Independence Aug 2, 2015 Sold Out! **Really**??

[zeridan]

The agent may have a hold on those cabins - would have to book through them. The cabins would be considered "sold" if you checked on line to book with RC or a different agent. When the agent doesn't sell the cabins they will release them.

 

Tried to book a cruise that friends were booked on that was showing sold out

and this is what RC told me. Said to keep checking.

 

This was in response to post 42 above - forgot to quote.

 

A Travel Agent would not have any space held this close to the sail date.

[Big Beer Gut]

Didn't Indy pick up some of that capacity

 

Good Point, but that still leaves reduces RCL's Caribbean capacity out of Florida about 3000 less than the last few years. Almost an entire standard size cruise ship. I think this is helping to support higher prices this summer under RCL's new pricing strategy. As other's have indicated, it will be interesting to see what happens this fall after Allure returns.

[Grandma Dazzles]

A Travel Agent would not have any space held this close to the sail date.

 

 

OP was referring to a couple of September cruises - my response is based on what RC told me.

[Sam.Seattle]

Summer is peak season. Not surprised at all.

I respectfully disagree... Peak Season is when all the berths in Fort Lauderdale are full and there are very limited hotel rooms avalible. That would be in the winter.

 

I see just one ship in port today...

 

http://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

[Starry Eyes]

Today 26/7/15 according to a British agent, Explorer of the seas has cabins available for the 9/8/15, 23/8/15, 2/9/15 etc. also Independence of the seas has also got cabins available for certain sailing in Aug. and Sept.

 

So perhaps they are being offered to the British market first, perhaps because we pay more for a cabin than in America

 

Summer is popular with US families and teachers traveling before schools go back into session. I do not know, but perhaps that is true in UK,too. August 23 and Sept 2 are likely a bit too late for most the back to school crowd. if pricing is reasonable, cabins on an Aug 8 explorer sailing might well fill up in next few days,though explorer might be less popular with families than IOS which is larger newer and has a flo rider.

[Starry Eyes]

I respectfully disagree... Peak Season is when all the berths in Fort Lauderdale are full and there are very limited hotel rooms avalible. That would be in the winter.

 

I see just one ship in port today...

 

http://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

Perhaps we could agree on some obvious points. There are multiple peaks and troughs in the travel industry. Though hot, summer is a popular travel time as kids are out of school. I see high prices on summer Caribbean cruises year after year (with occasional better deals). Also obvious, in summer, the ships at widely deployed...Alaska and Europe are very popular in the summer. In fall, ships leave Alaska and Northern Europe, and some also leave the Mediterranean and North Eastern US. Many are deployed to the Caribbean for winter season. Some weeks in fall and winter and spring are high demand; some are lower.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[sundayb]

We are sailing on INDY August 9th and it is also sold out. I looked last week and saw only 10 cabins available, but they were the expensive suites. Maybe ppl got upgraded and their cabins were sold. Anyone have past experience with that?

[zeridan]

OP was referring to a couple of September cruises - my response is based on what RC told me.

 

Correct, the OP is referring to September, as am I. Your contact at RC gave you bad info unfortunately, probably new.

[John&LaLa]

off season... yea, it is summer break - but it is really HOT in August. I guess the ecomony is better and the ships are filling up. Also, with the new bigger ships I assume there is more capacity. All is Good! :-)

 

Hot doesn't have that much of a bearing on this. Have you ever been to Athens in August? That's HOT

[nimbex1970]

"Hot doesn't have that much of a bearing on this. Have you ever been to Athens in August? That's HOT"

 

 

I just had to laugh. Living in Florida it is hot as hell, and tourists from all over the world flock to the theme parks here when it's 95 degrees. All that with afternoon thunderstorms, and they arrive by the millions each year. So I would imagine many people cruise in the summer months, and yes they sell out.

[mark22mac]

I love summer in Florida all the snow birds go home our community is pretty much empty here on the beach and I stay away from Orlando. But it is hot and the cruises are full.

[merlindog22]

Summer is popular with US families and teachers traveling before schools go back into session. I do not know, but perhaps that is true in UK,too. August 23 and Sept 2 are likely a bit too late for most the back to school crowd. if pricing is reasonable, cabins on an Aug 8 explorer sailing might well fill up in next few days,though explorer might be less popular with families than IOS which is larger newer and has a flo rider.

 

Explorer now has a Flo rider.

[John&LaLa]

I love summer in Florida all the snow birds go home our community is pretty much empty here on the beach and I stay away from Orlando. But it is hot and the cruises are full.

 

Monday morning crowds in Cocoa Beach

[mark22mac]

Monday morning crowds in Cocoa Beach

 

 

 

Same here John.

[ohbuckeye]

Sorry to hijack this thread but to those posters on Cocoa Beach- please take some time to look for 2 14 year old boys lost at sea from Jupiter Fl since Friday afternoon. Boat was found 67 nautical miles East of Ponce Inlet- family believes boys still have a Yeti cooler, Yamaha engine cover and 2 life jackets- if you see any debris on the beach please contact the USCG. Thank you so much.

[mark22mac]

Sorry to hijack this thread but to those posters on Cocoa Beach- please take some time to look for 2 14 year old boys lost at sea from Jupiter Fl since Friday afternoon. Boat was found 67 nautical miles East of Ponce Inlet- family believes boys still have a Yeti cooler, Yamaha engine cover and 2 life jackets- if you see any debris on the beach please contact the USCG. Thank you so much.

 

 

Yes very sad story.

[roe2ship]

I respectfully disagree... Peak Season is when all the berths in Fort Lauderdale are full and there are very limited hotel rooms avalible. That would be in the winter.

 

I see just one ship in port today...

 

http://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

I'm not sure what one ship in one city has to do with it. It may somewhat be a peak time for some hotels in Fort Lauderdale in the winter but as for the cruising industry (which is the subject of the discussion), Summer is considered peak season. It always was, is and always will be. Edited July 27, 2015 by roe2ship

[Sam.Seattle]

I'm not sure what one ship in one city has to do with it. It may somewhat be a peak time for some hotels in Fort Lauderdale in the winter but as for the cruising industry (which is the subject of the discussion), Summer is considered peak season. It always was, is and always will be.

Based on what I am paying for Cruise and hotel now vs. what I am paying for similar acomidations in Decembe I think not. Paying a lot more in December which I believe is peak season.

 

Have a great day!

[Retired LEO]

Based on what I am paying for Cruise and hotel now vs. what I am paying for similar acomidations in Decembe I think not. Paying a lot more in December which I believe is peak season.

 

Have a great day!

 

Then why are cruises so much cheaper in December? (With the exception of the Holidays)

 

Simple answer. They're trying to fill the ships.

 

Summertime is prime time. Schools are out and it's family cruising. Talk to some of the passengers cruising during the summer and you'll think you're at a teachers convention with so many of them cruising.

 

You pay more for a hotel in December because the people getting hammered with snow will gladly pay it and the prices go up accordingly.

[John&LaLa]

Then why are cruises so much cheaper in December? (With the exception of the Holidays)

 

Simple answer. They're trying to fill the ships.

 

Summertime is prime time. Schools are out and it's family cruising. Talk to some of the passengers cruising during the summer and you'll think you're at a teachers convention with so many of them cruising.

 

You pay more for a hotel in December because the people getting hammered with snow will gladly pay it and the prices go up accordingly.

 

January is historically cheap as well once you pass the NYE cruise.

[barbon2]

We are doing Liberty of the Seas on August 27. We get back Sept 5. Some schools do start the end of August.

Our cruise has been sold out for a week, from the roll calls there are some kids going so I assume some cabins will be holding 3-4 pax.

 

Barb

[Retired LEO]

January is historically cheap as well once you pass the NYE cruise.

 

So very true.

[mark22mac]

We never cruise in the summer its peak season hot and a lot of kids. Feb-April or sept- nov best pricing better weather and less kids.and let's not forget to mention all the snow birds are gone north and we have some peace and quiet here at home.

Edited July 28, 2015 by mark22mac

[1 Buffett Fan]

Based on what I am paying for Cruise and hotel now vs. what I am paying for similar acomidations in Decembe I think not. Paying a lot more in December which I believe is peak season.

 

Have a great day!

 

They're two different industries, and having worked in both, you're talking about apples and oranges. Winter is peak season for hotels in Florida, so the room prices are usually higher. Summer is peak season for cruising, so the cruise prices are usually higher. There are certain periods during the year where the prices can spike for both industries (for example holiday weeks, three-day weekends, sometimes spring break), but they definitely have two distinct "seasons".

 

You mentioned you're paying a lot for your hotel in December, and that's to be expected. If you're paying a lot for a December cruise, you're probably either travelling during or near Christmas week, or maybe you just booked too late and missed a better deal.

Edited July 28, 2015 by 1 Buffett Fan

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

We never cruise in the summer its peak season hot and a lot of kids. Feb-April or sept- nov best pricing better weather and less kids.and let's not forget to mention all the snow birds are gone north and we have some peace and quiet here at home.

 

The only problem with Sept-Nov is that is pretty much the peak of hurricane season.