Sea Power? Claiming Comeback, Carnival Raises Prices

Carnival Cruise Lines said it will raise its prices 5% starting March 22 for summer travel, thanks to strong demand. Or is this actually an attempt by Carnival to show the industry and customers that the cruise operator is doing well? While Carnival's press release said "strong bookings" over the past few months led to the price rise, it refrained from providing statistics, so I guess we'll have to take it all at face value, right?

Apparently not. Several reports acted as if this self-serving press release was actually saying something, as if the depressionrecession is abating and everyone's jumping on Carnival cruises to celebrate. I doubt that's the case, even if some savings fatigue has set in. More likely, the reality is that Carnival has found that deeply discounting cruises isn't cost-effective, so it's now passing costs onto consumers. Others believe that Carnival hopes to push customers into early summer booking by its March 22 deadline.
You can't fault Carnival for doing what so many other companies already do. But I can fault industry watchers for swallowing this without questioning Carnival on its unsubstantiated claims. (In case you're wondering, Carnival's phrase was "unprecedented levels" of demand.) Carnival's press release boosted its stock price, as well as those of other cruise operators, so it did what it was intended to do -- even if it really said nothing at all.

Photo: Yogs MK III