Timing of booking

[keesu89]

Hi all:

 

We are considering booking a HAL cruise in the out of Barcelona in spring 2009 and are wondering when the best time to book for best price is? We are looking for a balcony cabin, not sure if that will impact. It looks like the itinerary we want is on the Oosterdam. Have traveled before on Princess, which we liked, but timing and ports on the HAL cruises looked better for 2009. Any tips anyone has would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

[jhannah]

Book now! Verandahs can go quickly, so if you want one you'd better get it as soon as you can. Pricing can vary. Yes, the price can go down ... but as often as that happens the price goes up. Should it go down before your final payment, there's an excellent chance you can get the better price.

 

The Oosterdam is a great ship. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

[keesu89]

Hi Jim:

 

We are getting very close to booking, and getting mixed info on what happens if the price does go down. We have tried one online agency where we were told, if the price goes down tough luck. I have been reading here that others have had a travel agent go to bat for them and succeeded in getting a reduction. Any experience with this?

 

We are now considering a local travel agent as opposed to the online option since the cost doesn't seem to be too different.

 

Your insight would be very welcome.

 

Thanks

Caroline

[Stevesan]

Hi Jim:

 

We are getting very close to booking, and getting mixed info on what happens if the price does go down. We have tried one online agency where we were told, if the price goes down tough luck. I have been reading here that others have had a travel agent go to bat for them and succeeded in getting a reduction. Any experience with this?

 

We are now considering a local travel agent as opposed to the online option since the cost doesn't seem to be too different.

 

Your insight would be very welcome.

 

Thanks

Caroline

 

 

You definitely need to throw the online agency overboard. They're either incompetent or lying.

 

A bricks and mortar agency can be a best choice depending on your own needs about travel and how much time you can devote to research.

 

You can also book directly with the cruise line, then shop your booking around. It's easy to transfer bookings.

 

Prices seem to go up more than they go down. However, early booking allows you to make a cabin selection of your choice, and you can usually enjoy any reductions that may occur as long as it's before final payment.

After that, price reductions are nearly always limited to new bookings. Even then, it doesn't hurt to ask.

[keesu89]

Had a feeling that we should be going with a bricks and mortar place, so have reached a nice compromise, we went with an agency that we found through the web, but they actually have an office right in our neighbourhood and they specialize in cruise vacations. Got the info I wanted, and no high pressure pitch. Since there seems to be no downside we went ahead and put a hold on a cabin, so are now counting the days to departure (a whole year from now). Well that gives us tons of time to research, and use these boards to their best advantage!

 

Now we are really starting to look forward to this next cruise.

 

Keesu 89

[jhannah]

I think you made a wise choice. We have gotten price reductions before booking through a well-known travel company. (The one with three identical letters of the alphabet.) I agree with Steve. The other folks were bad news, whichever their problem was. Good luck, and have fun planning your great vacation!

[sail7seas]

Most of the cruises we have booked in the last year or so have had prices raise, not fall.

 

It all depends how well a particular cruise is selling.

 

Good luck.

[pekachryn]

I think you made a good decision on a "regular" TA. I use a very small one that specializes in cruises, and she has become a good friend. Just today she emailed me that our Sept. cruise in a mini-suite on Princess has dropped in price $180, so she sent us an updated confirmation with the lower price. She has done this type of thing for us many times.

[forensic]

Hi Jim:

 

We are getting very close to booking, and getting mixed info on what happens if the price does go down. We have tried one online agency where we were told, if the price goes down tough luck. I have been reading here that others have had a travel agent go to bat for them and succeeded in getting a reduction. Any experience with this?

 

We are now considering a local travel agent as opposed to the online option since the cost doesn't seem to be too different.

 

Your insight would be very welcome.

 

Thanks

Caroline

 

With my TA the price is less than it is with HAL direct and she quarantees me that if the price goes down she will get me the lower price. PLUS There is NO cancellation fee IF I would cancel for any reason before the penalty period, no service charges of any kind. AND she is available to me 24-7.:D

[keesu89]

Well listened to all your wise advice, and booked with the bricks and mortar place. Then my husband found the same deal on a website for 400 less. We went back to the TA and asked them to see if HAL could do something for us. HAL was not willing to reduce the price at this point in time but the travel agent is offering us a shipboard credit of $50.00 per person, plus a gift certificate for the Pinnacle Grill, and the assurance that they will monitor the price between now and final payment and apply for a reduction if one is advertised. So all in all for the comfort of having someone to deal directly with even if the bottom line is not quite as good we are happy. To this point the service from this agency has been excellent, so we are really pleased that this is off to such a good start.

 

Thanks for everyones input, no doubt as time passes we will have more questions, and this seems to be a great place to go for answers.

[hammybee]

I am fasinated when I hear of travel agents " negotiating" with a cruise line as if it's "Let's Make a Deal".

 

So often the perception of a good travel agent is the one who gets the best price. That's what most consumers call service, yet best price is rarely the best service.

 

The reason why some travel agencies can offer the same cabin grade for less than another has all to do with group space. Agencies either negotiate this on their own or belong to a consortium that does. In effect, they are booking volume and therefore get volume discounts. Those agencies not in the group are not going to be able to match price. It has nothing to do with negotiating with a cruise line.

 

Price drops before final payment date are increasingly applicable to only new bookings. This means that it might be necessary to cancel the original booking and make a new one. When doing this, there are several potential repercussions:

 

You may lose the cabin.

 

Your shore excursions made on the original booking may be cancelled.

 

You may lose your dining preference or place on the wait list.

 

Your new booking may be subject to an increased fuel service charge.

 

A top notch travel agent will know this and inform you of potential risks. How many do?

 

( hammybee is not a travel agent)

[keesu89]

Hi Hammybee:

Good points about the price, that is how we feel about it. We don't have the best price we could find, but I do believe we are getting great service, and have confidence that this travel agent's advice is sound. Bottom line is I am much more comfortable being able to speak directly to the TA, so that is the way we went in the end.

 

Keesu89

[NancyIL]

Price drops before final payment date are increasingly applicable to only new bookings. This means that it might be necessary to cancel the original booking and make a new one. When doing this, there are several potential repercussions:

 

You may lose the cabin.

 

Your shore excursions made on the original booking may be cancelled.

 

You may lose your dining preference or place on the wait list.

 

Your new booking may be subject to an increased fuel service charge.

 

A top notch travel agent will know this and inform you of potential risks. How many do?

 

( hammybee is not a travel agent)

 

That's exactly what happened when I noticed a price drop on a different category cabin for our July Alaska cruise just 1 day before final payment was due. I had to cancel and rebook, and we paid the higher fuel surcharge (where none would've been paid before), the excursion I booked on HAL's web site was cancelled (I rebooked it), and we lost our fixed dining preference (I was thinking of changing to the anytime dining - so it didn't matter). I was happy to pay less and move to an outside cabin.

 

By the way - I have booked all of my cruises with online discount travel agencies. A local AAA travel agent once quoted me a HIGHER price for a Princess cruise than what was on Princess's web site.