Best time to book for lowest prices

[mahdisbeih]

Hello all,

 

I am planning a family cruise on celebrity in August 2014, this is my 3rd cruise but first on celebrity.

 

I have been monitoring prices and the prices now are expensive and I am almost certain that the august cruises will - at some point of time - be on the exciting list or on a big discount.

 

From you experience, what is the trend if compared to previous years?

 

Regards,

Mahdi

[CaroleSS]

First, welcome to Cruise Critic! You will find a wealth of knowledge here!

 

It might help if you told us where you were going (and where you are located). Sometimes you can get a great deal on a cruise, but the cost of the air to get there is prohibitive.

 

Also, not sure if cabin location is important to you or just getting the cheapest room possible. If cabin location is important, we book in advance just to get the room of our choice. Other times, location isn't as important and we do a guarantee cabin. Some don't like the not knowing, but we go with the flow and just know we'll be somewhere in the ship.

 

If you book now and the price goes down, if you are before final payment, you can ask for an 'upsell' cabin. They won't give you your money back, but you can get a cabin in a higher category. Just remember that the lowest priced cabin gets the same wonderful service as the penthouse suite (ok, no butler tho)....so if price is important, get an inside cabin and look for price drops.

 

Happy cruising!

[CathyCruises]

First, welcome to Cruise Critic! You will find a wealth of knowledge here!

 

It might help if you told us where you were going (and where you are located). Sometimes you can get a great deal on a cruise, but the cost of the air to get there is prohibitive.

 

Also, not sure if cabin location is important to you or just getting the cheapest room possible. If cabin location is important, we book in advance just to get the room of our choice. Other times, location isn't as important and we do a guarantee cabin. Some don't like the not knowing, but we go with the flow and just know we'll be somewhere in the ship.

 

If you book now and the price goes down, if you are before final payment, you can ask for an 'upsell' cabin. They won't give you your money back, but you can get a cabin in a higher category. Just remember that the lowest priced cabin gets the same wonderful service as the penthouse suite (ok, no butler tho)....so if price is important, get an inside cabin and look for price drops.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Actually not quite true. If the price drops BEFORE final payment you can get the lower price. If AFTER final payment, you should be able to switch to a (even slightly) more expensive category.

 

Unfortunately, many of us have found the best pricing final payment, which works great if you have some flexibility--that's when you'll see the Exciting Deals, too.

[CaroleSS]

Thanks for the info! I'm always confused as to what happens if the price goes down. Unfortunately for us, that's never happened!

[Sailawaytoday]

Hello all,

 

I am planning a family cruise on celebrity in August 2014, this is my 3rd cruise but first on celebrity.

 

I have been monitoring prices and the prices now are expensive and I am almost certain that the august cruises will - at some point of time - be on the exciting list or on a big discount.

 

From you experience, what is the trend if compared to previous years?

 

Regards,

Mahdi

 

My experience is the best time to for the lowest price is the day after final payment. If you have the nerve, you can buy the least expensive cabin you would be happy in as early as you can, and hope to move to a better cabin if and when the price drops.

 

Our best prices have come from booking onboard, then turning our reservation over to our TA. My "after final payment" comment was a joke, but we have, on occasion, gotten nice upgrades after final payment at no added cost when the ship went "on sale".

[tenmile]

My experience is the best time to for the lowest price is the day after final payment. If you have the nerve, you can buy the least expensive cabin you would be happy in as early as you can, and hope to move to a better cabin if and when the price drops.

 

Our best prices have come from booking onboard, then turning our reservation over to our TA. My "after final payment" comment was a joke, but we have, on occasion, gotten nice upgrades after final payment at no added cost when the ship went "on sale".

 

We have never sailed on Celebrity and are planning to book our first cruise with them. When we book, are we automatically put on the "upgrade" list unless we request otherwise? I know that is how it works with Princess. Thanks for your help.

[mahdisbeih]

To answer some of your questions, we are located in Jerusalem not that far from Europe but we can take advantage of the united states discounts since we have residency over there.

 

Okay, let me explain something, last year I booked with NCL but in the same time I was monitoring Celebrity. I noticed that the 11 nights on the Equinox dropped to almost $1000 per person for a Veranda cabin!!!! this was almost 1 to 2 months before sailing.

 

Now the cruise i am looking at is on the Reflection on Aug 4th 2014, it is also 11 nights but the cheapest veranda now is ~$2600 per person!!!!

 

If I book now with these prices and 2 months before sailing the prices dropped to $1000 for a veranda, just any veranda and I don't care. Is it possible to ask to switch to these cheap Verandas and adjust the prices and get refunds?

 

Please explain to me all the details and many thanks for all your help

 

Mahdi

[justcrusn]

You can change ANYTHING up until final payment. If the price lowers you can get the lower price, if a better cabin opens up you can change to it, you can cancel at any time without penalty, etc.

 

Now, the very lowest prices happen AFTER final payment, usually on the tuesday specials.

But that depends on availability. If a ship or category sells out, it will not be discounted and you can watch from the pier as everyone leaves on their cruise. So if you are convinced there will be plenty of cabins left over, WAIT FOR THE TUESDAY SPECIAL!

 

If you want to be sure you are on the cruise so you can make airline reservations,have first pick of cabins etc. then BOOK EARLY. After final payment you cannot get price drops, BUT, if a higher cabin, say a suite opens up, you can upgrade if its price is higher, even by $1.

 

It's a little like gambling isn't it? You pay your money and take your chances.

[greydog]

You can change ANYTHING up until final payment. If the price lowers you can get the lower price, if a better cabin opens up you can change to it, you can cancel at any time without penalty, etc.

 

Now, the very lowest prices happen AFTER final payment, usually on the tuesday specials.

 

I would caution that reacting to price declines as cruise date approaches can jeopardize any perks like 1-2-3 promo that are linked to certain rate categories. You may choose the lower price if willing to forego the perks tied to your original rate, e.g. Five-star. Good Luck

[miched]

Prices may drop or may go up. It is best to book the cabins when you see them available. The prices may drop after the fianl payment date but there is always a catch 22. If you wait too long you may not get the choice of cabins that you are after. The best cabins always go first and if you want adjoining cabins and etc they may be gone.

 

There is no guarantee that they will go down. I just seen one cruise on the last minute bargains where a balcony was listed for a 7 day crusie at $3999 it was a guaranttee, it also listed suites at $3999. I can hear who ever booked the balcony bragging that they got upgraded to a suite by booking a balcony guaranttee at the last minute. 🎰

 

 

.🎃

[fredflint]

right now the 15 night TA on the reflection leaving Nov1 is 1500.00 for 2 with a Veranda GTY that is a great price and you could get a better cabin at worst you will get an obstructed view.

 

pretty much prices drop once the airfare goes up :)

[Christine Frances]

right now the 15 night TA on the reflection leaving Nov1 is 1500.00 for 2 with a Veranda GTY that is a great price and you could get a better cabin at worst you will get an obstructed view.

 

pretty much prices drop once the airfare goes up :)

 

That ship is so sold out! 6 veranda cabins left, 8 outsides and 8 insides. The good thing for the balcony GTY bookings is that there are no 2C or D's left. That's it = 22 cabins

[varoo]

Also right now you can get a veranda for $749 pp for 14 nights on the Equinox transatlantic crossing leaving 11/25/13.

It has lots of balcony cabins left across a number of categories, some in very good locations.

 

There is no easy answer to the "best time to book" question because it depends on so many variables that can differ from person to person and from cruise to cruise.

 

If you wait until the last minute to book, sometimes all the best cabins will be gone, but other times you can pick up a great cabin at a rock-bottom "new bookings only" price when someone who previously booked the cabin you want decides to upgrade. So it becomes available again, at a much lower price than before.

 

[fredflint]

here is the listing from Celebrity

[riclop]

Hello all,

 

I am planning a family cruise on celebrity in August 2014, this is my 3rd cruise but first on celebrity.

 

I have been monitoring prices and the prices now are expensive and I am almost certain that the august cruises will - at some point of time - be on the exciting list or on a big discount.

 

From you experience, what is the trend if compared to previous years?

 

Regards,

Mahdi

Very difficult to predict just keep checking.

[teecee60]

Hello all,

 

I am planning a family cruise on celebrity in August 2014, this is my 3rd cruise but first on celebrity.

 

I have been monitoring prices and the prices now are expensive and I am almost certain that the august cruises will - at some point of time - be on the exciting list or on a big discount.

 

From you experience, what is the trend if compared to previous years?

 

Regards,

Mahdi

 

I just booked the November 1st, 2013 Reflection transatlantic TODAY.

 

Cabin prices are Inside $449pp...Ocean view $549pp...Balcony $649pp. Not bad for a 15 night cruise!

 

My Delta Airlines flight to Rome, through Choice Air was $508!!! So much for high priced last minute flights.

 

Quite often it pays HUGE dividends to wait, but prices CAN go up if it is a popular itinerary. If you're flexible and looking primarily for the best PRICE, the best purchase point (roughly) is about 6-8 weeks prior to departure.

[robtulipe]

We've gotten some tremendous deals booking the specials that come out after the final payment date to fill a ship.

Best deal for us was a X Century Hawaii to West Coast USA 13 night cruise that had 7 port days. It was $479 with Taxes/ fees of $62 each with $200 OBC per cabin from X and even $60 from our TA. We had the highest category inside and we booked about six weeks prior. Air fare from Toronto to HNL return from San Diergo was around $640 each. It was a great cruise with the only negative part was that we had to disembark in Ensenada, Mexico due to PVSA regulations. We had no problem with our included in the price of the cruise ship's transfer to SAN but other on this cruise did.

We done several TA cruises at great deals. Had a aft FV end balcony on 15 night X Century cruise for $600US each including taxes/fees and flight to Barcelona return from Miami were about $800 each. We also did a 15 night Caribbean Princess cruise from San Juan, PR to Southampton for $499 with taxes/fees of $71 and got $100 OBC each and flight cost were $610 each. We had one of one of six superior extra large inside on the Riviera deck 14 so we decided not to go with a smaller inside area balcony gty for $200 more each. Stayed on the ship for the following 12 night British Isles cruise and had a extra large Caribe deck balcony for $1100 each with a cabin $150 OBC from both X and our TA.

[robtulipe]

The $150 OBC from the cruiseline for the last cruise in my post above was from Princess not X. What I wrote couldn't have really happened since we were on the Caribbean Princess and not a X ship.:o

We booked the second cruise a couple of weeks after the TA one when that cruise went on a flash special after it's final payment date and the bonus was we already had our air flights booked as we were staying in the UK for three weeks after the TA to attend a family wedding.:)

[Sailawaytoday]

Prices may drop or may go up. It is best to book the cabins when you see them available. The prices may drop after the fianl payment date but there is always a catch 22. If you wait too long you may not get the choice of cabins that you are after. The best cabins always go first and if you want adjoining cabins and etc they may be gone.

 

There is no guarantee that they will go down. I just seen one cruise on the last minute bargains where a balcony was listed for a 7 day crusie at $3999 it was a guaranttee, it also listed suites at $3999. I can hear who ever booked the balcony bragging that they got upgraded to a suite by booking a balcony guaranttee at the last minute.

 

 

.

Our New Years cruise on Silhouette (Western Caribbean) has stayed pretty steady after final payment, but is still $600+ more than we paid with perks factored in. Meanwhile, the Xmas cruise (Eastern Caribbean) has dropped like a rock, and is about $1000 less for 1st and 2nd.

[mahdisbeih]

From the recent posts, I understand that after final payment the prices might go down allot if the ship has space, right?

 

my understanding is that final payment is uniform for everyone, and it is 60 to 90 days before the sail date, right?

[robtulipe]

From the recent posts, I understand that after final payment the prices might go down allot if the ship has space, right?

 

my understanding is that final payment is uniform for everyone, and it is 60 to 90 days before the sail date, right?

Correct. Also happens just before the final payment date so the deal on the category you want might disappear then if it is taken up by many.

I believe the final payment date is standard for everyone. Some TA request payment earlier but that isn't the offficial cruiseline's final payment date after which penaties kick in for cruises booked in North America.

I believe in Europe the final payment date is 30 days prior or it was for the one X cruise I booked in Germany five years ago.

[robtulipe]

I checked it out and final payment is 30 days prior in Germany and the deposit prior to that is 10% for cruise only bookings.

Here are the General Terms and Conditions of Travel and Payment 2012/2013 for bookings in Germany

The cancellation fees per person that Celebrity Cruises must charge are generally as follows:

• Cancellation up to 60 days prior to tour commencement

10 % of the tour price

• Cancellation between 59 and 30 days prior to tour commencement

20 % of the tour price

• Cancellation between 29 and 15 days prior to tour commencement

50 % of the tour price

• Cancellation between 14 and 8 days prior to tour commencement

75 % of the tour price

• Cancellation 7 days or less before tour commencement or non-appearance

90 % of the tour price