Royal Caribbean Price Trends

Is anyone familiar with the trends of Royal Caribbean pricing in the US? I was watching some prices for cruises out of Galveston in December 2015 and was waiting for them to drop more but they never seemed to drop much. They went down a little but then jumped about $100.

We're currently looking at possibly the Nov 29th cruise since it is cheaper (end of hurricane season?) but it's making me wonder if I wait a couple of weeks will I get better prices on the Dec 6th or 13th cruises.

And I'm assuming the price trend is different from Florida where the demand is higher?

Thanks

The answer is no one knows. It all comes down to supply and demand.

Keith

Thanksgiving is November 26. Should not make a big difference but might still be a factor in price. Supply and demand seems to rule.

As others have said pricing is dictated by supply and demand, and hurricane season timing has nothing to do with it. In fact, the summer is the height of hurricane season and, primarily as a result of school summer break and family vacation times, is typically the most expensive cruise season.

But the weeks you are looking at are also typically lower priced than other times as they are between Holidays and just prior to the height of the winter Caribbean cruise season. But there really are no trends to predict pricing movement. I would just book when you feel the budget is right for you at the time and itinerary on which you wish to travel.

Is anyone familiar with the trends of Royal Caribbean pricing in the US? I was watching some prices for cruises out of Galveston in December 2015 and was waiting for them to drop more but they never seemed to drop much. They went down a little but then jumped about $100.

 

We're currently looking at possibly the Nov 29th cruise since it is cheaper (end of hurricane season?) but it's making me wonder if I wait a couple of weeks will I get better prices on the Dec 6th or 13th cruises.

 

And I'm assuming the price trend is different from Florida where the demand is higher?

 

Thanks

The three weeks you mention are some of the slowest times of the year for cruises that is why they are already priced so low. You might get a resident rate since you live in Austin, but the fares are just as likely to start inching up as they are going down.

Depending on how a cruise is selling will affect the price. If a cruise isn't sailing well the price will go down.

It seems that as you get closer to a cruise date the prices go up.

Prices might dip just after or before final payment as TA's return unsold cabins to the cruise line.

 

And I'm assuming the price trend is different from Florida where the demand is higher?

Cruises are not priced by state and are the same regardless of residency. What does occur is that different itineraries at different times during the year will offer a discount based on residency that can apply to any state. You are able to check to see if a residency discount applies on the booking tool on line.

When you select your state of residency the resulting pricing will automatically reflect any discount in effect. There are also similar discount options based on 55+, military, fire, and police occupations.

But FL carries no different rate outside of the possible residency discount and there is no associated pricing trend based on it's supply and demand relative to the published national base rates.

I'm not familiar with RCI's pricing system but the Carnival brands use the POLAR booking system which uses algorithms that dynamically adjust pricing in each category to booking demand. RCI probably uses something similar.

What this means for you is that it is impossible to predict what economic or geopolitical factors will affect interest in booking a particular cruise. Supply and demand, supply and demand.

You might find a deal just inside 90 days to sailing after final payment would be due. Keep checking and sign up for email offers if you have not already done so.

Ultimately you have to decide which is more important to you - securing a cabin on that sailing or getting the best deal. It's not always possible to have both.

You might find a deal just inside 90 days to sailing after final payment would be due. Keep checking and sign up for email offers if you have not already done so.

Not as likely anymore with RCI as they have recently decided not to discount pricing post final as previously done. While it stil will vary with market demand prior to final payment, pricing tends to hold at the final payment levels after that. Apparently it was determined to be unfair to those who purchased early at what could become higher levels. Sales have reportedly remained strong with this and ships are still sailing full, so I guess it hasn't hurt business any.

There are deals to be had with other cruise lines. Why married to RC only?

There are deals to be had with other cruise lines. Why married to RC only?

In our case it is brand preference. And although they may be curtailing last minute specials to fill remaining staterooms, IMO their pricing is competitive and remains a good cruise value for the price.

I know it is a different company, the head of Carnival Corp (Carnival, Princess, HAL, etc) recently said that sales for the 4th quarter of this year and the first quarter of next are ahead of a year ago at higher prices.

I would think RCI is having similar results.

The first couple of weeks in Dec, are usually priced low. Why wait and take a chance. Book now and try to adjust if prices go down. It has been my experience that they go up not down.

There are deals to be had with other cruise lines. Why married to RC only?

We really like RCI and they're out of Galveston which is not too far of a drive. We are looking at some Celebrity cruises (we'll be Diamond in a couple of months) but we'll have to go out of Florida. If we're flying to Florida, I'm thinking I'd like to be on one of the new RCI ships so I can watch a show in the open air theater.

Is anyone familiar with the trends of Royal Caribbean pricing in the US? I was watching some prices for cruises out of Galveston in December 2015 and was waiting for them to drop more but they never seemed to drop much. They went down a little but then jumped about $100.

 

 

 

We're currently looking at possibly the Nov 29th cruise since it is cheaper (end of hurricane season?) but it's making me wonder if I wait a couple of weeks will I get better prices on the Dec 6th or 13th cruises.

 

 

 

And I'm assuming the price trend is different from Florida where the demand is higher?

 

 

 

Thanks

We are on the 6th cruise. Our category sold out months ago. Prices on what's left have done nothing but go up. Lots of locals sail out of Galveston. Lots of D and D+ locals.