another price drop lesson

[cruise kitty]

DD & SIL are booked for the May 27 EQ Med, there was a huge price drop yesterday... so much that it was worth it to cancel her reservation, take the penalty, & rebook (they transferred her air over) she was able to keep her 1A hump cabin, ended up saving about $500, however, if they had waited to book, they would have saved more like $1400, not exactly chump change.

 

Right now I'm booked for the Med at the end of Oct. we booked before the price policy changed, so we are grandfathered in, we'll probably book a passages on that cruise, but we won't be booking the next cruise until after final payment ever again. From now on we'll book our air ahead, & book the cruise when the price is good.

[ZipGirl]

I suspect it might depend on the itinerary. I booked my Alaska cruise last summer for this May, and have diligently monitored for price drops. The rates have only gone up. Final payment was 10 days ago, and my booking rate was $600 pp cheaper than what they're still charging; in fact, I could get an inside cabin now for the same amount I paid for my C2. Now perhaps, come the beginning of May, rates will drop hugely. But it would have to be a huge drop. And I am also very, very happy with the cabin I was able to book so far in advance.

[bighairtexan]

This is rather a case of danged if you do danged if you don't.

[cruise kitty]

I had a thought, would you pay an optional $100 pp nonrefundable fee upon first booking in order to guarantee access to price drops? In other words, if you cancel for any reason, even before final payment, you lose that $100 pp, but if you keep your reservation, you are entitled to all price drops except Tues. specials. Seems it would be a good way for X to make it's more loyal customers happy, & make it's stockholders happy. (I am both:) )

[Gracie115]

I had a thought, would you pay an optional $100 pp nonrefundable fee upon first booking in order to guarantee access to price drops? In other words, if you cancel for any reason, even before final payment, you lose that $100 pp, but if you keep your reservation, you are entitled to all price drops except Tues. specials. Seems it would be a good way for X to make it's more loyal customers happy, & make it's stockholders happy. (I am both:) )

 

 

I like this idea...I'd do it -- for most cruises anyway!!

[firstplacechef]

The way I try to look at it is, was I happy with the price when I paid the final payment? Then I try not to read the posts about lower rates for last minute filling of the staterooms. I know there have been several times I was on a flight and paid half of what the person next to me paid all because we booked at different times.

 

I do feel that if the practice that X had in beginning had never been in place all of this hoopla would be for naught. That said, I did like getting the OBC if the price did happen to drop. :)

 

As my wife often says, it's only money and we can't take it with us! Die Broke!

[jagoffee]

DD & SIL are booked for the May 27 EQ Med, there was a huge price drop yesterday... so much that it was worth it to cancel her reservation, take the penalty, & rebook (they transferred her air over) she was able to keep her 1A hump cabin, ended up saving about $500, however, if they had waited to book, they would have saved more like $1400, not exactly chump change.

 

Right now I'm booked for the Med at the end of Oct. we booked before the price policy changed, so we are grandfathered in, we'll probably book a passages on that cruise, but we won't be booking the next cruise until after final payment ever again. From now on we'll book our air ahead, & book the cruise when the price is good.

 

Best of luck with your strategy. I would be afraid that the price would go up and I would have to pay a fee to change the air.

[cruise kitty]

Best of luck with your strategy. I would be afraid that the price would go up and I would have to pay a fee to change the air.

 

I understand what you're saying, but honestly the only time I've see prices go up after final payment is for holiday cruises (spring break, christmas, new year, & summer holidays) we'll only book late fall or spring (not spring break) so I think in the future we'll stick with the late booking plan.

[Lsimon]

I understand what you're saying, but honestly the only time I've see prices go up after final payment is for holiday cruises (spring break, christmas, new year, & summer holidays) we'll only book late fall or spring (not spring break) so I think in the future we'll stick with the late booking plan.

 

I would say the prices at least 2/3 of our Celebrity cruises have gone up as the cruise got close and sold above what we paid at all times after final payment. The ones that go up are the ones that sell out or very close to it. It must have something to do with choosing popular itineraries and/or popular times. And I'm talking big price differences - sometimes it has been close to $1,000/person increase for CC cabins. On our current cruise next week on the Connie we booked C1 cabins 20 months ago and there has been some available now and then over the past couple months at about $750/pp more than what we paid. We've mostly cruise in March for the Caribbean and in Sept for Europe cruises.

[robtulipe]

I would say the prices at least 2/3 of our Celebrity cruises have gone up as the cruise got close and sold above what we paid at all times after final payment. The ones that go up are the ones that sell out or very close to it. It must have something to do with choosing popular itineraries and/or popular times. And I'm talking big price differences - sometimes it has been close to $1,000/person increase for CC cabins. On our current cruise next week on the Connie we booked C1 cabins 20 months ago and there has been some available now and then over the past couple months at about $750/pp more than what we paid. We've mostly cruise in March for the Caribbean and in Sept for Europe cruises.

Larry, I agree if one wants to do a certain cruise in a certain category or actual cabin at a popular time, booking far in advance is the best strategy.

If one is fairly flexible on when they cruise and the type of cruise and class of cabin they want there can be some super deals to be had by waiting until after the final payment date for a cruise that one is interested in. I've seen cruise that were sold out for one date and the next had all kinds of cabin availability.

Yes, the actual price of the concierge cabins on our cruise may be up substantially from when you booked that concierge cabin but those staterooms will probably go for a lot less then the current actual prices because X is offering low priced guarantees in OV and inside categories, when no cabins have been available for a while in those classes, in their efforts to sell out our cruise. I can't see that someone would pay such a high price at this late date when the guarantee option is available. IMO even an inside guarantee booked now has a good chance to be upgraded to an balcony. One of our two inside gty bookings has already been upgraded, several weeks back, to an extra large superior OV. Those were the lowest category available when the gty was booked and when it was assigned to these folks, who are first time cruisers on X.

We, who are both X Elite, have the other guarantee booking and will be assigned our cabin this week as we sail on Saturday. Hopefully the upgrade fairy, AKA the RCCL computer, will be just as nice to us. I'm betting it will be.

We've booked in a similar fashion for the last three years and are six for six on upgrades when we booked guarantees. Three times in that period we selected an actual cabin, which were balconies or mini-suites, because the price was so good after the final payment date and to get premium cabins within that category.

[Ma Bell]

Bob,

 

Many of us on the cruise who booked very early are now in FV cabins for the same price as the balcony guarantee now available and have a nice onboard credit from our TA as well.:) I think we did alright.

 

You probably should have waited a little longer to do your inside guarantee since they're lower now.

[robtulipe]

Bob,

 

Many of us on the cruise who booked very early are now in FV cabins for the same price as the balcony guarantee now available and have a nice onboard credit from our TA as well.:) I think we did alright.

 

You probably should have waited a little longer to do your inside guarantee since they're lower now.

 

Joanie, It's great that you and Larry (who I know upgraded) got your FV cabins for such a good price. We had an aft corner FV cabin for one of our X cruises and it was great having that view and the extra large balcony for us and friends to party on. I looked at pricing for next March and the FV are sold out and even the lowest balcony category is over $2000 per person.

I was just commenting that I felt the one C1 currently available for our cruise most likely won't be selling at the actual price it is at now when you can get a C2 or C3 for a standard price of a $1000 less or a senior price of $1600 less. That's a pretty high premium even if that C1 is an aft balcony stateroom. There is also the possibility of getting any of the concierge cabins for an even lower price by booking a guarantee.

No, we did alright as we booked our guarantees almost four weeks ago when they were at their lowest or $100 per person cheaper then the current price so we saved $400 by booking then. I have been checking pricing for this cruise since just after the final payment date for it.

Did alright also in respect to OBC as we used our Passage booking deposit to get $300 OBC from X for us and the Friends and Family certificate to get the same for the other booking. Also our TA had a special offering that got each booking $225 OBC from them so each of our cabins has $525 in OBC to spend on our cruise.

[Budget Queen]

DD & SIL are booked for the May 27 EQ Med, there was a huge price drop yesterday... so much that it was worth it to cancel her reservation, take the penalty, & rebook (they transferred her air over) she was able to keep her 1A hump cabin, ended up saving about $500, however, if they had waited to book, they would have saved more like $1400, not exactly chump change.

 

Right now I'm booked for the Med at the end of Oct. we booked before the price policy changed, so we are grandfathered in, we'll probably book a passages on that cruise, but we won't be booking the next cruise until after final payment ever again. From now on we'll book our air ahead, & book the cruise when the price is good.

 

I have been cruising for 30 years and frequently late book. BUT with your new preference to snag a late booking bargain, AFTER you are purchasing air, is chancy. For it to work the best, you need to block out a couple weeks and be open to several ships. This works well, IF hopefully you can occupy your time with other touring. You also, MUST be totally accepting of NO availablity. It is not a given, prices always drop, they certainly do not. I'm frequently in the mode, waiting out rates and seeing where they go. In fact, right now, I have my eye on a May cruise. The price is sitting there, already low, but, I'm looking for lower. If it drops, I'll book, if not, then forget it. Biggest advantage I have, which you don't is, I don't pay for air. That is a VERY important consideration that needs to be determined.

[Tucker in Texas]

I understand what you're saying, but honestly the only time I've see prices go up after final payment is for holiday cruises (spring break, christmas, new year, & summer holidays) we'll only book late fall or spring (not spring break) so I think in the future we'll stick with the late booking plan.

 

Not necessarily. We booked the Constellation trans-Atlantic last year on board another ship to get OBC. The price is now up several hundred dollars.

 

On the B2B to the Baltics it is up $600 pp.

 

On our fall trans-Atlantic on the Mariner, the price is up over one and a half times for what we booked.

 

Tucker in Texas

[cruise kitty]

Not necessarily. We booked the Constellation trans-Atlantic last year on board another ship to get OBC. The price is now up several hundred dollars.

 

On the B2B to the Baltics it is up $600 pp.

 

On our fall trans-Atlantic on the Mariner, the price is up over one and a half times for what we booked.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

It does seem that Trans Atlantics are usually the exception to the rule, they start out at such great rates there's just not that much room for movement. I'd still book a TA ahead of time, as well as any truly unique itinerary. But for Europe, with as many ships & choices they have there now, well, I may be willing to chance it.

 

I'm not objecting about a few hundred dollars here or there, but a price drop of almost $1500? That definitely makes me willing to gamble on waiting to book future cruises.

 

Right now X has had my money for next Oct. cruise since last April, we're very close to paid in full, it's how we've always done it; book far ahead, & pay a bit each month so we're paid about 6 months ahead. Any price drops on this cruise we'll be able to take advantage of due to the grandfathered policy, but for next time, I'll have to think long & hard about what to do. I always considered it a fair trade off, X gets the benefit of my money for about 20 months, without little to no cost to them, & in return for for my loan to them, I had the advantage of OBC for price drops after final payment.

[robtulipe]

Sorry, BUT, unless you were going with your friend and usually have to be in the same cabin, the lowest rates are not going to be available to you, unless you are a travel industry employee? So your cruise is $1400+++ and you're happy, all that matters. :)

 

Tell your "friend" that there are many Interline agencies who do not charge any fees, and many who are in the $25 range. I know this first hand, and have been using interline for almost 30 years.

 

Yes, we have traveled with our friend several times and did have our own cabin and did not have to be in his on a cruise. There will always be someone else who will have gotten a better deal because of their status, what they do or who they know.

The thing here is interline discount pricing doesn't come into play for most people on this site and yes, we are pleased with the $1473 cost of our upcoming 14 night Celebrity cruise. Now if X would assign us our cabin we would be even happier. This is the longest we've had to wait for a assignment after booking an guarantee but I seen it mentioned here many times that a late assignment usually means it will be a good one. Wish us luck and thanks for the info.

[Jade13]

we are pleased with the $1473 cost of our upcoming 14 night Celebrity cruise. Now if X would assign us our cabin we would be even happier. .

 

Per person or total? With taxes? Which cruise is this?

[robtulipe]

Per person or total? With taxes? Which cruise is this?

Total cost for both of us factoring in value of OBC but without taxes which added $224 extra.

Constellation 14 night Southern Caribbean that leaves this Saturday.

[Ma Bell]

delete

[CruisinManiac]

DD & SIL are booked for the May 27 EQ Med, there was a huge price drop yesterday... so much that it was worth it to cancel her reservation, take the penalty, & rebook (they transferred her air over) she was able to keep her 1A hump cabin, ended up saving about $500, however, if they had waited to book, they would have saved more like $1400, not exactly chump change.

 

Right now I'm booked for the Med at the end of Oct. we booked before the price policy changed, so we are grandfathered in, we'll probably book a passages on that cruise, but we won't be booking the next cruise until after final payment ever again. From now on we'll book our air ahead, & book the cruise when the price is good.

 

:eek: They must have paid a pretty penny when they booked, because I just checked pricing and it is in line with my May 16th sailing for a 1A ($2779). In fact, it is more when you figure that our cruise is an 11 night, and the 27th sailing is only a 10 nighter with no stop in Istanbul. We booked when the schedule first came out, and the price has since gone up to over $500 more than we paid for our 1A. We are glad that we booked early, and also booked our own air.

[kelmac]

DD & SIL are booked for the May 27 EQ Med, there was a huge price drop yesterday... so much that it was worth it to cancel her reservation, take the penalty, & rebook (they transferred her air over) she was able to keep her 1A hump cabin, ended up saving about $500, however, if they had waited to book, they would have saved more like $1400, not exactly chump change.

 

Right now I'm booked for the Med at the end of Oct. we booked before the price policy changed, so we are grandfathered in, we'll probably book a passages on that cruise, but we won't be booking the next cruise until after final payment ever again. From now on we'll book our air ahead, & book the cruise when the price is good.

 

I'm with you CK! This is the first time in nine years that I don't have a cruise booked for winter break. I've always been a long term planner! My wife is a teacher, so we are forced to cruise winter break, spring break and summers.

At any given time, I usually have three or four future cruises booked -- today, I have only one. This may force us to increase our land based travel and cut back on cruising?

 

Right now the prices are over my usual budget, and we really don't care that much about cabin locations. We will book generic air fare for a set of dates when the price is right, or we may use FF tickets with SWA. We will set up a watch list of six or seven cruises and snag the best deal after final payment dates. The BAD news for Celebrity -- if I can't get what I'm looking for I will book with another cruise line. My first choice is Celebrity, but if things don't work out, I will book with Holland America or ????.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[cruise kitty]

:eek: They must have paid a pretty penny when they booked, because I just checked pricing and it is in line with my May 16th sailing for a 1A ($2779). In fact, it is more when you figure that our cruise is an 11 night, and the 27th sailing is only a 10 nighter with no stop in Istanbul. We booked when the schedule first came out, and the price has since gone up to over $500 more than we paid for our 1A. We are glad that we booked early, and also booked our own air.

 

they had paid right around $2350 each, over the weekend the price went down to $1599 pp for a 1A, in their case it was worth it to take the penalty hit & still save a good amount, more than enough to cover a premium drink pkg. I noticed that the price was up again this morning, so they are lucky they jumped on it when they did. And yes, they wanted Istanbul, but this was the only cruise that worked with their wedding date & allowed them a decent pre cruise stay in rome.

[cruise kitty]

I'm with you CK! This is the first time in nine years that I don't have a cruise booked for winter break. I've always been a long term planner! My wife is a teacher, so we are forced to cruise winter break, spring break and summers.

At any given time, I usually have three or four future cruises booked -- today, I have only one. This may force us to increase our land based travel and cut back on cruising?

 

Right now the prices are over my usual budget, and we really don't care that much about cabin locations. We will book generic air fare for a set of dates when the price is right, or we may use FF tickets with SWA. We will set up a watch list of six or seven cruises and snag the best deal after final payment dates. The BAD news for Celebrity -- if I can't get what I'm looking for I will book with another cruise line. My first choice is Celebrity, but if things don't work out, I will book with Holland America or ????.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I feel your pain, esp. when you are limited in when you can travel, it makes things more complicated. I understand as business celebrity has a perfect right to change their policies, but as a consumer, I have a right to change mine too. Still love X, but they won't be getting as much of my $ upfront anymore.

[kelmac]

I feel your pain, esp. when you are limited in when you can travel, it makes things more complicated. I understand as business celebrity has a perfect right to change their policies, but as a consumer, I have a right to change mine too. Still love X, but they won't be getting as much of my $ upfront anymore.

 

I would be willing to pay a larger deposit, say $1,000, if I could book very early, but be guaranteed price drop OBC's or upgrades. This March we cruised the Eclipse, under the old guidelines, and moved from a Cat 9 inside to a SV balcony after two different price drops. Might even make a great Elite Plus benefit?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[cruise kitty]

I would be willing to pay a larger deposit, say $1,000, if I could book very early, but be guaranteed price drop OBC's or upgrades. This March we cruised the Eclipse, under the old guidelines, and moved from a Cat 9 inside to a SV balcony after two different price drops. Might even make a great Elite Plus benefit?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I would too, I'd also be willing to pay an upfront non refundable fee of say $100 to allow me to take advantage of future price drops.