What time frame do you usually see price drops??

[rene194215]

My cruise is not for another 8 1/2 months but I check every day! But for those that have gotten price drops when do you typically see them?

[A&Jfamily]

Mine have been seasonal dependent (post Christmas) or within 2-4 months of sailing. If the ship isn't selling well they will drop the price in an effort to fill it up. I have $600 OBC this coming week - most ever for me for our 2 cabins - and every drop of that was post Thanksgiving.

[sfaaa]

Special limited time rate sales usually apply to cruises that are 5 months out or less.

[Sparky2]

My cruise is not for another 8 1/2 months but I check every day! But for those that have gotten price drops when do you typically see them?

 

In January 2014 while on a cruise, we booked our B2B for January 2015. We received our first price drop on the 6-day cruise sometime in April. I was actually surprised to receive one that early.

 

On the 8-day cruise (Aruba, Curacao, etc.), we didn't receive a price drop till some time in the fall.

[springs741]

I too check everyday, sometimes, several time per day. Usually you will see a price drop shortly after final payment date especially on those that booked on a decrease deposit sale.

 

Unfortunately, another time you will find large price drops is after bad publicity in the cruise industry.

 

I don't often see price drops before Christmas and Valentines day. Cruises make nice gifts. :)

 

And please before anyone jumps on me and points out a sale, yes I know sales occur. I am referring to price adjustments to increase sales as determined by the computer algorithm Carnival uses. These are the slight price changes that can change every few hours.

[ooomwizard]

Repost from an earlier thread: I've found, after years of buying Carnival, that the best rate usually comes into play about 4 - 8 weeks before sailing. If the rooms aren't filling fast enough they'll drop the price as the sail date approaches.

 

Some sailings they don't/won't fill all the cabins and you can get an extreme price cut by waiting till the last week or two. Downsides are: the less desirable rooms are the last to book, the ship may fill quick and you'd be out that sail date and/or you may not get a category that you like.

 

If you're close to a port and able to travel on a moments notice, you can buddy up to one of the carnival reps and let them know you're available. This can be an unbelievable deal but I think the ship must have it's passenger manifest ready at least 3 days before sail date. And, you get what you get.

 

When a cruise is imminent, I check rates daily as well as number of cabins still available by doing a mock booking. Once I think the rate is as low as it might go and there's fewer cabins available, I book.

 

The other option is to book ES (early saver) and hope to get a On-Board-Credit if the price drops. But, now you're regularly checking prices again and if you forget or don't file for the credit you're out the credit.

 

GL!

 

Also, Spring Break and holiday sailings almost always sell out early. Those, book early.

[funinthesun1964]

On our fall cruises, we generally get drops way out, and depending on the cruise, have sometimes have had several drops.

 

Another time is right around final payment date.

 

Some cruises have not had any price drops. Just depends on the specific cruise, and if its a good seller.

[YourCruiseGurl]

I just got a price drop for a cruise we have booked for the end of July. We've been booked since September of last year.

[eledaswerdna]

I booked in September for a March cruise and its pretty much stayed the same and gone up. But its during spring break so I'm guessing that is why.

[AlPSUCruiser]

Early Saver is a bust for us this time around. It worked as advertised in 2013 and 2014 with multiple price reductions prior to departure, even after final payment, kept our same room the whole time with our group. For our 6/27/15 cruise we got a $30 price reduction per person in January (and $50 OBC) then Early Saver disappeared completely a couple weeks ago only to be replaced with several other reduced fares under different names (More=Merrier for one). The only way I can jump to the $100 savings per person is to give up our room (& OBC) which is co-located with 3 other parties from our group. Early Saver is advertised as a reward for early booking you get to choose your room and "sit back and relax knowing you got the best price available". Simply isn't true for us this year. I complained to our PVP, but she is spewing out the expected garbage of the other fares being different promotions yada yada yada... Bunch of garbage, won't do Early Saver again. I guess this means our boat is pretty full and they're trying to fill up the remaining 4/5-person rooms. More bad news...

[cruizinisthebest]

3 price drops so far for an August cruise that we booked in October of last year. In my opinion the prices were rather high even for a Summer cruise, so I expect at least a few more before we leave, but you never know.

Edited February 27, 2015 by cruizinisthebest

[planetcadillac]

The Carnival Fantasy sailing for March 1 hit bottom the first week of February now is sold out. I saw that and made a last minute decision to book 3 1/2 weeks out.

[Saltz]

For our June sailing on the Breeze, I booked on Feb 2nd. First price drop of $100 on Feb 14th. Another price drop of $200 on Feb 19th. I check daily as well. :)

[CincyLAS]

I'm new to this, but this ES thing (checking everyday) is a bit of a stress. We booked a cruise with a suite for our family of four in June, and honestly are paying a pretty high amount compared to most Carnival cruisers it seems. At first I was perfectly happy with the price (compared to the Disney cruise we almost booked), but after learning about ES have been eager for a price drop ever since, which may or may not ever come. An OBC would be awesome, but part of me almost wishes ES didn't exist and Carnival would just credit you automatically in good faith if it drops prices. Oh well...guess I'll keep checking. LOL #feelingkindagreedy #firstworldproblems ;) :D :cool:

[Frank12]

I've found it to be very random.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

My cruise is not for another 8 1/2 months but I check every day! But for those that have gotten price drops when do you typically see them?

 

I received one 6 days after I booked a cruise early this month (Feb 2015). The cruise is schedule for Jan 2016. It was for $60.00 p/p. That amounts to $10.00 for each day it was booked. Would love that to continue for every day until we cruise. :)

[Vanessa L]

A good time to check for drops is 1-7 days after final payment is due. I typically check several times a day right after that. Occasionally, for numerous reasons, people find that they cannot make final payment when it is due and that ends up opening a bunch of space for the cruise. Since final payment is typically 45 days out, they want to fill those rooms as quickly as possible before sailing and will drop the prices. It's worked for me :)

[applegam]

I ended up with about $650 OBC after checking basically every day. On one of my calls to Carnival, they did tell me that the lowest price is typically 90 days out, which does typically match the time final payment is due. So - keep checking! You never know.

[sjcruiser]

I agree that price drops via promotions and sales can be random. I usually book around this time each year for my main family cruise, but decided to book in October this year. For an end of July through August cruise, we usually see minor price drops in the following months ($20 or so) Large price drops or major upgrade opportunities (going from IS to BL) begin in May or June. The larger price drops, are usually in conjunction with the pack and go or similar rates, with upgrades that involve a cabin guarantee occur. This occurs in the 4-6 weeks prior to the cruise. We always start off in an IS room, and with new promos or sales, end up in a BL with OBC of between $100-$200 to split. Last year, within two weeks of sailing another promotion was offered with a BL guarantee, we ended up with $420 OBC total. If we would have stayed in our original IS room, we would have ended up with over that amount each!!! This year we're staying put to see how things work out.

Edited February 27, 2015 by sjcruiser

[buddylover]

Typically the biggest and best price reductions are after final payment. For ships with alot of vacancies the price drops are more plentiful at that time in their attempt to fill the ship. It also depends on cabin class you have booked. If there are alot of cabins in catagory, chances are greater that price drops will be more plentiful and you will see greater price drops ($$) than cabins that are fewer in class on the ship (like 1A's etc).