Book or Wait?

[tlund]

Looking at a cruise for mid-May. Price seems just a little high. I keep thinking there's a better deal to be had. Final payment will be at the end of February. I'm looking at a balcony cabin. I see that there are a total of 120 balcony cabins left to be sold. There may be more when final payment comes around and people cancel. Doesn't look like they are offering balcony guarantees right now so they won't be using up some of the 120 balconies available to fill the guarantees sold. Anyone have any success stories or disaster stories that they can share being in a similar situation and waiting? Just don't know what to do.

[cruizers]

This is not really a disaster story or a great success story; however, if there's a balcony cabin that you really would like to have, I would suggest you might book it now. You will get the advantage of the price drop before final payment is due and you'll have a specific cabin. If any cabin will suit you, you can keep checking to see if the price falls. Whatever your decision, have fun!

[Clarea]

If airfare is not an issue and you're not too particular about your stateroom location, I'd wait.

[Starry Eyes]

How long have you been watching this cruise? if you have been watching it since release then you,d know there are no balcony gty's to consume some of those 120 cabins. OTOH, if you started watching it recently, just because they are not selling gty balconies now does not mean they have not sold a bunch in the past. I have no idea if they have or have not; I only know that it is hard to really have a good grip on # of cabins left.

 

whether to book now or wait for a better price after final is a tough call.

if I had my heart set on that specific sailing of that specific ship, I might book a cabin now to lock in a spot on the ship; you could book a cheaper category now and look for upgrade opportunities in future (but only if you could be happy enough in that cheaper category).

OTOH, I were flexible about date, cruise line, ship, port, etc, and currentrice was not appealing, I might wait and try to grab one on sale after final payment date

[orville99]

It's possible, but balcony cabins on our 3/8 FOS cruise have gone up since final payment.

 

 

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[joepeka]

Without knowing which ship and sailing the OP is looking at, I'm wondering how they know that there are 120 available balcony cabins to be sold. :confused:

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Just a thought, but if it were me, I would book now and watch the price every day to see if it drops and call Royal if it does. I always figure if it a room I really want, me and 5000 other people are waiting to book it !

[CookieDiva]

Without knowing which ship and sailing the OP is looking at, I'm wondering how they know that there are 120 available balcony cabins to be sold. :confused:

 

 

Even if you did know, how do you know how many rooms are available in any particular category?

 

 

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Edited January 18, 2015 by CookieDiva

[Biker19]

Looking at US based TAs or RCI online inventory does not usually show the entire picture. RCI's UK site is the best place I've found to see the real inventory (even though that site limits inventory to 50 cabins per category).

 

The chances of a discount after final are higher if the inventory if fairly high and going up (cancellations). To know that, you have to watch the inventory fairly often (at least weekly). A good indication of likely prices is to look at historical prices for the same sailing.

 

The one caveat with all of the above is that RCI may be getting serious about their recent stated commitment to limit last minute discounting. Depending on what % those 120 cabins represent in terms of overall capacity, RCI may leave prices as is and sail with empty cabins.

[TravelerThom]

Without knowing which ship and sailing the OP is looking at, I'm wondering how they know that there are 120 available balcony cabins to be sold. :confused:

Even if you did know, how do you know how many rooms are available in any particular category?

If you really want to sea what is out there and are willing to be a scanner at websites, there are publicly available sites that show you every non-assigned cabin on the ship. You can find out not only how many cabins are non-assigned in a particular category, but which specific ones. I'm not allowed to mention the name of the site here on CC. What I have not found access to is the number of outstanding GTYs, and as has been pointed out that is a critical piece of information.

 

Thom

[TravelerThom]

...The one caveat with all of the above is that RCI may be getting serious about their recent stated commitment to limit last minute discounting. Depending on what % those 120 cabins represent in terms of overall capacity, RCI may leave prices as is and sail with empty cabins.

I have never seen RCI state a commitment to limit last minute discounting, but I have seen evidence of it. I was VERY surprised that the Legend of the Seas September 2014 transAtlanic suddenly about 4 weeks out raised the prices of cabins by a factor of 4 or 5 times (they had been selling cabins as cheaply as barely over $400pp). They had, I think, 64 cabins remaining at the time, and I don't think they sold another one. It worked out well for me, as I had grabbed a cheap inside GTY, and with all those empty cabins I ended up with a balcony. Do you have a link to RCI's stated commitment to limit last minute discounting?

 

thanks

Thom

[papaflamingo]

Looking at a cruise for mid-May. Price seems just a little high. I keep thinking there's a better deal to be had. Final payment will be at the end of February. I'm looking at a balcony cabin. I see that there are a total of 120 balcony cabins left to be sold. There may be more when final payment comes around and people cancel. Doesn't look like they are offering balcony guarantees right now so they won't be using up some of the 120 balconies available to fill the guarantees sold. Anyone have any success stories or disaster stories that they can share being in a similar situation and waiting? Just don't know what to do.

 

Prices go up and prices go down. I can tell you lots of stories. Most recently we booked Alaska last year. The prices stayed high until about 3 weeks out then some came down. The JS was $300 less than what we paid for a D-1 Balcony. So we simply did a "free" upgrade. Upgraded to JS for no price increase. But last Feb. we did a Southern Caribbean. We booked it almost a year out. I called a friend and she decided she would wait 3 weeks and book on Allure during our cruise for the OBC. By the time Allure sailed (3 weeks later) the cost was up $500 per person. By the time the ship sailed the cost was up over $1000 per person. It never came down.

So if you want to do the cruise, like the price, book it. If you don't care about the missing the cruise, then wait. If prices drop go, if prices go up then stay home.

You just never know. For me, I book a cruise at a price I like in a cabin I want. If prices go down prior to final payment I get a reduction. If they go down after final payment I look for an upgrade. But at least I've gotten a cabin of my choice on a cruise I want.

[Biker19]

Do you have a link to RCI's stated commitment to limit last minute discounting.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/royal-caribbean-to-cruisers-stop-expecting-last-minute-discounts?campaign_id=yhoo

 

It's article about the subject with some quotes from CEO Fain. There was a lengthy thread about it a couple of months ago here on CC.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Biker19

[TravelerThom]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/royal-caribbean-to-cruisers-stop-expecting-last-minute-discounts?campaign_id=yhoo

It's article about the subject with some quotes from CEO Fain. There was a lengthy thread about it a couple of months ago here on CC.

THANKS for the link. I must have been cruising when that was under discussion on CC. The new policy is apparently still a work in progress. I leave next week for two weeks B2B on Explorer of the Seas: FLL- Cozumel - Freeport - FLL - Labadee - Bonaire - Curacao - Aruba - FLL. I picked it up about a month ago for less than $1000pp for 14 nights including taxes, fees and gratuities.

[Biker19]

THANKS for the link. I must have been cruising when that was under discussion on CC. The new policy is apparently still a work in progress. I leave next week for two weeks B2B on Explorer of the Seas: FLL- Cozumel - Freeport - FLL - Labadee - Bonaire - Curacao - Aruba - FLL. I picked it up about a month ago for less than $1000pp for 14 nights including taxes, fees and gratuities.

I have noticed that the Tuesday special publication seems to be getting shorter. Some of the recent prices will leave the ships too empty so there's bound to be some discounting just not as deep perhaps - tho that Explorer deal was great.

 

I just hope there'll be some deals on the spring TAs - it's the best way to avoid jet lag going to Europe.

[tlund]

Thanks everyone. The ship we are looking at is the Adventure so it's not like the bigger ships of the Oasis and Allure (or even the Freedom class ships). We even checked with a friend in Puerto Rico to see when kids get out of school there and whether it is common for families to take a vacation mid-May. She said that kids get out end of May or the beginning of June. So, I don't see a mad dash to book something by those in Puerto Rico.

 

I found the number of unassigned cabins on Cruising Power. I figure that there could actually be more after final payment. That will be when people who were on the fence decide not to go or groups that were holding on to unsold cabins release them. I seriously doubt that RCI would want to sail with those unsold cabins.

 

We may book the airfare now, which isn't bad, and wait to book. I have to believe that the cruise line is not going to be able to book all of those cabins in a month and a half without discounting the price. We'll see.

[orville99]

THANKS for the link. I must have been cruising when that was under discussion on CC. The new policy is apparently still a work in progress. I leave next week for two weeks B2B on Explorer of the Seas: FLL- Cozumel - Freeport - FLL - Labadee - Bonaire - Curacao - Aruba - FLL. I picked it up about a month ago for less than $1000pp for 14 nights including taxes, fees and gratuities.

 

I hope you're not flying in...she's sailing out of Port Canaveral;)

[Biker19]

We may book the airfare now, which isn't bad, and wait to book. I have to believe that the cruise line is not going to be able to book all of those cabins in a month and a half without discounting the price. We'll see.

 

That's a good strategy. There might be a slight dip before final payment - about 90 days out - that's when TA's turn in their inventory. If you are a real gambler don't book on the first price dip after final payment - there might be an even bigger one about 30-45 days out, tho cabin selection will be become scarce.

[TravelerThom]

I hope you're not flying in...she's sailing out of Port Canaveral;)

OOOOPPPs!:o No, I'm driving. I KNOW that it is out of Port Canaveral (not Port Everglades), but I blew this one (but not as badly as if I was flying into the wrong airport;)). I NEED more coffee this morning.

 

embarrassedly (not a word, but you get the idea)

Thom

[orville99]

OOOOPPPs!:o No, I'm driving. I KNOW that it is out of Port Canaveral (not Port Everglades), but I blew this one (but not as badly as if I was flying into the wrong airport;)). I NEED more coffee this morning.

 

embarrassedly (not a word, but you get the idea)

Thom

 

Don't feel bad. We were on FOS shortly after she repo'd from FLL to PC, and ran into a couple on the first day who had driven from Orlando to FLL only to realize the ship wasn't there anymore, and had to beat it back to PC - they barely made the ship:eek:

[tlund]

Just checked again today. Number of available balcony cabins went from 121 to 143. Going to take my chances over the next 30 days. Wish me luck for a deal. Maybe we will see this sailing on a Going Going Gone sale. Here's hoping.