Question about price drops

[dukemha]

I am booked on a southern Caribbean cruise next winter on the Millenium in a C-1 category stateroom. I would like to monitor for price drops, but I don't think I have ever seen C-1 category stateroom drop in price. That's not to say it never occurs - just that I haven't seen it happen. It seems intuitive that a C-1 would rarely drop in price due to supply and demand. I'm sure other factors play into this as well, such as time of year, popularity of ship, attractiveness of itinerary, etc, etc. My question is, has anyone ever experienced a price drop in a C-1 cabin for a Caribbean cruise during the winter months? I'm trying to determine if it's even remotely possible my price may drop. Thanks in advance for your insights.

[Lsimon]

Well...You might not realize this but you've asked a "trick" question as this winter there is no C-1 class on the M-class ships! The Concierge Class rooms on M-class are first being split out from one CC class to the three C-a/C-2/C-3 classes after this winter's season. At least that is true for the Millennium and the Summit.

 

We're booked on the Millennium in March and we've had price reductions on our CC cabins, the first one came up in October I believe. Only time will tell if the cabins will go down in price for next winter's Caribbean season or if there will be reductions in C-1 pricing if C-2&3 go down.

 

And don't presume that demand is as great as you think it is. On our cruise in March a bunch of aft cabins (C and FV classes) came available after final payment date and at least one of the aft CC's is still available.

[NJ Cruisers]

We are booked on Summit this April. We have seen 3 price drops in the past 3 weeks (after final payment) and have been able to move from a C-2 to a suite. (At one point, a C-1 cabin was $20 pp more than a suite!) Almost everyone in our roll call ended up with an upgrade, credit or both. I would not expect to see anything in your situation this far out, but it is worth watching.

[dukemha]

Thanks for the responses. Both your emails are encouraging. I had originally made my reservation direct with Celebrity, but I'm debating whether it would make sense to move my reservation to a local TA who can monitor prices for me. In addition to giving me OBC, of course.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I am booked on a southern Caribbean cruise next winter on the Millenium in a C-1 category stateroom. I would like to monitor for price drops, but I don't think I have ever seen C-1 category stateroom drop in price. That's not to say it never occurs - just that I haven't seen it happen. It seems intuitive that a C-1 would rarely drop in price due to supply and demand. I'm sure other factors play into this as well, such as time of year, popularity of ship, attractiveness of itinerary, etc, etc. My question is, has anyone ever experienced a price drop in a C-1 cabin for a Caribbean cruise during the winter months? I'm trying to determine if it's even remotely possible my price may drop. Thanks in advance for your insights.

 

While on our January cruise, we booked the next one on the Summit (Millie class) for Feb 2011 sailing and paid the 2C price for a 2A. Last Friday, I saw that there was a price drop, and C1 was going for the same price as the 2C would have been:D! Instead of taking the $150pp price drop, we elected to give up our 2A and settle:rolleyes: for an aft C1 for no additional money. I'm not sure what the price had been on the C1 in January, but it was definitely lower, probably by $250-$300pp:cool:.

[PEIpair]

Thanks for the responses. Both your emails are encouraging. I had originally made my reservation direct with Celebrity, but I'm debating whether it would make sense to move my reservation to a local TA who can monitor prices for me. In addition to giving me OBC, of course.

 

We are booked on the Equinox Mar. 29/10 Caribbean cruise in a C1 cabin. Twice since final payment in Jan., I have found price reductions for our booking class on the Celebrity website and through our TA was able to get OBC totally $1200.

I was wishing that we had booked directly with Celebrity as I could have handled it all myself with one phone call to them as soon as I noticed the price reductions. Instead I had to wait until I was able to notify the TA then wait for him to talk to Celebrity. Once it was the week-end and the other time he was not in the office the first day I called so had to impatiently wait and hope that the price didn't go back up again before he got back to work !

It is my also my understanding that the TA is not actually under any obligation to give us that difference in price as OBC once the final payment date has passed. Of course if they want any future business from me they will do it but the whole thing would have been much simpler to just look after myself. Check your prices often and Good Luck !

[labeachcomber]

Thanks for the responses. Both your emails are encouraging. I had originally made my reservation direct with Celebrity, but I'm debating whether it would make sense to move my reservation to a local TA who can monitor prices for me. In addition to giving me OBC, of course.

 

Moving your reservation to a local or online TA makes sense if you want to get OBC. I booked with Celebrity directly and will do the same before final payment. But I don't think you can expect your TA to monitor prices and alert you when they go down. After all, why would he/she want to do that? If the price goes down, and you get an adjustment, then so does the commission. Whether or not you hold the reservation with Celebrity or with a TA, it's best to stay on top of things yourself and look for price drops periodically.

[eandj]

A TA won't monitor the prices. Do it yourself. Remember that residency and senior discounts can pop up too. Switch to a at if you can find one thaqt will offer you something for your business. Look for an obc of 5-7%. Look to the large cruise only TA's often advertising here. They often get better perks from the lines for their quantity of sales. Good luck!