So You Think Seabourn’s 2010 Cruise Prices Are Too High…Check This Out (Again)

OK, today I am cheating a bit. I am working on a post analyzing the various sides to cruise prices and pricign strategies and hoped I post it today. It may be posted over the weekend. But in thinking about it, I remembered my post from October 30, 2008 and thought you might be interested in reading it, if you hadn’t seen it the first time. (It is exciting for me that this blog is quickly becoming sort of a library of information rather than posts with a relevance life of but a few days!)

Here you go:

I love to find “stuff”. I get in trouble for finding “stuff”. But I will always be on the lookout for some good “stuff”. And here is one bit of “stuff” that you have to see to believe.

I recently purchased a pile of old Seabourn brochures and advertisements. Included were ads for Asia, the South Pacific (oh, Seabourn please go back there!!) and the Caribbean. As the Caribbean cruising season is just about upon us, I thought I would share part of a 1995-1996 Caribbean promotional brochure from Seabourn. (If you click on the images, you will see a full size image in a new window.)

Let’s do a bit of comparison:

I. Holiday Cruise

December 21, 1995 to January 6, 1996 (16 days) – Lowest available price, taking into account an air credit of $350 and $200 for a hotel and transfer credit: $13,410 per person ($838 per day)

December 19, 2008 – January 2, 2009 (14 days) – Lowest available price: $6,995.00 per person ($499 per day).

Can you believe it is virtually half the price to cruise on Seabourn today as it was 12 yeas ago…and that doesn’t include cost of living adjustments?

II. Panama Canal Cruise:

November 16, 1995 – November 26, 1995 (10 days) – Lowest available price, taking into account an air credit of $400 and $200 for a hotel and transfer credit: $5,950 per person ($595 per day).

December 5, 2008 – December 19, 2008 (14 days) – Lowest available price: $4,373.00 per person ($312 per day).

Again, it is virtually half the price to cruise on Seabourn today as it was over a decade ago.

Also, keep in mind that back in 1995 the concept of discounting cruise fares really did not exist. Goldring Travel discounts literally every cruise we sell…last year, this year and in the future.

I found this, and lots of other information, fascinating. I will be looking through this treasure trove of material and, from time to time, will share some of it with you.

Now, remember, I will have a lot to say about pricing in the coming days. But in the meantime, take a look back in time and see how far we have come in the way of cruising and its availability to literally millions more in just the past decade.