Increased fuel costs also raise the prices of cruises.
Cruises prices have sometimes risen high this summer. If a family of four wanted to buy a Tallink Silja Day in Stockholm cruise from Helsinki today, Thursday, for the same day, it would cost more than 500 euros at its lowest.
On the weekend, cheaper cabins are available, and a family could travel for less than 180 euros.
Viking Line’s corresponding cruise next has space on Friday. Then the family would have to spend almost 300 euros on their trip. Also on Viking Line, the lowest prices on some days have risen well over 400 euros in the past week.
The example family in the calculation includes two adults and two children aged 7–10.
At the time of search, the Turkus Päivä in Stockholm cruises were sold out on Viking Line’s website for most of the next few days. If applied on Thursday, a family of four could get on a Viking Line cruise from Turku the following Saturday for just under 215 euros.
Tallink Silja’s similar cruise could be taken from Turku on Saturday for just under 120 euros.
As worn the demand for cruises in the summer has been high, says the CEO of Tallink Silja Margus Schultz. Increasing demand affects prices.
“We have been using dynamic pricing for years. It means that if demand is strong, the price will rise faster.”
In the summer, the demand for cruises is the highest, says Schults. In dynamic pricing, the price of the cruise on Tallink Silja is affected not only by demand, but also by how close the trip is booked to departure.
According to Schults, the number of people booking cruises is now higher than before.
“There are days when even a double-digit percentage of the tickets are sold on the same day as the departure.”
The phenomenon is also confirmed by Viking Line’s vice president Peter Hellgren. Viking Line also uses dynamic pricing. In that case, prices can also drop as departure approaches, if demand drops, reservations are canceled or competitors’ prices drop.
According to Hellgren, prices on Viking Line are also affected by the fact that the smaller cruise ship M/S Amorella replaced M/S Mariella on the Helsinki-Stockholm route during the pandemic.
“Amorella has fewer cabins, so in the summer when demand is high, it fills up faster,” says Hellgren.
Also according to shipping companies, the high price of fuel has created pressure for the price of cruises to rise.
Both Schults and Hellgren say that the prices of cruises are now more expensive than before the corona pandemic due to the conditions. The corona restrictions greatly reduced the number of passengers.
“We have practically made a loss for two years. At some point, the sled has to be turned around, and at the same time the costs have risen very much,” says Schults.
Tallink Silja and Viking Line have charged passengers a fuel surcharge since March of this year.
On Tallink Silja’s Helsinki-Stockholm cruise, the personal fuel fee is currently 7 euros for people over five years old. On Viking Line, the fee is 5.80 euros for people over six years old. Fuel charges are taken into account in the example prices in this article.
According to the shipping companies, the fuel charges cover part of the costs caused by the increased fuel costs.
Read more: Viking Line and Tallink Silja start charging a fuel surcharge – the price of a Stockholm cruise will rise by around six euros
If looking for cruise prices for next week, prices are mainly lower than this week.
Viking Line’s Day in Stockholm cruise from Turku for next week is, however, on some days more expensive than a similar cruise on the same day from Helsinki: for example, on Wednesday, a family of four would have to pay almost 240 euros for it.
According to Peter Hellgren, the reason for the high prices of the route is demand.
“The Turku-Stockholm route has been very busy this summer. The popularity of the route is partly due to the fact that Viking Glory and Viking Grace are of great interest to people.”
After the summer holiday season, the demand for cruises decreases, so prices can also be expected to decrease. However, the high price of fuel and inflation will also affect prices in the fall, Viking Line’s Hellgren predicts.
“The price of living, eating and transport rises quite quickly. This will certainly have an impact on the prices of cruise tickets in the fall as well.”
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Correction 28.7. 3:55 p.m.: Contrary to what was previously reported in the article, Peter Hellgren is Viking Line’s vice president, not CEO.
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