Do prices tend to drop after final payment is due?

[Basman]

We are planning a cruise on the FOTS to do the Eastern Caribbean and are final payment is next week. This particular cruise is priced a bit higher than the ones around it. I have some family that would like to join us but are concerned about the higher prices. Especially when looking at some of the other cruises. Due to constraints, this is the only cruise we can schedule.

 

 

My question is, if they wait until after final payment is due, do the prices tend to drop? My thinking is there might be enough people sitting on the fence that cancel and get their deposits back, thus dropping the price a little.

 

 

Thanks for any input from those who may track the prices closer than I have.

[Merion_Mom]

Price drops depend on bookings. If the staff at Royal Caribbean is happy with the rate of paid bookings, they will not drop prices. If they want to goose sales, they may.

 

Final payment due next week means that your cruise is at the very end of September, yes? Definitely "low season" for cruises. You may indeed see a price drop, though not necessarily immediately.

[R_i_c_h]

Simple answer? Yes. You usually see big discounts for new bookings. One thing you risk is that your preferred cabins or even categories may not be available. Also, there is a chance that you won't see the big discount if the sailing has sold enough cabins.

 

Rich

[Basman]

Thanks for the replies. Merion Mom, I checked my documents and FP is the 26th for our 10/09 cruise. Below is a graph that shows our cruise prices spiked especially for inside cabins. It was only $170 difference between an inside and a D1. While we prefer inside cabins, this was a no brainer.

[bajathree]

If you/they are willing to go for a Guaranty cabin then you can almost bet you will see lower prices down the line.

[rncruiser]

Prices may drop, but it doesn't mean they will be lower than when you booked. Prices change several times from the time they are first posted. Whether or not they drop for you depends on how much you paid when you booked. For example, I have gotten price drops of $400 pp because I booked when the price was high. My last cruise, I booked a year in advance and the price was low. It went up afterwards and when it came down, it was still far above what I had paid. In other words, a price change for one person can be a rise in price for another.

[patseacruiser]

Yes is not always the correct answer. It totally depends on how the ship is selling. I am on something that sails in two weeks. Prices have done nothing but rise. I have also seen ships sell out if you wait to long. There is just no crystal ball for it unless you see what the availability is and then try to judge it. Check the Tuesday sales after final payment and then jump.

[maxs mom]

We've gotten some nice deals by waiting until last minute. Great if you can do that. Depends on how the ship is selling out. Go to the RC website and see how many cabins are left in the different categories. That should give you an idea about how your cruise is selling. We're booking just about all of our cruises this way now since you don't get anything back after final payment. Not all.....just some of them.

[bajathree]

We've gotten some nice deals by waiting until last minute. Great if you can do that. Depends on how the ship is selling out. Go to the RC website and see how many cabins are left in the different categories. That should give you an idea about how your cruise is selling. We're booking just about all of our cruises this way now since you don't get anything back after final payment. Not all.....just some of them.

 

That is GREAT advice.....there are even sites out there if you do a search that will show you even much better availability.

[KITKAT0229]

We have a mid September cruise, not on the Freedom, but the prices have been the same for about the last 2 months. Prices did not lower after final payment, at least not yet.

 

We were considering the Freedom. When we were trying to decide I did notice that they are priced a bit higher than some other cruises. I think they are priced higher due to their recent enhancements.

 

I waited a bit to book, and then a good cabin opened up that motivated us to go ahead. Good luck!

[stanjj111]

Simple answer? Yes. You usually see big discounts for new bookings. One thing you risk is that your preferred cabins or even categories may not be available. Also, there is a chance that you won't see the big discount if the sailing has sold enough cabins.

 

Rich

 

Booked a repositioning right after it opened in order to get the cabin I wanted. However, the price was actually higher than a similar trip that is going in 2011 rather than the one I booked in 2012. I am following the price. If it drops I will go. If not will cancel before final payment is due.

[stanjj111]

Thanks for the replies. Merion Mom, I checked my documents and FP is the 26th for our 10/09 cruise. Below is a graph that shows our cruise prices spiked especially for inside cabins. It was only $170 difference between an inside and a D1. While we prefer inside cabins, this was a no brainer.

 

How were you able to follow your info on this graph. If you cannot mention this on the boards please send info to stan.ttcc@yahoo.com

 

Thank you. Stan

[sailingawaysoon]

Our upcoming Freedom of the Seas cruise for August 28 had a price drop last week. We had already paid in full and the representative on the phone gave us a better category balcony room. In the past when we've seen price drops after final payment, we've called and typically got onboard credit. I'm happy with the better category room. It's a little bigger then what we had initially. Have a great cruise. You will love the Freedom!

[Desert Cruizers]

In our few cruises and we do book early, any price drops never has benifited us, because when the Port fees, Insurance and air if applicable are added in, we still have paid less. We book early to get our preferred cabin.

[oregand]

We've gotten some nice deals by waiting until last minute. Great if you can do that. Depends on how the ship is selling out. Go to the RC website and see how many cabins are left in the different categories. That should give you an idea about how your cruise is selling. We're booking just about all of our cruises this way now since you don't get anything back after final payment. Not all.....just some of them.

 

Where can you see on the site how many cabins are left?

[cadburysmom]

How do price drops after final payment affect guarantees?

 

Say I book an inside guarantee at $500 and am still waiting for a cabin assignment when the price for a balcony drops to $400. Does this mean I now qualify for the balcony cabin and can call to request one?

[milton333]

Depends on the ship and the sailing, and how well it's selling.

 

We booked FOS 8 months in advance. Our final payment was June 28, I believe.

 

Over the course of the last 8 months, the E1 cabins have drifted around very little, and are now about $150/pp (1st/2nd pax) higher than when I booked, but mostly $50 up, $50 down, just very slight variability, no noticeable increase or drop following final payment date.

 

My parents booked a promenade room, however, and the price of that category has skyrocketed, including an increase of at least $50 after final payment, possibly $100 (I'm not positive of the exact dates when the prices jumped, this has been within the last few weeks). Right now, a promenade room is going for $50/pp (1st/2nd pax) more than what we booked our balcony room for, or nearly double what my parents paid for it in Jan.

 

I'll be keeping an eye open as we get closer, but I have been surprised to see really no downward movement on the categories I'm watching, and, indeed, some surprising increases.

[Merion_Mom]

Where can you see on the site how many cabins are left?

 

Just go to rccl.com (when it is working; trying using IE instead of firefox) and go through all the steps of booking your cruise. You'll see up to 15 cabins in each category.

 

How do price drops after final payment affect guarantees?

 

Say I book an inside guarantee at $500 and am still waiting for a cabin assignment when the price for a balcony drops to $400. Does this mean I now qualify for the balcony cabin and can call to request one?

 

Yes.

[cadburysmom]

Thanks Merion Mom. :)

 

Another question....

 

If I were to book an inside guarantee and didn't like the cabin they assigned me, is it true I can ask for another cabin if available in the same category assigned without having to pay more? Or if no better choices available within that category, I could pay the price difference for an assignment in a higher category?

 

I've never booked a "guarantee" before as I like to know where my cabin will be beforehand. Guessing it's even a roll of the dice that I'll even be assigned a cabin within a timeframe that would allow me to change cabins?

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks Merion Mom. :)

 

Another question....

 

If I were to book an inside guarantee and didn't like the cabin they assigned me, is it true I can ask for another cabin if available in the same category assigned without having to pay more? Or if no better choices available within that category, I could pay the price difference for an assignment in a higher category?

 

I've never booked a "guarantee" before as I like to know where my cabin will be beforehand. Guessing it's even a roll of the dice that I'll even be assigned a cabin within a timeframe that would allow me to change cabins?

 

When you book a guarantee, you MUST MUST MUST be willing to accept the "worst" cabin in that category. If you can't live with that, you should not book a guarantee.

 

Some people have been able to call and switch their cabin (say, a promenade or PR cabin) from one PR to another PR. But you have to be willing to hear the answer "NO" without complaining.

 

You can upgrade yourself by paying more money, but you will pay at the price that they are advertising then, whatever it may be.

[cadburysmom]

When you book a guarantee, you MUST MUST MUST be willing to accept the "worst" cabin in that category. If you can't live with that, you should not book a guarantee.

 

Some people have been able to call and switch their cabin (say, a promenade or PR cabin) from one PR to another PR. But you have to be willing to hear the answer "NO" without complaining.

 

You can upgrade yourself by paying more money, but you will pay at the price that they are advertising then, whatever it may be.

Hmm...I see your point. Thanks.

 

My problem is that the only assigned cabin category starts with balcony. All inside and oceanviews are guarantees only. No balcony guarantees either. I'm thinking I should just bite the bullet and pay more for the lowest priced assigned balcony and be done with it. Better to spend a little more for a cabin I know I'll like as opposed to getting stuck in a cabin I hate.:cool:

 

Thanks again.

[Basman]

Stan,

 

Here is a clearer view of the chart. Figuring out how to get this posted was challenging.

 

The way I created it was by going to the travel websites, mainly the one with the gnomes and sorta rhymes with "gravel off old biddies." Once you select your cruise and ship, they show you 5 cruise prices. There is an option "View" that shows you all the cruises for that itinerary. Next I copy all the cruises and past it into Excel.

 

I repeated it for all the Freedom 7 day cruises. One itinerary had two variations. Once I got the three data grabs into Excel, I manually organized by date and merged them together. From there I was able to generate the graph below:

 

 

That is the basics, not too hard to do. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Merion_Mom]

How do price drops after final payment affect guarantees?

 

Say I book an inside guarantee at $500 and am still waiting for a cabin assignment when the price for a balcony drops to $400. Does this mean I now qualify for the balcony cabin and can call to request one?

 

Tell me what ship you want to book. Some ships have NO bad cabins. :)

[cadburysmom]

Allure of the Seas

 

I'll be traveling with friends but in a cabin by myself so have to pay single supplement as well. :cool:

[bajathree]

Hmm...I see your point. Thanks.

 

My problem is that the only assigned cabin category starts with balcony. All inside and oceanviews are guarantees only. No balcony guarantees either. I'm thinking I should just bite the bullet and pay more for the lowest priced assigned balcony and be done with it. Better to spend a little more for a cabin I know I'll like as opposed to getting stuck in a cabin I hate.:cool:

 

Thanks again.

 

If you are talking about Oasis/Allure....Cat Z's often get assigned as Boardwalk or Central park balconies....but that's not a definite....if you are a single I would be looking to book a Cat Z Guar....unless you know for sure you want a ocean view balcony.