Cruise prices just shot up?

[rtazz17]

After we pay in full within the 75 days of leaving I dont even bother checking price.. It is what it is..

[klepton]

I think at times they raise the price to scare those who have been waiting to book to jump in and make the reservation before the prices go even higher. Many times they come back down. Airlines seem to pull this all the time.

 

While I haven't figure out exactly what they do, I think there's some truth to this statement. It's also possible the price fluctuations are driven by other factors (bookings, cancellations, TA releases, etc) and it's purely coincidental. But there have been numerous times I've researched cruises, and then when I've gone back to book the price has increased by hundreds of dollars. I usually wait a few days and the price returns back to what it was. Last time I deleted my cookies, tried a different browser, and even tried a different computer in my house; the higher price was always shown. Then I connected via mobile broadband access (made my phone a wifi hotspot) and was mysteriously seeing the lower price I had seen a few days ago. I refreshed both my home computer and my laptop at the same time and was seeing different pricing. Odd...

 

That said, this would mean RCCL would be tracking visits by IP address and adjusting prices based on behavior. Given they can't get even basic IT functions working correctly recently, I seriously doubt they're trying to play psychological games with pricing. :D

 

Sure seems that way though...

[Cruise a holic]

WEll, I am sorry for this... It appears today, I accidentally picked the wrong ship! No wonder the cost was so much higher. Kicking my own butt right now!

 

That has happened to me when I do a mock booking and then the wrong sail date is entered automatically, and I didn't notice. But the good thing is that RC is good about adjusting the rate if it becomes lower and you ask them to. That is why I like booking directly with them. You have so much more control. The wholesalers can keep the perks they offer which IMO cannot compare with the control factor.

[robin13]

I've been trying for several months (without success) to upgrade from an inside to a balcony on my upcoming Vision cruise, and I've seen prices fluctuate by upwards of $4,000 (for a solo) within hours, and several different rates offered for the same category within a day.

 

The only thing you can do is immediately grab any good price you see, because it could be gone if you blink. The way Royal is manipulating the numbers these days is beyond crazy.

 

Good luck as I tried to upgrade from an inside to a balcony as a solo cruiser and the price never went down. This was on the 9/13 IOS sailing which was sold out. I did get to upgrade from an inside to a balcony on The Allure this past November for $77 which was fantastic.