Stupid question of the day

When you stop laughing.................

Do cruise prices drop after Christmas? And I know....they don't really drop much until before sailing or if ship is not filling up but HOPE springs eternal...

My hopeful logic..........People buy cruises for Christmas Presents. So after Christmas. Cruises might be a little lower? Ditto deposits?

I know some people on this board watch trends and such and make amazing predictions that come true.......

And I am not so concerned about prices....but I do wonder if reduced deposits will not happen until after Christmas. Hoping to convince other folks to come with us and that reduced deposit is always a lure........

I also like the term I saw on Cruise Critic.............NO interest Loan. at least until Final Payment day. Thanks for any information

There is this thing called "wave season" which is typically January-March where the cruise lines tend to offer their better deals. Here's a write-up on CC about it:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=796

Edit: your question is NOT stupid if you do not know the answer.

Wave season ( industry term for big push for bookings) is after the first of the year. You might see some attractive deals such as reduced or $50 deposits. Possibly even a few with OBC. You need to keep in mind, right now the cruise industry is doing well. When times are good and ship are full there is no reason to reduce the actual price.

Mostly what is done is a restructuring of fares. Increase the price slightly and offer OBC. Offer a $50 deposit that until you pay up to the regular deposit can not price match. It is all shuffling on paper. I am not slamming Carnival. This is common is business.

I would wait till after the holidays.

When you stop laughing.................

 

Do cruise prices drop after Christmas?

That is a smart question... not stupid.

Not a stupid question at all, and also not a terrible idea to wait until after the Holidays are over. However, price drops have more to do with your specific sailing, than a Carnival corporate sale plan. Take a look at your specific sailing by doing a mock booking, if there is a ton of rooms available then you are likely to see some price drops as Carnival is going to want those rooms sold, if there is only a couple rooms left expect prices to stay where they are at if not go higher.

All depends upon supply and demand. They are looking to maximize profits like any other business.

Love your question! I have actually been thinking about this myself & have enjoyed reading the replies. I'm an avid price-drop watcher & all of the cruises we have booked right now have gone up during the holiday season.

We do find that end Jan/early Feb often has good pricing

We do find that end Jan/early Feb often has good pricing

I agree, we also find Sept/Oct have good prices.

When we were on our cruise this past January the reduced deposits were available. Our sailing was January 24th to 31st. They were also an option for booking on board.

Wave season ( industry term for big push for bookings) is after the first of the year. You might see some attractive deals such as reduced or $50 deposits. Possibly even a few with OBC. You need to keep in mind, right now the cruise industry is doing well. When times are good and ship are full there is no reason to reduce the actual price.

 

Mostly what is done is a restructuring of fares. Increase the price slightly and offer OBC. Offer a $50 deposit that until you pay up to the regular deposit can not price match. It is all shuffling on paper. I am not slamming Carnival. This is common is business.

Great advice.

As soon as the holidays are over people turn their attention to their spring and summer vacations and cruise bookings increase. Wave season is a busy time for bookings. The restructuring of fares is well stated. Carnival just has different ways of advertising similar fares using "incentives" like free upgrades, reduced deposits, and onboard credit.

Some of the other cruise lines have been offering other incentives the past couple of wave seasons such as included beverage packages, but of course their fares tend to higher than Carnival's too.

And also keep in mind ... even once you book your cruise, you can watch for price drops up until final payment date (or up to 2 days before the cruise if you booked Early Saver, but be sure you know the other rules & stipulations that apply to ES). I got my most recent price drop on the day final payment was due !

If you originally booked under a reduced deposit and then find a price drop to match to, if the new fare doesn't come with the same reduced deposit, you will need to pay your full deposit right then. Otherwise, your cruise could be cancelled because you haven't paid the full deposit amount. I doubt it works the other way around - if you originally paid full deposit and the price drop you're matching to has a reduced deposit, I don't know that they will refund the difference. Although they prob would if you asked for it. I have never worried about getting it, the money is all getting paid eventually anyway.

If there is a specific cabin that you want, I would go ahead and book now so you get the cabin while it's still available. Then take advantage of price drops down the road. (Or cancel the cruise before final payment if it never drops to the price you're willing to pay?). I have found when you're picking your cabin (as opposed to guarantee cabins where Carnival selects the cabin for you) that sales where the price is less can come many months before the cruise, rather than after final payment date. For example, our upcoming cruise is 2 months away. The lowest current price is 369 for a guarantee cabin and 389 if you pick your cabin. The lowest rate I remember seeing on this cruise for pick your cabin was back in March - $319 plus $50 OBC for the cabin. Unfortunately, it was before we were ready to change over to Early Saver so we didn't take advantage of it.

Regarding reduced deposits : I got connected with our current PVP at the beginning of March. She has texted me several times thru this year when there has been a reduced deposit sale. Although, I don't know if she texted me EVERY single time there has been a sale. Also, some of the texts were notifying me the beginning or the ending of a reduced deposit sale. Here are the dates she texted this year ... Mar 17 50%, APR 27 $49, May 3 $49, May 16 $49, May 31 50%, June 28 50%, July 31 $129, Aug 31 $129, Nov 10 50% (all amounts are per person). Note: 50% sales would equal $125 on a normal $250 deposit booking.

There is usually a good price drop after the holidays on at least a portion of the sailings in my experience. Some ships will still book well and the price will remain constant but some don't and when that is combined with the time of year they end up heavily discounted.

We usually pick a week we want to vacation and then I will watch and pick the best value of that week sometimes last minute if budget is a top priority. I have got some amazing deals in the past doing this, best was a 7nt inside for $279ea and a 7nt OV for $305. They don't come around all they time but they do if you watch.

In 26 cruises only 2 has ever come down in price. But i still check

Thank you all. I read every post. And I say it over and over........every helpful thing I learned about cruising was either experience or Cruise Critic Message boards.

I did get the half Deposit. I booked a cabin on the Miracle Panama Canal Sailing of April 14, 2018.

It will be a partial transit of the Canal. 8 day cruise. Love that. Ports in Costa Rica and Cayman Islands. Love them all. 4 sea days. To me those are sitting and dreaming and eating and playing trivia and donating to Casino for a bit and Tea Time and Shows and

sitting and thinking and watching the ocean roll by......And I always buy a book I really want to read..and save it for a cruise. Love that. No interruptions or not many.

sometimes the prices make no sense, we booked a B2B 1/7 and 1/14. The second leg was pricing 25% higher and it never came down.