Price increases?

[fudge]

I looked at a 7 day cruise Athens to Athens September 2025 about two weeks ago. I rang our TA to book, the price has increased by over £300 per person, Silversea can stick it!

[tnm6217]

This happens as stateroom inventory decreases, and from my experience, this is common practice among cruise lines. I check my cruises often and note fluctuations in pricing. I have ten booked on SS right now. Some of them are the same rate I booked months ago, and some have jumped up significantly. My segment on the 2026 Dawn WC in the exact same cabin (Vista GTY) has gone up nearly $5,500 since I booked in September! It definitely pays to book early...especially when it's so easy to transfer D2D deposits to another cruise if plans change.

[turtlemichael]

It's how the world works. Prices go up and down according to demand.

[david63]

There appears to be some inverse logic going on. I have a cruise booked that is well past final payment date and the price keeps going up even though there are unsold suites!

[canderson]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

There appears to be some inverse logic going on. I have a cruise booked that is well past final payment date and the price keeps going up even though there are unsold suites!

Yes, but how many are actually unsold?  SS doesn't show available inventory the way the other RCG systems do. 

[david63]

2 minutes ago, canderson said:

Yes, but how many are actually unsold?  SS doesn't show available inventory the way the other RCG systems do. 

Easy to find out by doing a dummy booking - in actual fact there are more empty suites now than before final balance date.

[canderson]

Just now, david63 said:

Easy to find out by doing a dummy booking - in actual fact there are more empty suites now than before final balance date.

Dummy bookings with SS only show a handful of options in any class at one time.  Other RCG systems show all cabins available for online booking.

[jjs217]

21 hours ago, fudge said:

I looked at a 7 day cruise Athens to Athens September 2025 about two weeks ago. I rang our TA to book, the price has increased by over £300 per person, Silversea can stick it!

In the grand scheme of life and over time - will you miss it?  

[pavementends]

1. Book it when you see it, or risk losing the option.

2. The price might go down later, who knows?

3. OP knows his budget. If it can't be bought within his budget, let it go.

[NanaChar]

We booked an Alaskan cruise on 11/29.  We looked today, the price is up about $2000 for each of us.   

[fudge]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Of course I could have booked at the time, it would have been my 75th birthday celebration, what surprised me was that the cruise is so far out. Of course I realise prices can fluctuate up or down, I feel certain other offers will come along. 

[Texas Tillie]

32 minutes ago, fudge said:

Thank you everyone for your replies. Of course I could have booked at the time, it would have been my 75th birthday celebration, what surprised me was that the cruise is so far out. Of course I realise prices can fluctuate up or down, I feel certain other offers will come along. 

 

Some people are gamblers and some people aren't. If you feel comfortable rolling the dice and maybe getting what you want and maybe missing out, who are we to say you are wrong.

[labrasett]

21 hours ago, canderson said:

Yes, but how many are actually unsold?  SS doesn't show available inventory the way the other RCG systems do. 

You can find out by putting in a "phantom booking" which will show up available cabins in each category.   But, why bother, either you are going to book and pay or you arent.  Pricing on most travel offerings is dynamic and whilst it varies it mostly goes up over time.  I believe you can negotiate some discounts via travel agents but personally I dont, I just book if I think I can afford it in the time span for payment, not forgetting the potential add on of airfare as we usually do our own flights.

[LAL Cruiser]

3 hours ago, labrasett said:

You can find out by putting in a "phantom booking" which will show up available cabins in each category.   But, why bother, either you are going to book and pay or you arent.  Pricing on most travel offerings is dynamic and whilst it varies it mostly goes up over time.  I believe you can negotiate some discounts via travel agents but personally I dont, I just book if I think I can afford it in the time span for payment, not forgetting the potential add on of airfare as we usually do our own flights.

 

You are my new favorite person on this Board, so logical and practical.  (I followed you comment on another post here.) Booking in advance is sometimes a gamble : fares can increase or (in rare circumstances) decrease for a variety of reasons.  In general, early bookers do best (just like on airlines).  The important thing is to enjoy the cruise and the experience, and not worry if it cost $400 more or $1000 less per person.

[canderson]

2 hours ago, labrasett said:

You can find out by putting in a "phantom booking" which will show up available cabins in each category.

Yes, randomly, 6 at a time.  The other RCG systems show ALL cabins within the selected class that are at that moment available for booking online.

 

As for "why bother", I was addressing only the viewing of inventory.

[pavementends]

22 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Some people are gamblers and some people aren't. If you feel comfortable rolling the dice and maybe getting what you want and maybe missing out, who are we to say you are wrong.

 

My (only) two Silversea cruises were bought fairly close to departure (3-6 months). There was an attractively priced port to port option and very good itineraries. I suspect that the port to port option appears when there are a significant number of unsold cabins.

 

It's practical to take advantage of these (not last-minute, but last-months) options if you don't really need to go at a particular time and you have some flexibility in itinerary.