Alaska cruise pricing is down 20% to 40%, hitting new lows in February, according to a report from Wachovia Capital Markets.
Equity analyst Tim Conder said that while pricing in all regions is lower than last year, Alaska "is especially weak," with pricing down 35% to 40% for Carnival Cruise Lines, down about 25% for Holland America Line and Princess Cruises and down 20% to 30% for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s brands, over the same period of 2008.
Pricing in Alaska "hit new lows in February," Conder wrote, citing trends from Wachovia's periodic cruise pricing survey.
In general, he said, pricing on close-in cruise bookings has stabilized since early January, but Q2 and Q3 trends continue to be challenging.
Caribbean pricing continues to show the most resilience and is generally down between 5% and 10% for seven-day cruises and down 8% to 12% for itineraries shorter than seven days, over last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. brands are performing the best overall, Conder wrote.
European pricing is down in the low double digits from the U.S.-sourced market, and is likely down mid-to-high single digits from the European sourcing.
"We believe both companies are now aggressively moving to fill remaining [Q2 and Q3] capacity after attempting to hold price as long as possible," he said.
