As regulators clamp down on hotels and OTAs using drip-pricing, hidden fees and time-sensitive deals, is the cruise industry next in the firing line?

If you’ve booked a holiday before, you will likely have seen phrases such as “Your offer runs out in five minutes!!” and “Escapes from £1,000”. While these ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ deals may seem enticing at first, as you navigate through the booking process, so often an extra £50 is tacked on here and there for administration fees, taxes, mandatory upgrades and the rest.

But in 2024, the UK government moved to increase protection for consumers when it comes to online price transparency by introducing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) to give regulators like the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) more power to clamp down on pricing tactics used by online traders.

At the time, consumer protection platform Which? said the bill would modernise the UK’s competition and consumer laws, with the potential to “create a world-leading regulatory framework”.

“The bill is timely as the ongoing cost of living crisis has heightened the need to address the rip‑offs, scams and rogue traders that cause consumers misery,” the firm continued. “It is estimated by the government that up to a third of people experience at least one problem with a product or service every year, and consumers suffer harm worth £54 billion a year.”

Then, in November 2025, the CMA opened its first enforcement cases under the act after new guidance was issued, which introduced a new wave of implications for the travel industry. The body targeted eight businesses, including ticketing firms StubHub and Viagogo, and issued warnings to a further 100 companies – 25 of which were firms in the travel and hotel industry.

In response, Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, slammed hotels for misleading consumers with “too-good-to-be-true sales, where they reel in consumers with the promise of a great deal, only for it to be almost impossible to book at the bargain rate.” She continued: “Which? reported several hotel groups to the ASA after we caught them using sneaky bait-pricing tactics, so it’s good to see the regulator taking action. This should send a message to other businesses that they must display prices accurately and ensure they aren’t misleading customers.”

The CMA said it is focusing on combatting hidden or late-stage mandatory fees; pre‑selected or automatically bundled optional services; and misleading countdown clocks and other urgency messaging. Alongside its investigations, the CMA reminded companies that under the DMCCA, prices must not be misleading and all mandatory charges, like booking fees, tourist taxes, resort fees and cleaning fees (i.e included gratuities) must be included at the outset.

The act also highlights that drip-pricing – showing consumers an initial headline cost of a product before adding charges later in the booking process, which is often used by cruise lines – is strictly prohibited. At the same time, the UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), published rulings against four hotel room providers for promoting low room rates using unqualified “from £X” claims – another common pricing tactic in the travel sector.

While the cruise industry is yet to fall into the firing line of the regulations, these rulings set a damning precedent which could have lasting ramifications for how cruise holidays are advertised and sold. According to the Cruise Trade News 2025 Annual Report, perception around the cost of a cruise is still holding back new customers.

Therefore, if lines are forced to display the total cost of a sailing at the onset, it could dissuade even more potential clients from a holiday at sea.

‘Conduct a rapid audit of all online pricing practices’

So, what could these rulings mean for the cruise industry? Marta Garcia, partner at specialist transportation and trade law firm Stephenson Harwood, encourages cruise lines and travel agencies to act now to ensure that their pricing structures, customer journeys and disclosures meet the legal requirements.

“Conduct a rapid audit of all online pricing practices and review the entire customer journey – whether on the web, app or mobile – to identify where fees, charges or conditions are first presented,” she advises.

“Check for drip pricing, misleading partitioned pricing, hidden charges, hidden conditions and time-limited offers that may not end when advertised, and check that the user experience aligns with the CMA’s new guidance.”

The total price of a cruise, including all compulsory fees like port taxes and gratuities, must now be displayed clearly and prominently at the earliest stage of the purchase price, Garcia advises. “Cruise lines also need to verify that sales and countdown deals end when advertised, and that internal systems update prices automatically and on time.”

For example, for a campaign titled “Mediterranean 2026 now on sale”, the lead-in fare must be available on a significant proportion of sailings within that programme, not just on one or two dates. Even more crucially, if a campaign is cruise-specific – “seven-night Barcelona sailing from £699”, for example – the “from” price must be available across a substantial proportion of cabins for that cruise, not just a single inside cabin that has already sold out.

“To account for limited cabins and shoulder-season sailings, cruise lines and/or travel operators need to ensure that their ads contain appropriate qualifications or date restrictions to the price claims made in the ad, so that customers are not misled,” Garcia continues.

“The ASA indicated that although its assessment will be carried out on a case-by-case basis, the rule of thumb is that 10 per cent of the products advertised should usually be available at the ‘from’ or ‘up to’ price.”

Agents ‘not immune’ to drip-pricing crackdown

Most large agencies will utilise direct API connections to cruise lines, or third-party aggregators, which means prices will flow from the cruise lines into booking engines and update in real time. Therefore, the onus is placed back on the cruise lines and away from the agents. However, Paula MacFarlane, senior solicitor for ABTA, encourages agents to not take these systems for granted. She advises the trade to be confident that the prices they are quoting are in line with the guidance.

“Following the CMA guidance that resort fees, tourist taxes or any other obligatory charges which will be payable by customers overseas must be included in the headline price, responsibility remains primarily with the supplier rather than the agent,” she tells Cruise Trade News. “However, agents should still be satisfied that the prices they are quoting on behalf of their suppliers are compliant with the CMA guidance.”

For Panache Cruises, these changes are a positive step towards greater transparency and should help attract new customers by building faith and confidence in the wider travel agent community. “I must say that we view these changes as very positive news for consumers,” says founder and CEO James Cole. “The movement towards greater transparency in pricing can only serve to build trust and confidence among travellers.

“Being transparent from a consumer pricing perspective is crucial, and these new rules will help ensure that customers are presented with clear, accurate and upfront prices. This is essential for maintaining their trust and ensuring they have a positive experience when booking their cruises. We are fully supportive of these initiatives.”

When approached by Cruise Trade News, CLIA, Celestyal and MSC Cruises declined to comment, while P&O Cruises claimed these new regulations will not impact its pricing strategy. Iglu Cruise and SixStarCruises/Cruise118 also declined to issue a statement.

As the industry grapples with trust, value and attracting first-time cruisers, clearer and fairer costs could become a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory burden

Ultimately, the message from regulators is clear: pricing practices that rely on ambiguity, artificial urgency or incomplete information are no longer tolerated. The DMCCA gives the CMA sharpened teeth to enforce long-standing consumer law principles, while the ASA’s recent rulings reinforce that headline pricing claims must be meaningful, substantiated and widely available. Together, they mark a decisive shift from guidance to action, with the entire travel sector firmly under the microscope.

While cruise lines have so far avoided direct enforcement, the regulatory direction of travel is unmistakable. For operators, these new rulings mean a fundamental rethink of how holidays are priced, presented and promoted. Unavoidable costs such as port charges and gratuities must be shown upfront, not revealed gradually through the booking journey.

Scarcity messaging, countdown clocks and eye-catching “from” fares will need robust evidence behind them, or clear qualifications alongside them. Its crucial that those operating outside the parameters get in line quickly, because non-compliance now carries far greater legal and reputational risk than ever before. On the other side of the coin, the message for travel agents is around vigilance.

Even where prices are fed directly from suppliers, agents remain a visible part of the sales chain and must be confident that what they are quoting meets CMA and ASA standards. The prize for greater transparency around pricing, however, is significant. As the industry grapples with trust, value and attracting first-time cruisers, clearer and fairer costs could become a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory burden.<...

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