I think cruise lines are trying to change consumer expectation to higher fares. Not sure if they can hold this line or if they'll reduce fares to fill cabins. It'll be interesting to see if consumers or cruise lines will yield first.
Originally Posted by
Randeman
Airlines aren't dropping fares the way most people have expected in oil prices have plummeted.
Then again, there used to be more big airlines in the U.S. and hence more competition. Now down to 3 large(r) legacies from 6+. A tighter and more-disciplined oligopoly has emerged.
I seem to recall watching something on YouTube in the last couple of years about a particular cruise and how much money it made. If I recall correctly, while the line executive would not mention specifics it was astonishing how little money a line makes per cruise, and if it wasn't for discretionary spending that particular cruise would have operated at a loss.
I posted something a few months back about a RCCI (IIRC) exec saying that if each cruise pax spent $2/day more, it'd double bottom line over 5 or so years. Was rather surprised such a small delta (albeit over thousands per cruise) would make sure a large difference.