Price Drops-Any Rhyme or Reason

[Magic City Cruiser]

I never have gotten the hang of the Fare Viewer Engine thingee but I do "fake bookings" quite often to check my rates.

Of course, I'm on the Carnival Email list so get emails about "sales" and such.

What I'm wondering is how often do rates drop without advertisement? Does it seem to be tied to advertised sales? I know I always figure that the rates will drop AFTER the sale ;).

[halos]

Rates are soleley based on supply/demand. if your ship isn't selling, the rates are likely to drop. if it is selling, the rates will rise...sale or no sale.

[Magic City Cruiser]

I hear you Halos....but what does "selling" and "not selling" mean when you watch a fare over 10 months? I've seen drops 2 weeks after I booked all the way up to 2 weeks before sail. The price drops I have gotten have all be "surprise" drops and not advertised sale prices.

[Sparky2]

Rates are soleley based on supply/demand. if your ship isn't selling, the rates are likely to drop. if it is selling, the rates will rise...sale or no sale.

 

Our upcoming B2B was booked Early Saver onboard our B2B last January. We had our first price drop on one cruise mid-March and on the other cruise early April. No rhyme or reason for the price drop that early, IMHO.

 

We had a total of 7 price drops on one and 8 price drops on the other.

[golfadj]

They have a computer program that adjusts pricing to maximize revenue.

 

If the ship fills up quickly price goes up and if it doesnt price goes down.

[halos]

. No rhyme or reason for the price drop that early, IMHO.

 

We had a total of 7 price drops on one and 8 price drops on the other.

 

There certainly is rhyme or reason...sales.

Certain itineraries are good enough that they start selling out very quickly, even far out.

I once booked a repo at such a cheap price (very early out...over 18 months)

The rate was so good, and so many people took advantage of it and booked, that the rate increased dramatically right away.

 

The opposite can happen as well. The revenue management can place a higher price tag on the fares because they they think it will sell at that rate. If after a few weeks they don't see the sales they forecasted, they may drop rates to lure people to book. After people start booking, they will up the rates again.

Bottom line is: Prices will drop if cabins aren't selling at the forecasted rate. This rule goes for basically everything you buy.

Edited January 13, 2014 by halos

[Magic City Cruiser]

I think my "rhyme or reason" confused things!:D. While I understand drops and increases based on how a ship is selling, as far as I'm concerned, since I can't see how the ship is selling, there is NO "rhyme or reason", I just have to keep watching everyday!

I just thought since I've noticed price drops AFTER an ADVERTISED sale that maybe there were other such times I could keep an eye out like a particular day of the week or season. I mean do they "run the sales report" once a month so IF the ship isn't selling, you'll see a drop around that time...that kind of thing :).

[halos]

I think my "rhyme or reason" confused things!:D. While I understand drops and increases based on how a ship is selling, as far as I'm concerned, since I can't see how the ship is selling, there is NO "rhyme or reason", I just have to keep watching everyday!

I just thought since I've noticed price drops AFTER an ADVERTISED sale that maybe there were other such times I could keep an eye out like a particular day of the week or season. I mean do they "run the sales report" once a month so IF the ship isn't selling, you'll see a drop around that time...that kind of thing :).

 

Oh, I see what you are saying :)

yes, the only thing to do is to keep watching...as often as possible. Doing it every day (especially if you book are out) could get tedious :p

[scm1063]

Also have to think about how many people will get a price reduction if they reduce prices. If there are 200 cabins that take advantage of a $100 drop in price - that's $20K. If they can't sell enough cabins to make that up and more they probably wouldn't want to reduce the price. There are a lot of things that factor into the prices and I'm sure Carnival (and all other cruise lines) uses all the data they can to maximize revenue (not a slam, just good business sense).

[Magic City Cruiser]

Oh, I see what you are saying :)

yes, the only thing to do is to keep watching...as often as possible. Doing it every day (especially if you book are out) could get tedious :p

 

Exactly! I figured as much but was hoping I would find an easy way :D. It drives me mad to think I might be missing a drop. And, what's ridiculous is my cruises are not expensive at all! I think it's kinda like gambling...just the thrill of "winning", even if it is only enough for a couple of DOD's!