I had been looking at final segment Voyager 4/13/08, 17 nights, when I was debating the B2B in May 2008, which we selected - so looked at same Voyager trip, more or less, final segment 2009 - both 2 for 1 -"G" $6925 in 08 and $8620 in 2009 - 2009 is 4/18, 20 nights, $3400 MORE per couple in 2009??? And deposit in 08 was $693 PP vs 09 deposit $1724 pp??? Deposit might be typo - but $3400???? I am math challenged ETC ETC so someone correct me - I usually misread

I hope your math is wrong, are they getting a little out of hand with these fares!
I love the all-inclusive but come on with these fares.

FV

I just looked at two 7-day Med cruises to make some comparisons (using Navigator, since she's in the Med more often):

June 14, 2008, MC-Rome, $4,695
June 06, 2009, Rome-Athens, $5,150

Aug 02, 2008, Piraeus-MC, $4,995
July 31, 2009, Venice-MC,$5,495

Definitely higher, but not hugely so. Comparing 7-day baltics routes on Voyager in August, I see fares from:

2008: $5795
2009: $6395

Interesting, not devastating, but it's creeping up, that's for sure.

Joanna - that's a lot of liquor to make up for that fare increase. ;)
I do think Ngaire told me the SAMBA cruise this year would be 20% higher in 2009. Ngaire - correct me if I'm wrong.

I love the little creep up ones - comparison I was talking about seems out of sight???

I think what we're seeing is that the fares that were already high like the peak Med cruises, Baltic cruises, Norway, etc are seeing just a normal 10+% increase (which is still higher than inflation!). It just looks like they are "closing the loophole" on the bargain cruises that many of us have found in the past such as the PG, crossings, and repositioning cruises. These have gone up quite a bit to bring them closer to the per diems that are on the peak cruises. They are still cheaper than the peak cruises, but it's definately getting harder to find the steals! I was really disappointed that the 2009 PG prices are so high. I'm not panicking yet. If the demand does not keep up with the supply, then hopefully we'll see some deals come back for 2009.

John, I agree. Most of our cruises have been in that category--two-for-ones, 40% discount, extra societies savings, etc. But then of course the discount has to based on a reasonable fare to start with. The PG has been the exception, although we got one huge bargain there in 2003. I am constantly looking for those bargains; if they are no longer there, I'll look elsewhere, like Oceania.

We have nothing planned for 2009; I see a couple of Med. routes on Navigator that look nice, but we'll see. I'm saving up for 2010 I think, to do a "big" cruise, but almost certainly not on Regent.

The 15% - 20% increase was in the African safari rates not in the SAMBA cruise. Africa is getting more and more expensive and going up faster than the cruises.

While the price increases concern me, the possibility of more cost cutting to increase the profit margins concerns me more. So far, we've seen the cuts only on the PG (food budget and added cabins) and in the area of repeat customer discounts and perks. I do so hope they don't start cutting into the quality of the cruise experience. I suspect we may have seen a bit of that when they switched from teams of cabin attendants to a single cabin attendant. That could have yielded them a net reduction in crew size. But I haven't noticed any other cuts in quality. In fact, I think the quality of the dining experience has improved on Voyager. I'd rather pay a bit more and cruise less often than see them nibble away at the quality of the product. Pat

What concerns me is how the price of the World Cruises keeps going up up up. Many who go on these long cruises have more $$$ than Ft. Knox. If water seeks its own level....there may not be any level! They sell out quickly so basic principle of supply and demand seems to go out the window!

Joanna, I agree with you...the deposits have significantly gone up as well. Big turnoff to have THAT much money tied up months/year before hand

Then there is the fuel surcharge. No end in sight for that little extra...

"G" $6925 in 08 and $8620 in 2009, last Segment Voyager, looks like 25% increase - :ohmy: :ohmy:

WOW!!!

$8620 per person, thats sure is a stiff increase.
They have to pay for that new ship somehow!!

FV

Joanna - got to look at the whole picture.

08 - G $6925 x 17 days per day cost $407.35
09 - G $8620 x 20 days per day cost $431.00

Difference is $24 per day per person. Not much at all if you do it on a per day basis.

Cant compare a 20 day price with a 17 day price without doing it on a per day average.

Deposit still the same at 10% for a normal cruise and 20% for the world cruises. PG has been 20% ever since Grand Circle took over.

Agree, when you break it down per day basis it seems more tolerable & Tony just reminded me those 3 extra days needed to be factored into equation - but aren't 08 and 09 both WC segments? - why did I think 08 had lower deposit??

Well it would be $1385 per person for 2008 and $1724 per person for 2009. Those extra days add a lot to the cost and the deposit. Longer cruises are NICE but they do add up when you put on those extra days.

Not had time since I got back to look at PG prices. I think these have increased the most even with the air included from LAX.

There must be a misprint on the B&K website, Joanna. I am seeing the deposit on the '08 one at 10%, not 20%. That is where your sticker shock is coming in, I'll bet. It is quoting the '08 deposit as $680 pp.

From my first post: "And deposit in 08 was $693 PP vs 09 deposit $1724 pp??? Deposit might be typo"

- thanks Pam must be typo, as I thought - get it now -

Yes it is a error on the deposit. That has been posted for a long time and not been picked up before. At this point we may leave it as it will take a long time to redo all those tables and at this point no one is booking 2008 world cruise. Will be off the web soon.

Sorry --- amazing how it could have been wrong all this time and we did not pick it up.

Do you think they are making the segments longer and longer to discourage those that are not booking the whole world cruise, or do you think they are doing it just to offer more interesting itineraries and kick it up a notch...or a little of both?

I don't notice much difference in the length of segments on either of the two '09 WCs....shortest segment is 7 nights and longest is 24 nights (both on the Mariner). Most of them seem to be in the 14-17 day range. I think they try to start/end segments in cities worth overnighting in to offer pre/post cruise options for segment guests.

They would much rather have an entire ship of Full World Cruisers...much easier on the entire crew than passengers getting on and off. From my point of view, I look forward to meeting new segment guests....I think it adds a "freshness".