What's the likelihood of price drops on longer (8+ day) cruises?

[Baby_Bear]

Leaving for my first RCI cruise in about 3 weeks which is a short 4-nighter to Cozumel. We are already thinking that if we like the RCI experience, we might book another cruise for August or Sep. Looking at the 9-day Explorer of the Seas sailings out of Bayonne, which go to some nice ports like Bermuda, Labadee, etc. which we haven't been to.

 

On our upcoming cruise, we are in a JS. Looking at the same category for the 9-dayer and its pretty reasonable. The cost to go to a GS is $1,000 pp, however. I'm cruising with my mom and was thinking she would like the extra space and also it might be nice to have the GS on a longer cruise for all the perks and free drinks in the Concierge Lounge, etc. but its kinda hard to justify $2K more for me. In your experience, do the prices tend to come down for the slightly longer cruises? Where it could be cheaper to upgrade? Or is it all a crapshoot?

[cruzsnooze]

13 1/2 %

Edited May 5, 2014 by cruzsnooze

[Sabnitron]

It's all supply and demand. We can't guess the future.

[Ken at the beach]

2k can buy a lot of drinks. I would not pay that much. No predicting price drops. Same ship, same itinerary one week apart and they could have totally different prices.

 

I would book the JS and keep watching prices and hope to upgrade but be prepared to stay in the JS.

[papaflamingo]

Prices fluctuate with demand. But the important thing know is that you can always get the lower price, with a couple of exceptions, anytime prior to final payment. After final payment you can usually upgrade. If the JS is reasonable, then book it and secure your cabin and the cruise. Then watch it and look for a price drop. If it drops, take advantage. Usually the GS and above sell out. But you never know. We had a JS on Oasis in Sep. last year, and was able to upgrade 3 weeks out to a Crown Loft for only $300 total!

Now, here is the caveat. Sometimes the "deal" is "new bookings only." If that is the case you won't be able to get it, even as an upgrade.

So, yes, it's a "crapshoot." Depends on how badly you want to go. If you really want to go on the cruise, take the cabin you want and see how it goes. If you don't care, then wait. If the price drops, you go, if not, you don't. But again, the GS and above usually sell out and don't drop that often, depends on the cruise and dates.

[Baby_Bear]

It's all supply and demand. We can't guess the future.

 

I'm not asking anyone to guess the future, just asking what people's experiences have been, what they have seen, etc. On my previous Carnival cruises, a lot of people did have good luck scoring upgrades at reduced rates, but I know it can vary from line to line.

[Baby_Bear]

2k can buy a lot of drinks. I would not pay that much. No predicting price drops. Same ship, same itinerary one week apart and they could have totally different prices.

 

I would book the JS and keep watching prices and hope to upgrade but be prepared to stay in the JS.

 

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. Its not just for the drinks (if we drank $2k of drinks in 9 days, we'd probably wind up dead or hospitalized, lol), but more for the extra space. But it does seem a lot to pay for some extra real estate. I guess we'll see how the upcoming cruise goes and see if we are OK space-wise, etc. I remember on my first cruise which was on HAL, they had an awesome flash sale and we got a deluxe suite at a great price. But I guess we got lucky...problem is, when you score great deals sometimes, you start hoping for them every time! :D

[Baby_Bear]

Prices fluctuate with demand. But the important thing know is that you can always get the lower price, with a couple of exceptions, anytime prior to final payment. After final payment you can usually upgrade. If the JS is reasonable, then book it and secure your cabin and the cruise. Then watch it and look for a price drop. If it drops, take advantage. Usually the GS and above sell out. But you never know. We had a JS on Oasis in Sep. last year, and was able to upgrade 3 weeks out to a Crown Loft for only $300 total!

Now, here is the caveat. Sometimes the "deal" is "new bookings only." If that is the case you won't be able to get it, even as an upgrade.

So, yes, it's a "crapshoot." Depends on how badly you want to go. If you really want to go on the cruise, take the cabin you want and see how it goes. If you don't care, then wait. If the price drops, you go, if not, you don't. But again, the GS and above usually sell out and don't drop that often, depends on the cruise and dates.

 

Thanks for the advice, $300 to upgrade, that sounds amazing!

[Ken at the beach]

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. Its not just for the drinks (if we drank $2k of drinks in 9 days, we'd probably wind up dead or hospitalized, lol), but more for the extra space. But it does seem a lot to pay for some extra real estate. I guess we'll see how the upcoming cruise goes and see if we are OK space-wise, etc. I remember on my first cruise which was on HAL, they had an awesome flash sale and we got a deluxe suite at a great price. But I guess we got lucky...problem is, when you score great deals sometimes, you start hoping for them every time! :D

 

We have stayed in a few JS's and personally I think it is a great space for 2 people.

 

2 years ago we stayed with the 4 of us in an inside and it was OK but then we made he mistake of getting 2 cabins and that was even better. Now we are up to 2 cabins with one being a JS. Can't imagine ever going back to 4 of us in an inside.

[Baby_Bear]

Oh I totally agree, you can't go back! I think our first cruise totally spoiled us - besides the Concierge Lounge on HAL, we also got free laundry, and tons of other goodies. But it was such a good price, it was worthwhile, I could not imagine having paid full price. The JS does look a nice size.

[Silverhues]

If you can get the JS for what you feel is a reasonable price, and you would be happy with that cabin, I wouldn't delay too long in booking it. We are booked for the 9 nighter on the Explorer at the end of September. We booked in March during the kids sail free promo and got an amazing deal on an RFS for 8 of us. I have continued to follow prices on other cabins for this date in case we could get other family members to join us, and for the last month or so, suites of any kind, as well as balcony rooms, have not been available, and prices of outside and inside rooms have increased dramatically.

[Life is Good Cruising]

The cruise you are looking at for $2000 more is in August and that is considered peak time.

 

It's usually only about $800-$1000 total for 2 people to upgrade from JS to GS on Explorer, non peak season, for the 9 Nights Bermuda & Caribbean out of Bayonne. I see there are 5 GS left for the August sailing and as the GS go, very rarely will the price go down, if anything the price will go up, supply and demand.

 

The one 9 night Bermuda & Caribbean sailing in Sept and the 2 in Oct. looks like all JS and above are sold out for now. Final payment for the Sept cruise is July 12th, so you can start checking a few days after that if you want the Sept. cruise.

 

As others have said a JS is plenty of room for 2 people. I wish you luck, you never know, people do cancel after the final payment date for many reasons, you may get lucky.