Price jump within hours

[G&TQ]

I looked at a cruise yesterday morning. By Last night the price had jumped 20 bucks and held steady this morning. I confirmed rates this morning. Went to lunch made arrangiments for son to visit his grandma during our cruise, Confirmed time off for both hubby and me, went back into the system and the cruise price is up another 20 each.... grumble grumble grumble. Has anyone else seen this happen?

[Traveler353]

The prices go up and down all the time. If you find a cabin and cruise combination that you like, jump on it. You can usually get OBC or an upgrade if the price goes down (especialy if you book ES).

[Wavesprite]

This may not be true, but someone told me once that when you are looking at cruises, and airfare, and things like this, it records how many people are looking at certain dates and times and sailings and adjusts the cost based on how many people are looking.....

 

One time a flight of mine, that I looked at about 12 times one day, went up about $140 in one day......

 

Like I said, I have NO IDEA if this is true, or not....just thought I would post it.

[jonbgd]

It is supply and demand if the cabins are getting booked or at least being put on hold there is less supply so they raise the price

In Nov we were looking at a Jan cruise by the time we got back from our cruise dec1st the prices had gone up so we chose another week and ended up with a JS cheaper than a balcony After we made payment 2 days later the price almost doubled

So i look at several dates and watch what prices drop the most

[G'ma]

Yep, happens all the time.

 

That's why it's important to "strike while the iron is hot", so to speak.

 

When I'm bent on booking a cruise, I check the website several times a day and when I find the fare within my parameters, it's booked.

 

Fares can change as many as 6/7 times a day...just like the airlines.

[FightOnRon]

Since my first CCL cruise is next year,,not from them,,but for HAL yes. I saw a great price,,called my friends in Pennslyvania that were cruising with me. They got to thier travel agent in 15 minutes, got the price. I got to mine in 20 minutes,,price had gone up 50 bucks pp. I even had the printout price when I had left home,,did no good.

[5waldos]

Do you suppose that checking websites other than Carnival would also push up the price? (should your theory be correct) Maybe I'd better stop checking the prices on our upcoming cruise and maybe the price will drop.

[Tennessee Rose]

We just had a small price drop on our first cruise ever (Jan. 30th) so I went online to do the claim for the difference. On the claim form you had to choose either OBC or room upgrade. Since I had no idea which was the better choice, I called our pvp to ask her. She told me we could get a small upgrade, but if it was her she would ask for the obc. She said this about 4 times. So, that's what I asked for and got. What I'm wondering is, how do you know which to choose? And was she steering me correctly to choose the obc?

 

We have an interior middle-of-the-ship 4C and could have gotten a very back of the ship OV with having to pay a little bit extra over our price difference we were claiming. Since I've read those cabins have a lot more motion and not sure whether either of us will have problems with motion sickness since we've never cruised, I didn't want to give up our "least motionless" room. If the ov had been mid-ship, of course I would have taken that. I just don't know how or what to look at to gauge when it's better to take the obc or an upgrade. Can someone explain this to a newbie who's never even been on a ship??

Thanks!

[Tennessee Rose]

I filed that claim online at night and checked the website again the next morning and the price had gone up---more than it was originally! Glad I did the claim that night and didn't wait until the next morning. The PVP did encourage me to do it right away when I called her.

[uppitycats]

Yep. Travel prices fluctuate wildly, even in minutes. I was on the phone with my TA once, both of us had an airline schedule and price on our comptuer screens and we were discussing the benefits/risks of a different flight...and while we were watching, the price jumped $50. We took a deep breath and grabbed it before it went up again! :)

[CruzVinnieCruz]

If a company utilizes it's data it gathers computers can/should change pricing models to maximize revenue. We fly standby for my DW's airline and the last time we traveled to Europe we watch the public website and the employee travel site. In a eight hour period we have seen ticket prices go from $1600 to $299 (and in between) for a coach seat.