did find a fare of $2305 in an obstructed view cabin on the Crystal Symphony sailing from Vancouver to on April 29th. That is a truly amazing price for a seven-night inclusive cruise on one of our highest-ranked lines. But there is a little piece of the puzzle missing. This is a cruise that is repositioning the ship from Japan to Los Angeles. The seven-night segment your friends have booked sails from Vancouver to Los Angeles, far from the ideal time to be spending a week in the Pacific Ocean trying to hug the shoreline.
A much better deal can be had in late October when you can book a 12-Day cruise on the Crystal Serenity from Venice to Istanbul for less than $4,000 per person. That means you get a five-star inclusive experience at $334 per day. It should cost between $500-$700 per day. When the consumer media claims that “cruise prices have never been lower”, this is the kind of offer they have in mind.
