Prices on Med Cruises

[joey1]

We will be taking our first Med cruise this summer. I have been watching the prices and they seem to be a bit on the high side?? I have no problem waiting for a while to book. Just wondered from experienced Med cruisers if prices should drop closer to final payment and shortly after?

[dodge9]

We leave in three weeks for our MED cruise and booked a year out... the price NEVER changed... up or down... stayed the same! Usually prices flucuate... but not this one. I checked every day... have a group of 55!

[hazeleyez3]

Went on one to Scandinavia last year, and we'll be leaving in a few weeks for a short Med one. I never saw the prices drop.

 

We just booked the one for later this year, but I am very doubtful they'll drop, or at least drop enough that will warrant a call to my TA.

[jessicalorene]

We've done two med cruises and had pretty hefty price drops on both of them ... and almost always a huge drop after final payment! However the price of the airfare booking that close to sail date was so much more that I am fine with the price of the cruise :)

[Bobal]

Quite coincidental that I just read this 20 minutes after I came off the phone to my TA, having noticed a huge price drop in JS's on our forthcoming Med cruise. We've paid only £40 per person to move from a D2 to a JS - the price difference last week between a D2 and a JS was £500 per person.

 

So, yes, prices do drop sometimes :D

[kyriecat]

It seems like prices vary quite a bit. I've done three Med cruises. Each time I booked within the first few days that the itinerary was available. The first one was in 2005 and from the day we booked, the price only went up. The second one was in 2008 and the price dropped, but only about $200. The third one was last year. Last year's cruise stopped in both Israel and Egypt. I know there were concerns about the political situation in those countries as well as financial concerns around the world. A few people on our roll call cancelled because they were worried. The price dropped considerably - we were able to switch to an SS2 for less than our original CC1 cabin. The best part was we were able to stop at all our scheduled ports without any incidents.

 

I somewhat expect prices (especially for non-peak times) will go down as final payments get closer. Many people will put a deposit on a cruise then realize that their financial situation won't leave them enough funds to cover the price of the trip so they cancel.

[joey1]

The airfare prices from the states is outrageous!!! We have planned for this for a few years, so we are "sucking it up" as they say:eek: I will buy the air tickets about 2 months out. I am not particular about our rooms, I need an interior and a balcony. I have found that waiting until after final payment to book, does usually show price drops (at least in the caribbean).

I sure do miss the days of price adjustments after final payment!!

[jessicalorene]

The airfare prices from the states is outrageous!!! We have planned for this for a few years, so we are "sucking it up" as they say:eek: I will buy the air tickets about 2 months out. I am not particular about our rooms, I need an interior and a balcony. I have found that waiting until after final payment to book, does usually show price drops (at least in the caribbean).

I sure do miss the days of price adjustments after final payment!!

 

Our airfare for two from Boston to Rome was almost double what the cost of the actual cruise was and we booked ours quite awhile ago.

[hazeleyez3]

Our airfare for two from Boston to Rome was almost double what the cost of the actual cruise was and we booked ours quite awhile ago.

 

What type of cabin do you typically book?

[jessicalorene]

What type of cabin do you typically book?

 

We had book a balcony originally on this cruise at (I believe) 799 pp. With taxes gratuities and shore excursions it ended up being a little over 2k ... we paid around $2800 for direct tickets from Boston to Rome.

[Travel R]

I booked a W. Med trip for the end of June about 6 weeks ago -- I also booked during a sale. I have been watching the regular prices when the sale was over and which have stayed between $100 - $125 per person more than I paid. The final payment date is only in a few days, I also wonder if there will be a big drop.

 

As to airfare - it was outrageous, but bit the bullet. I have kept the price plugged into Kyack with email alerts and the price is currently about $60 per ticket more than I paid, but had been about $100 more at one point. From what I have heard, the airfare may go up again.

[mskaufman]

Last year on Liberty OS there was a price drop about 70 days out.

[JM-1972]

The website that monitors price drops I discovered yesterday also holds information on past sailings. This is helpful if you wish to see what the prices did for a similar cruise last year and the year before. I was able to go back to 2010.

 

Sorry unable to name the website on here but I am sure if you do a search you will find it.

[xxHadleyxx]

My experience, pricing for our family over the last three years, is that prices for shoulder seasons ( May, September, october, november) tend to plummet after the US final payment date on seven night cruises in the Med. Long cruises seem to hold steadier and may or may not drop some.

 

For summer sailings the price seems to mostly hold steady or go up. The very first week in June or last in August can sometimes still drop though.

[I-Cruiser]

The prices are "most likely" to drop on cruises in May and sometimes early June. Also in October and November the prices are likely to drop.

Sometimes you can get last minute deals but like others have said then the airfare will be expensive from the US:

 

I have taken 8 Med cruises and 6 Northern Europe cruises and the last few years the prices only seem to go up. Remember, not only Americans take cruises;) ...its just as many non Americans as Americans that takes a cruise. (I read in a Cruise Examiner report that in 2011 or 2012 22 millions Americans took a cruise....12 million Europeans and over 9 millions rest of the world.)

Thought final payment in the US are 70-75 days before departure, in Europe and other parts of the world final payment is 30 days before departure.

 

We have gotten some price drops in November and a few good prices for balcony and suites if booking 3-4 weeks out.

[I-Cruiser]

The prices are "most likely" to drop on cruises in May and sometimes early June. Also in October and November the prices are likely to drop.

Sometimes you can get last minute deals but like others have said then the airfare will be expensive from the US:

 

I have taken 8 Med cruises and 6 Northern Europe cruises and the last few years the prices only seem to go up. Remember, not only Americans take cruises;) ..(I read in a Cruise Examiner report that in 2012 a record of 20 million people took a cruise. Of those 11.5 millions were Americans....6.5 million Europeans....over 500 000 Australians..Approx 1,5 million rest of the world.

Thought final payment in the US are 70-75 days before departure, in Europe and other parts of the world final payment is 30 days before departure.

 

We have gotten some price drops in November and a few good prices for balcony and suites if booking 3-4 weeks out.

 

Edited to the correct numbers!!! :)

I should not quote numbers by memory only :D

[joey1]

Thank you all for the replies!! I am going to wait until around 60-65 days to book the cruise. I get a balcony for my me and my DH and an interior for the kids. It does not matter is they are across the hall or even on the same deck.

I usually book directly with RCL. However, I was speaking with a friend that works for our local AAA office. She brought up a very good point about pricing; historically it seems Med cruises have really dropped in price over the years and unfortunately airline prices have dramatically increased. She said one of the cruise whole salers showed her a graph, that for Americans the "total" price of a Med cruise is not significantly different than past years. When the airfare is almost as much or

even more than the cruise, we seem to get freaked out! I am definately one of these people!!!

I feel that the cruise is still an economical way for us to experice the Med for the first time. :)

I do think I know the web site that was mentioned. I have used it in the past and it did work. I didn't know it was still available?? I will try again!!

[Trekker954]

The website that monitors price drops I discovered yesterday also holds information on past sailings. This is helpful if you wish to see what the prices did for a similar cruise last year and the year before. I was able to go back to 2010.

 

Sorry unable to name the website on here but I am sure if you do a search you will find it.

 

This is exactly what I've done. I've gone back three years on that site same time of year almost to the date for previous cruises and based on what we found we are purchasing our cruise closer to the date. I've already bought my air tickets and hotel is in place, private excursions aligned. We do not care what type of cabin we are in, as its very port intensive. Should this plan turn on us, so be it, we'll pay what we have to pay because we will be cruising the med this october. Now if you care about what cabin you are in, this strategy doesn't work at all. For our Alaska cruise we booked 18 months in advance for an aft corner, turned down an upgrade from RCI a year out and never saw that price drop. We've booked 14 months out for a Dec. southern caribbean for a particular cabin. So I do handled certain cruises both ways, you have to decide whats important. If you can book WAY in advance, you usually get a great price.

[FoxyBride14]

I'm booked for a July 2014 med cruise. The prices were so expensive. It was more than double the southern caribbean cruise we took this year. It's our honeymoon cruise, so we bit the bullet. Hopefully prices go down and we can get a price drop, but if not then we are ok with paying it. Wish it was a couple hundred dollars lower though.

[artypharty]

We've done 3 Med. cruises. Each one has seen a significant price drop. I usually book the least expensive cabin I am comfortable with should I not upgrade....which is usually an OV. On each cruise we've upgraded to balcony or JS with little or no cost difference.

 

We usually cruise in September or October. The last few cruises have been in the Caribbean and I was surprised that there were no price drops, only increases.

 

Headed back to the Med. next year and will use the same strategy...book low, upgrade when price drops.

[Travel R]

FYI - it is now 3 days after the final payment due date and so far the cruise prices have not gone down (neither has the airfare).

[Sumisid]

I booked the June 9, 2013 Western Med Cruise (Liberty) in January. A D1 cabin on deck 8. The price for the same category is now around US$ 400.- per person higher than in January.

Funny is, RCCL calls it now "hot deal" on their website :rolleyes:.

[Aurora2143]

We've done 3 Med. cruises. Each one has seen a significant price drop. I usually book the least expensive cabin I am comfortable with should I not upgrade....which is usually an OV. On each cruise we've upgraded to balcony or JS with little or no cost difference.

 

We usually cruise in September or October. The last few cruises have been in the Caribbean and I was surprised that there were no price drops, only increases.

 

Headed back to the Med. next year and will use the same strategy...book low, upgrade when price drops.

 

We're in a GS on the LOS in September. What can I do if the price drops after the final payment date? We've actually already paid in full.

[Clarea]

We're in a GS on the LOS in September. What can I do if the price drops after the final payment date? We've actually already paid in full.

You cannot get any money or credit after final payment date. However, you can upgrade if you're willing to move to a stateroom in a higher category. If the new stateroom is priced lower than what you paid, you should be able to move for no extra cost. One caveat - if the new prices are restricted to new bookings only (such as Tuesday sales), then you can only move if the new stateroom is going to cost more money.

[cmaygar]

I read your post and it prompted me to check the current prices on a Med cruise that I booked in October for August. I'm glad I checked! The price dropped for a Junior Suite from $2699 to $1699. I called my TA and she contacted RCL and I was granted the new price. I saved $2k on the cruise!.

 

If anyone is interested, the cruise is the August 17th 7 night Western Med. cruise on the Legend of the Seas.

 

The savings will pay for all of our shore excursions and all on-board spending.

 

I'm excited about the cruise and very happy with the revised price!