Exclusive: Cruise fares 60% higher in Australia than in the USA – here’s why

• Cruise prices have been on the rise in Australia and around the world – but some lines are seeing steeper rises than others.
• A Cruise Passenger analysis shows how Aussie cruise prices stack up the US prices across different cruise lines.
• The results show that Aussies are often spending upwards of 60% more on cruise fares than US passengers.

Many Cruise Passenger readers have written to us recently complaining their favourite cruise line has been quietly raising fares.

And while we know cruisers often complain about prices – and all prices have been going up in recently years – the complaints have been steadily increasing to a point where we set out to investigate.

We know that cruise fares in Australia have had to rise – we are in competition with America and Europe for cruise ships, so unless cruise companies get a return they will leave. And they have – which is why our capacity is 30 per cent down this season.

But what our readers pointed out is that the fare rises in Australia haven’t been equally applied across the board. Carnival has stayed steady, while Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises have seen sharper increases.

While a few years ago, Royal Caribbean might have been thought of as just a tick above Carnival in pricing, the gulf has definitely widened. Some Royal Caribbean cruises are now twice the price of a Carnival equivalent.

Princess has also seen prices jump, largely overtaking Celebrity Cruises. 

One reason for the change is that Princess and Royal Caribbean are both sailing with fewer ships in Australia than previously. Princess has gone from four to two and Royal Caribbean from three to two. So suites and cabins are scarce.

Carnival has also technically dropped a ship, with P&O’s Pacific Explorer leaving the fleet. But it has largely compensated by reorganising its ships under the Carnival brand name.

Also important to note is that Carnival has three ships operating year-round in Australia, which keeps fuelling and repositioning costs down, as well as allowing Carnival to negotiate with local suppliers and reduce costs. Royal Caribbean has no ships year-round and Princess technically has a ship year-round in Australia, but this generally involves a world cruise of at least about three months. 

Another way to analyse how Australian cruise lines deal with costs is to look at the difference in cost in cruising in Australia, versus cruising in the USA.

Cruise Passenger did the analysis and the results definitely confirm suspicions. 

Below is a comparison of six, seven, nine, 10 and 11 night itineraries in Australia versus the USA for Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruises and Princess Cruises. 

As can be seen from the data below, if you’re sailing with Princess or Royal Caribbean, a cruise fare in the USA can be much cheaper than in Australia.

• Sailing with Carnival in Australia compared to the USA is comparable, and generally cheaper – especially with cruises over a week.
• Sailing with Princess or Royal Caribbean in Australia often costs more than 60% more in Australian than it does in the USA.

	Royal Caribbean	Carnival Cruises	Princess Cruises
Six-night Australia	$1379.50	$847.50	$1822.50
Six-night USA	$826.50	$510	$1204
Seven-night Australia	$1368.50	$939	$2142
Seven-night USA	$912	$876.50	$1235
Nine-night Australia	$1822	$906.50	$2509
Nine-night USA	$1500	$1423.50	$2190
10-night Australia	$2949	$1004	$3317
10-night USA	$1769	$1437	$1964
11-night Australia	$3349.50	N/A	$3868
11-night USA	$2047.50	$1508.50	$2318

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Line-by-line breakdown

Carnival Cruises 

	Australia	USA	Difference
Six-night	$847.50	$510	Aus costs 66% more
Seven-night	$939	$876.50	Aus costs 7% more
Nine-night	$906.50	$1423.50	USA costs 57% more
10-night	$1004	$1437	USA costs 43% more
11-night	N/A	$1508.50	N/A

• For shorter cruises, Carnival offers very cheap cruises out of Los Angeles, that eclipse Australian prices and over six or seven nights, Aussie cruise fares are more expensive.
• However, with longer sailings, which for Aussies are generally to the South Pacific, Carnival offers much better value in Australia than it does in the USA.
• For a longer cruise, fares are about 50% better in Australia.

Royal Caribbean 

	Australia	USA	Difference
Six-night	$1379.50	$826.50	AUS costs 67% more
Seven-night	$1368.50	$912	Aus costs 50%
Nine-night	$1822	$1500	Aus costs 21% more
10-night	$2949	$1769	Aus costs 66% more
11-night	$3349.50	$2047.50	Aus costs 63% more

• With Royal Caribbean, you can generally find better fares in the USA than in Australia. 
• Over many different itinerary lengths, you can find a cruise up to 60% cheaper in the Caribbean or West Coast of the USA than you can find out of Sydney or Brisbane. 

Princess Cruises

	Australia	USA	Difference
Six-night	$1822.50	$1204	Aus costs 51% more
Seven-night	$2142	$1235	Aus costs 73% more
Nine-night	$2509	$2190	Aus costs 18% more
10-night	$3317	$1964	Aus costs 69% more
11-night	$3868	$2318	Aus costs 67% more

• Similarly to Royal Caribbean, Princess fares in Australia are steeper than in the USA. This is likely emphasised by Princess cruises selling out very quickly in Australia since the line reduced its local capacity. 

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What does this mean? 

What the data demonstrates is that while Royal Caribbean and Princess’s local prices in Australia are outpacing USA pricing, Carnival is staying more solid. 

Cruise lines commonly complain of red tape and high regulatory costs and port fees in Australia, which could likely be contributing to the higher fares that we see locally. 

Carnival’s strategy of having ships here year-round, which seemingly works to keep costs down, is something we can hope to see replicated by Princess and Royal Caribbean in the future.

We can’t tell is Carnival has special pricing at ports. But given their status as the only year-round line, it would not seem to unreasonable to assume NSW Ports gives them preferential treatment as a valued customer.

Grand Princess will technically be sailing year-round in Australia in 2027, but that will include a 79-day Pacific Circle cruise.

It has long been rumoured that Royal Caribbean could sail year-round in Australia once its private destination at Lelepa opens up, and this would be a huge win for cruisers and the industry and likely mean lower fares.

To achieve this, Australia needs to re-engage with the cruise industry.

Cruise Passenger and other industry figureheads have long been calling for a national cruise strategy that works to reduce red tap and regulatory costs, which can not only bring more investment into Australia and the industry, but also mean better fares for local Aussies looking for a holiday.

Both Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean have been contacted for comment.