I booked a cruise that is too expensive for 2018, advice?

So I wanted to take advantage of the dollar sale today

I've been waiting for this sale for so long...

I booked an Alaskan Cruise for 2018, my moms has it booked for a while..

The only problem is the cost came out to be 6 grand for two. That's too much..

Can I watch for the cruise to go on sale and have it price adjusted? If so, how many times can I adjust the price?

Any help would be great, I really want to go on this cruise. I have till March 2018 to pay it in full

Yes ...search this board for "price drop" you'll see threads detailing everything to do with price reductions. Generally you can get most price drops prior to final payment date.

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Did you book directly with Princess? If so, find a TA who offers discounted fares who doesn't charge a fee for changes if Princess' fare should decrease. You can authorize your TA to transfer your booking over to his agency. Our TA typically discounts 10-12%...that would save you in the area of $600-$700 if your TA did the same.

You don't mention your cabin category. Would you consider a lower category to save some money?

Good luck...

Alaska cruises usually start really high. Just keep track of price and adjustments.

Also, find a TA who discounts your cruise. You can save 10% off the cruise fare.

So I wanted to take advantage of the dollar sale today

I've been waiting for this sale for so long...

I booked an Alaskan Cruise for 2018, my moms has it booked for a while..

The only problem is the cost came out to be 6 grand for two. That's too much..

Can I watch for the cruise to go on sale and have it price adjusted? If so, how many times can I adjust the price?

 

Any help would be great, I really want to go on this cruise. I have till March 2018 to pay it in full

Right now prices are high for next season's Alaska. Keep your booking and watch for promos. When you see a price you like cancel and re-book. You probably will have to pay the full deposit or whatever deposit is required by the new promo. You can do this up to final payment date.

I also booked Alaska for 2018. Fares are high so I'm doing the same...keeping an eye out for price reduction and promos.

??? Snarky financial comment rescinded.

Did you book directly with Princess? If so, find a TA who offers discounted fares who doesn't charge a fee for changes if Princess' fare should decrease. You can authorize your TA to transfer your booking over to his agency. Our TA typically discounts 10-12%...that would save you in the area of $600-$700 if your TA did the same.

 

You don't mention your cabin category. Would you consider a lower category to save some money?

 

Good luck...

 

Lew, can you email me at huskerdan25@msn.com? I have some questions I would like to ask you that can't be asked here. Thanks, sir!

Dan

We booked for Feb 2019 @ $1 Deposit.

We have no intention of paying that horrible rate .

Sales will come & go between now and Final . The sailing will not go without a Sales Promo , guaranteed.

After last $1 Promo . booking was upgraded from Balcony to Mini , over a year out !

Yes, you can call anytime you see a better offer up until final payment. Then it's locked.

Did it twice on our last cruise. The first time I got an awesome deal. Had we kept our original inside cabin it would have been a really big reduction. But, instead we bumped up to a balcony. The offer included some OBC, don't remember how much. Net difference between our original cost and the new cost (when taking into account the OBC) was minimal at that point.

Next price drop would have caused us to lose the OBC and we would not have saved anything unless we took a lower cabin category. So, we didn't take the offer.

Somewhere here on Cruise Critic there is a place for you to sign up for price drop alerts. Shows up in your e-mail. I don't remember exactly where it is, maybe the main page? Anyway, that's how I was alerted to the price drops.

Found it: http://www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop/

Found it: http://www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop/

Thanks Blondilu. Didn't even know about this. Nice that they is a way to get informed of price drops without having to check manually on a regular basis.

Dan

So I wanted to take advantage of the dollar sale today

I've been waiting for this sale for so long...

I booked an Alaskan Cruise for 2018, my moms has it booked for a while..

The only problem is the cost came out to be 6 grand for two. That's too much..

Can I watch for the cruise to go on sale and have it price adjusted? If so, how many times can I adjust the price?

 

Any help would be great, I really want to go on this cruise. I have till March 2018 to pay it in full

You can do it as many times as it's necessary.

Found it: http://www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop/

That's fine, but remember prices can and do fluctuate sometimes within hours. If you're only checking (or being informed of) price drops weekly, you may miss some.

Also, keep in mind that Alaska cruises are always more expensive.... I've rarely seen price drops on those as they are so popular.

I booked a cruise that's too expensive as well. I knew it was too expensive and booked it anyway. Looking forward to sailing in October. I worked all my life and am finally retired and want to do some things before I die. I'm actually considering a cruise that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive for us but the money won't be of use to me when I'm dead.

I booked a cruise that's too expensive as well. I knew it was too expensive and booked it anyway. Looking forward to sailing in October. I worked all my life and am finally retired and want to do some things before I die. I'm actually considering a cruise that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive for us but the money won't be of use to me when I'm dead.

This!!!!

We tell the kids we are spending their inheritance and they just laugh and tell us to have fun.

We are working part time and enjoying partial retirement before we are too "old" to actually enjoy it.

The logical thing to do is to go one of the cruise websites, like the 90-day ticker one that advertises on CC and see what that cruise is selling for in the next three months of 2017. That will give you an idea of what it will cost next year. If it is still too expensive, well, you can cancel it now at no loss. If it has dropped to a reasonable rate, just watch for the price drops. We never book a cruise a year in advance for two reasons: First, they are always multiples of the cost of what we eventually book at. I always wonder who would pay that much for the cruise. Second, I don't like to make plans that far in advance; seems like something better will always turn up.

The logical thing to do is to go one of the cruise websites, like the 90-day ticker one that advertises on CC and see what that cruise is selling for in the next three months of 2017. That will give you an idea of what it will cost next year. If it is still too expensive, well, you can cancel it now at no loss. If it has dropped to a reasonable rate, just watch for the price drops. We never book a cruise a year in advance for two reasons: First, they are always multiples of the cost of what we eventually book at. I always wonder who would pay that much for the cruise. Second, I don't like to make plans that far in advance; seems like something better will always turn up.

Our last few cruises have been booked waaaaaaaaaaaay in advance and have never gone down. Oh, sure they have had "sales" but it has turned out in each instance that we still had a better deal. Our cruise in October is selling for slightly more than we paid and we have the Sip and Sail for the full 28 days. Our cruise next March is currently at $300 per person more than we paid and we have the Sip and Sail for that 14 days as well. We did a 17 day canal transit that just went up and up.

Sure, I do check on pricing and promos and once did rebook later for a large price reduction but we haven't had issues on our last few cruises by booking early. We have just boggled over how the "sales" didn't come near to what we had paid by booking early. Perhaps we have just been lucky with those cruises. If so, I'm happy to have had the luck. Having said that, I may well be watching for a Drop and Go price next winter (if we don't book the 49 day Royal repositioning cruise around The Horn from FLL to LA :)).

Also keep in mind that if you have any perks on the cruise - drinks or tips included, for instance - you will probably lose them when you rebook at the lower price (unless something very similar is offered). When I called Princess a few months ago to inquire about a price drop of a few hundred dollars each on our New Year's cruise for this year, we lost a decent OBC deal but picked up some spa freebies. Unfortunately the person I spoke with who made the change managed to lose us our initial suite cabin and we're now in one with an obstructed view despite my asking several times if the change would affect our actual cabin. It's not the end of the world - we're still going to be sailing in a lovely suite and we'll welcome 2018 at sea - but it was a bit of a stressful hassle that I could have done without. I would take the advice that others have offered and transfer your booking to a TA who can keep an eye out for price drops on your behalf. Our TA, sadly, passed away recently so we're on our own for a while.

I booked a cruise that's too expensive as well. I knew it was too expensive and booked it anyway. Looking forward to sailing in October. I worked all my life and am finally retired and want to do some things before I die. I'm actually considering a cruise that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive for us but the money won't be of use to me when I'm dead.

I love it!!! :):):) I'm saving, saving, saving for retirement but I refuse not to do the thing I love most which is to cruise with my loved ones. Most of the cruises I have booked are more expensive than what I have paid in the past (except my recent Regal cruise). I don't mind. I will watch for price drops but will go if there are not any. I only booked what I was willing to pay even if there wasn't a price drop. Same for my cruisemates.

Also keep in mind that if you have any perks on the cruise - drinks or tips included, for instance - you will probably lose them when you rebook at the lower price (unless something very similar is offered). When I called Princess a few months ago to inquire about a price drop of a few hundred dollars each on our New Year's cruise for this year, we lost a decent OBC deal but picked up some spa freebies. Unfortunately the person I spoke with who made the change managed to lose us our initial suite cabin and we're now in one with an obstructed view despite my asking several times if the change would affect our actual cabin. It's not the end of the world - we're still going to be sailing in a lovely suite and we'll welcome 2018 at sea - but it was a bit of a stressful hassle that I could have done without. I would take the advice that others have offered and transfer your booking to a TA who can keep an eye out for price drops on your behalf. Our TA, sadly, passed away recently so we're on our own for a while.

Interesting. I have taken advantage of a price drop on two cruises and did not lose any perks, nor did I have to rebook.

So I wanted to take advantage of the dollar sale today

I've been waiting for this sale for so long...

I booked an Alaskan Cruise for 2018, my moms has it booked for a while..

The only problem is the cost came out to be 6 grand for two. That's too much..

Can I watch for the cruise to go on sale and have it price adjusted? If so, how many times can I adjust the price?

 

Any help would be great, I really want to go on this cruise. I have till March 2018 to pay it in full

I am quite certain that you will find an attractive deal on your cruise before your final payment date. Just be vigilant in checking for it.

Interesting. I have taken advantage of a price drop on two cruises and did not lose any perks, nor did I have to rebook.

Maybe let us know the process you took to get the better price.

I booked a cruise that's too expensive as well. I knew it was too expensive and booked it anyway. Looking forward to sailing in October. I worked all my life and am finally retired and want to do some things before I die. I'm actually considering a cruise that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive for us but the money won't be of use to me when I'm dead.

Thrak,

I totally agree with you. You can't spend your money when your lying in the Concrete Condo on the wrong side of the grass. :D.

Tony