Wow! Price jump!

[chloes nana]

WOW!:eek: I went to our August 27 2009 Mediterranean cruise to check if the rates had dropped and they have all jumped UP over $600 . Guess HAL is doing okay and not having problems filling their ships, especially to Europe, in order to afford this large of a price hike. So much for hopes of a lower fare :( Would be really interesting to see if any one elses cruise rates increased?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Over the last couple of years we have not seen any of cruises go down in price.

Like you -- they just keep going up.

[chloes nana]

Over the last couple of years we have not seen any of cruises go down in price.

 

Like you -- they just keep going up.

this is true, but I watched the 8/07 cruise before ours drop to a mere 2499 pp so was waiting for this one to drop also, however that cruise has jumped up $850 pp :eek:for veranda cabins, and our cruise never went down it just took the $600 increase... oh well guess I should be really glad I got the rate I did :D .

[Krazy Kruizers]

We say the same thing -- thank Heavens we booked when we did.

[debnjoe1438]

Keep watching, they go up, they go down. I watched the price of my Panama cruise go up and down more times than I could count. About 10 to 11 weeks before the cruise I finally booked for quite a bit less than it was a couple of months befor. (So sorry I don't remember the prices, even though it was just a couple of months ago)

[chloes nana]

Keep watching, they go up, they go down. I watched the price of my Panama cruise go up and down more times than I could count. About 10 to 11 weeks before the cruise I finally booked for quite a bit less than it was a couple of months befor. (So sorry I don't remember the prices, even though it was just a couple of months ago)

both of these mediterranean cruises (8/07 & 8/27) are already saying call for availability for insides and outside cabins. and these are still roughly 5 months out. Is that normal? Or is this a possiblity and the upgrade fairy may come yet??? I have never cruised before so this is all new to me. I just thought a $600-$1000 pp price jump was high for a cruise so far out yet.

[beamteam]

We took a med cruise on Celebrity last Ocotber and the price went down $1,400 before we sailed. That was a lovely surprise. Beamteam

[MadManOfBethesda]

Over the last couple of years we have not seen any of cruises go down in price.

 

Like you -- they just keep going up.

 

You must not be looking very hard! :D

 

Here are a couple of posts from people just in the last couple of hours who relayed their experience with prices dropping like a rock.

 

I booked last October for my May cruise with an online TA. The price has dropped 3 or 4 times since booking, I called the TA and in turn they called HAL and they said yes. So the short of it is they dropped in price for a guarantee VF categroy by $2300. that really pleased us...

 

I booked online with HAL and received 3 price reductions (total $1,000 savings) and a 2 category upgrade between the time I made the initial deposit and the final payment.

 

I, too, can report that the price of my last cruise with HAL, a 30-day South Pacific/Hawaii itinerary on the Ryndam this past January, dropped in price numerous times until it became so low that I just couldn't pass it up. It even dropped a couple times after I booked it.

 

So yes, prices on many, many HAL cruises have been falling for quite some time. Now, does that mean that every sailing on every ship in every category is falling? Of course not. But bargains are out there. And will continue to be out there for the forseeable future.

[kao2002]

Responding to the OP, I noticed a price jump this week as well. My June 28th inside cabin on the Noordam went from 2000 to 2400. Glad I booked when I did, we'll see what they do after the final payment date on April 14th. I think that will be the real test on how bookings are going.

[lardor]

Keep watching, they go up, they go down. I watched the price of my Panama cruise go up and down more times than I could count. About 10 to 11 weeks before the cruise I finally booked for quite a bit less than it was a couple of months befor. (So sorry I don't remember the prices, even though it was just a couple of months ago)

 

Is there an easy way to check prices or do I have to go through the whole operation and "pretend" I want to book a cabin...TIA

[jhannah]

You might check back tomorrow. Sometimes prices spike then go back to where they were. If they stay, then you really can sail with a smile, knowing you got a great deal!

[Route6A]

Some HAL specials have offered what appear to be very reasonable prices. I looked at a sailing on the Rotterdam in May...a TA...and a superior veranda suite was $1,999 per person. I had to call HAL to confirm the price, however, as it was not reflected anywhere I looked on the Internet. I received HAL snail mail with listings of special pricing. We did not book, but I was tempted. As I recall, it was about a two week cruise. That seemed a low price to me.

[DebbieS732]

Is there an easy way to check prices or do I have to go through the whole operation and "pretend" I want to book a cabin...TIA

 

As far as I know, you have to 'pretend' to book a cabin. I registered with my work email address and use that to check prices. I'm a tad obsessive about it. I try to check every day because I've noticed that the prices sometimes go up and down pretty rapidly. Right now they are down due to their 3 day sale and will probably go up tomorrow after the sale is over. For a VC cabin, they are down $200 pp right now.

 

We're on the Eurodam 10 day Baltic sea cruise - 6/12.

[Himself]

The value of the Dollar keeps losing against other currencies and so we are going to be paying more for less

[chloes nana]

As far as I know, you have to 'pretend' to book a cabin. I registered with my work email address and use that to check prices. I'm a tad obsessive about it. I try to check every day because I've noticed that the prices sometimes go up and down pretty rapidly. Right now they are down due to their 3 day sale and will probably go up tomorrow after the sale is over. For a VC cabin, they are down $200 pp right now.

 

We're on the Eurodam 10 day Baltic sea cruise - 6/12.

then I will keep checking daily, like I have been to see if these prices will drop again. Is it unusual to find the HAL site, for a cruise 5 months out still, to show call for pricing and availability on cabins ?? I have heard from reading other threads that the longer European cruises 20 days, don't sell out as quickly and with this one being the very end of August and into September it seems a little early for a sell out already? or am I confused??? :confused:

[hammybee]

Over the last couple of years we have not seen any of cruises go down in price.

 

Like you -- they just keep going up.

 

Are you pulling my oar? ;)

[luvcruisn']

I received an e-mail with a great price on a November /09 cruise on the Prinsendam to the Amazon. I wasn't sure about going, so I waited a week, went to book it, and then only suites were left. Checking today, there's only one category that shows availability. My friend and I are waitlisted for an N cabin up to an outside, but don't know if we'll get on this cruise or at what price.

[mancunian]

It is not so much the cruises going up and down - and indeed many have gone down, but it is the yo-yo affect I do not understand.

 

A few months' ago - I think it was January, I was idly looking on the HAL site, not really looking for a cruise as we were already booked on the Rotterdam. However, I saw a cruise Round Britain on the Prinsendam and thought that looked good. A few days later I was browsing again and found it had dropped fairly significantly so we decided to go for it and I tried to book - prices had gone up again that day. Fascinated by this I looked again a week or so later to find guess what ....... it had dropped down again and this time we got it.

 

I have however, been fascinated also by the price of the earlier Prinsendam sailing round Britain which although almost identical in itinerary has always been far, far dearer than the August version. Clearly this did not sell well because wow has it dropped big time.

 

I had thought - probably completely wrongly - that when the prices on the HAL board go to call for availabillity it meant it was very near sailing date and the cabins had largely been assigned. However, this too has changed - some of them are very early now.

 

It does seem strange that some people are getting upgrades so early. Would have thought the point of upgrades was to help HAL with the final sort out.

[jhannah]

The whole pricing algorithm is a complete mystery! It was compiled by the same person who did the one for upgrades! :)

[fpat]

The whole pricing algorithm is a complete mystery! It was compiled by the same person who did the one for upgrades! :)

 

Here is my take on how the pricing works. Don't forget there are people all over the world booking HAL at certain points in time.

 

Hal puts out prices for certain cruises as the cruise is selling well the prices go up, as less cabins become available the prices go up higher depending on how far out the cruise is. If all the SA cabins are sold but one on a certain cruise you will pay a lot more to get that last SA then one would pay who got the first one booked that is unless you are close to the sailing date and Hal just wants to fill the ship then you might pay less for the SA then the first one that was booked but that would be sailing a couple of weeks out.

 

Now these price changes are changing on a per minute basis as to why the OP did not get the low price until the 2nd time around. The prices are changed by holds on cabins not deposits so if HAL drops the price to fill a certain CAT and a TA or many individuals see it and put holds on those cabins the price could shoot up within the hour, but if those holds do not convert into deposits the price will come back down just as fast. If Hal is running a special it could hold the prices in a certain place for a certain period of time like the 3 day sale.

 

To substantiate this I will use my personal booking on my first HAL cruise that I took in February 2009 which I booked in January of 2008. I have a family of 5 so I was deciding between booking the PH with the VA next door or connecting SAs. I wanted the PH my DW wanted the connecting rooms to keep a better eye on the kids. At the time of my booking both PHs were available of which as most of you know there are only two on the Nooordam. When I put one of them on hold while discussing it with my DW the price was $7,000 and change per person. As soon as I put it on hold the Price of the available PH went to $9,000 and change I remember it was almost $2,500 more pp then the price that I had on hold. From Hals point of view they had one sold at a fair price so all they needed was one person in the world that wanted that room on that cruise to make approx $5,000 more in pure bottom line profit. When I took the PH off hold and put the connecting SAs on hold while I continued to discuss with my DW the price immediately came back down to the original price of $7,000 plus PP now that both PHs were available again. This was an instant move on HALs site as well as all the other cruise TA cruise sites that I checked.

 

It is simple supply and demand business economics with the PH I was able to control the price of the 2nd one by booking the first. The same thing is done with the other CATs only on a larger scale as rooms get put on hold, deposited or not and released or not. After final payment is another game changer on pricing based again on supply and demand.

 

BTW we did end up in the connecting SAs because as like most men in the world I wear the pants in our relationship but my DW picks them out for me:rolleyes:

[Dolphins]

Considering all the negative economic factors now in evidence everywhere, you would think cruise lines would be lowering prices as everyone else seems to be doing? When HAL announced their new Veendam Bermuda itinerary for 2010, their rates were ridiculously high in comparison to their Bermuda competition. Still waiting for them to come down.

[jhannah]

Lots of folks have wanted HAL to return to Bermuda on a more regular basis for a long time. Therefore, I'd imagine that HAL sees this as a high-demand itinerary, so it will be priced high due to supply and demand. (Bermuda still limits the number of ships visiting their ports.) It's doubtful that prices will come down, or by only a smidgen if they come down at all.

[Ontario Cruiser]

We booked the Volendam for Dec 6th on Mar 6th to Australia (our cruise on the Millie was cancelled for March 15th at the last minute) and they were having a HUGE special on outside cabins $1678pp and $103 for our 3rd person plus tax. When I phone to check again on the 12th it had reduced to $1468pp and the 3rd person still $103. Now it is approx $2300 so lucky us.

Ontario Cruiser:)

[Mtierney]

The whole pricing algorithm is a complete mystery! It was compiled by the same person who did the one for upgrades! :)

 

We are booked and paid up for the May 23 Baltics cruise on the Eurodam. Almost daily it seems, we get mailings from HAL with price reductions, etc. When I call our TA, I'm told that those prices are misleading and when you add it all up, the savings disappear. Maybe my TA has it wrong?

 

Also, while the economy would lead one to think the cruise ships are hurting, when we contacted HAL initially in January, we were told there were 3 cabins left!! Seems other tour groups and TAs get holds on blocks of cabins and don't release them until they are sure they have no use for them. Does that mean it is wise to wait to book at the last minute? We just are not set up for last minute decisions!

[jhannah]

Does that mean it is wise to wait to book at the last minute? We just are not set up for last minute decisions!

Many major travel agencies hold blocks of rooms so they'll have them to sell to their clients. Once final payment time comes, those unsold cabins go back into inventory. Waiting lists are then taken care of, and the remaining cabins go on sale ("for new bookings only") to get the ship filled. That's generally the way it works.

 

By all means, don't wait to book if you know when you can go. You risk not getting to go because it's possible that the waiting list will consume all of the cabins turned back in and you won't be able to get onboard.