Cruise prices - is this normal?

[PJHarvey]

I've been interested in a cruise for a while now, but I'm getting a bit of a shock at the prices when I go to book.

Looking at a week in the Med with a mid range cruise line, with the standard drinks package and at least an oceanview cabin. It's looking like £3.5k for two people and that's not including flights. If we want a standard balcony in a vaguely decent location (not over a theatre for example) it's closer to £4.5k.

I'm looking over 18 months in advance which is supposedly cheaper, and avoiding summer and school holidays. The dates in the weeks before and after are similar prices.

Interested to know what others are paying and if there are any tips or tricks I'm not aware of. Or is this just what cruises cost now?

I've heard friends say a cruise is great value, but when I can get a 5 star all inclusive resort (plus flights) for half the price, I'm not so sure.

Have you looked at P&O? They have 7 day med cruises in June 2026 (for example) starting at £2200 for an ocean view, including flights. I find they're one of the cheapest, but still good quality.

Also, unless you drink loads, I wouldn't bother with a drinks package.

Are P&O good?

I hadn't considered them because a friend went with them and wasn't massively keen, but that's just one opinion.

I paid just over £4k for a week cruise round Greece with P&O. We had a balcony suite. My first cruise and I wouldn’t ever use them again. Towels on sunbeds all day/every day, food and entertainment very poor

I did Norway on Iona last year and enjoyed it. Entertainment was good, food wasn't amazing but enjoyable enough. Weren't interested in the pools anyway so can't comment on those.

We always go with p&o. We got a 2 week Med cruise on the Arvia in early July for around £4,000 for the two of us for a balcony cabin. We always book 2 years in advance so I don't know what happens to prices after that.

Ex travel agent here. We used to call p@o glorified ferries, or floating Butlins as that's what some of their shops used to be. they are low end price and quality. It depends on your budget and itinerary but what you say seems to be ball park. There are many different ships, routes and star ratings to choose from, same as any holiday. We paid £600 pp for an inside cabin 10 nights on NCL before COVID from Barcelona on a med cruise. It was excellent value for money. But a bit of a floating Las Vegas. Try a cruise specialist who can compare the market for you.

Have a look at iglucruise for deals

We go with P&O

And p&o arnt glorified ferries in my experience. We've had nothing but great experiences.

MSC however...Id never go again!

Yes iglu are great

Look at vacationstogo.com for cruise deals

We have only done P and O so far and love it. I expect to pay around £2500 for me and DS for a week including drinks package.

I have my first princess cruise booked for next year which is two weeks and costing just over £5000 for a balcony with drinks etc included.

What cruise line is it?

Love P & O cruises. They are fantastic from my experience and my friend who has been on loads. DH and I are going on to 7 night cruise to Norway (from Southampton) later this month, balcony cabin for £2k. We don't get the drinks package as it's not worth it for us as we don't really drink and we find the bar prices are not that bad anyway.

We’ve done P&O, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. The only one I’m particularly keen to do again is Celebrity. Royal Caribbean was just too big and busy for us, although their staff members were incredible despite being worked to the bone. I might give them another go but think we’ll stick with Celebrity. If it helps we paid around £3.3k this year with Royal Caribbean for a week from Southampton and £3k the year before with Celebrity for the same week. Prices seem to be quite a bit more this year for some reason.

The price of cruises can vary massively, even within the same cruise line, and will depend on when you book, where you go, when you go, and what cabin you choose.

The cheapest times tend to be when an cruise is first released (can be 2 years in advance) or really late - there are some fantastic deals out there for this October/November at the moment - but due to my work, we can't leave it that late.

Shopping around, and not being too fixed on where you want to go can help - for instance, we're going on a 14 night cruise from Barcelona to Miami in November, several sea days, but also 6 stops along the way. All in, it's cost us £2800 for a balcony cabin, spa access for the 14 days, all food and drink, 2 speciality meals, and limited wi-fi. But you can get deals starting from £600 per person for an inside cabin

Thanks all, lots to consider there.

@budgiegirl That sounds fantastic and a great deal for two weeks.

I've been looking at Norwegian and Princess, and Royal Caribbean for price comparison (but I know their extras like drinks are very expensive).

I think I either need to wait for new cruises to be released so I can book really early, or look at MSC or P&O.

Thank you - their deals look good. I've had a look but it seems like you can't email them, just request a call.

Is there any issue booking through a US company?

Might be worth looking for Black Friday deals upcoming soon.
We tend to make bookings then with good promotions and savings…

I've got 2 wks booked with Marella/tui. Carribean. Balcony cabin, drinks package, upgraded flights, transfers for £7.5k for 2 people.

Adult kids are coming and they are paying £3K each for inside cabin.

Are the princess ones you’ve looked at on Sun Princess? That’s coming at a big premium because it’s brand new, I wanted to go in it but have decided against it due to the price! Also the princess package isn’t just drinks, it’s also WiFi, speciality dining, fitness classes etc so you get a lot but it does add to the price.

If you’re sure you want to do med and only for a week, P&O are good due to the fly cruise option they offer. I haven’t actually been on MSC myself but look carefully at reviews before booking. The prices are good because they ram the ships full, and they’re very crowded and noisy with a real party atmosphere - not necessarily a bad thing if that’s what you want but very different to princess and NCL!

If you’re willing to go from Southampton, Sky Princess is going to Scandinavia for 7 days in August 2026, with a deck 12 balcony cabin for £3100 for 2 people on princess plus.

Out of interest where are you finding 5 star all inclusive for 7 nights including flights for half the price? I haven’t done one of those holidays for a while because everything seemed to be £5k+

Are the princess ones you’ve looked at on Sun Princess? That’s coming at a big premium because it’s brand new

That’s a very good point. The older ships tend to be cheaper than the newer ships.

@PJHarvey we ended up booking directly with the cruise line for the same price as vacationstogo as it was a last minute booking. It was great to use as a search of so many options though.

@waterybottle I didn't even look at how old or new the ship was. Yes it's the Sun Princess so that might explain it.

There are quite a few options around £1,000 per person with TUI for Greece in late April/early May, going from a London airport. Not all are TUI hotels, some of them look fab and have excellent reviews.

Have a fantastic time. We went in August. Loved it!