Caribbean cruise gone up $600 over night. Do cruises ever come down in price?

[dltaeg]

I was quoted £3220 yesterday for a 7 night western Caribbean cruise in Feb next year. I've gone to book it today and its now sowing at £3780. 

 

Do cruises ever come down in price or is it likely to keep going up the closer to the date it gets? 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, dltaeg said:

Do cruises ever come down in price or is it likely to keep going up the closer to the date it gets? 

It's all about the inventory - look at that over some time period (a month maybe) and that trend will tell you where the prices are going. Yes, you can have price swings in either direction.

[smokeybandit]

They went up because the current promo ended. It'll be back, maybe even tomorrow

[FionaMG]

What @smokeybandit said. They have new "sales" for several days at a time and them take them away for another several days.

Given that you're in the UK and won't be able to reprice, hold off a few days until the next one comes along.

[Billy Baltic]

If you’re sailing with children it might be worth booking through a US TA. Your cruise maybe eligible for KSF. 

[dltaeg]

43 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

If you’re sailing with children it might be worth booking through a US TA. Your cruise maybe eligible for KSF. 

Sorry to ask but what KSF? 

[FionaMG]

38 minutes ago, dltaeg said:

Sorry to ask but what KSF? 

Kids Sail Free

[brillohead]

Fares change all the time, based on how that sailing is selling. 

If it's selling like hotcakes and there are fewer rooms left, the price will go up.  If it's not selling quickly, the price will come down in an attempt to get as many people on the ship as possible. 

Then on top of that they have various promotional sales.  Look for the next big sale to be over the USA Labor Day holiday.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

 They will go down.  We once had our OS go down $400 pp and had our TA rebook it for us.  

[ARandomTraveler]

I booked a Thanksgiving cruise this past April. The price went down 5 times between May and July. I've saved somewhere around $550 by checking the price every day and calling whenever the price went down. 
 

Don't assume that just because the current "sale" says it's available for 3 days (or however long), that the price for your specific cruise won't change. 3 out of my 5 price drops happened within a day and a half time during the same "sale." I caught one at night around 11pm, another the next morning, and another later that evening.

 

My final payment date is this Sunday, and not surprisingly, the price for my cruise went up by $400 overnight a couple days ago, and it's back to around the price I bought it at back in April. I'm sure the price will remain high until the ability to call for price drops has passed, and then it'll start dropping again.
 

People who are more flexible in their plans can benefit from waiting until after the final payment date to book. For a cruise in February, it's bound to drop a few times between now and then.

 

The benefit to booking now is that it assures you get the room category and location you want. Plus you can plan your airfare etc. If you book a refundable fare, you can just cancel before your final payment date if the price doesn't go down to one you're happy with. Or, if you're flexible, you can just wait until November and see what the price is and hope the room you want is available. 

[poocher]

New “sale” started today.  Try again.

[davy jones]

It's all about supply and demand.  The goal is to sail with a full ship.  Empty berths do not generate onboard revenue.  If the sailing is not selling as expected, prices will drop, particularly if it is after the final payment date.

[Jimbo]

On 8/17/2022 at 1:14 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

On 8/17/2022 at 1:14 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

 

People who are more flexible in their plans can benefit from waiting until after the final payment date to book. For a cruise in February, it's bound to drop a few times between now and then.

 

 

No always true for a Spring Break Cruises(February) Those sailings tend to be booked solid and the price just gets higher and higher until sold out.

 

 

 

 

[orville99]

On 8/16/2022 at 5:35 AM, dltaeg said:

I was quoted £3220 yesterday for a 7 night western Caribbean cruise in Feb next year. I've gone to book it today and its now sowing at £3780. 

 

Do cruises ever come down in price or is it likely to keep going up the closer to the date it gets? 

They tend to go up like a rocket and come down like a feather.😇

[ARandomTraveler]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

 

That's true. However I will say that my sailing is for a holiday (Thanksgiving), and I didn't expect any price drops at all, and expected a fully booked cruise. But we're 93 days out and that's not been the case. I've gotten 5 price drops, and since the cruise isn't sold out, expect some price drops after the 90 day mark. But we'll see. 
 

I think airfare prices are keeping bookings a little lower than normal for this holiday season  right now. 

[ChickonRules]

The December cruise I booked dropped by almost $500 CAD on the weekend. It dropped again by $34 but I didn’t call in because it’s just a small decrease.

[Mum2Mercury]

Yes, with one exception, I've found a price drop on every cruise I've ever taken.  I don't mind checking a couple times a week to see if I can shave off a few dollars. 

 

The exception -- the one time we didn't get a drop -- was a Thanksgiving cruise.  My husband and I are in agreement: we'll never sail a holiday again.  It was the most expensive cruise we've ever taken, and the ship was crowded; we didn't even get a dinner seating assignment in the main dining room -- we were placed in a side room (if you're interested enough, look at Mariner's deck plans and look for a side room called Melodies).  

 

Anyway, when I book a cruise, I assume the price to which I agree is the highest possible price I could pay -- and I kinda assume I'll get at least a small price drop at some point.  

[Mum2Mercury]

3 minutes ago, ChickonRules said:

The December cruise I booked dropped by almost $500 CAD on the weekend. It dropped again by $34 but I didn’t call in because it’s just a small decrease.

I'd call for $34, especially if you're talking about $34 per person.  It only takes about 10 minutes. 

[ChickonRules]

1 minute ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd call for $34, especially if you're talking about $34 per person.  It only takes about 10 minutes. 

It’s $34 total. Hmmm, maybe I’ll still call anyways…

[Mum2Mercury]

14 minutes ago, ChickonRules said:

It’s $34 total. Hmmm, maybe I’ll still call anyways…

I'm retired, so I have plenty of time on my hands -- but when I was working, I didn't earn $34 in 10 minutes, especially just by making a phone call /not leaving the house. 

[cruiselvr04]

Book early when they open and watch for price drops.  Or book after final payment but then you take what you can get for cabins.  I’ve had 1 out of 9 presently booked go down.  

[ChickonRules]

22 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'm retired, so I have plenty of time on my hands -- but when I was working, I didn't earn $34 in 10 minutes, especially just by making a phone call /not leaving the house. 

Gave them a call today and the agent couldn’t see the price I saw for some reason. Sat on the phone with them for 20+ minutes and gave up. There should be a way for us to send a screenshot for them to see. Apparently they don’t have access to email.