how/when to get the best specials

[cruisinpoler]

Hi. What are the best specials you have ever seen on Royal? Do they come out at particular times-officially or in your experience?

We booked the 12 night med cruise on Brilliance with the Memorial Day special- buy one, every other person in your stateroom is 50% off. Amazing deal, saved us several thousand bucks compared to the special that they are running right now. Problem is, we may have to reschedule... I think this means they will have to rebook under the current special. Any advice on when the best specials may come out is appreciated.

Thanks
Jen

[Clarea]

The best fleetwide special I've seen was the first two weeks or so of the original BOGOHO back in May 2014.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict the best time to book. Edited June 3, 2015 by clarea

[Goodtime Cruizin]

[quote name='clarea']The best fleetwide special I've seen was the first two weeks or so of the original BOGOHO back in May 2014.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict the best time to book.[/QUOTE]

This has been my experience as well.

[jticarruthers]

ditto

[TravelerThom]

I have gotten some very good deals 3-5 weeks out taking last-minute GTYs (guarantees). A number of times I have cruised for two weeks for less than $1k per person including taxes, port, tips and transportation. I have been able to get that price both on Trans-Atlantics, and on B2Bs in the Caribbean. Of course this requires you to be flexible on cabin, and even if you are getting on a particular ship as things can sell out. RCCL CEO Fain has said that they are going to quit giving great last minute deals - time will tell - RCCL has to sell cruises to stay in business; I don't have to buy cruises:cool:.

Thom

[cruisingsince94]

There is no blueprint as to when a real deal might be coming. There is of course certain times of the year when prices tend to be lower. The most obvious are the winter months. We have also found some great deals the week prior to a holiday, such as the week prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If recent trends hold, I expect that there might be some decent deals with perks that pop up in July. We have gotten some very good ones with a TA in early July.

[truffles2]

I think the best time is when the cruise you want first comes out. Prices have done nothing but rise for us and have not gotten lower that the initial pricing. The one exception to that (for us) was Harmony transatlantic--which was priced very reasonably initially but even better with the current promotion. I haven't figured that one out yet:confused::rolleyes:

[shofer]

[quote name='clarea']The best fleetwide special I've seen was the first two weeks or so of the original BOGOHO back in May 2014.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict the best time to book.[/QUOTE]

We booked in July and got our 12 night Med cruise for 1280/pp. Our airfare was was more.

Sue

[shofer]

[quote name='TravelerThom']I have gotten some very good deals 3-5 weeks out taking last-minute GTYs (guarantees). A number of times I have cruised for two weeks for less than $1k per person including taxes, port, tips and transportation. I have been able to get that price both on Trans-Atlantics, and on B2Bs in the Caribbean. Of course this requires you to be flexible on cabin, and even if you are getting on a particular ship as things can sell out. RCCL CEO Fain has said that they are going to quit giving great last minute deals - time will tell - RCCL has to sell cruises to stay in business; I don't have to buy cruises:cool:.

Thom[/QUOTE]

The only problem with this is your airfare. Unless you have frequent flyer miles that you can use at any time it can be costly closer to your departure date.

Sue

[teecee60]

[quote name='shofer'][B][I][COLOR="Black"]The only problem with this is your airfare it can be costly closer to your departure date.[/COLOR][/I][/B]

Sue[/QUOTE]

Using Choice Air can quite often negate high airfares at the last minute. ;)

Booked a last minute transpacific last fall and got a flight back from Sydney to LAX for only $619. :D

The year before, I booked a transatlantic only 10 DAYS PRIOR to sail away, and got a one way, transatlantic flight to Rome for only $508. :eek:


[B][I][COLOR="Black"][U]Traveler Thom [/U]offers some EXCELLENT advice for those that have the flexibility to take advantage of last minute bargains.[/COLOR][/I][/B]

You can get a 14 night B2B on the 19/26 June, Radiance OTS right now for $725pp with 225 OBC! ($425 OBC if you're a shareholder)

It's BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that RCCL's statement about "eliminating last minute discounts" is a bunch of hooey. Edited June 3, 2015 by teecee60

[TravelerThom]

[quote name='teecee60']Using Choice Air can quite often negate high airfares at the last minute. ;)...[/quote]Definitely true. I have used Choice Air one way from Washington DC to London, Barcelona, Oslo, Rome, etc or vice-versa with last minute TransAtlantic bookings. I have so far always managed to get air for under $500, usually about $420 and once for $320. Of course it helps that the TransAtlantics that I'm booking are not at the height of the summer fares. I always check that a decent airfare is available prior to booking a last minute cruise. I also check the fares on surrounding dates - once we were planning on going to Rome 3 days prior, but the flight 4 days prior was much cheaper and the difference if airfare more than covered our extra expenses in Rome. Choice Air domestic US airfares are not great, but they shine at last minute international one way fares.

Thom