Prices on 2016 Holiday Cruises and Price Drops

Looking for some advice. My partner and I are currently booked on the 12 night Eclipse sailing departing Miami on 12/21/16. We booked this under the old 123Go promotion well over a year ago, so we got a really good price ($6,950 for an A1 cabin) relative to now with all the perks. Our schedule has changed such that now we can go on the 14 night Equinox sailing departing from Ft Lauderdale on 12/19/16. The last several cruises we have gone on, the prices have dropped substantially after final payment date. I was checking the inventory and it looks like there are 50 Aquaclass cabins left. I am going to be really angry if the same thing happens this year as it did last with the price dipping below a fare less than the one I paid over a year ago. I think I am going to wait see what happens on 9/21 which is one day before the final payment on our current cruise and one day after the 14 night cruise. We thought about doing a Concierge guarantee on the 14 night and then switching to Aquaclass if the price drops, but much prefer Aquaclass.

Any thoughts?

Concierge is a total waste of money.

My thoughts are along the same as yours. We are booked on the Regal Princess for December 18, 2016, 11 nights for an incredible deal in a gty obstructed balcony ($774 pp before taxes, $160obc). I would love to sail on the Christmas Eclipse sailing because we are already booked and paid for on the January 2 Eclipse 6 night sailing in an A2. It was a guarantee, and already assigned. It was a fantastic deal. Let's just say it is less than what we are paying for our Regal cruise, WITH 2 perks and additional obc from our TA. I just bet the Eclipse Christmas sailing is going to fall in price so I could do a b2b, but, by that time I would have already made final payment on the Regal Princess. My observation is that Celebrity prices on some sailings are so ridiculously high, and then after final payment they drop just to fill the ship. Price the sailing reasonably in the first place! Imo, I think the Eclipse and Equinox will drop, but, of course I don't know. Let me know what you decide.

Marie

Sounds complicated to me....other than applying for a price drop, we usually keep what we booked initially...always AQ...esp with good prices and triple perks!

We do the same thing. Just recently we had a December cruise booked but our schedule changed as such so we could go on the Reflection TA next month. We watched pricing and booked a Verandah a few weeks ago with the idea if prices drop we'd upgrade. Sure enough, prices dropped some and we upgraded to a suite.

Just keep an eye on your perks and what you'd loose, if anything when changing bookings. Your current holiday cruise that is booked; did you book this on the ship? If so, you can transfer your booking and while all perks may not transfer (depending on what deals / perks are offered on your new sailing) you'll at least get to keep your on-board credit. However, if it is a last minute "exciting deal" then you're not able to transfer the booking and would just need to cancel it.

Either way, I suppose it is a good problem to have! Enjoy the cruise.

Thanks for the comments so far. I agree with the comment about Concierge class other than it is a way to get extra loyalty points, which matters to us since we are pretty high up in the program. If we had not booked this under the former 123 Go promotion (which BTW was awesome), this would be an easier decision since we would still get the OBC from onboard booking. Hoping more is revealed the day after final payment date. I will say this trend along with some of the others that Celebrity is adopting is becoming a bit irritating; so much so that we are thinking about exploring other options.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Our schedule has changed such that now we can go on the 14 night Equinox sailing departing from Ft Lauderdale on 12/19/16.

We are on this cruise. :)

Booking cruises always involves tradeoffs.

You can book early to get your preferred room, and you may get some perks. Book when it is a price you think is reasonable.

Wait until after final Payment and the price may drop considerably, but you may get no perks, and the room selection will likely be limited.

But there's no sense getting mad if and when the price drops after Final Payment. The cruise ships have to fill the rooms, and they will do what they need to in order to get the last bookings.

And remember, prices can actually go up as the cruise time approaches.

We all wish we could have our cake and eat it too, but that isn't the way it works when it comes to booking cruises.

Booking cruises always involves tradeoffs.

 

You can book early to get your preferred room, and you may get some perks. Book when it is a price you think is reasonable.

 

Wait until after final Payment and the price may drop considerably, but you may get no perks, and the room selection will likely be limited.

 

But there's no sense getting mad if and when the price drops after Final Payment. The cruise ships have to fill the rooms, and they will do what they need to in order to get the last bookings.

 

And remember, prices can actually go up as the cruise time approaches.

 

We all wish we could have our cake and eat it too, but that isn't the way it works when it comes to booking cruises.

Agree, and it can also depend on cruise area. Our Millie Asia Christmas sailing (according to several sites) is virtually full, so pricing has never fallen to below what we initially paid. Now the Caribbean market is obviously different due to so many ships returning for the winter season.

We have seen it work both ways and have benefited by watching how the prices and occupancy is trending. While I understand why the cruise ships do what they do, some of the drops I have seen on Celebrity versus other cruise lines are pretty dramatic - probably because the prices on more limited availability cabins (e.g. Aqua and Suite) start out so much higher then comparable cruise lines for comparable cruise lines and comparable itineraries. If only it worked like it does for refundable hotel bookings.

Thanks again for the comments

I've never upgraded. Can someone help me understand a few things...

1. After final payment, where can I see the rates for upgrading?

2. Will I lose my perks when I upgrade?

3. Do TAs know about this, or us it only booking straight with celebrity?

Thanks!

I've never upgraded. Can someone help me understand a few things...

1. After final payment, where can I see the rates for upgrading?

2. Will I lose my perks when I upgrade?

3. Do TAs know about this, or us it only booking straight with celebrity?

 

Thanks!

You can check the rates anyplace. If you want to upgrade, you pay the difference in the current rate versus the rate you paid. If you got perks when you booked and the current offering doesn't offer any perks you will probably lose them as everyone knows, the perks aren't free. There is a cost built into the base price, at least for the first one.

You could call and check, if you get to talk to someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you might be able to sneak it passed them.

We all wish we could have our cake and eat it too, but that isn't the way it works when it comes to booking cruises.

Well, gosh, I don't think the young man who started the thread is trying to have his cake and eat it too. He just asked for some advice on how to handle things before final payment.

Concierge is a total waste of money.

Not always, sometimes it is cheaper or the same price as the lower categories and comes with more perks (BBB) on some sailings.

I would not count on the prices dropping the day before or after final payment. It usually takes a few weeks before that happens...IF the cabins are not moving.

I do think your strategy of switching cruises, but waiting on prices to fall, may work if there is currently plenty of availability.

I think that because of Zika in the Caribbean and Florida, that many do not want to cruise there. We have already received an offer (from another cruiseline) to extend a 7 night February cruise to the previous 11 night cruise. Great discount on that particular cruise. It does not seem to be selling well.

Another reason that a 14 night cruise, during the holidays, may not sell well is because most families do not want to be away from home that long during the holidays.;)

Hope whatever you choose to do, that you have a great time! :)

Another reason that a 14 night cruise, during the holidays, may not sell well is because most families do not want to be away from home that long during the holidays.;)

Again, I think that depends on area. There's no way I'd want to pay the airfare for Asia or Australia at Christmas for less than 14 nights :eek:. The Caribbean would be the same for us, but obviously we're in the minority in that situation, the majority being US cruisers sailing closer to home ;).

When X first started the BOGOHO, the prices were ridiculous, so I booked Princess. Last week I checked X again, this for a balcony 7 day Eastern Carib. and the price seemed reasonable, and was seriously thinking about booking, but wanted to check with my BH. I looked last night and it went down another $49.00, and I booked for March, 2018. I took it with the "Best" and it actually came out cheaper than Royal. Now I have Princess and X 3 months apart, and can't wait.

Given the Zika situation in the Caribbean, it's more likely this year that there will be last minute cancellations just before final payment (at least if folks are rational about the real danger for anyone pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant in the six months following the cruise), you should have a very good chance at getting a bargain on any cruise this winter. Of course, you are taking a chance, but I'd be tempted to cancel and wait to see which one works out better when the offers come.

Wanted to share the update on this since a few had asked. We ended up canceling our reservation on the 12-night and booking a C3 cabin on the 14-night. The prices on both holiday sailings have started to drop significantly. The day we cancelled the 12 night, the current was the same rate we paid a year and a half ago. Now we are waiting for the prices on Aqua Class to drop and then hopefully switch from our current C3 cabin. In the meantime, we are going to keep moving up from C3 to higher level Concierge cabins. Since this has happened the last three sailings, I think I may adjust my booking strategy, which had always been to book really early. I understand why Celebrity is doing what they are doing, however, I believe they are going to run the risk of losing the ability to sit on deposits for an extended period from people like myself if they continue to hike up the prices to unrealistic levels and then inevitably drop them. Either way, I am glad I made my decision and am excited that we will be out of Indiana winter weather sipping cocktails on the beach.

If you are flexible on itinerary, cabin, and dates, you will almost always do better by going for the "fire sale" cruises (booking late).

If you are set on specific cruise/cabin, you may do better by booking early, especially on the high-demand cruises.

You can check the rates anyplace. If you want to upgrade, you pay the difference in the current rate versus the rate you paid. If you got perks when you booked and the current offering doesn't offer any perks you will probably lose them as everyone knows, the perks aren't free. There is a cost built into the base price, at least for the first one.

You could call and check, if you get to talk to someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you might be able to sneak it passed them.

We just upgraded from a 2A to a FV for the difference in the current rate vs the rate we paid and got to keep all of our perks; the OBC for booking onboard, the go better and the perk it up. I had always been apprehensive about doing this. After reading many CC mbrs report you don't lose any amenities when paying for an upgrade after final pmt, I tried it and it was true. Woo Hoo!!! :D

we have always been told by different TAs that upgrades post final payment still cause a loss of perks.