Do Cruises Ever Actually Drop in Price?

[LuCruise]

We booked a trip on the Allure, way out in advance for April 2016. We got a pretty good price....I think...but I'm pretty sure it has increased already since these prices have been out for awhile.

 

I am checking daily for any changes in cost and am wondering if prices ever actually drop? Or will they keep going up in cost (and maybe drop very close to the cruise date...which would be past our last payment date)

[paul929207]

The price will go up and down depending on how the ship is selling. The cruise lines are very good at projecting sales. So if they see that a sailing will have many empty cabins, they will drop the price. On the other hand if a sailing is selling better than expected, they will raise the price.

[CDNJehn]

I've had at least 2 cruises where the price either dropped OR there were better cabin categories for the same price I paid. Most recently I was upgraded from an interior room to an oceanview AND was credited $60. Two cruises ago we were able to move from a lower floor balcony to a Lido balcony for no cost. For me, it has paid off watching prices.

 

 

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[KKB]

Last year I booked us a basic balcony on the Celebrity Constellation...kept checking prices every day....found Concierge level balcony for $10 more pp...contacted the TA for the upgrade...eventually got the AQ balcony (which has a private dining room for AQ guests) for $20 more pp. And that balcony was uncovered--my preference. LOVED LOVED LOVED it!

 

My advice--book the lowest level you are comfortable in. Then keep your eyes open; you may be able to upgrade very cheaply!

Edited January 2, 2015 by KKB

[CruiserBruce]

Some do. Some don't. Looking around the boards you will find lots of stories both ways.

[mrollinson]

great discussion all. how does the cruise line upgrade work? Do I book and then just keep checking their prices and call them when the price goes down? and then ask to switch out/get credit for what I paid toward the discounted upgrade?

 

and I will call the cruise line, too - but I am hoping to get a little background/experience from forum members to best prepare before I call.

 

thanks in advance,

Martin

[CDNJehn]

great discussion all. how does the cruise line upgrade work? Do I book and then just keep checking their prices and call them when the price goes down? and then ask to switch out/get credit for what I paid toward the discounted upgrade?

 

and I will call the cruise line, too - but I am hoping to get a little background/experience from forum members to best prepare before I call.

 

thanks in advance,

Martin

 

 

I can only comment on my experience with Carnival. After booking I watched the prices on their website or checked prices when I received a promotional email about cruise deals I called when I found a lower price/upgrade at same price I paid.

 

 

 

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[mrollinson]

thanks much.

as someone else posted - it really is supply and demand. prices could go down and then they could go up after folks start buying at the lower price.

 

I have found that at least one of the internet sites (VTG) beats the Norwegian price by about $30 pp - and that they sometimes show that they beat by more than that - but I've yet to see/get proof.

 

Going through the Cruise Line site would definitely be the "safer" route and I may end up doing that.

[dhill]

Yes:)

[OCruisers]

There are times when the price goes UP!

LuLu

[mrollinson]

feedback/results - after spending an hour or so bouncing back comparing prices for our cruise 1 week away - from NCL and VtG reps - the Bottom Line is that I got a balcony room for about $40 less per person from VtG. While inside cabins are remaining about the same price ($269 on NCL and $239 on VtG), the balconies are going up in price with less incentives (when I booked there was a $200 onboard incentive, now not) and the mini-suites are sold out

 

A couple of notes (some/most? pretty obvious):

-my experience on the phone with VtG and NCL all depended on the quality and knowledge/experience of the reps.

--this time I found that the VtG rep was more savvy than the NCL one

 

-I had to make sure that I was comparing apples to apples. e.g. sometimes the less experienced rep didn't give me the basic price but added travel insurance, etc. which made that price seem a lot more. Additionally some category prices don't offer the incentives that others do. e.g. we could've gotten a $30 less pp fare without the $200 onboard credit depending on what option we chose

 

-The NCL rep put a hold on the last (or one of the last) mini-suites that we did not get. So anyone looking for a mini-suite while it was being held for us would not have been able to book it. However, when the electronic hold time ended, then it would've shown up on the NCL rep's computer. If looking for a last minute deal on a room that shows none available and if talking to a NCL rep, I don't know if they can differentiate, but I'd recommend asking them if any of that type are "on hold" and might be available later. It would probably cost a bit more, though. (supply and demand)

 

-The VtG rep gave her name and contact info (phone and email) so that if I had any problems with NCL she could help me.

--Less than 5 minutes after I paid by credit card to VtG, I was able to print off my boarding pass and baggage tickets. However, I won't get my cabin assignment until I board.

 

-For VtG (and maybe NCL) getting tickets at the last minute don't allow for specific cabin assignments.

 

hope this helps - if anyone's interested please let me know.

this is my first time actually using VtG, although I have checked it out many times on the web. I understand CC not allowing any endorsing of other sites - and I'm not doing so now, but I am sharing my experience for anyone interested.

[Friend100]

Price goes up or down depends on demand and supply of a particular line, ship, sail date, itinerary, even cabin type. I have even seen price of the 3rd/4th passengers of the same ship's sail date but different cabin categories to fluctuate throughout the period before and after final payment. Different cruiselines have different pattern.

[LabGuy64]

Generally speaking I love Cruise Critic.....I think it is a valuable source of cruise info...especially for novice cruisers. But one thing thatreally annoys me is the "Price Drop" area....I was looking at it the other day and found that when you go to check out the "great deals" you see that the supposed "list prices" for the cruise are vastly inflated.

 

Now I know that you get shunted to expedia for these "Deals" but it makes it seem Cruise Critic endorses them by making the Price Dorp a significant feature of the site......for instance I say a listing for a Celebrity cruise in the British isles 12 nights listing the Penthouse suite on I believe it was the Silhouette for...get this....$69,000.00 I have never see Celebrity asking anything near this for a 12 night cruise. I think that until they get a reality check perhaps the Price Drop should be dropped....very misleading info

[LabGuy64]

You are telling me!!

a week after booking my Celebrity TA the price went up 4K...I could not believe it.

 

There are times when the price goes UP!

LuLu

[sfaaa]

Misleading? More like Buyers Beware. It is entirely up to you to do the research and inform yourself before spending your money. Just because so and so says it is a big price drop doesn't mean you should simply follow the advice blindly and click the Buy Now button without putting in some real work. The smart ones would always check and compare.

[LabGuy64]

Well Yes and no......Cruise Critic sets itself up as a resource for cruisers....I do check these things out but, if a consumer advocate gave information you would kind of expect it to be beneficial to the consumer..not a lie to make money for some corporation...just a matter of how you represent yourself.

 

Misleading? More like Buyers Beware. It is entirely up to you to do the research and inform yourself before spending your money. Just because so and so says it is a big price drop doesn't mean you should simply follow the advice blindly and click the Buy Now button without putting in some real work. The smart ones would always check and compare.

[sfaaa]

Well Yes and no......Cruise Critic sets itself up as a resource for cruisers....I do check these things out but, if a consumer advocate gave information you would kind of expect it to be beneficial to the consumer..not a lie to make money for some corporation...just a matter of how you represent yourself.

 

Just to clarify LabGuy64, I wasn't directing my comment specifically at you. My apology if it sounds that way.

[LabGuy64]

no problem.....

 

Just to clarify LabGuy64, I wasn't directing my comment specifically at you. My apology if it sounds that way.

[kontraxed]

In June last year I booked a cruise directly with Royal Caribbean for a junior suite on a May 2015 cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. I followed the subsequent pricing carefully and all it did was go up and up. Then, in late November or early December, I received a weekly Cruise Critic Price Drop notice that showed my price had gone down. I called Royal Caribbean and had my price dropped by about $100 but, even better, I also received a ($150x2) $300 OBC. For me, it paid to watch Cruise Critic!

 

One thing to note. I NEVER make my final payment until I absolutely have to. For whatever reason, once you make that final payment, good luck getting anything out of the cruise line - and that's not just Royal Caribbean.

[cruzdaddy]

How would I sign up for the weekly Cruise Critic Price Drop notice?

[kontraxed]

To find the Price Drops - go to the Cruise Critic home page and somewhere it will say Price Drops. Click on that and the next page will have a sign up section. After you sign up, CC will send you an E-Mail every Friday that tells you whether (or not) there was a price drop or not.

[cruzdaddy]

Thanks Kontraxed!:)

[simplelife]

I booked our next cruise (Carnival Victory, OV) about 6 months out for $479 pp. I've been watching it on one of the cruise watch sites and it has gone up, first to $499 and now to $519. So far, so good, but I will be able to get OBC if it goes back down to less than I paid

[Markanddonna]

My recent booking on an NCL cruise this spring made me see that the vigilant often win. We got word on our roll call that the prices fell two days after the final payment was due and they crashed. The poster mentioned that they were offering free upgrades if you called and asked. Long story short, we did and went from outside to a balcony. However, if we had been a last minute booker, we could have had that balcony for $300 less than we paid for the OV AND received the dining option that allowed us to eat for 19 nights in a specialty restaurant onboard. We are happy with the upgrade and never saw anything like this before on any previous sailing. The ship is now almost fully booked with just a few insides available and a few suites/penthouses still for sale. Anyone want an owner's penthouse for $16K pp?

[cruznjan]

Some do. Some don't. Looking around the boards you will find lots of stories both ways.

 

It's like retail.