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What is your "best deal" strategy?


BillderBo
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I know the sailing I want. It is in June 2019. But I don't know how/when to snag the best deal. What is your strategy?

Book as early as possible and monitor the price continuously to take advantage of possible price drops.

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I know the sailing I want. It is in June 2019. But I don't know how/when to snag the best deal. What is your strategy?

 

 

 

Use a travel agent who is a top 20 producer for that cruise line, who has the line's regional sales rep as a speed dial (for any problems that may arise) and who will share his/her commission as a rebate or refundable OBC. A plus would be the TA's membership in a travel consortium that has a continuous relationship with the cruise line (resulting in additional perks) thus saving you more at the bottom line.

 

Of course, even though this could mean thousands of dollars in your pocket for certain cruises, the "average joe" doesn't have the wherewithal to research/negotiate/build that kind of TA relationship.

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We usually book inside the final payment window. We typically watch several cruises at one time. We do not care if we snag the cruise or not since we are typically in the middle or end of a land trip. The only one we have booked in advance is a SA cruise. Price was right and Princess had a Canadian dollar at par sale for one day. We are doing less cruising now in favor of land trips.

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We think the best strategy is to be flexible and have some understanding of the dynamics of the cruise industry. We use a combination of early booking (with subsequent monitoring for price drops) and last minute bookings (inside the final payment window). One strategy does not fit all :). For example, we know of an annual repositioning cruise (Princess) that we have booked 4 out of the last 5 years with amazing last minute deals. Why? Because the timing and itinerary make the cruise a tough sell and the itinerary means that all passengers must have a valid Passport.

 

But for those booking the typical 7 day Caribbean cruise during a busy season, getting a good deal is difficult. If you increase your search to multiple cruise lines and many ships you also increase your chances of snagging a good deal. But always keep in mind that cruise prices are simply driven by supply vs demand. Cruise lines all use algorithms designed to yield the maximum revenue per passenger day. This means that they use strategies to sell every available berth at the highest average price per berth :). Find a cruise with a substantial number of unsold berths and you stand a good chance of eventually snagging a good deal on that cruise.

 

One warning. Do not get sucked in by marketing promotions that are not as good as advertised. For example, a cruise line might sell a cruise with a "free" drink package. But during that promotion they will sometimes increase the price of the cruise to a point where it would be a better deal to buy the cruise after the promotion when the price drops.

 

Hank

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Final payment window is usually anywhere for 60-75 days from sailing (for bookings made in NA), after which time cruises cannot be cancelled without some sort of penalty. We use an on line TA who rebates part of the sales commission in the form of OBC (on board credit) and we check cruise prices (and sometimes book) on foreign cruise line sites. Last time we booked a last minuteAustralian cruise directly with the cruise line Australian call center. Saved just over 30 percent over what our on line North American TA and the NA cruise line site was selling the identical product for.

 

We are not married to any one cruise line. Our last Med cruise was an RCI Rome to Barcelona cruise. We were touring in Sicily and considering where to go. We were also watching four last Med cruises that departed within two weeks. Prices were dropping. When the RCI balcony cabin dropped ot our target price we booked. The icing on the cake was an attractive one way air fare home on our preferred airline/preferred routing. Had we not got the cruise...well we had, and always do, have a backup plan.

 

I think this method works for us because we are spontaneous travelers and often do extended trips. Plus, we are usually indifferent as to whether or not we score a cruise. We care far more about the ship than we do about the cruise line. The symbol on the funnel does not have any special attraction for us.

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I book as early as possible after itineraries are announced so I have a good chance of getting the cabin I want.

 

However, I always book a rate that will allow me to cancel prior to final payment date without penalty, AND

 

Will allow me to make name changes without penalty, AND

 

Will allow me to take advantage of any price drops on my cabin category that occur prior to final payment date.

 

In the last three years the prices after booking have only increased so it has turned out to be a very good deal to have booked early.

 

To meet all of my preferred terms on Carnival I have been using their "past guest" rate. It generally runs about twenty dollars per person more than their cheapest "early saver" rate.

 

I don't know anything about various booking rates, terms, and conditions on other lines.

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OP: waiting until after the "final payment due date" to look for bargains doesn't work for all cruise lines/itineraries.

For example, I recently booked a Spring 2020 multi-segment Oceania cruise in Asia and got the last balcony cabin only two weeks after the cruise was published.

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I know the sailing I want. It is in June 2019. But I don't know how/when to snag the best deal. What is your strategy?

 

Ever heard the expression "The early bird gets the worm"? That translates to "The early planner snags the best deal". Typically, the lowest prices are those that are published when a cruise is first posted. That can sometimes be two (or more) years in advance. Last minute deals are almost as rare as a horse that can sing show tunes. I know that not everyone can make vacation plans 12 months or more in advance. If that's the case, book your cruise as soon as you can, pay the price that's advertised, and watch for price drops (if there are any).

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Ever heard the expression "The early bird gets the worm"? That translates to "The early planner snags the best deal". Typically, the lowest prices are those that are published when a cruise is first posted. That can sometimes be two (or more) years in advance. Last minute deals are almost as rare as a horse that can sing show tunes. I know that not everyone can make vacation plans 12 months or more in advance. If that's the case, book your cruise as soon as you can, pay the price that's advertised, and watch for price drops (if there are any).

 

I am sorry but what you say is absolutely not true! We do use your early bird strategy on some cruises (especially longerr cruises with very popular itineraries) but the last minute deals we get (almost annually) are simply amazing. I am talking about high category balcony cabins for under $60 per passenger/day! The folks that never get those deals are simply not looking in the right places or are simple inflexible about their cruise line, ship or itinerary. To prove a point we are going on a "last minute cruise" in 3 weeks that is a 14 day Repo itinerary (Europe to the USA). Not only did we get a terrific price (far cheaper then anyone who booked prior to the final payment date) but we also were able to take advantage of a fantastic deal on Business Class air to Europe. We are currently watching another cruise (10 days) that is is early November and expect to get that cruise for less then $70 per passenger day (balcony). Right now its selling for about $85 per passenger day (the price is falling like a rock) and a few weeks ago it was selling for over $120 per passenger day. But the fun of looking for last minute great deals is it might not work out. But if it doesn't come to pass there are plenty of other cruise possibilities or perhaps an All Inclusive deal...or maybe a great last minute airline deal to Europe, etc. etc. It is there for those who look. And while booking long range cruises (we have bookings out to about 2 years) is fun, the last minute deals are always a hoot.

 

On a recent HAL cruise this topic came up during an enjoyable dinner while sharing a large table. Several at the table wanted to know how to get the great deals and we mentioned the names of several high volume cruise agencies that were a great source. One of the couples immediately told us that they "did not trust" any agency and would only deal with their "PCC." They also explained that they would not cruise on any other line (other than HAL) and they were even particular as to the ship. Bottom line was that those folks will never get a good last minute deal because they are too inflexible and the best deals are never sold directly by the cruise lines. They are generally made available to a small group of higher volume agencies who quietly market the deals to those on their private e-mail lists. In many cases they are prohibited (by the cruise line) from advertising the deals on the web.

 

Hank

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Lots of great advice, but I will add: Booking a last minute cruise may get you a great deal, but then you have so many things to plan and research in a short period of time. Which tours, what hotels, the best airline deals, etc. This might not matter if you live in Florida and are booking a Caribbean cruise, but a cruise to Europe or the Far East (China, Australia, Japan, etc.) takes a lot of planning. Many cruisers really enjoy this part of travel.

 

On the other hand, a winter cruise to the Caribbean is one that I would be very happy to book last minute. All the islands seem the same to me anymore. I just want warmth, not a lot of tours. Those are easy to book last minute. The same might be true of European travel if you have been there many times and it isn't a trip of a lifetime.

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I am sorry but what you say is absolutely not true! We do use your early bird strategy on some cruises (especially longerr cruises with very popular itineraries) but the last minute deals we get (almost annually) are simply amazing. I am talking about high category balcony cabins for under $60 per passenger/day! The folks that never get those deals are simply not looking in the right places or are simple inflexible about their cruise line, ship or itinerary. To prove a point we are going on a "last minute cruise" in 3 weeks that is a 14 day Repo itinerary (Europe to the USA). Not only did we get a terrific price (far cheaper then anyone who booked prior to the final payment date) but we also were able to take advantage of a fantastic deal on Business Class air to Europe. We are currently watching another cruise (10 days) that is is early November and expect to get that cruise for less then $70 per passenger day (balcony). Right now its selling for about $85 per passenger day (the price is falling like a rock) and a few weeks ago it was selling for over $120 per passenger day. But the fun of looking for last minute great deals is it might not work out. But if it doesn't come to pass there are plenty of other cruise possibilities or perhaps an All Inclusive deal...or maybe a great last minute airline deal to Europe, etc. etc. It is there for those who look. And while booking long range cruises (we have bookings out to about 2 years) is fun, the last minute deals are always a hoot.

 

On a recent HAL cruise this topic came up during an enjoyable dinner while sharing a large table. Several at the table wanted to know how to get the great deals and we mentioned the names of several high volume cruise agencies that were a great source. One of the couples immediately told us that they "did not trust" any agency and would only deal with their "PCC." They also explained that they would not cruise on any other line (other than HAL) and they were even particular as to the ship. Bottom line was that those folks will never get a good last minute deal because they are too inflexible and the best deals are never sold directly by the cruise lines. They are generally made available to a small group of higher volume agencies who quietly market the deals to those on their private e-mail lists. In many cases they are prohibited (by the cruise line) from advertising the deals on the web.

 

Hank

 

 

 

If all that is important is paying the least amount of money to get away from home (which is a legitimate reason in some situations), the above strategy is one way to get there.

But, in the final analysis, one does "get what they pay for."

As aforementioned, certain itineraries and longer cruises that attract particular cruise passenger demographics are less likely to have "cut rate" pricing. Add quality of food, service and amenities (as well as avoidance of nickel/diming, thundering herds, smoking, incessant annoying annoucements/photogs/et al.) to the equation and you'll find cruise industry segments and lines where slashed prices (except for run-of-the-mill Caribbean trips) are few and far between.

That said, I do agree that top seller TAs for any given line will have exclusive unpublished prices for some upcoming cruises.

But, IMO, don't get caught up in a narrow search for the cheapest cabin price. Whether, it's a cruise, airline, hotel, etc., compare "net daily rate" for all associated trip costs. For example, you may find that the included international airfare on a premium/luxury line is the great equalizer to the higher end of the mass market.

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I know the sailing I want. It is in June 2019. But I don't know how/when to snag the best deal. What is your strategy?

 

We book early, directly with a cruise line, then watch for price drops, call and ask the new fare. I do the same thing with hotels... works sometimes, doesn't work if fare goes up.

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There is only rule. Demand determines price. No different than the airlines. The inventory has a predetermined shelf life. Once the ship sails the cabin inventory has zero value.

 

Both for early bookers and last minute bookers. And in between. For late booking, your best options will probably be on popular runs,7-14 days, where there are several cruise lines and multiple ships operating. Or shoulder season.

 

If you shop around and book with a TA instead of directly with the cruise line you will invariably a better price than the cruise line will offer.

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In the rare case that we desperately want a particular cruise (Alaska, for example) we booked early. Same strategy if we know in advance that we are restricted to certain travel time-frames. Otherwise through the private emails from the big cruise discounters, we have received some incredible deals and so far, have never been disappointed with our assigned cabin through a discounter. Frequently the cruise lines themselves (especially some of the river ones) offer private last minute opportunities and will often negotiate the price even lower or offer additional incentives once you phone them. Yes, it may be more expensive to fly last minute, but with all the discount airlines now, that is no longer such a big problem.

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I book as soon as I know what I want to do. All of the cruise lines I've dealt with so far (YMMV, of course) have allowed me to switch to a lower price if the price dropped before I'd paid. A lot of the time, it won't. Occasionally, it will. My upcoming trip involves my getting a better cabin for less than I was paying for my worse one, in fact--they can't give cabins away on that ship, LOL (it's only a 2-day port hop, currently going for $50/pp!).

 

Another option is to book on a previous cruise. For my longer cruise coming up, I booked the best cabin in the category for the price of the cheapest.

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...Otherwise through the private emails from the big cruise discounters, we have received some incredible deals .

I don't know if we are allowed to say on this forum, but I'd appreciate someone pointing me to some of those trustworthy "big cruise discounters."

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Of course the OTHER side of the coin with booking last minute is airfare. You may save $500.00 an a couple cruise tickets, but find that last minute airfares are $700.00 higher.

 

This is often the case - if you have to fly to the port, you need to consider airfare almost as carefully as cruise fare.

 

Also, the later you book, the less cabin choice you will have. Finally, experience has shown that, for most itineraries, fares either stay level or increase as sailing date nears.

 

You hear from those few posters who claim scoring great last minute fares - people who simply do not cruise because their "wait and watch" policy failed to pan out are silent --- just like the OVERWHELMING number of casino players who lose and don't talk about their losses the way the few winner boast.

 

Harry Callahan put it rather well: "Do you feel lucky?"

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