Tracking Prices to Save Money

[geoherb]

I started tracking prices in mid August of 13 cruises the week after Christmas. I made up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of them. Every Friday I'd update the prices. I looked at inside cabins, outside cabins, and balconies. (The prices of mini suites and suites also caught my eye during my searches, but I did not track them since they are out of our league.)

 

The tracked cruises were on Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess ships. Those are our three favorite cruise lines--not in that order.

 

I got the prices from a major travel website when possible. I figured they'd be fairly representative for comparison purposes. I realize that particular travel agents might be able to give a better deal, but I did not want to put that much effort into checking prices each week.

 

Booking in mid August would have cost us more on every cruise. Out of the 38 possible types of cabins tracked, the price improved after the final payment date on 37 of them. The only one that did not was a balcony cabin on one of the Princess ships. It increased in price by $100 after final payment date.

 

We're booked on back-to-back cruises on the Caribbean Princess. The total number of days adds up to seven for those two cruises. The price of a balcony cabin ended up being less than the cost of an inside cabin on any of the other cruises tracked. Our price also ended up being $500 less per person for a balcony cabin than in mid August plus we are getting $200 in on-board credit each. The on-board credit offer started on these cruises after I started tracking prices.

 

The downside to booking this way is that we had to take guarantees. We could end up in any balcony cabins on these cruises--and not necessarily the same cabin for both. Last year I booked about a month earlier when the price of two cruises came down quite a bit. I was able to book us the same cabin for back-to-back cruises then.

 

The other downside is that there is never any guarantee that prices will drop. The odds were in our favor since there were so many different cruises that fit our schedule. If you have your heart set on taking one particular cruise, I recommend booking as early as possible then watching for price drops before the final payment date.

[whogo]

Good work, geoherb! I would have guessed that the week after Christmas would be popular, that ships would fill up, and that prices would rise. I track prices, too, but have never received the lowest price. Unfortunately for us in the Midwest, air prices usually rise as cruise prices drop.