Does "inside cabin" price change much?

[XandraMic]

We are thinking about going on a Med cruise leaving from Italy around the end of August-September, 2014. However, now we are not sure whether we can go or not due to many factors. If we wait until April-May to book the cruise, will the price increase?

 

We live in Italy, so air-ticket price is not the problem for us. We'll drive or take a train to port.

 

I prefer not to book now and cancel later. The cancellation policy here in Europe is not similar to in the US. Besides, the online US agency that I use charge $50 for cancellation.

 

The price different between inside guarantee and outside cabin is around 1400 dollar/stateroom, so we decide to forego 123go promotion and drink less.

 

So, I would like to know that the price of an inside room will increase/ fluctuate much over the next few months?

 

Are there any chances that I can grab last minute bargain if I wait until 75 days before the cruise?

 

If it is very likely that the price will increase, I might take a chance booking with an online US agency and lose $50 if we cannot go.

 

Please share your experience.

 

Thank you

Edited January 28, 2014 by XandraMic

[RickT]

I have no "facts" to back this up but based on my experience and memory.

 

1) S-Class ships-No, I've followed a number of Med/Baltic cruises over the past few years and find that inside cabins generally don't drop much in price. It could be because this class of ship has fewer inside cabins relative to the rest of the fleet. That being said you may luck into a Guarantee rate but I don't recall seeing one the past two years for July/Aug sailings.

2) M-Class ships-Maybe, the ships are a bit older and have more inside cabins that they need to get rid of. I've seen price drops and guarantee rates more often although I don't think an M-Class is on the med this year.

 

The best deals I've seen are last minute (under 60 days) verandah sales. I've been lucky enough to do the med twice in the past two years (August) and have waited patiently and been rewarded with a Verandah guarantee for under $1,600 US per person which was less than some inside cabins are selling for. I did not get the 1,2,3 promo with that but it was a great deal even when you added in my bar bill.

[XandraMic]

Thank you RickT!

 

I'm looking at S-class ships. This will be our third cruise. We did the previous two cruises with Celebrity as well, Southern Caribbean and Norwegian Fjords. One thing I learn is that Med cruise's inside cabin costs more than Norwegian Fjords's outside and Southern Caribbean's veranda. :eek:

 

I've never watched the prices of Med cruise or inside cabin closely. Similar to your observation, I noticed that Outside and Veranda cabin prices can drop much.

 

 

Previously, we booked around 6-7 months in advances because we need to buy air-tickets. Now, since we need more time to see whether we can go, we might as well try our luck with last minute deals.

[helen haywood]

Are the rules different in Europe about upgrading past final payment? If you booked an inside in the States, and found that the price for a balcony dropped to within your price range, we can pay the difference to upgrade.

[XandraMic]

Hi Helen, I've never deal with them personally, but I heard that they are not generous like in the US. If we are 100% sure that we can go, I would book with US agent right away. However, we still don't know whether we can go or not. We both work full time, so we have to see if we are free to go.

[trabeler]

We almost always sail on insides so we've spent a lot of time monitoring prices on bookings for trends.

 

I can confirm what a previous poster mentioned that you'll have a much better chance on a price drop for insides on the M-class as compared to the S-class. The several S-class bookings we've had only went up in price for insides.

 

It is even more tricky if you are a group of 3 in a cabin since on the S-class there are very few insides that can accomodate 3 people. Those fill quickly. Guarantee rates are also usually not available for a party of 3 or more.

[miched]

I have seen cruises where the inside cabin was priced at $2999 and a balcony at $999. Eventually the balconies would fill up and then the inside cabins would drop to a normal price. So apparently they do change a lot in prices.

 

This also helps a TA as they can tell a customer that they were able to get them a upgrade to a balcony for a cheaper price than a inside proving how great they are.

 

 

.🌴🍸🍻🍺

[riclop]

No one can really answer that.

[XandraMic]

Thank you everyone!

 

We are in 2 persons, and we are very flexible. I think I'll keep checking the price and book the cheapest one whether it is inside, oceanview, or veranda.