Past Cruiser vs Early Saver rate

[bonvoyageET]

We are about to book our second cruise. Here's our question, were the price drops in 2012 unprecedented due to Carnival problems? just wondering if that was typical or not. We are looking at the Sunshine in May.

 

Thanks!

[HappyAboard]

Can't really go wrong with the early saver can you? From what I have seen price drops will depend on how fast the particular ship is filling up for that particular sale date. Bad press will impact how fast a ship is filling up, but there are other factors that impact how popular a particular ship/sailing date/itinerary/home port is.

[riffatsea]

Hi,

You can take advantage or price drops even if you don't book early saver! It is only after final payment that you won't get price drops with the other options but do get them with Early Saver.

So far for our April cruise we have had 2 price drops that = about $200 off of our original price. We have just made final payment so no more price drops for us this time around.

[NCTribeFan]

Well, plenty of people DO go wrong with Early Saver. So many people book this just because it's usually the lowest fare and don't read the restrictions. Then, if they need to cancel or someone can't go, they get all annoyed with Carnival because there are penalties.

 

No one can say whether prices will drop or not. It just depends on what the market is doing. My crystal ball isn't working very well these days. ;)

 

And, yes, up until final payment, anyone can get a price drop if they qualify for a fare. I rarely book ES, so I simply stop looking at the fares once final payment has passed.

 

If you think there may be any reason why you don't want the ES restrictions, then don't book ES. But even if you do, you should realize that you may not have any price drops. If not, that just means you booked at the right price at the right time.