🛳️ Why are retail cruise prices so similar?
And what's with the Onboard Credits everyone advertises?
If you’re a cruise veteran, you likely have compared prices from different sources with little variation and wondered why.
Direct from the cruise line
Travel agents big and small
Major cruise web sites like VacationsToGo and Cruise Direct
3 Tips
The cruise market is an oligopoly. There are about 15 major cruise lines. But 4 holding companies run the market with 96% of passengers.
Carnival Cruise Line is by far the market leader - 40% of the global market, $26 billion in sales, 90+ ships. The group also owns corporate parent owns Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and P&O Cruises.
Royal Caribbean - 31% share, other brands are Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line - 12% share, other brands are Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas.
MSC Cruises - 8% share
The cruise lines have the power and use it. They enforce rate parity and anti-rebating policies that protect the strength of the cruise lines’ own direct booking
Base Fare Matching: Major cruise lines require travel advisors and online booking engines to sell individual cabins at the same baseline rate found on the cruise line’s direct website.
Anti-Rebating Rules: Lines ban cash back, cash-equivalent rebates, or returning a portion of the agent’s commission directly to the consumer as a cash discount.
Advertising Ceilings (MAP-style rules): Agencies cannot publicly display or advertise prices lower than the cruise line’s standardized pricing layout.
Those Onboard Credits (OBCs) are your discount. Travel agencies and large cruise sellers use the same sales tactics as the lines in their direct sales promotions. They offer non-cash gifts, such as OBCs, prepaid gratuities, and specialty dining. They pay the cruise lines for these add-ons, which reduces their sales commission. Some luxury lines cap these non-cash amenities at a strict percentage (such as 5% to 8% of the base fare).