Last time I book early with Celebrity

[hulamoon]

My hope is there will be a better service for
These price checking activities soon.

[hulamoon]

[quote name='bighairtexan']I'm enjoying the pig-sick and sheep-sick terms if nothing else. Just sayin'.[/QUOTE]

Does this mean the pig is about to be bacon?

[hulamoon]

[quote name='rockdoctor']My experience with Celebrity has been that if I spend more money, I can keep the perks. Of course this can be bad news since, as many others have said, once you cruise in a suite it's hard to go back to a balcony.

The flip side is that suites on the cruises I'm watching went up over 1000$ yesterday to compensate for the free companion air fare.

I have a friend who helped write the original yield management code they use to calculate fares. Google it, it's a fascinating methodology.

Have a great cruise![/QUOTE]

When they post a standard fare and I pay it, I get to keep benefits. But I have not been able to if I pay a lot more and it is a residential rate. Is this what you mean?

[fleckle]

[quote name='CruisingChick']..........The Thursday evening before we left (we left Sunday morning), prices for insides, outsides and verandas all dropped. Now how many people can book a 2 week cruise that close to sailing? [/quote][FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=3]Thousands can, especially if they are retired or have seasonal jobs or the type of job that can be done anywhere, even on a cruise ship.

They don't necessarily even need to live close to a cruise port.
Some people who vacation on land close to a cruise port have been known to add on a cruise at the last minute when a good deal comes along, or someone who is already on a cruise may decide to add on another and make it a B2B, either on the same ship or by changing ships.

[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Rob the Cruiser]

[quote name='mickey89']Wow, I have really hit a nerve with this post. Affraid to make further comment as the Administrators don't like adverse critisism.[/QUOTE]

Please continue. Like BigHairTexan, I'm leaning a new vocabulary. :cool:

[hulamoon]

Mickey...the op.

Please do not fear coming back and telling us the rest of the story. As you can see some people keep shopping or look to upgrade. Some people won't. Many are more stoic than I am. I would also wonder what my options may or may not be with that big of a difference. Celebrity changes a lot and I for one am interested in how it turned out.

[patty1955]

[quote name='bighairtexan']I'm enjoying the pig-sick and sheep-sick terms if nothing else. Just sayin'.[/quote]
Yeah, but you're in Texas. We don't expect any better.

[wallie5446]

[quote name='patty1955']Yeah, but you're in Texas. We don't expect any better.[/quote]

Pat,
Thats baaaaaaaaaaaadddddddd:D
But I do seem to remember that she was orginally from California, were you not Sharron? Or was it New Yoak?

[JasonV1]

[quote name='hulamoon']My hope is there will be a better service for

These price checking activities soon.[/QUOTE]


There is a website that does it near real time. You can view prices for free on the site, but if you want immediate notification when a price drop (or increase, or category becomes available, or if a resident rate pops up) happens it costs a small amount per cruise (about a cup of cheap coffee).

I have used the site for a couple of years and it is wonderful as it is all automatic. Inventory related price drops can happen at any time, and quickly expire once inventory falls.

Google cruise price tracking and you'll find it (can't post it here).

[need2bespoiled]

[quote name='hulamoon']Some fishy sites do not tell you what is standard or residential rate. Mine never seem to get back to me! Sure the info is easy but for me to check five booking rates daily for year is a nuisance. Maybe not the checking but the mulling it all over. Lol

In the olden days the TA upgraded us when there was a price drop!! Wow that really did happen.[/QUOTE]

My advise involves 12 steps if will power alone does not work. You're going to drive yourself crazy! Between price drops and which cabin to book vacationing is causing you too much stress. It should be fun with the anticipation adding to the enjoyment.

What did you decide on you're b2b?

Happy sailing,
Jenna

[blindrid]

[quote name='Cruise Raider']MY DH always says, don't even check the prices once final payment has been made. He is right....no sense in making yourself sick about it. If you were happy enough with the price and choice made when paying that final payment, then you won't be disappointed as long as you don't check on pricing. Ignorance is bliss. ;)[/QUOTE]

That's my philosophy exactly. Once I book, I make sure I have enough sunscreen, never looking back.

[s1amblue]

[quote name='hulamoon']Does this mean the pig is about to be bacon?[/QUOTE]


No, only healthy pigs get to be bacon:) take it from a farm girl.... :)
Uh, on topic.... This week is "cruise week" and I checked all 6 of my early booked sailings (ON SHIP bookings - xtra perks seem to be worth it!)
Wow, cruise week super-specials, three perks etc. Etc. Guess what? ALL were much higher than we booked - even calculating in the value of the perk we would have spent A LOT more for those bennies! That said, last Fall we booked a cruise within 30 days of sailing with guaranteed concierge & got a great cabin at a rate that made me want to go around yelling hooray! AND if we could have stayed on board for the BCN- FLL TA we would have been sailing for less than a 7 day Caribbean! I only look after final payment for cruises I might want to book, not one's I already have!

[need2bespoiled]

[quote name='s1amblue']

Snip

I only look after final payment for cruises I might want to book, not one's I already have![/QUOTE]

Good advice.

Happy sailing,
Jenna

[hulamoon]

There is a reason one would check, and that is if you were considering upgrading or wanted to research booking opportunities,trends, or what months tended to be good months to book a cruise.

I followed, or stalked fares on a few to have an idea of what I thought I wanted and what I would pay. I have a solid idea of what works for us value wise in AQ, SS and S1.

Now that we are experimenting with upper suites, to book occasionally, we are out of comfort zone, as I never followed those fares! Lol

So no Jenna, no decision yet on upgrading to RS verses staying in fully exposed AQ. Lol., But I follow it every day, just in case...there are four left.:) I greatly enjoy imagining saving the two grand verses spending and how that would feel.
Having never seen one, I think that is different for me. I know them only on S.

Now...that fishing site, I think some improvements can be made. My line never zings and I have quite a few hooks out there.

I promise, I will not over stress. Some parts of me enjoy the figuring it out, learning, reading about others and being inspired by their cruise styles. I will try a more zen approach!

[BEAV]

[quote name='mickey89']Wow, I have really hit a nerve with this post. Affraid to make further comment as the Administrators don't like adverse critisism.[/QUOTE]

Aren't you the same poster who last year reported you had successfully prepaid on line -- [I]in advance[/I] -- the $29 per day Ultimate Dining Package? But then was unwilling to share with the community how you accomplished it?

[need2bespoiled]

[quote name='hulamoon']There is a reason one would check, and that is if you were considering upgrading or wanted to research booking opportunities,trends, or what months tended to be good months to book a cruise.



I followed, or stalked fares on a few to have an idea of what I thought I wanted and what I would pay. I have a solid idea of what works for us value wise in AQ, SS and S1.



Now that we are experimenting with upper suites, to book occasionally, we are out of comfort zone, as I never followed those fares! Lol



So no Jenna, no decision yet on upgrading to RS verses staying in fully exposed AQ. Lol., But I follow it every day, just in case...there are four left.:) I greatly enjoy imagining saving the two grand verses spending and how that would feel.

Having never seen one, I think that is different for me. I know them only on S.



Now...that fishing site, I think some improvements can be made. My line never zings and I have quite a few hooks out there.



I promise, I will not over stress. Some parts of me enjoy the figuring it out, learning, reading about others and being inspired by their cruise styles. I will try a more zen approach![/QUOTE]



Decisions, decision. I honestly still look too, for upgrades after final booking, but there are some cruises where I'm totally wasting my time looking even a year before final payment. After final payment is even a bigger waste of my time. We have a couple of Panama Canal cruises booked with every suite sold out, chances of an upgrade where we don't pay through the roof on these already expensive itineraries is 0. On our B2B next month, if the upgrade to the aft suite came down enough, I'd upgrade from our port side mid-ship suite :D
We're after final payments and suites are below opening price and what we paid, though not by much.

I wonder if the OP will come back and participate or if this was a whine and run post.

My experience, sailings that are common like the Caribbean non-holiday will generally have last minute price drops. Less common itineraries like trans pac with Hawaii, South America, Antartica, Panama Canal, at least in upper end cabins will generally sell out and have big price increases.

Happy sailing,
Jenna


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Edited October 8, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[Red J]

Just tonight I was a glutton for punishment and peeked at the fares for my upcoming cruise. Sure enough the price had dropped slightly which bummed me out for a moment, but then I checked airfares for that same week and those had tripled. If I'd waited to book until now we wouldn't be going!

Even if you don't have to fly there are always going to be variables like perks or cabin availability that impact the total cost at any given time. As long as you're going on a cruise you want for a price you can afford that's all that should matter. It's not worth it to make yourself crazy with second guessing - I should know! (And to that end I won't be looking at my cruise's fare any more before we sail. :))

Jeanne

[jkgourmet]

[quote name='ECCruise']It depends what you mean by "booking early."
When we say that, it means booking, generally, within a week or so of itineraries being announced. We have 9 booked, the soonest next month (which we booked 19 months ago) through September 2016 (which we booked 2 weeks ago, 23 months out). We've been doing this for years and rarely have seen the last minute prices be lower than the price at which we booked. Many times (like now) we see prices go up to insane levels (we have cruises booked that it you booked them today would cost [I]double+[/I] what we are paying--of course you would get a "free" ;) booze package). So if the prices after final fall like a rock, they will still be more than we are paying.[/QUOTE]

As one who books from the US and nearly always in an inside guarantee cabin, I simply do not believe this. However, if you are booking top of the line, limited supply, cabins or (possibly) from another country, maybe. . .

[ECCruise]

[quote name='jkgourmet']As one who books from the US and nearly always in an inside guarantee cabin, I simply do not believe this. However, if you are booking top of the line, limited supply, cabins or (possibly) from another country, maybe. . .[/QUOTE]

Do you book those cruises within a week or so of the itineraries being released? Generally guarantees are not even available at the onset. We book nothing above balcony, often OV, never top of the line, but we do book cruises with more unique itineraries so maybe that is a factor? We do not sail in the Caribbean but do many TAs and Europe. You may not believe it but I can give you evidence on probably 40 or so of our 50 cruises and all of our 9 booked. Booking early has definitely been advantageous for us.

[mickey89]

[quote name='BEAV']Aren't you the same poster who last year reported you had successfully prepaid on line -- [I]in advance[/I] -- the $29 per day Ultimate Dining Package? But then was unwilling to share with the community how you accomplished it?[/QUOTE]

Just you you BEAV, suggest you re-visit that thread and read post #132

[poffles]

Interestingly, my cruise dropped in price and it's past final payment - dropped by about $400 pp for a balcony. When I booked it was immediately after they started offering 123 so I jumped on it and got the Drink Package and the cost was still at a typical balcony price (close to current) so had not inflated to cover the perk (yet). Fast forward a month or so and the cost jumped so much it was laughable and it interestingly stayed there until weeks after final payment date.

Like others suggested, I thought I'd look at getting a cabin upgrade to Aqua or something and figured with the Drink Package still being offered as a perk I wouldn't lose anything. Oh but wait, on closer inspection I discovered the current perks were only good on sailings past my sail date of Dec 6th which cracked me up.

For me I've now learned that sometimes what appears to be a better deal has some underlying loss somewhere else and you can't take all price differences at face value unless you want to give up any other perks you get with the initial booking. Sometimes it's better, often times it's not.

I'll keep my Drink Package and make sure I get my money's worth or at the very least have fun trying :D Edited October 8, 2014 by poffles

[jkgourmet]

[quote name='mickey89']Just you you BEAV, suggest you re-visit that thread and read post #132[/QUOTE]

Link, please - for the rest of us?

[mickey89]

[quote name='jkgourmet']Link, please - for the rest of us?[/QUOTE]

I don't know the Link, but I am sure that BEAV will he will be able to guide you.

[Killington]

[quote name='need2bespoiled']Decisions, decision.
My experience, sailings that are common like the Caribbean non-holiday will generally have last minute price drops. Less common itineraries like trans pac with Hawaii, South America, Antartica, Panama Canal, at least in upper end cabins will generally sell out and have big price increases.

Happy sailing,
Jenna


[/quote]

This paragraph reflects exactly the conclusion I have come to. We booked our 2013 Antarctica cruise 14 mths out and watched the prices rise, we currently have Panama Canal for Nov 2015 booked 16 mths out, already (2mths) the price for our 2B has gone up $820pp with the TA I used, suites sold out, AQ almost so.

When we want to do Europe with it's wide choice of ships and itineraries we will more likely go for last minute booking.

[hulamoon]

[quote name='need2bespoiled']Decisions, decision. I honestly still look too, for upgrades after final booking, but there are some cruises where I'm totally wasting my time looking even a year before final payment. After final payment is even a bigger waste of my time. We have a couple of Panama Canal cruises booked with every suite sold out, chances of an upgrade where we don't pay through the roof on these already expensive itineraries is 0. On our B2B next month, if the upgrade to the aft suite came down enough, I'd upgrade from our port side mid-ship suite :D
We're after final payments and suites are below opening price and what we paid, though not by much.

I wonder if the OP will come back and participate or if this was a whine and run post.

My experience, sailings that are common like the Caribbean non-holiday will generally have last minute price drops. Less common itineraries like trans pac with Hawaii, South America, Antartica, Panama Canal, at least in upper end cabins will generally sell out and have big price increases.

Happy sailing,
Jenna


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
I have also been on those cruises where I am wasting my time. With everything being equal, I try to book the least populated sailing, we go off season etc.
Once we had three 14 to 12 days in different parts of the world within a very short window. At that time I was not used to looking for drops before 120 days out. I was tracking the cruise we were on the soonest and missed a big drop that happened eight months out on another. We ended up sailing in an SV for a little more than AQ went for after the drop. I found my satisfaction just a little less on that cruise! Lol sometimes I hear of a drop from an East coaster on the roll call before I do my daily search.

TA's used to have great price drops, but I noticed this fall they didn't drop the way they used to. We are scheduling the Caribbean now until we see it all, our first decade of cruising was Europe and we will go back, we just wanted to see the Caribbean before further ocean degradation.

The tide may have changed and it is now better to book early, early, over 12 months out and start with the cabin you wish to end up with. Unless one can do a last minute.

The OP is here, he just hasn't written his outcome yet.

Now to check the daily rates, on five cruises with my morning cup of tea. Oh the joys of planning. :)