UBS Investment Research analyst Robin Farley noted Jan. 24 that cruise fares have held steady or slightly increased since the start of the year, despite the crash of the Costa Concordia.
UBS had forecasted that prices would take a hit as a result of the accident.
“Although we expected that a strong start to Wave season would likely be derailed by the accident in Italy, said Farley, ticket prices appear to be up as much as 1% since the start of the year, according to the UBS Cruise Data Tracker.
The increase in fares even can be seen at Costa Cruises, said Farley.
While it’s still early, she added, the impact so far on bookings “may not be as negative as one might have expected.”
According to Farley’s report, “Our pricing checks indicate that for the 2012 cruising season, cruise prices across the Caribbean have been up moderately in the last few weeks, including another slight uptick so far in Wave.”
The Caribbean has “shown strength since the second-to-last week of December,” she added, and Alaska is moderately up since the start of year.
Farley said that Mediterranean cruise pricing has been stable since prices dipped in early November.
UBS's report jibes with findings in a Travel Weekly survey that the Costa accident has had little effect on agents' cruise bookings.
Follow Donna Tunney on Twitter @dttravelweekly.