At what point do cruise prices hit their lowest?

[fay_wan]

thanks a lot. Now I have a idea where to start.

[Smokeyham]

I've heard that there can be some good prices for summer cruises if you purchase in Jan/Feb. Have you had any luck with this?

[jewopaho]

I've heard that there can be some good prices for summer cruises if you purchase in Jan/Feb. Have you had any luck with this?

 

I don't think so ... summer is peak season, since kids are out of school, factories shut down for vacation, etc. The highest prices of the year (save for Christmas and New Year's Eve) occur during this time ... begin in mid-June, and taper off in August, as the prime-time hurricane season approaches.

[Smokeyham]

I go to www.cruise.com. For each ship and sail date, there's a breakdown by category, and each one shows the number of available staterooms. I just add them up. It's not something I do regularly ... just when I book. It's more of a curiosity than anything else.

 

 

Thanks so much. I always wondered where people got those numbers from!

[jewopaho]

Thanks so much. I always wondered where people got those numbers from!

 

Sure ... no problem. I checked yesterday, and the sail date is down to 42 vacancies for RCI, and 64 for Carnival. It's stll alot, considering that the cruise is only two months out. It's almost a given that further price reductions are forthcoming. We'll see ...

Edited November 15, 2010 by jewopaho

[WDBGUY]

I don't see where you get the numbers

for each category. maybe I am missing

something? I was looking at the Ruby

Princess for Feb 13 - 20, 2011.

Edited November 16, 2010 by WDBGUY

[commission1]

we have booked 6 cruises in 4 years, we are flexible, if we get a great deal we go if not we doing something else, we have always booked less than three weeks before departure. All sorts of reasons for this, on year ncl had to much capacity in hawaii, we got a balcony for 499, Right now there are a few good deals one ncl sun jan8th 5 day 429 balcony, feb 5th baltimore celebrity 9 days 499 window, good luck.

[Grandtravelers]

Has anyone ever had luck booking last minute on Royal out of Boston? It is such a short window of 5 or 6 weeks so I'm not sure if these sell out. We are thinking of doing this next fall as we live so close. We are trying to decide if we should wait until the last minute or book on our next cruise. Thanks for any input.

[Roscopicotrane]

We just booked on Carnival Dream about 3 weeks ago and just saw our cruise for $100 less. I called up carnival and they gladly issued me a credit. Not sure about the other companies but Carnival has always taken care up me.

 

Book during hurricane season... Always best prices.

[warjo2611]

Thank you to all for this thread!

[mcascade]

funny u should ask,, we just recently booked a Cruise on Explorer of the Seas,, we noticed a very good price about 2 months ago,, however we waited to book on the Allure , which we did two weeks ago. YIP,, the price had gone up almost 100 bucks.. ok, so we got a 100 credit on the ship for booking while on a Cruise,, was it worth the wait,, NO next time we will book the Cruise when we think it is a good deal ,, and not gamble,, oh and the agent on the Allure was no help at all,, even with getting a good cabin, J

[Smokeyham]

I would think that the rising cost of fuel will bring back the "fuel surcharge" and/or mean higher cruise prices, so booking sooner rather than later might be an idea.

 

Also, I have been watching airfares for an upcoming trip to Europe, and they have definitely been rising! :( That too will play into the overall cost of a cruise.

[Jingerwoppy]

We booked a transatlantic a few months ago and it has done nothing but go down. We also booked a B2B about a month ago and it has only go down. But in the past, I've seen them only increase. I would book it when you can and then if it decreases you may be able to cancel and rebook on the lower price. We're now locked into our prices but they upgrade us when we request the lower rate. :)

[luckycruzer]

One the cruiselines website you can choose a specific category of cabin and see what they are offering in the way of prices. You have to go through a couple of steps to get to that level, but it can be done.

 

 

Here is how I track what the cruise fares are doing:

 

I bookmark the webpage for the cruise I am interested in. I do this both for the cruise line's website, and for a favourite discount website.

 

Then I have a little spreadsheet where I copy and paste the posted rates for the four categories (inside, outside, balcony, and suite). I note the date, and whether the rate came from the cruise line or the discount website.

 

I start this a couple of months in advance, so I have a concept of what the rates are doing, then if I see what appears to be a really good deal, then I know to jump on it.

 

This may sound like a lot of work, but once you have the webpage for your particular cruise bookmarked, and in your "links" bar, then it really only takes a couple of seconds to update the spreadsheet.

 

I've heard of "The Wave.' which is supposed to be a time in January and February when prices drop. What is everyone's experience with this? Is it real, or just imaginary?

 

 

peeps get ready to plan their vaca time for the year...

[Smokeyham]

peeps get ready to plan their vaca time for the year...

 

It looks like business is beginning to pick up. I tried for a cabin aboard the Zandaam for a short repositioning cruise, but they were fully booked. They did call me back, since I was on a wait list, but by that time I had already made other plans, and could not make it.

 

This might be a sign of better times in the cruise industry.

[Cigary]

For those who cruise alot we know when the best times to cruise are...After Labor Day....between that time and through Dec right up until the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. The best time to cruise is the week before or after Thanksgiving...the week before Christmas is really good as well.

 

The worst time to cruise...May thru Sept. Labor Day.. the summer months are notorious for charging almost twice as much because this is when most people get their vacation time with their kids. At times during the Fall and Winter if the cruise is not selling quickly enough they will lower pricing and I've gotten cruises by myself on a 4 night RCCL for $149 because they needed more cruisers. Get on the "Last Minute Cruise" websites...if you can drop everything and leave within a few days you can score some amazing cruises.

[Smokeyham]

Thanks... Great to have specifics about when the best cruising deals are! :)

[zdmmom]

If you have your eye on a specific cruise/ sail date check pricing around the time of final payment for that cruise. Many times people will cancel their reservation so they don't lose their deposits. Our upcoming cruise had a drop about a week prior then another about 3 weeks after final payment.

Definitely the lower prices are between Labor Day and right before Thanksgiving.

 

Good Luck!

 

ZDMMOM

[bjdamascus]

We always book way ahead of time for several reasons. 1) I teach, so, unfortunately we're locked into the "prime" times (Christmas, spring break and summer) 2) airfares - we live in the Midwest - last minute "deals" don't work for us, especially not nowadays!

3) cabin choice - we want to pick our cabin - only twice have we done the "guarantee" - and they've both worked out - but we normally want to make sure that we're not in a loud area (such as below the sports deck, etc) of the ship.

 

As for price drops... we're sailing Navigator out of Rome at the end of this month. We booked last August. Since then, the price of our room has gone up... it it now almost $400 more (for the two of us) than what we paid! Our TA is fantastic. Anyway, as others have said, supply and demand determine the fares. So the does economy. In 2008 we did an Alaskan cruise on RCCL... paid $800 less for the same class room/ship as we did on our first cruise in 2003! THAT was incredible. From the time we booked, the price dropped about 4 times. Initially we were booked for an OceanView, but finally decided to take the upgrade to the balcony.... And it was worth it - I actually got a picture from our balcony of an orca jumping out of the water - the whole thing!

So, as someone else mentioned, it's a crapshoot inho!

[Smokeyham]

..............

As for price drops... we're sailing Navigator out of Rome at the end of this month. We booked last August. Since then, the price of our room has gone up... it it now almost $400 more (for the two of us) than what we paid! Our TA is fantastic. Anyway, as others have said, supply and demand determine the fares. So the does economy. In 2008 we did an Alaskan cruise on RCCL... paid $800 less for the same class room/ship as we did on our first cruise in 2003! THAT was incredible. From the time we booked, the price dropped about 4 times. Initially we were booked for an OceanView, but finally decided to take the upgrade to the balcony.... And it was worth it - I actually got a picture from our balcony of an orca jumping out of the water - the whole thing!

So, as someone else mentioned, it's a crapshoot inho!

What suggestions do you have for the easiest way to track where the price of a cabin class is?

Do you have to:

 

1. Go to the Cruise Line Website

2. Choose your voyage

3. Start to make a booking

4. Choose the same type of cabin as the one you have booked

5. See what the current price is…

Or, is there an easier way?

[trinaM]

We usually book 1-2 weeks before departure...... we've got some great bargains!

Our last cruise was $269 for 7 days....

Last Sunday we booked a 10-day cruise for $299.

Last minute is best!!

 

so a couple questions for you.

Do you live driving distance to a port city?

do you have flexible dates? is that a must have?

do you book with the cruise lines? do you have a TA?

Online or at a Cruise agency?

where are you finding 299.00 for a last minute cruise? you can PM me if you wish to answer. thanks.

[hkolln]

Definitely the lower prices are between Labor Day and right before Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

Right cause that's the peak of hurricane season here :)

[Smokeyham]

I'm planning an Alaskan cruise in September, 2012. We've decided upon the ship, the date, and even the cabins we want. Now the hard choice is when to book to get the best fare!

 

We're pretty particular about the cabins we want, so would hate to wait too long, only to have them sold out. On the other hand, especially with the poor economic predictions for the next year, would we be better off waiting for a couple of months for a better price? The fares have been pretty steady for the last couple of weeks.

 

Any thoughts?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We always us a TA

[Summer35]

... especially in this economy. True, cruise lines generally offered some incentives to book early (or conversely, made it less economical to commit after final payment date) but that seems to be changing. Often, it all comes down to how well the date is selling. There's usually a formula in place ... if bookings are brisk, the fares rise; if they're sluggish, prices decrease, and/or incentives such as onboard credit are added. If the exact times were predictable, everyone would wait for them ... and of course, fares would go up due to the demand.

 

Calendarwise, the best prices for Caribbean sailings are during hurricane season ... usually mid-August through late September. If you're willing to risk missing a port, completely changing itineraries (i.e. eastern to western or vice-versa) or any such inconveniences, you'll do very well. Prices just before and after holidays/school vacations are also good.

 

To further complicate matters, in this time of economic distress, it appears better to book closer to the sail date, since ships aren't filling up as they have. My 1/16 cruise on the Voyager of the Seas out of Galveston still has 62 unsold staterooms, and the Carnival Conquest (also sailing out of Galveston) has a whopping 94! Those are awful numbers, given that the cruise is just over two months out. We booked on 11/2, right at final payment time (not intentionally ... just worked out that way). Our fare was about $140 less than what we'd been tracking over the past few months. Had we booked earlier, we would have been out of luck, since Royal Caribbean no longer issues onboard credit as compensation for fare reductions after final payment is due.

 

So there you have it ... confused? Me too!

 

Al

 

 

Hi, Al,

 

is there any possibility that i can find out how many cabins unsold on the serenade otS 3/31/2012 and 4/7/2012 ???

 

 

thanks for your help

 

 

 

Summer