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Black Friday Sales

Ravensfan1973
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Ravensfan1973

Ravensfan1973

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I've seen from some on here that the Black Friday Sales are the best of the year.  Problem is our ship leaves on Black Friday November 24th of this year.  Would it be too late to reserve something the morning of? I'm specifically looking at the zipline in Labadee. We aren't getting the alcohol pkg. We all don't drink alot, just here and there and I have around $500 on board credit we'll use for drinks, etc.

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Biker19

Biker19

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1 minute ago, Ravensfan1973 said:

Does the "sale" ever start early to your knowledge?

Yes, though don't expect the actual price to go down much, if any, for such a close in sailing. Whatever the price, it'll likely still be lower than on board.

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cruisegus

cruisegus

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sometimes, but to be honest real deals are not that easy to find and items that are on sale may not be of interest to you.

Personally, given the current situation with cruises selling out and the high current earnings I would not expect to find any "Real" deals this coming Black Friday

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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Yes, in past years Black Friday sales did start sooner than actual Black Friday.    Some started as early as Monday or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.     Cruise planner purchases shut down 2 to 3 days before sail date.    Do not expect there to be any special sales once onboard.

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Tree_skier "Live from...." Rare

Tree_skier

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1 hour ago, Ravensfan1973 said:

Does the sale ever start early to your knowledge?

If I remember last year correctly it started early on week of Thanksgiving.  Cruise planner purchases close 48 hours before embarkation.  Keep watching you might be lucky.

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Ashland

Ashland

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4 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

If I remember last year correctly it started early on week of Thanksgiving.  Cruise planner purchases close 48 hours before embarkation.  Keep watching you might be lucky.

I've seen this happen the last few BF sales starting the Monday before.

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S.A.M.J.R.

S.A.M.J.R.

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1 hour ago, TequilaJane said:

With ships as full as they are I am sure this years deals will not be that great.

They might be for the add ons.  Full ships would prevent sales on berths/tickets, not necessarily drink packages/dining/excursions/etc. 

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The Scurvy Pirate

The Scurvy Pirate

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In 2018 the Black Friday sale started 11/21/18 (Wednesday).  Since then, they generally have started the Monday of Thanksgiving.  Interestingly, there was a Veteran's Day Sale on November 11, 2020 (Wednesday) that had the same prices as the Black Friday Sale's that year. I hadn't really paid attention in subsequent years to see if it was still a decent sale.  I have found that the refreshment package ($10/day off), internet ($7/day off) and some excursions (especially Coco Cay where the Coco Cay club was 50% off) offered the best discount.  For example there was no change to any of the specialty dinner prices/packages.  Last year the Deluxe Beverage was the same BOGO50 you get all the time but the year before (during Covid) it was 30% off.  Photo packages also had a decent discount.  Obviously, these may be ship dependent.  You need to double check your planner cut off day, which is usually 3 days before the cruise leaves. Again, if you like the price now you can always buy it and if it goes down you can canel and reorder, as long as you are outside the 3 day cutoff.

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Biker19

Biker19

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4 minutes ago, sharonlacey said:

Do you recommend waiting till Black Friday Sale to order drink package? 

No, if know for sure you'll be drinking more than 5 alcoholic drinks per day, buy it and then look for price drops (they may not happen on BF).

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nelblu

nelblu

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On 6/21/2023 at 11:58 AM, Ravensfan1973 said:

I've seen from some on here that the Black Friday Sales are the best of the year.  Problem is our ship leaves on Black Friday November 24th of this year.  Would it be too late to reserve something the morning of? I'm specifically looking at the zipline in Labadee. We aren't getting the alcohol pkg. We all don't drink alot, just here and there and I have around $500 on board credit we'll use for drinks, etc.

I would keep looking or better yet follow CC as a poster around last Labor Day found a sale for the Key program somewhere $14.95 or $17.99 pp/pd.

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Mum2Mercury

Mum2Mercury

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On 6/21/2023 at 11:58 AM, Ravensfan1973 said:

... I have around $500 on board credit we'll use for drinks, etc.

So you need to use up $500?  

- What type of credit do you have?  Is any of it refundable? 

- Are you going to reserve a Next Cruise onboard?  If so, that's $100 per person.  

- I don't like ship-based excursions, but if you have literal free money, this could be a good reason to go with the cattle-call excursions.

On 6/21/2023 at 12:09 PM, Ravensfan1973 said:

Does the sale ever start early to your knowledge?

Yes, the sales will likely start early.  Black Friday used to be a day; now it's a season. 

On 6/21/2023 at 1:41 PM, TequilaJane said:

With ships as full as they are I am sure this years deals will not be that great.

They weren't great last year, and I suspect you're right about this year too.  

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rockmom

rockmom

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On 6/21/2023 at 8:58 AM, Ravensfan1973 said:

I've seen from some on here that the Black Friday Sales are the best of the year.  Problem is our ship leaves on Black Friday November 24th of this year.  Would it be too late to reserve something the morning of? I'm specifically looking at the zipline in Labadee. We aren't getting the alcohol pkg. We all don't drink alot, just here and there and I have around $500 on board credit we'll use for drinks, etc.

For something like the zipline, you could shut yourself out of getting it if you wait.  When you go to book it, you choose the time.  Prime time slots fill up.  There will probably be another sale starting soon, I'd book it then to ensure that you get it, and that you get a time that you want.  We booked it mid-morning, so that the rest of the day we could enjoy the beach and lunch without have to head to the tram and head up the 'mountain' to do the zip.  

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cruiselvr04 Great Review Rare

cruiselvr04

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Who knows if there’ll even be sales this year with sailings so full.  
 

I’m hopeful of course, but I’m booking whatever, whenever and can always try to rebook if sales happen.  In the past, I’ve been able to call and get a price reduction and refund.  
 

I did get Coco beach club on a Black Friday deal for $89.  My cruise was December.  It was one of those things where if I got a great price we’d go and if not we’d skip it.  On our cruise with 2 ships in port there were very few people at the beach club.

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MichiganMan4

MichiganMan4

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4 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Who knows if there’ll even be sales this year with sailings so full.  


This is exactly my perspective… if recent pricing is any indication, the days of Cruise Planner  “super deals” for Black Friday are dead and buried.  
 

To the original poster… if an activity is of interest to you and your budget allows, book it now.
- If it goes down in price - cancel/rebook get $$ back -  you win.  

- If it stays the same - you didn’t lose.

- If it goes up - you win.  

- If you change your mind, cancel and get $$ back - you win.  

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