February 25th 2010
Thinking about booking a Carnival cruise for the coming summer? You might want to do it sooner rather than later.
The world's largest cruise line today announced it plans to implement an across-the-board price increase on March 22 for all summer sailings as bookings continue to bounce back from the downturn of 2008.
Carnival says in a statement that bookings since early January have been running at a record pace.
"For the period of Jan. 1 through Feb. 21, 2010, bookings were at unprecedented levels," the statement says.
Carnival says the price increases it plans will vary by departure date but will be up to 5% per cruise. The line operates 22 ships that sail to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England and Europe.
Known as Wave season, the time from mid-January through early spring traditionally is the busiest, most important booking period in the cruise industry.
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Vera Kuemmel, ACC
Story by Gene Sloan Cruise Log USA Today