Do I have to pay full price?

[moesyk4]

My work does not allow us to have actual "vacation days", I work at a small facility for the elderly and we close down during the week of 4th of July and for the week and a half around Christmas as well as Labor Day, Good Friday, etc. Unfortunately, the rates skyrocket for my exact vacation times and I had paying 900 for a cruise I could only be paying 500 for if I could go a month later. Does anyone, such as teachers, have any ideas about how to solve this? I do get 2 extra vacation days I could tack onto Labor day or something, but it makes it really hectic. Thanks!

[chasetf]

It is unfortunate, but you will not be able to get an Oct rate in Jul or a Feb rate in Dec. Summer and holidays are high demand times and it is a matter of supply and demand.

 

You can look for discounts, or buy early to get the best price and hope for price drops prior to final payment. You might hope and bet on a last minute deal but those are getting scarcer because ships are sailing full especially at peak times.

 

Good luck.

[babywewe]

I think most of us dont have the luxary of sailing whenever we want...and have to pay "full price." I'd love to go someplace in feb. when prices are down. But I can't.

 

I guess a lot of us just have to "suck it up"...

[nlvc12]

given your schedule, I think taking a cruise around Labor Day would be your best bet. Those generally aren't marked up too high - might be a bit lower because of hurricane season. good luck

[geoherb]

We've found some last-minute bargains for Christmas cruises. They may not seem like great prices compared to the low rates that are available during off-peak times of the year, but they are compared to how much people have paid for the same cruises that we're going on.

 

The secret to finding a last-minute bargain is not to have your heart set on a particular ship for that week. For instance, this past Christmas we narrowed our possibilities down to four ships that were sailing during the time that we could go. I watched prices carefully before the final payment date and afterward.

 

Eventually we narrowed it down to two ships. We ended up paying $400 less by booking after final payment and got a higher level inside cabin than we would have if I had booked us before final payment date.

[willysgrandma]

The reason prices start going down at different times of the year is precisely because many people can't travel during that time.