Memorial Day Sale - Book for Fall 2019?

[salty dingo]

We're looking to cruise again sometime in Fall 2019. I know Memorial Day is coming up and there are often good sales then.

 

So far I have seen the best rates listed for 2018 sailings. Anyone have luck booking 18 months ahead in a Memorial Day sale?

 

Would it be better to wait until Labor Day 2018 or Memorial Day 2019 for the best deals for Fall 2019?

[happy traveler69]

Why not book now to get your preferred cabin spot (and the price) now? If the prices drop due to a promotion special, you can get the difference off your cruise, or request an upgrade

 

 

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[salty dingo]

Why not book now to get your preferred cabin spot (and the price) now? If the prices drop due to a promotion special, you can get the difference off your cruise, or request an upgrade

No, many promotions are for new bookings only. No way I could lock that in booking now.

[momof4girls]

I always book “past guest” so that I can just cancel and book again if a better deal comes up. You could do the same?

[salty dingo]

I always book “past guest” so that I can just cancel and book again if a better deal comes up. You could do the same?

As long as deposit is 100% refundable that is true... but some fares do not allow it.

 

I am thinking more about promotions that are not usually offered when browsing a cruise line website. Not so much focused on price since that is easy to track.

 

For example: beverage package, gratuities, OBC, specialty dining, etc. These perks often get tossed in during a sale, instead of getting a lower fare.

[cruizinisthebest]

Carnival price matches any rate that allows you to pick your own cabin up to the final payment date. Early Saver allows it until 2 days before sailing. That new promotions only stuff Carnival generally won't pull. I've never had it happen. I price match all the time whenever I see a drop so long as the category is still available.

 

And as far as the past guest rate goes, there's no need to cancel if you see a price reduction before final payment. Just call and have the rate adjusted.

[salty dingo]

Carnival price matches any rate that allows you to pick your own cabin up to the final payment date. Early Saver allows it until 2 days before sailing. That new promotions only stuff Carnival generally won't pull. I've never had it happen. I price match all the time whenever I see a drop so long as the category is still available.

 

And as far as the past guest rate goes, there's no need to cancel if you see a price reduction before final payment. Just call and have the rate adjusted.

Price reductions are not the only important way to discount a cabin. Price can stay the same but freebies get thrown in like free gratuities or specialty dining... new bookings only. I doubt Carnival would match any of that stuff for existing bookings.

[cruizinisthebest]

Price reductions are not the only important way to discount a cabin. Price can stay the same but freebies get thrown in like free gratuities or specialty dining... new bookings only. I doubt Carnival would match any of that stuff for existing bookings.

I agree. However Carnival doesn't include freebies other than a little obc. And even if you price match and wind up losing that, chances are good that you can get it back during another promotion down the line. I've never seen a sale throw in any of the other extras you named. But it's your choice to wait it out if you like.

 

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[lbosarge]

Thanks for all the info. We are planning a cruise in 2019 and this helps a lot.

[lizardhowson]

Price reductions are not the only important way to discount a cabin. Price can stay the same but freebies get thrown in like free gratuities or specialty dining... new bookings only. I doubt Carnival would match any of that stuff for existing bookings.

 

You must be thinking of another cruise line, Carnival never includes the perks you are referring to.

[salty dingo]

You must be thinking of another cruise line, Carnival never includes the perks you are referring to.

Yes, actually I am considering other lines which do offer more perks occasionally. I don't care for the price match concept because it has not done anything for me so far.

[riclop]

It's a guessing game.

[zookeeper]

I prefer to book thru Carnival directly but my upcoming cruise at the end of May was booked thru an online agency and we got $2,000 obc and the same price as carnival (carnival prices have since gone way up). Our September cruise to the Panama cancel was booked thru a warehouse club travel site and we got free gratuities ($207 for an 8 day cruise). Carnival has never beaten that price -- yet anyway. I really hate dealing with travel agents but money talks!

[salty dingo]

I prefer to book thru Carnival directly but my upcoming cruise at the end of May was booked thru an online agency and we got $2,000 obc and the same price as carnival (carnival prices have since gone way up). Our September cruise to the Panama cancel was booked thru a warehouse club travel site and we got free gratuities ($207 for an 8 day cruise). Carnival has never beaten that price -- yet anyway. I really hate dealing with travel agents but money talks!

Thanks for bringing up the warehouse club angle. We're members and that is definitely something to consider over booking directly with the cruise line.

 

It looks like, at a minimum, you would get exactly what you could get elsewhere PLUS a warehouse cash card. Probably, the cruise lines are rebating $$$ back to the TAs and the warehouse just passes back some of the rebate to the member. I bet the cruise lines just love it when you book direct since there is nobody to rebate... they just pocket that money.

[sperkins921]

I was going to suggest using your local warehouse club of choice but you guys already beat me to it lol

 

We are booked with the largest warehouse club in the world. Between our carnival horizon cruise this upcoming September, and our anthem cruise this coming December, we will net almost 600 close to $700 in warehouse cards.

 

For our particular warehouse chain, I was told that the customer service agents do not work on commission. I asked this because I started booking one of the cruises with one person and ended up having to finish with another. I asked if the first person could get credit for the booking as they did the majority of the work and that’s what I was told. Don’t know how true or not it is.

 

I would suggest booking through the warehouse club also because if prices do change they have no problems calling and going to bat for you to get reductions which when I was using a big box cruise travel agent I often times had to pull teeth to get the same.

 

Not to mention, this particular warehouse often will throw in one or two of the perks that you’re looking for for certain lines. I do not know if they do it for carnival, but I do know in browsing for these two cruises they were throwing it in for other lines. and if you are creative with your options you could conceivably get all the perks. Four instance if you were looking at Norwegian and they are offering a pick two on your cabin category and the warehouse is offering to throw in say drinks and tips then you could conceivably tell the agent to pick the other two options and boom you’ve got all four. Of course with Norwegian you have to pay a fee for the “freebies” but you get the idea.