Price drops/sales?

[RK1031]

Husband and I just returned from a wonderful cruise on Millenium. We are thinking of booking a Med cruise this summer in early August. The itinerary looks great on the Galaxy, but we are wondering for those of you who book cruises often-does the price come down much as the cruise approaches? The price as it is now is a bit out of our current budget with transatlantic airfare but we have heard that price drops are not unheard of. Any info is much appreciated!

[jer_l]

Husband and I just returned from a wonderful cruise on Millenium. We are thinking of booking a Med cruise this summer in early August. The itinerary looks great on the Galaxy, but we are wondering for those of you who book cruises often-does the price come down much as the cruise approaches? The price as it is now is a bit out of our current budget with transatlantic airfare but we have heard that price drops are not unheard of. Any info is much appreciated!

We booked our upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise while we were on our last cruise. I watched the internet sites for dropping rates. A 55+ fare showed up and I called and got $300 off. Another drop occurred a few weeks later and I got another $300 off plus another cabin upgrade. Plus I got a $200 shipboard credit because I booked while on a cruise.

 

Jerry

[lysolqn]

It's a supply and demand thing. Price drops usually happen when response to a particular sailing is soft and the cruise line wants to stir up some interest and get those berths filled. However, if a sailing is particularly popular, there's no need for X to cut prices and in some cases, prices actually increase over normal early bird discounts as a sail date nears.

 

If you're interested in an August cruise, you can book now and your final payment wouldn't be due until April/May. You could have your TA do regular checks to see about a price drop and/or senior or residency discounts. Your deposit would be fully refundable until, I think it's 70 or 90 days prior to sail date and if prices don't drop to a point at which you're comfortable by that time, you could cancel without penalty. If you're booking cruise and air through X it wouldn't be a problem but if you're booking your own air that could get dicey.