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Cruise prices are advertised as per-person lead-in fares that exclude taxes, gratuities and onboard spending, and no official price statistic exists. We estimate what passengers actually pay from the fiscal 2025 annual reports of the three US-listed cruise groups and set the result against published fares, add-on tariffs, government charges and industry data. Weighted by passenger cruise days, ticket revenue averaged USD 197.42 per passenger day, from USD 171.28 at Carnival to USD 264.56 at Norwegian, or about USD 1,382 for the 7.0-day average cruise; with onboard and other revenue the average was USD 293.18. Carnival's ticket revenue per passenger day was 13.4% above fiscal 2019 before inflation. The lowest advertised seven-night Caribbean fare on one major line was USD 231, or USD 33 a night, against USD 919 on the same page. Automatic gratuities ran USD 17.00 to USD 20.00 per person per day in standard cabins, and Royal Caribbean's rate rose 54% in six steps since 2015; drinks packages cost USD 83.94 to USD 138 a day. For two adults on a seven-night cruise at the average ticket rate, gratuities and one drinks package each add 52% to the fare. Government charges ranged from USD 2.30 per passenger in Skagway to USD 34.50 for Alaska's state excise tax. Ocean cruise passengers reached a record 37.2 million in 2025, 4.9 times 2000, and the fleet 692 thousand lower berths in 2026; the eleven 2026 newbuilds cost USD 212,500 to USD 2.78 million per berth. All inputs are public.
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Kurz et al. (2026) studied this question.
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