Payed 475pp for the dawn last june, This june its 750?

[donny939]

Last summer I payed 475pp for and inside cabin on the dawn. We did the 7 day bermuda/bahammas in june 06. We are looking to go on the same cruise or maybe the 8 day eastern carribbean on the spirt. The prices are a lot higher for the same cruise on the dawn. Its about 750 for an inside direct from ncl. Should I wait till the middle of may to book it or should I try expedia or some other site like that. Any help would be apprciated

[sierramyst44]

Ive found that the only difference between booking directly with NCL or any of the online TA's is only any incentives the TA's may be offering exclusive to their sites. We have booked all 3 of our NCL cruises directly through their web site and have not found prices to be any lower than what we paid. I'm assuming that NCL has many more cabins on their available list so you may get a better cabin location choice going direct.

 

Just my thoughts!

[MLN]

I noticed that the same cruise I took last year on the Spirit in an oceanview cabin is also a lot more (same week). In addition, I booked it around three months before sailing and there were many rooms available and in good mid-ship locations for each category.

 

At the same point before sailing this year there were not very many rooms available at all for this particular cruise. I think from reading some of the other posts, the cc'ers say that cruising is up in general and, of course, that would explain that they could get the higher prices for each category as compared to last year.

 

I don't know if you could count on the prices coming down, what if they sell out, then no cruise (does that happen?)

[petguy]

I'm afraid the laws of supply and demand are not in your favor right now. You could book, and get a refund if fares drop between today and final payment, or you could watch and see if the fares drop. Problem is, prices MAY rise and lock you out altogether. I am certain oil prices are playing a factor here as well.

 

Did you book last minute last year? If they had a lot of unsold cabins, they may have dropped the price to fill the ship. I have seen it go both ways. My cruise next week was almost half the price when I booked it compared to a week later. I got an OV guarantee, and was assigned a CC cabin within a few days.

 

On my Spirit cruise last year the price dropped after final payment was due, so I was not entitled to a refund of the difference. I was happy with the price I paid and realize that sometimes they will lower the price last minute to fill the ship. Empty cabins have no additional revenue streams. They don't gamble or drink;).

 

Good luck, whichever way you decide, Dale

[shoreguy]

Generally as of late the prices just keep going up. The Dawn last month the few cabins remaining went up even higher after final. The industry is no longer struggling as it was 5 years ago post 9/11. The real last minute bargains a fewer and futher apart.

 

Keep in mind ships were selling out and the fares did not cover the cost. The profit came solely from the onboard spend.

 

I think the industry has learned it is better to sail with a few open cabins then price down the whole ship to sail full. Those for the most part that were grabing the below cost last minute deals where not the passengers they wanted onboard. The real bargain hunters spend very little onboard.

 

The fares for the Gem Feb. cruise have gone up 1100 pp for an AF since I booked in July. :eek:

 

At 795 you are still just under a $100 pp per day - a real bargain for tranportation, hotel, entertainment and food. $475 was a real steal that we may never see again.

[garycarla]

Are you pricing with or without port taxes? Insurance? Anything else included or not included? Number of days and EXACT same category? Ports of call? Dates?

 

And of course, as mentioned. Supply and demand along with oil prices have a big impact.

[samtig]

We've found prices are up too. We usually book in Feb. cause prices for the cruises we take are lower then - not so this year. We usually cruise between Oct. to Dec. so just going to wait & see if prices come down.

[donny939]

The 475 was before taxes and port fees and yes its the exact same cruise.. Im gonna just gonna wait it out..

[awatt]

You can check on cabin availability on the old NCL booking engine. This might give you a better idea as to whether there will be alot of cabins availble (and possibly discounted) after final payment.

[watchdiva]

We booked our Pearl 4/13/07 cruise in the beginning of July last year, booked an AB at a price we were very happy with. After final payment the upsell fairy called and we upsold to an A3 - again, at a price we were very happy with.

 

Just for the fun of it, I checked a few sites last week and the only penthouse level still available was an AC - for more than we paid for the A3:eek: .

 

I think deals are still out there - just not at levels they were a few years ago for last minute sailings. We prefer not to take a chance - we book the cabin we want 6-9 months out, watch prices and if they drop we ask for an OBC or for NCL to lower our fare - but we always know we have just the cabin we want........and on our last 4 cruises prices on each of our cabins have gone up, up and away!