Price discounts after final payment date

[S&B]

I have been looking at HAL cruises within the 90 days after final payment and have discovered that even though there are a lot of cabins available there does not seem to be the lower discount prices as was seen last year. Has anyone else noticed this? I am looking at the Europe sailings. I remember last year there were 11 day cruises for 1399.00 in the Med. and those prices were before the final payment date. Not this year so far.

[Randyk47]

So hard to tell. Med cruises are almost a creature of their own in that they don't respond to lack in demand like other itineraries especially Caribbean and Alaskan because of basic supply and demand. Right now Med cruises seem to be holding their own in terms of fares but demand appears to be down. Doesn't help that airfares seem to be holding steady, if not increasing, in light of lower fuel cost and a weaker Euro. Go figure. It's a guessing, hoping, and praying game and sometimes it comes together sometimes not. A head scratcher for sure.

[S&B]

Sorry, I should have been more exact. I meant 1399 for a guarantee balcony.

Randy, anxious to look at your pictures. I always enjoy looking at pics of where people have taken their vacations.

[Randyk47]

Sorry, I should have been more exact. I meant 1399 for a guarantee balcony.

Randy, anxious to look at your pictures. I always enjoy looking at pics of where people have taken their vacations.

 

Guarantees are only a cost savings if you get a higher category when a cruise line actually goes to assign cabins. To me it's "cabin lotto", sometimes you win and get a higher and therefore hopefully better cabin and sometimes you don't get a higher cabin and get what you booked at the standard fare. Not fond of guarantees as we really like to pick a specific cabin.

 

Enjoy our webpage. All credit goes to Mrs. K as she really is the author and webmaster. Some pictures are mine but the rest is her doing. :)

Edited February 2, 2015 by Randyk47

[iancal]

One way to verify the Med market pricing is to follow pricing on a few ships/cruise lines. It might give you more insight into the market.

 

In the past, looking for a verandah, we found that Celebrity drops first, then HAL, followed by Princess. Having said that, the RCI pricing for our Med cruise this past Oct. was by far the best offering of the bunch by a long shot.

 

We set a target price. When it hits we book, after checking for air. After we are locked in any further price changes do not matter to us. We have found that air has not been a problem either. Our experience has been that air prices 60-30 days out seem to be the same as six-nine months out.

Edited February 2, 2015 by iancal

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I have been looking at HAL cruises within the 90 days after final payment and have discovered that even though there are a lot of cabins available there does not seem to be the lower discount prices as was seen last year. Has anyone else noticed this? I am looking at the Europe sailings. I remember last year there were 11 day cruises for 1399.00 in the Med. and those prices were before the final payment date. Not this year so far.

 

Don't forget that when you see lots of available cabins, that many may be unassigned guarantees. They leave cabins available to those who want to book specific cabins at higher rates, then assign the guarantees later on with what is left over.

 

I understand that Med pricing often seems to defy that of other regions, but the cruise you are looking at may be far more heavily booked (with guarantees) than it appears. That could be one reason prices are remaining high.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Ryndam2002
clarity