How do the price of rooms change besides exhange rates?

I wonder how the price of a cruise room by a site/agent changes over the time it is available for purchase by the public?

eg. When are the cheapest tickets available for cruise holidays?

A long time before the ship leaves, or really close to when it leaves?

And generally who has the cheapest tickets?

- Travel Internet sites?

- Real-time travel agents?

- Is there anybody else involved in selling tickets besides internet sites and real-time travel agents and their own internet sites?

(and someone told me that one group (don't know who) does mass bookings and releases them at a certain time .... who are they and does this influence price? and when is the mass release?)

For the purposes of the cruises above, I'm assuming that they are large liners and for a standard 2-bed-room.

Hope people can help!! Thanks :-)

I wonder how the price of a cruise room by a site/agent changes over the time it is available for purchase by the public?

 

eg. When are the cheapest tickets available for cruise holidays?

 

A long time before the ship leaves, or really close to when it leaves?

 

And generally who has the cheapest tickets?

 

- Travel Internet sites?

- Real-time travel agents?

- Is there anybody else involved in selling tickets besides internet sites and real-time travel agents and their own internet sites?

 

(and someone told me that one group (don't know who) does mass bookings and releases them at a certain time .... who are they and does this influence price? and when is the mass release?)

 

For the purposes of the cruises above, I'm assuming that they are large liners and for a standard 2-bed-room.

 

Hope people can help!! Thanks :-)

Can't really determine when cheapest prices are. Some cruises go up in price as cruise date nears. Some cruises go down as sailing nears. No way to know for sure.

For cheapest tickets on some cruise lines no discounts allowed but some travel agents will provide OBC or some other perk. Just make sure they don't charge for changes or cancellations.

I don't think anyone besides cruise line or travel agent (online or otherwise) sells cruises.

Lots of travel agents reserve blocks of rooms but they are not necessarily cheaper. Depends on cruise line and agent. No way of knowing when they release their unsold cabins back to cruise line. And it doesn't necssarily affect the price, just availability of more cabins. As I said, prices can increase or decrease. It depends on the popularity of the itinerary.

Sales is what drives the price. If a cruise is selling well, the price will go up. If sales are poor, it will drop

Prices change due to supply and demand. If the cruise is selling well, prices may rise over time, but if the cruise is selling poorly, prices will probably drop as the company tries to fill the cabins. There's no way to know for sure which voyage will fit into which category.

Cruise lines can change the prices minute by minute if they wish.

If a cruise is selling well, the price could go up.

If it is not selling well, the price could drop.

The timing is the tricky part. :)

I wonder how the price of a cruise room by a site/agent changes over the time it is available for purchase by the public?

 

eg. When are the cheapest tickets available for cruise holidays?

 

A long time before the ship leaves, or really close to when it leaves?

 

And generally who has the cheapest tickets?

 

- Travel Internet sites?

- Real-time travel agents?

- Is there anybody else involved in selling tickets besides internet sites and real-time travel agents and their own internet sites?

 

(and someone told me that one group (don't know who) does mass bookings and releases them at a certain time .... who are they and does this influence price? and when is the mass release?)

 

For the purposes of the cruises above, I'm assuming that they are large liners and for a standard 2-bed-room.

 

Hope people can help!! Thanks :-)

I don't know which ships you are interested in but all of the Carnival brands use the POLAR booking system. This system uses an algorithm that automatically adjusts pricing according to booking demand. A popular voyage that is selling well can go up in price. It's all about supply and demand. None of us here are clairvoyant enough to predict what economic or geopolitical conditions will affect cruise pricing.

Final payments are generally due 90 days before sailing and it might be the best time to get a deal - considering supply and demand. Also the later you book the higher the deposit and very late bookings will require immediate full payment.

Large liners tend to have one king size bed that can often be split into two twins. Sometimes a third person can be accommodated on a sofa bed. Two queen or king beds are found only in higher end suites. Without knowing specifically which ship we can't advise you since it varies so much.

If you are going to wait for a deal there are five things to keep in mind:

1) lowest price is your main goal over and above any other consideration

2) you are not tied to one sailing date

3) you can accept a category guarantee - that is the cruise line picks your cabin

4) you can accept that the fare might instead go up, or the ship sells out, and you don't sail. (Or, you can miss out on a deal because you were hoping for an even better one that never happens.)

5) airfare is not an issue. Last minute air tickets can easily cancel out any last minute cruise deals.

You just don't know what's going to happen.

I booked a cruise a few months back $6,500 .. down to about $5,900 over the weekend $11,000, today $7,000.

You work it out I can't.

Like hotels, air fares,rental cars, etc, the prices change based on supply and demand.

My understanding is that the cruise lines use sophisticated logarithms, similar to airlines, to maximize revenue. No doubt these are tempered by some individual oversight.

One of the nice things about booking in advance is that (after you pay the deposit) you will benefit from any price drops, and not have to pay any price increases.

(the down side is that you have to pay a deposit early - but you do get it back if you choose to cancel.)

Not all deposits are refundable. Check before booking to see if there are any restrictions for cancellation.

Average cruise cabin price changes 70 times as it may be marketed for 2 years. Average basic cabin maybe 160 sqft. Get some cruise books out of your library. Berlitz does an extensive one. Cruising is an interesting game, hence the over 1 million responses here.

Not all deposits are refundable. Check before booking to see if there are any restrictions for cancellation.

Very true; When I've booked, deposits were refundable up to 90 days before sailing, but not all are and you should know before you book.

Thanks everyone for the replies :-)

One of the nice things about booking in advance is that (after you pay the deposit) you will benefit from any price drops, and not have to pay any price increases.

 

(the down side is that you have to pay a deposit early - but you do get it back if you choose to cancel.)

I didn't know that at all!! Is this everyone that guarantees this, or only some sellers?

So if you pay a deposit for a $3000 cruise, if it goes down to $2000 and then back up to $2500 and then down to $1800 towards cruising date, you only have to pay $1800? And this is $1800 that another cruise retailer sold to a customer, for another, similar room on another floor?

But will the person who sold you the cruise REALLY be honest enough to admit to you that the cruise fare went as low as $1800? Know what I mean? Because it means that they make less from the sale.

I'd love to know what people think about this.

As I was typing the above message I thought of something else ....

You know how there are web sites that compare things like all the car and house insurance products ..... are there any sites that compare cruise fares for the same cruises?

eg. cruise # 123 from A to B December 1 - 20

Room type A (or whatever way they describe different types of rooms)

Room type B etc

And then they compare the prices on various websites

It's starting to sound very complicated, isn't it?? Would this be possible? Is it done? :confused:

Thanks :)

Thanks everyone for the replies :-)

 

I didn't know that at all!! Is this everyone that guarantees this, or only some sellers?

I have only ever used travel agents when I've booked a cruise (2 different lines), so I can't comment on any other sellers or lines that I haven't purchased cruises on. It is likely that anyone selling you a cruise that is purchased for you (i.e not a company re-selling a bunch of cabins they've already purchased in bulk) would offer that guarantee.

It doesn't seem complicated at all. The price fluctuates in an unpredictable but explainable way.

Thanks everyone for the replies :-)

 

 

 

I didn't know that at all!! Is this everyone that guarantees this, or only some sellers?

 

So if you pay a deposit for a $3000 cruise, if it goes down to $2000 and then back up to $2500 and then down to $1800 towards cruising date, you only have to pay $1800? And this is $1800 that another cruise retailer sold to a customer, for another, similar room on another floor?

 

But will the person who sold you the cruise REALLY be honest enough to admit to you that the cruise fare went as low as $1800? Know what I mean? Because it means that they make less from the sale.

 

I'd love to know what people think about this.

I wondered about that when I read it since it is not strictly true. Maybe some will give you the lower price if YOU tell them you see the lower price, but not all will do that. And I don't think any do it automatically. You'd have to keep checking prices and notify them. That is why it is important that if you use a TA it is one who doesn't charge for changes.

Just about all of our cruises are non refundable.

We typically book inside the final payment window and have to pay the entire fare with no refunds. usually we book 45 days out.

Just about all of our cruises are non refundable.

 

We typically book inside the final payment window and have to pay the entire fare with no refunds. usually we book 45 days out.

What country?

I have only ever used travel agents when I've booked a cruise (2 different lines), so I can't comment on any other sellers or lines that I haven't purchased cruises on. It is likely that anyone selling you a cruise that is purchased for you (i.e not a company re-selling a bunch of cabins they've already purchased in bulk) would offer that guarantee.

 

It doesn't seem complicated at all. The price fluctuates in an unpredictable but explainable way.

Or, does price fluctuate in a predictable way that is difficult to explain? :p