Cruise Pricing Risks Sailing Off the Deep End

A prolonged pandemic is sinking near-term pricing for many cruises. The question, for an industry that badly needs the sales after more than a year largely ashore, is whether today’s discounts will weigh on cruise pricing longer term.

All three major cruise lines have recently voiced a focus on retaining ticket prices amid new Covid-19 variants. But as companies have been reintroducing ships back into the waters, they have had shorter timelines to sell near-term tickets. That has led to discounting to tempt people onboard in the coming months, especially as variants have proliferated and breakthrough infections in vaccinated consumers occur.