When to book Pride out of Baltimore ?

[PAERRN20]

I have my eye on the May 29th, 2011 sailing of Pride to FL/Bahamas. The fun saver fare is $649 right now. Should I book now or will fares go lower in the fall?

[rrraydon]

It's hard to tell. They might just go up. But, if they do go down, I think as long as it's before final payment you can call Carnival and get a price match.

 

If that's not the case, I'm sure someone will correct me. ;)

[PAERRN20]

Thanks!

[djhsolara]

We sail Pride next month. We booked back in April at what we considered a great price and the price has only gone up since then.

[golfadj]

They can go up or down depending upon how the cruise is selling.

 

You just never know.

[DocF]

I have my eye on the May 29th, 2011 sailing of Pride to FL/Bahamas. The fun saver fare is $649 right now. Should I book now or will fares go lower in the fall?

 

This ship has sailed virtually at capacity for every cruise since it started sailing from Baltimore. That tells me the fares will go up, not down.

 

Doc

[littlesnit]

We cruise in October of this year. Rates for our cabin category have increased in increments to $190 more pp since we booked a few months ago.

[zerooveride]

I sailed October 4th last year and we booked an 8K Extended Balcony Room 7219 for $599/pp on September 8th. 4 Weeks prior. Great deal. The Pride was a great trip and I hope you get Kirk and Jamie as CD/ACD!

[CrusinCyndi]

DH and I booked the pride for October 2011 to Bermuda. Yes October 2011. I check the website everyday and since I booked a month ago when the sailing first became available, the prices have gone UP $50.00. So who knows what/how Carnival does things.

[trptplayer22]

I booked in Feb. for the Sept. 5. I paid 709.00 and now the price for the same room is 819.00. It's hit or miss.

[bythehex]

I have my eye on the May 29th, 2011 sailing of Pride to FL/Bahamas. The fun saver fare is $649 right now. Should I book now or will fares go lower in the fall?

 

I booked my Sept. 12th cruise back in March. It's gone up in price almost $200 per person since then. I would book early, it's doubtful the price will go down and more likely the price will go up.

[richstowe]

We booked for our Jan/11 Pride cruise just over two months ago. We booked with one of the huge on-line travel companies(think P). Since then

the price has gone down twice and our agent matched these reductions with no fuss at all. Last week Carnival offered another deal where we upgraded from obstructed view(7A) to extended balcony (8J) for a reasonable price. Again our agent revised our booking almost instantly

after a short e-mail.I may have gotten a very nice agent but I believe

this is normal.Untill final payment is due it seems that this on-line agency

(which I actually spoke to by phone and on-line) is more then filling to

match Carnivals prices. It is up to you to watch current prices.

[golfadj]

This ship has sailed virtually at capacity for every cruise since it started sailing from Baltimore. That tells me the fares will go up, not down.

 

Doc

 

Actually I think you are wrong with your analysis. Carnival always sails at capacity.

 

In order to do so they will adjust rates downward if they need to fill the ship. If the sailing is selling well they will raise the prices.

 

The end result is who the heck knows what will happen to the rates. That is why I like ES rates.

[richstowe]

Actually I think you are wrong with your analysis. Carnival always sails at capacity.

 

In order to do so they will adjust rates downward if they need to fill the ship. If the sailing is selling well they will raise the prices.

 

The end result is who the heck knows what will happen to the rates. That is why I like ES rates.

I know that ES rates are supposed to be the lowest. How often are ES rates matched later because of price drops and sales? If you are guaranteed the best price with ES rates and prices drop do you get your money back or is it OBC

[snydermann]

We booked an 8J cabin in June 2010 for October 24, 2010 sailing.

 

Room is now $250.00 pp more than we paid.

 

It looks like prices jumped and deals declined for 10/24/2010 when CCL cancelled the two November sailings. You never know what might happen.

[golfadj]

I know that ES rates are supposed to be the lowest. How often are ES rates matched later because of price drops and sales? If you are guaranteed the best price with ES rates and prices drop do you get your money back or is it OBC

 

When pricing is close to my current cost I will check daily. On a recent cruise we got three credits before price started going back up.

 

You get a refund in obc.

 

I do not understand your first question though.

[dmwnc1959]

I have my eye on the May 29th, 2011 sailing of Pride to FL/Bahamas. The fun saver fare is $649 right now. Should I book now or will fares go lower in the fall?

 

Being as that is Memorial Day Weekend and the official beginning of Summer I would not expect prices to go any lower.

[richstowe]

When pricing is close to my current cost I will check daily. On a recent cruise we got three credits before price started going back up.

 

You get a refund in obc.

 

I do not understand your first question though.

I was asking if the ES price usually is the best price ever offered. In other words how

often do various deals and offers end up beating a ES price that was offered many months before?

[PAcruiser25]

Personally I think it is a little early to book for May. Maybe see how many cabins are left in the category you would like. Schools (K-12) are still in session so maybe the rates will go down some more.

If you are in the position that you can book Early Saver I don't think you can go wrong.

[Emilycat]

Back on April 30th, through a AAA travel agent, I booked the Jan 9, 2011, Carnival Pride cruise. I chose Cat 8E, Verandah . I purchased the Early Saver Fare at $629 PP. On July 8th the price dropped to $609 pp. All I had to do was contact the travel agent and she submitted a Price Protection claim. In a few days I received an adjusted invoice showing the deduction of the $20. Then on July 16th the price dropped again to $589 pp. And I again received a new invoice from AAA showing the adjusted total price. The early saver price is the lowest price and you are guaranteed the lower rate each time it drops. The lower rate must be for the same ship, sail date, and category. So you are guaranteed the lowest rate, It can always drop and then you benefit, and if it goes up you still will pay the lowest rate! This cruise started out with just my husband and I, but now we have 12 other couples who jumped at the early saver program and now there will be 26 of us celebrating my birthday which is the day the ships leaves Baltimore, Jan 9th!

[richstowe]

Back on April 30th, through a AAA travel agent, I booked the Jan 9, 2011, Carnival Pride cruise. I chose Cat 8E, Verandah . I purchased the Early Saver Fare at $629 PP. On July 8th the price dropped to $609 pp. All I had to do was contact the travel agent and she submitted a Price Protection claim. In a few days I received an adjusted invoice showing the deduction of the $20. Then on July 16th the price dropped again to $589 pp. And I again received a new invoice from AAA showing the adjusted total price. The early saver price is the lowest price and you are guaranteed the lower rate each time it drops. The lower rate must be for the same ship, sail date, and category. So you are guaranteed the lowest rate, It can always drop and then you benefit, and if it goes up you still will pay the lowest rate! This cruise started out with just my husband and I, but now we have 12 other couples who jumped at the early saver program and now there will be 26 of us celebrating my birthday which is the day the ships leaves Baltimore, Jan 9th!

Wow! Thats a crowd. Happy Bithday.

 

Going back to orig topic , on CC you read Baltimore is not a desirable port espec

in the Winter.I don't know.What I do know is my cruise price keeps dropping but

maybe this is standard. My hope is that N East ports,including Balt, continue to

have cruises year round.