Price drops and mock bookings

[Hardnas]

My cruise is nearly a year away but I want to follow and watch for potential price drops.  Is it possible to do this if you have a specific room type (aft wraparound balcony)?  All those room types are already booked so I can’t mock book it..  assume no price drops would be available than?

 

thanks all!

[jbethel11]

1 hour ago, Hardnas said:

My cruise is nearly a year away but I want to follow and watch for potential price drops.  Is it possible to do this if you have a specific room type (aft wraparound balcony)?  All those room types are already booked so I can’t mock book it..  assume no price drops would be available than?

 

thanks all!

Unfortunately, they only way you can get a price drop is if someone cancels and the price lowers. An alternative is to upgrade, but with early saver, there are no downgrades. 

[Hardnas]

7 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Unfortunately, they only way you can get a price drop is if someone cancels and the price lowers. An alternative is to upgrade, but with early saver, there are no downgrades. 

That’s kind of what I was thinking.  I am fine with my current price, just thought I might be able to save a couple bucks.

 

thanks

[Hardnas]

1 hour ago, bosoxfan5 said:

Next time you book, use a travel advisor.  They watch fares for the client so you don't have to.  When a fare drops they are notified and pass it along to the traveler.  DM me for info

 

Thanks, although not all TAs are the same, my last 2 did not get the price adjustments for me... and one even got the price difference but tried to keep it.  Until I found out.. than it was given to me.  No extra perks.

 

If I book it myself I have total control and have the ability to make changes without delay.

 

thanks, I will message you if I have any TA questions!

 

 

[jbethel11]

53 minutes ago, Hardnas said:

Thanks, although not all TAs are the same, my last 2 did not get the price adjustments for me... and one even got the price difference but tried to keep it.  Until I found out.. than it was given to me.  No extra perks.

 

If I book it myself I have total control and have the ability to make changes without delay.

 

thanks, I will message you if I have any TA questions!

 

 

You can still transfer your booking to another TA. 

[bosoxfan5]

1 hour ago, Hardnas said:

Thanks, although not all TAs are the same, my last 2 did not get the price adjustments for me... and one even got the price difference but tried to keep it.  Until I found out.. than it was given to me.  No extra perks.

 

If I book it myself I have total control and have the ability to make changes without delay.

 

thanks, I will message you if I have any TA questions!

 

 

That would certainly discourage me from using a TA.  Just curious...was it a Carnival TA from their phone #?  I always wondered if they have the time to give personal service like that with all the customers they talk to.   Luckily all TA's are not the same.  It was always easier and less time consuming for me to let my TA do all the work.  I didn't have the time to watch the prices all day.

[bosoxfan5]

10 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

You can still transfer your booking to another TA. 

True.  Find one you like and trust.

[Schoifmom]

Once your class of cabin is sold out, you cannot price match to it because there are no available cabins to price 🙂  The best you can do is to look for either a cabin coming open (in which case the price would probably be higher) or a low price on a higher class of cabin which you would be willing to move to.

[bosoxfan5]

4 hours ago, Schoifmom said:

Once your class of cabin is sold out, you cannot price match to it because there are no available cabins to price 🙂  The best you can do is to look for either a cabin coming open (in which case the price would probably be higher) or a low price on a higher class of cabin which you would be willing to move to.

 

Not always. Agencies are able to hold blocks of room and offer them at a discounted rate. If they don't sell they are released back into inventory.

[Organized Chaos]

8 hours ago, bosoxfan5 said:

 Just curious...was it a Carnival TA from their phone #?  I always wondered if they have the time to give personal service like that with all the customers they talk to.

 

Carnival doesn't have TA's. They have regular customer service reps. and PVP's. Customer service reps. just book cruises and answer questions (although, you might get 3 different answers from 3 different reps). PVP's tend to be more knowledgeable and interact with you on a more personal level, but I wouldn't call them TA's. And they're not going to watch prices for you.

 

18 hours ago, Hardnas said:

My cruise is nearly a year away but I want to follow and watch for potential price drops.  Is it possible to do this if you have a specific room type (aft wraparound balcony)?  All those room types are already booked so I can’t mock book it..  assume no price drops would be available than?

 

thanks all!

 

Are you looking at just those cabins on your deck or are you looking at that category as a whole? Because sometimes the same category of cabin can be found on multiple decks. So as long as any cabin of that category is available, you can still price match. Otherwise, you have to resort to checking back regularly in case someone cancels, like others have mentioned.

[Schoifmom]

11 hours ago, bosoxfan5 said:

 

Not always. Agencies are able to hold blocks of room and offer them at a discounted rate. If they don't sell they are released back into inventory.

 

True.  If rooms in that class open up, so does the opportunity (however slim) for a price match.

[BBigfoot613]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 9:13 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

Are you looking at just those cabins on your deck or are you looking at that category as a whole? Because sometimes the same category of cabin can be found on multiple decks. So as long as any cabin of that category is available, you can still price match. Otherwise, you have to resort to checking back regularly in case someone cancels, like others have mentioned.

 

So hypothetically if I have a 2 person 4A booked at 250pp and find a 4B showing for say 200pp I can have my 4A lowered to the 200pp price AND stay in the same room? (prices and room categories made up for detail)

 

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 8:50 PM, bosoxfan5 said:

 

Not always. Agencies are able to hold blocks of room and offer them at a discounted rate. If they don't sell they are released back into inventory.

Do you know when they are released back roughly? Or does that depend on the TA and/or TA's company policy?

 

 

 And depending on location, number of cabins, and time until sailing the rate COULD be cheaper than what was booked.

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, BBigfoot613 said:

So hypothetically if I have a 2 person 4A booked at 250pp and find a 4B showing for say 200pp I can have my 4A lowered to the 200pp price AND stay in the same room? (prices and room categories made up for detail)

 

No, if you're in a 4A, you have to price match to a 4A. And a cabin cannot change its category. For example, we'll be in a 4E aboard Horizon. That cabin is always a 4E, it can't change. But on the Horizon, there are 4E's on decks 6 and 7. So when I check for a lower rate, even if the 4E's are sold out on one of those decks, there might still be some available on the other. You can only do a price match if that particular category isn't completely sold out. But since some categories can be found on multiple decks, don't just look at the deck you've booked.

 

I don't think CC lets us post a link to this site, but do a google search for "cruise deck plans" and it should be the first result. That's literally the name of the site. Once there, go to "Public Site" (if you're on a computer), choose the cruise line and your ship. There's also a tool, called the "Cabin Check Tool," that lets you pick a cabin and it'll show you what's directly above and below that cabin. Good for checking if you'll be above or below a possible noisy area.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 4/11/2019 at 10:32 AM, bosoxfan5 said:

Next time you book, use a travel advisor.  They watch fares for the client so you don't have to.  When a fare drops they are notified and pass it along to the traveler.  DM me for info

 

 

I've booked many cruises over the last couple decades with travel agencies and have never had one that monitors prices.

 

I'd say your agency is a keeper.🙂

[Organized Chaos]

38 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

I've booked many cruises over the last couple decades with travel agencies and have never had one that monitors prices.

 

I'd say your agency is a keeper.🙂

 

Our first cruise was with my wife's aunt & uncle. Since we had no idea how to go about it, they set our booking up through their travel agent. She watched the prices and filed the price match claims for us. She got us price reductions a couple times, but the big question was, could there have been more? If you find one who will do it for you, or says they'll do it, you'll never know how often they look. I'd much rather look myself, that way I know it's being done.

 

That was the only time we used a TA, though. Before we even went on that cruise, I had done so much research that, by our next one, I was more than comfortable enough doing them on our own. Now we have a great PVP, so he's our go-to.