Last minute booking- how cheap?

[HawkIVette]

Just got off the Dream on Sunday and heard that the ship only had 2600 passengers out of a possible 3600-4500 capacity.

 

So my question is, does Carnival discount the last minute booking just to get some revenue, or do they try to re-coup as much as they can thinking they won't fill the ship anyway?

How cheap can I get a cabin in the future compared to my $1,024 cabin (8th deck inside) I paid 7 months earlier?

 

Would really like to hear actual cost from someone who has experienced this before.

[Purvis1231]

There are off season deals. It is cheaper to sail at in hurricane season-September and October. I do not think the cruise lines give away cabins as many people claim, so I am not sure if there are any great last minute deals.

[HawkIVette]

Thanks. My thought was that I would look for a last minute deal in Feb-Mar (but before Spring break) and see if I could get a great deal on a cruise. It just might not be possible then, but thought I would try.

[Tapi]

During a low season sailing (and these weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years are some of the cheapest of the year) it may pay off to wait around for a last minute deal. If you're sailing during high season (summer or during the holidays), most likely there won't be any last minute deals. In fact, prices will tend to increase closer to departure, and many sailings will be sold out weeks if not months in advance.

 

Our upcoming cruise for the summer of 2016 is already 50% more than what we paid a few months back. And it seems like prices will continue increasing.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Tapi

[stobe1]

About 10 years ago we were on RC Rhapsody OTS and just for giggles and grins asked about staying on board for the next 7 day cruise. It wasn't cheap. It would have cost us an additional $2000 (if I remember correctly) to stay on board.

 

Granted, we had no intention of doing so and even if the price was right we wouldn't have been able to. Plus this was a decade ago on a different cruise line.

 

Personal thought: Has it really been 10 years since then? Holy cow -- It sure doesn't seem like it. Time flies!

[Essiesmom]

Just because the ship only had 2600 passengers doesn't mean there were many empty cabins. Just means that many of the triple/quad cabins were only occupied by couples. EM

[HawkIVette]

Just because the ship only had 2600 passengers doesn't mean there were many empty cabins. Just means that many of the triple/quad cabins were only occupied by couples. EM

 

Carnivals own page states 1813 cabins, and 2 per cabin is 3626 with a peak sailing max of 4533 not including crew of 1369.

 

Suppose there could have been a lot of singles on the ship to fill all of those cabins.

 

This cruise was out of New Orleans and between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I booked Early Saver and took every price drop offered. It was, as I stated earlier, pretty cheap ($1,024) for an inside cabin on deck 8. Thought I got a pretty good deal. Was just hoping for another one in mid Feb-March.

[notyours75]

One of the first things you'll see on cruises that they are having trouble filling is that they will drop the single surcharge. Remember its a balancing act to match the cost of the guest with how much revenue they anticipate from each guest. On our last cruise in Jan 14 we had lunch with a gentlemen who lived in Galveston and said he was called by Carnival 3 days before sailing. He didn't say exactly how much his inside cabin was but he indicated it was EXTREMELY cheap. But he also gambled extensively and was a diamond member so Carnival knew they would get their money out of him. His PVP apparently calls him regularly.

 

Offering a extreme discount to some unknown cruisers is risky, they are much more likely to send out targeted offers to established and known clients.

[HawkIVette]

One of the first things you'll see on cruises that they are having trouble filling is that they will drop the single surcharge. Remember its a balancing act to match the cost of the guest with how much revenue they anticipate from each guest. On our last cruise in Jan 14 we had lunch with a gentlemen who lived in Galveston and said he was called by Carnival 3 days before sailing. He didn't say exactly how much his inside cabin was but he indicated it was EXTREMELY cheap. But he also gambled extensively and was a diamond member so Carnival knew they would get their money out of him. His PVP apparently calls him regularly.

 

Offering a extreme discount to some unknown cruisers is risky, they are much more likely to send out targeted offers to established and known clients.

 

Yes, that makes perfect sense to me.

[SadieN]

During a low season sailing (and these weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years are some of the cheapest of the year) it may pay off to wait around for a last minute deal. If you're sailing during high season (summer or during the holidays), most likely there won't be any last minute deals. In fact, prices will tend to increase closer to departure, and many sailings will be sold out weeks if not months in advance.

 

Our upcoming cruise for the summer of 2016 is already 50% more than what we paid a few months back. And it seems like prices will continue increasing.

 

 

In the past we've gotten deals on double occupancy cabins during spring break. Families want the higher occupancy cabins. We booked Pack n Go guarantees.

 

Need to keep an eye on what cruises you want and constantly check the fares. Be prepared to jump when you see the fare you want.

[ready2cruzagain]

Use to be able to get really good last minute deals but this year, not so much.

 

We have been trying to get a last minute deal for January for the last few months and the prices just keep going up, even though there are several vacant cabins.

 

I am seeing this across all lines, because we are watching several cruises on multiple lines.

 

It sure isn't like it has been for the last several years where we could tack a last minute cruise onto our already existing cruises.

[Cruisegoer]

Last week and this week (plus a few other late October/early April dates) are the cheapest weeks of the year to cruise for a reason. People are planning for Christmas and getting over the Thanksgiving holiday, travel is just down on these weeks. Prices are already heavily discounted going into these travel dates so I'm not sure how much more you could expect to save.

[moniquet]

Depends on various factors. Some cruises I was watching the price went down around 10 weeks before departure and then went up again 4 weeks later.

[ScottsSweetie]

It seems that prices are up on all lines. DH and I were looking for a cruise - we have pretty flexible schedules and were open to almost any week. I was looking at Carnival, Royal, Norwegian & even Princess.

 

Not much discounting going on. In the past, hurricane season seemed to be the lowest priced. Now it seems that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas (before the holiday week) are consistently the lowest, but even those didn't have great rates this year.

 

We've booked a 7 day last minute during hurricane season before for $700-$800 (including taxes / port fees) for an inside guaranty. We've ended up booking a 5 day next month on a special rate for $701 with $100 OBC for an inside high up on the ship (I forget the category). :)

[Tapi]

Last week and this week (plus a few other late October/early April dates) are the cheapest weeks of the year to cruise for a reason. People are planning for Christmas and getting over the Thanksgiving holiday, travel is just down on these weeks..

 

 

Very true. However, there's something going on this year. I work in the airline industry and like you said, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are normally very slow, with many flights operating at less than half capacity. That hasn't been the case this year. Pretty much every flight that I've operated in the last few weeks has been packed to the gills with every single seat taken. Don't know if it's because of adjusted capacity for the season or because of increased demand, but whatever it is, it's definitely not following the pattern of years past. I wonder if the cruise lines are experiencing a similar situation which would explain why so many are reporting less price drops or deals during what normally is the slowest time of the year.

[MisterFidgetpants]

There are pricing sites that show price changes as well as track historical data. Interiors on your cruise were cheapest back in January/Feb of this year and pricing only went up, even going up in steps right up to sailing.

 

Oceanview rooms dipped below prices of interior rooms right around final payment time but then shot back up.

[Corby114]

Holland America's three ships that sail out of Port Everglades had very low prices for there sailings right after Thanksgiving. The first two weeks of December are usually the least expensive time of the entire year.

[virginiab]

This is interesting because I was also on the Dream cruise that returned to New Orleans on December 13, and I heard that the ship was full. And every time I checked for cabin availability in the last few weeks before sailing there were only 2 to 12 cabins to be seen across all categories.

 

Whether or not this particular ship was full, full ships seem to be the trend lately and the last-minute price drops that many of us enjoyed in the past seem to have gone away. At least for now. I'd love to see those last minute price drops come back.

[HawkIVette]

This is interesting because I was also on the Dream cruise that returned to New Orleans on December 13, and I heard that the ship was full. And every time I checked for cabin availability in the last few weeks before sailing there were only 2 to 12 cabins to be seen across all categories.

 

Whether or not this particular ship was full, full ships seem to be the trend lately and the last-minute price drops that many of us enjoyed in the past seem to have gone away. At least for now. I'd love to see those last minute price drops come back.

 

Well, I was with the party that missed the start of the cruise and came aboard in Mahogany Bay. Was told by another guest in our group that at the welcome aboard party, he was told the ship had only 2600 pax and he was amazed that only 11 Diamond members were among them. Not that it mattered to me about how many Diamond, but wonder if the information is out there to see how many were officially n the cruise.

[vwrestler171]

For my last Miracle cruise, they offered a 150% solo cruise rate, but prices never dropped like they used too. I read somewhere that the new CEO said they were going to stop dropping rates that low again, that way people would stop waiting to book when they see that it isn't to their advantage anymore.