carnival's super saver rate???

[bubbles1209]

DH & I were looking up the cost of a cruise in June of 2008. We figured booking over a year out, we would get the super-saver rate, and it would be cheaper for us. Nope. We compared a cruise to Ocho Rios, Caymans & Cozumel. June of 2007 rate is 60.00 pp cheaper than June of 2008 rate. :confused: Called Carnival, and the guy told me it's actually cheaper to book 6 months out than a year out.:confused: So why advertise it as cheaper with a super-saver rate when you actually don't save any money, at least on this sailing? I asked, he didn't know. How sad is that? They should be careful on how they advertise that one. All he could say was that 6 months out is usually the best time to book, and that they look at prices by how quickly the ship filled up the year before. Go figure.

[dsg560]

If you book and your room price goes down, you can always request the new price. I did that and they adjusted it right away.

 

Dsg560

[bubbles1209]

If you book and your room price goes down, you can always request the new price

Ok, I get that part, but the question is, why do they advertise the super saver rate as being cheaper when it's not? Just wondered if anyone else had noticed this.

[RizzoLee]

I've never booked quite that far out before, but I've never paid what the brochure rate advertised (I just checked a brochure from a major tour operator here, it says "Super Saver" on the inside, I believe this is what you're referring to as the "Super Saver" rate). My rates have always been much lower. Even when comparing the brochure to Carnival's website rates are lower. Depends on the sailing date, etc.

 

You're lucky-I'm actually on the phone with my TA right now, lol. :)

 

Now, as to the 6 month vs. the 1 year thing-if they have a lot of rooms left, chances are they'll make the cruise cheaper to fill up the rooms faster. Some pax say the further out you book your cruise the better the chance of an upgrade, but I'm not sure if that's for certain or not. I check everyday up until final payment for price adjustments. My TA caught a drop last year I didn't even know about! :) It was only about $20, but paid for pre-paid drink tickets!!!

 

The price difference could also be reflecting an increase in port fees and taxes for that year as well.

[Fun, Fun 44]

We booked our January 07 cruise about 11 months out. :) Fuel prices going up we wanted to lock-in the price. Can always get OBC or credit back to credit card if price goes down and you call CCL or TA. The air is $100. pp more now than when we booked! :eek: Makes months of fun thinking about it too!

Kat

[mrdood]

So why advertise it as cheaper with a super-saver rate when you actually don't save any money, at least on this sailing? I asked, he didn't know. How sad is that?

 

Why is it "Sad"??? 99% of your posts are about wrangling price or trying to understand Carnival's pricing and modeling structure. Nothing sad about it, Carnival has an extremely successful business model, they know exactly what they are doing with pricing, even if they don't tell their reps, the execs know exactly!!!

 

Booking a year out, well you have to if getting a specific room or location is very important to you, or if you are booking certain cruises that are super popular, like an innagural or other special cruise, otherwise, feel free to wait...

 

I am pretty sure they don't want their reps knowing or at least sharing their pricing strategy, though pieces of it do leak out, the majority of people out there just call up and book their cruise and go. Very few spend time haggling about price as it changes, thus if they get people to book at a higher price in advance, bingo, they make more money. The number of people that cruise and openly share info on sites like this is rather small in comparison to the cruising population.

[serene56]

I have booked each of our cruises over a year out. (thats 9 cruises)

Only one has ever came down in price and that was close to sailing date.

 

I wacth prices daily-- if i book today for a cruise next year I will make sure the agent will give me any price reductions.

 

With Super Saver Rate--youwill not be able to take any other deduction- so if a resident sale comes along you will not be eligble.

 

When asking for a rate--ask for the lowest rate available.

[GoinCruisin]

The PVP told you wrong.... it is NOT always cheaper to book 6 months out... what he should have explained to you was the law of supply and demand. If a ship is selling really well, the rates will be higher, if the ship isn't selling really well, the rates will be lower. I've booked 2 years out and had the pricing go up dramatically at 6 months or less, and i've had the opposite happen... Perhaps they are having a price increase??? Inflation... there could be any number of reasons for the higher price, but please don't believe that it is always cheaper to book 6 months out, that is simply not true.

[runningcrazy]

I booked a June 2007 cruise in June of 2006. The price has come down twice since I booked it. Once for $240 and the second time for $300. I haven't paid in full as of yet and won't until the last minute. At this point I have saved $540 of the original booking price and since I booked early chose exactl what stateroom I wanted!!

[lvtotrvl1]

The supersaver rate will not always be the least expensive way to book. It depends on what specials are available at the time of booking, or if you can book under a group rate, senior rate, resident rate, military rate etc. Contact a TA and they can access which is the best promotion to book under at the time you are booking.

[broberts]

Lately it seems that there are some great savings 30 - 50 days out. But not always, and not in every cabin category.

 

If you have particular cabin requirements, get a great deal on air, or simply prefer a lower stress level book well in advance. You should also book well in advance for very popular ships, dates, and routes. As is well reported on this board until one has made full payment one can often get a cruise line to honor special pricing for an existing booking. But not always, and it does depend on your TA's willingness to ask/push for it.

 

(Just a note here about taking into consideration the entire vacation cost. While air and cruise rates often share peak and low periods, there are times when they are out of sync. If one is flying, consider the price of air when looking at cruise prices. Its typically pointless to get a great deal on a cruise if its at a peak air travel time.)

 

Cruise pricing has gotten to be like airline pricing, every passenger pays a different fare. In the final analysis, buy at a price you feel comfortable with, knowing that someone will probably pay 50% less than you did and someone else will probably pay 50% more than you did. Saving money is good, but cruising is better. And that's the bottom line for me.

[Casino Player]

DH & I were looking up the cost of a cruise in June of 2008. We figured booking over a year out, we would get the super-saver rate, and it would be cheaper for us. Nope. We compared a cruise to Ocho Rios, Caymans & Cozumel. June of 2007 rate is 60.00 pp cheaper than June of 2008 rate. :confused: Called Carnival, and the guy told me it's actually cheaper to book 6 months out than a year out.:confused: So why advertise it as cheaper with a super-saver rate when you actually don't save any money, at least on this sailing? I asked, he didn't know. How sad is that? They should be careful on how they advertise that one. All he could say was that 6 months out is usually the best time to book, and that they look at prices by how quickly the ship filled up the year before. Go figure.

 

If you like the cruise book it as far out as possible. If the price goes down you could always request the less expensive price. Doesn't mean you will get it though. If the cruise is popular then you would have your reservations in already and not think about an alerternate trip because you booked too late. If it doesn't sell that well then you could get an upgrade and the stateroom you would have had could be sold at a discount.

[kyrisong1]

DH & I were looking up the cost of a cruise in June of 2008. We figured booking over a year out, we would get the super-saver rate, and it would be cheaper for us. Nope. We compared a cruise to Ocho Rios, Caymans & Cozumel. June of 2007 rate is 60.00 pp cheaper than June of 2008 rate. :confused: Called Carnival, and the guy told me it's actually cheaper to book 6 months out than a year out.:confused: So why advertise it as cheaper with a super-saver rate when you actually don't save any money, at least on this sailing? I asked, he didn't know. How sad is that? They should be careful on how they advertise that one. All he could say was that 6 months out is usually the best time to book, and that they look at prices by how quickly the ship filled up the year before. Go figure.

if you go ahead and book a cabin, you can get the better cabins, if you keep an eye on the prices as they go down the cruise line will decrease your rate, or if it's after final payment they will give you onboard credits, make sure your TA is also willing to do this, I saved about 2,000 on my upcoming March X cruise by doing this. Happy sailing ;)

[bubbles1209]

Why is it "Sad"??? 99% of your posts are about wrangling price or trying to understand Carnival's pricing and modeling structure. Nothing sad about it, Carnival has an extremely successful business model, they know exactly what they are doing with pricing, even if they don't tell their reps, the execs know exactly!!!

 

Booking a year out, well you have to if getting a specific room or location is very important to you, or if you are booking certain cruises that are super popular, like an innagural or other special cruise, otherwise, feel free to wait...

 

I am pretty sure they don't want their reps knowing or at least sharing their pricing strategy, though pieces of it do leak out, the majority of people out there just call up and book their cruise and go. Very few spend time haggling about price as it changes, thus if they get people to book at a higher price in advance, bingo, they make more money. The number of people that cruise and openly share info on sites like this is rather small in comparison to the cruising population.

I understand that you are sarcastic, noted for being that way lots of times, but what is wrong with wanting to understand the pricing to get myself the best deal out there? What is wrong with finding something in my opinion, odd, and sharing it to see if others have noticed? No not all of my posts are about wrangling prices, I've answered many people on what I do know off of experience to try and help them on other subjects. I was only pointing out something I had noticed, and wondered if others had noticed it also. I thought the point of these boards were to help one another, and if pointing this out and having someone else help me understand, is wrong, someone please tell me, because I thought we were here to share cruising questions, experiences, and various topics on cruising in general, whether it's price, or how good the buffet is. Point being, you don't ask ya never find out. There's no such thing as a stupid question, the only stupid questions are the ones that are never asked, and if asking questions means I'm wrangling for money, so be it, I'll be a wrangler, but where I come from we call it smart shopping. Thanks for all of the replies, I didn't know that if you booked supersaver, you were not eligible for other discounts, thanks! Learn something new every day, that was one of the points in asking. Different views and info I did not know.

[salty dingo]

Prices are based on supply and demand. There is nothing good or bad about prices... they are what they are... kind of like the weather. People who comment on the prices may as well be commenting on the weather. Not that it is bad, but there is no evil force behind it all...

 

That said, I find the best deals are when you have a general idea of when and where you want to go, and you start looking at the specials that are NOT offered by the cruise lines, but only by agencies. Get on some mailing lists. About four months out you may be able to secure some really good discounts on sailings that no one else wants to go on.

 

For people who want to cruise during the summer high season, please do not complain that the prices are too high... prices SHOULD be higher when everyone wants to go!!

[sheree23]

I totally agree with and understand what you're saying. They shouldn't advertise it as a "super saver rate" if there are rates that are knowingly lower. Super Saver Rates should be the bottom of the barrel rates.

 

BTW, DH and I too want to go on a cruise in June 2008. That will be our 5th anniversary! Our first cruise was on our honeymoon.