Almost ready to give up on a rate drop for 8/11 cruise

[Lysingers]

Last year my family of four took the RCCL 8/12th Canada/New England cruise out of Baltimore, and enjoyed it so much that we'd like to take the same trip again on 8/11th of this year. The rate, however, is more than 33% higher than we paid last year at about the same time, and I have been checking every single day to see if it has come down, with no luck. I was hopeful over Memorial Day weekend, as well as the past three tuesdays, when I received alerts to RCCL's reduced "hot deals", but they just seem to be keeping the price for the 8/11th cruise at the same inflated rate. I suspected that it had to do with the cost of fuel, but that has come down over the past month. There seem to be an awfully lot of quad cabins left, and I would assume even more doubles. So I just can't imagine why they aren't reducing the prices if only a little bit.

My husband is literally pouting like a child because I keep putting off booking this cruise, but it is already the final, non-refundable, payment-in-full period, and since RCCL now only offers a 48-hour window to even receive a price drop as OBC, I know that with my luck the price will drop after 49 hours! I would hate for that to happen, but I also would be dissapointed not to get one of the few remaining mid-ship quads that are currently available. I guess I just want to have my cake and eat it too. (Also very child-like, so I guess me and my husband make a good pair!)

 

*** I just had to stop writing this to answer my phone, and coincidentally it was a Royal Caribbean rep following up on a courtesy hold that we'd put on a cabin a few days ago that has since expired. I asked him about this, and he said that the ship is only 50% booked, so there could be a price drop coming, but he'd have no idea when. Does anybody have any advice on what you would do?

[will773]

If the ship is really THAT empty, then your best bet is to wait it out, as the price will only come down. RCCL will do whatever it takes to fill a sailing, so my guess is that you'll see the price come down a bit before sailing. How long are you willing to wait?

[marci22]

I would also wait. You are just after final now (about 10 days past). Keep checking prices, on Saturday mornings, especially. What category are you looking at?

 

I just looked and although the ship is 59% 'sold', there are not a lot of D1's left, but I would still wait another week or so.

 

I also looked at past prices and it seems that prices for D1s were much lower around March 2010. Not sure when you have been looking, but the prices are a lot higher now than back then.

[baggal]

Are you driving to the port? In that case I would wait. If you're flying, then you have to factor in airfare, which invariably rises closer to the date.

 

Good luck!

[beachnative]

FINAL PAYMENT on the Enchantment sailing on 8/11 was due on May 28th. Today (June 7) is the 10th day since final payment was due.

 

We are booked on that cruise. Yesterday a few cabins in our category that had NOT been listed for a long time suddenly appeared and were booked. I imagine they were from people who backed out on final payment day.

 

There was a major price drop on May 11th......we booked that day because of it. It stayed available for the weekend and then the price went back up. By booking the cruise on May 11th we saved over $900 total for the two of us.

 

As stated by someone else, wait and watch. Check the prices each morning. If I had not already booked I would be waiting for a drop.

[pollux]

I am looking for Alaska in Sept. the price for a Jr suite is double from last year.

So I am waiting or go on a other time.

[Lysingers]

I would also wait. You are just after final now (about 10 days past). Keep checking prices, on Saturday mornings, especially. What category are you looking at?

 

I just looked and although the ship is 59% 'sold', there are not a lot of D1's left, but I would still wait another week or so.

 

I also looked at past prices and it seems that prices for D1s were much lower around March 2010. Not sure when you have been looking, but the prices are a lot higher now than back then.

 

 

Where can you see that the ship is 59% booked, as well as what rates were as of previous dates? We are only attempting to book a large inside quad cabin, category K. It was what we had last year, and although it was a bit crowded for the four of us (we and two teen boys), it was adequate just to sleep in.

[Lysingers]

FINAL PAYMENT on the Enchantment sailing on 8/11 was due on May 28th. Today (June 7) is the 10th day since final payment was due.

 

We are booked on that cruise. Yesterday a few cabins in our category that had NOT been listed for a long time suddenly appeared and were booked. I imagine they were from people who backed out on final payment day.

 

There was a major price drop on May 11th......we booked that day because of it. It stayed available for the weekend and then the price went back up. By booking the cruise on May 11th we saved over $900 total for the two of us.

 

As stated by someone else, wait and watch. Check the prices each morning. If I had not already booked I would be waiting for a drop.

 

What category cabin are you in that had the price drop on May 11th? We have been checking prices several times a day since around May 9th or 10th, and category K's have stayed the same exact price. I really would like to wait for awhile longer, but my husband is driving me crazy.

[beachnative]

Category "H" Oceanview. There were also two other oceanview categories involved in that price drop. We've never been in an inside therefore I never checked those prices.

 

You should also keep an eye on "Tuesday" sales (which are actually Monday sales for C&A). They are now showing Enchantment as far out as 7/23 (Bermuda). Maybe next week will offer 8/11.

[Lysingers]

Are you driving to the port? In that case I would wait. If you're flying, then you have to factor in airfare, which invariably rises closer to the date.

 

Good luck!

 

We are driving. That is a large part of the appeal of this particular cruise. We can get to Baltimore in less that three hours, and not have to deal with the cost and extreme hassle of flying.

[marci22]

Where can you see that the ship is 59% booked, as well as what rates were as of previous dates? We are only attempting to book a large inside quad cabin, category K. It was what we had last year, and although it was a bit crowded for the four of us (we and two teen boys), it was adequate just to sleep in.

 

I found a site by googling 'cruise price history'. I cannot name it, unfortunately. It currently shows K as $1239pp for the first two people (the updates lag). Lowest price shown since March 2010 is $929pp on 6/4/11.

 

On the Royal site it's $1069pp 1st 2 and $389 for 3rd and 4th. That is not bad for a 9 night cruise. Also: always put your state in the search so that residency discounts come up (or military, emt, police, etc).

 

I might wait until Saturday-Sunday to book but if you are definitely going you might not want to wait much longer.

 

ps a similar room on Explorer has been priced a couple hundred higher for a 9 night. Sail date is June 23 and I haven't seen it go down below $1299pp (I booked a K at $1449pp :eek: but switched to another category when prices for D1s went down; I was watching the prices and the best I saw was when they offered $1199pp guarantees for inside doubles).