According to sources in China, prices for cruises for the Chinese market are experiencing significant price fluctuations as sail dates draw closer.

Ticket prices for several cabin categories are said to have plummeted over the next few weeks, leading guests to publish widespread complaints on social media.

“People follow us in the hope of buying at the cheapest price, but the situation has not been good in early July,” one travel agency said in a post.

Passengers are sharing their criticism of “almost all cruises” experiencing significant price drops after being booked and with sailing dates getting closer, the post said.

The price slashing closer to sail dates were one of the challenges the market faced prior to the pandemic, leading to unsold cabins as guests waited to book in hopes of further price drops.

Premium staterooms and experiences, however, reportedly have stable pricing and are holding up well.

VIP categories as well as cruises for the luxury brands are among the products that are not seeing significant changes, the travel agency said.

This situation applies to both international and local operators on sailings from ports such as Shanghai and Tianjin.

Itineraries include visits to destinations in Japan and South Korea, such as Fukuoka, Kobe, Sasebo and Jeju.

China was the last major cruise market to reopen following the pandemic-related operational pause and has been slowly regaining its position in the cruise industry.

While some local brands resumed revenue operations in 2021 and 2022 , international companies returned to the country earlier this year, with Royal Caribbean and MSC back in the market.

Among recent additions has been Blue Dream Cruises with the former AIDAvita, which now operates as the Blue Dream Melody.