Call me Cheap

[riclop]

Is it just me or do the rates seem to be stuck at current prices and not jumping around to give us a chance to get a great bargain. I have been watching a couple of future cruises I would like to take but not one time have the prices moved, either up or down. That's part of the fun in booking... catching it at the right time.:cool:

 

Prices have gone up with this sale and also summer season always brings higher prices.

[Gallivanting Souls]

OP,

It's ok to be cheap.

[Keith1010]

Sounds like you have an approach that works for you.

 

Keith

[2chilover]

This is how it has worked for me. If I find a cheaper fare, on the site you are using, though, know it has to be in the same category. Inside to inside, balcony to balcony, etc... unless you are trying for an upgrade. Then you have to fill out the form, Carnival Price Protection Form. They will email you with an answer toot sweet. But, sometimes, disagree with your findings. I then call Carnival and have always, if I stay FIRM, gotten the drop. As I have posted before, I book with the only room I will consider. If you are flexible, sometimes can get up to 3 category upgrades. If you did not book directly through Carnival, we do, not with a PVP, just online, you would have to let your PVP or TA know of the drop and they would take it from there. Maybe. That's why I do my own booking. Is this :)clear as mud or what?

 

Thank you very much for the help! :)

[A&Jfamily]

I think it still really depends on the cruise. Our Canada cruise has literally dropped $100 pp since we booked a couple of months ago. Our December 2016 cruise on the Magic went up $20 last December before I could get on board to book it for my OBC and is now $100 more pp than what we paid.

 

So I think the deals are there, but not on the more popular cruises based upon ship and time. If you are looking to sale at a popular time or on a newer ship, then it seems early booking is your best bet.

[Savlamara]

My personal best was, I think '09, not sure, I booked early saver, as always about 10-11 months out and had over $900. OBC. Since then, zip. I look faithfully everyday. But, at least I know I did get the best price. Today, a inside room is more than the Lido balcony I purchased. Could probably do better if were willing to change rooms, but I book early to get the "exact" room I want in the 1st place. It's still fun to look and hope for a price reduction. I think I honestly enjoy the planning, research on excursions, reading CC hints, maybe as much as the cruise itself. Sad, but true! Though I really have enjoyed all our cruises. And it builds up the anticipation, planning so far ahead.:)

 

Holey cow, I have never seen that much OBC before... Most I've ever gotten was $160 and that was booking 4 months out. Most of the time I book after final payment date anyway so not much time for ES drops.

 

But you win for OBC!

[cruzelover55]

Holey cow, I have never seen that much OBC before... Most I've ever gotten was $160 and that was booking 4 months out. Most of the time I book after final payment date anyway so not much time for ES drops.

 

But you win for OBC!

 

Do I get a ship on a stick?:)

 

In hindsight I wonder if it was because we always book in September (potential worst hurricane month) and the year before, Hurricane Ike made cruising a nightmare for those cruising when he hit. Maybe it was harder to sell September from Galveston and N.O. the next year. ??

[birdiebob1961]

I just booked the Pride in Feb for a July 2016 sailing and have already received $310 in price drops. While I will look at the fare viewer, I try to log into my account and do a mock booking daily.

[Jenn1974]

My October cruise has went down 50$ pp so I grabbed that up but since that drop it has went back up in price. My cruise for June 2017 on the Magic has stayed the same since I booked it two months ago. I check a couple times a week for price drops and I have an app. But I havent seen much change lately.

[Savlamara]

Do I get a ship on a stick?:)

 

In hindsight I wonder if it was because we always book in September (potential worst hurricane month) and the year before, Hurricane Ike made cruising a nightmare for those cruising when he hit. Maybe it was harder to sell September from Galveston and N.O. the next year. ??

 

That is a possibility. Or you struck whilst the iron was hot!

[sprite.4]

In 2013, we booked a July cruise in January. By the time we had to make final payment, price had come down 6 different times for a savings of $1,010. Also in 2013, booked a Christmas cruise in May. Again 6 different price reductions totaling $620 before final payment. In 2015, booked another July cruise in January - not a single price drop - until 6 weeks before the cruise with 3 drops in 8 days, netting $600 OBC. We have another cruise this July. While no price drops, we were offered an upsell from an interior to a balcony (both on Deck 10) for only $260. This is a bargain because we have friends who started with a balcony on Deck 10 and their price is still $500 higher than ours. :) You just never know how it's going to turn out. Keep trying and good luck!

[Qchell]

I too have not seen hardly any price drops recently. My upcoming cruise we booked a good 9 months out and other than a sale that came out that had the same price +$50 OBC (which we filled out claim form and got) over 6 months ago, the price never went down. We would be paying a minimum of $340 more if we were to book today - and that is with a special resident rate. The other rates are even more.

 

Our cruise for April 2017 we already have booked and no matter what sale they have posted, our rates have not budged one penny since we booked weeks ago.

 

I also remember the days when the rates changed almost hour to hour and used to check regularly. Never have gotten much OBC, but did manage to score an upgrade from interior to balcony for a total of $20 once. I also told our friends who were sailing with us, they waited until next day and the balcony rate had shot back up.

[lolavix]

This is our first Carnival cruise, and I booked two cabins in January. The prices included $25 OBC pp, and that has been the sticking point.

 

In theory, the price for the cabin with three has gone down a couple of times by about $50 total, but when you consider we would lose the $75 OBC, we would come out behind.

 

The price for the cabin with two gave us a $60 decrease in price, but we lost the $50 OBC. So, we've had a net decrease of $10 for that cabin.

 

Since I've never experienced huge price drops, I don't know what I am missing, but I do remind myself that it means that I booked at the lowest price I could have, since we booked right after we decided to sail. I don't know what the cruise started at, so I'm happy.

 

But that won't stop me from looking once or twice a day for the drops. ;)

[Naomi John]

Oh, and I should have mentioned that I use a PVP. But she isn't very good.......in fact, ignored my question about how to take advantage of the newest fare I found on the Fare viewer. She seems to have no patience for questions and I really don't ask that many questions, promise. :)

 

Ouch get a new PVP. We have a cruise booked in late June, and have either had a price drop and/or OBC. I check about every week. I call my PVP, leave a message, and by the evening, I get an email with either the price drop, OBC or both.

 

FYI don't log in to do a mock booking. I use one browser, (Chrome), to log in with and Internet explorer to do the mock booking.

[CruiseHealing]

Hey Cheap, good question. With the popularity of cruising continue to growt, coupled with low gas prices and a stable economy, Carnival gets nough demand to keep rates steady. You may catch a slight decrease for a short time, but then the rates go back to where they were. This was done by Carnival to spur those that's been sitting on the fence. Once their booking rates reach their trend line of where they should be at that point in time before sailing, the rates return to previous levels.

[WantaGoGlobal]

My PVP told me that once my room category sold out on the floor we booked on, no price adjustments could be made, even if there were other rooms of the same on other floors. Is this true?

[ata1976]

We booked last September for this September. Our price has continued to rise and is now over $300 more than we paid.

My brother in law just booked last week to sail with us. They paid $12 less for 3 people in their cove balcony than we did for 4 people in ours.

[tandemcruzr]

My PVP told me that once my room category sold out on the floor we booked on, no price adjustments could be made, even if there were other rooms of the same on other floors. Is this true?

 

I think your PVP is wrong. The adjustment is not based on deck number but cabin category -- i.e. 8B to 8B, 8C to 8C, etc.

[mzloolue]

My PVP told me that once my room category sold out on the floor we booked on, no price adjustments could be made, even if there were other rooms of the same on other floors. Is this true?

 

I was told the same thing.

 

We booked an extended aft balcony on deck 8.

All the extended aft balconies sold out quickly, but one showed back up on deck 6 at a lower price.

I was told that I could have the deck 6 cabin at the lower price, but the lower price did not apply to the deck 8 extended balcony.

[cruzelover55]

I was told the same thing.

 

We booked an extended aft balcony on deck 8.

All the extended aft balconies sold out quickly, but one showed back up on deck 6 at a lower price.

I was told that I could have the deck 6 cabin at the lower price, but the lower price did not apply to the deck 8 extended balcony.

 

I'm sure I will be corrected if I am wrong. My understanding through all my cruises, is you can't get OBC, lower fares, etc.. if you are moving down, as the premium cabins are at the higher levels in most scenarios. At least, in our situation. If I book 8F or E depending on the number of decks on the ship, I have a balcony on Lido. So, if I see a balcony on another deck that is less expensive, that would not apply to me. Though in my case, I don't want to move staterooms, just want OBC. As I have posted before I can do a "mock" booking for my next cruise and can't even see prices for the Lido deck as must be sold out. Even when I specify Lido deck, they zap me to Panorama. Inside cabins are more expensive now than our balcony. I never use a PVP, just book online. I have booked my next after this cruise through a TA. Have finally snapped at what the prices are going to be even though I book eons ahead. I expressed this to the TA and said, what can you offer me if I book with you? I had gotten emails from many of the cruise TA's after I booked the last one, and they offered to pay tips, and Cheers! Will see how that works out.

[Naomi John]

If your cabin category is sold out, then you look for price drops for the next one up. As stated, you cannot get price drops for a lower category.

[vwrestler171]

My cruise for November has dropped $200 in the last cpl months, however Vista for Jan is up $1100 so depending on the rates when you book and how desired your cruise is, why are you shocked that prices aren't dropping?