Is black Friday the day to book?

[cruiseelady]

Anyone know is black Friday the best day of the year to book cruises? I need answers from experience, has anyone of you actually seen big price drops on that exact day in the past?

 

Thanks

[Deptacon]

I just booked a cruise for FEB17, I like the price and the UBP, but I am going to check back on black friday, and see if I can grab some better deals. Can always just get the savings back / perks added by calling.

 

I dont know from experiance, but have heard NCL does some black friday deals, historically....but more of the pros here may know better.

[escentialssoycandles]

I am generally on a cruiseship for Black Friday so I am curious. IF that is the case, I will go see the onboard Cruise Consultant as I have a couple to book.

[jmoak]

So if you have already booked and find a better deal then you can receive the better deal from Norwegian? We just booked our first cruise with nil and I wasn't sure if they would give you the better deal at no charge?

[BermudaBound2014]

I watch prices on Black Friday. Unless I have a very specific itinerary, I believe last minute is still the best deal.

[hawkeyetlse]

Anyone know is black Friday the best day of the year to book cruises? I need answers from experience, has anyone of you actually seen big price drops on that exact day in the past?

I have not seen price drops across the board, but in the past NCL has offered extra promotions on Black Friday (OBC, kids sail free, that sort of thing). Now these sales seem pretty piddling compared to the ongoing promotions that they have been running all year long. But I suspect they will still mark the occasion somehow (e.g. bring back two choices for a couple of days).

 

You may have better luck with specific TAs that sometimes offer Black Friday promotions for all their cruise bookings.

[cruiseelady]

I have not seen price drops across the board, but in the past NCL has offered extra promotions on Black Friday (OBC, kids sail free, that sort of thing). Now these sales seem pretty piddling compared to the ongoing promotions that they have been running all year long. But I suspect they will still mark the occasion somehow (e.g. bring back two choices for a couple of days).

 

You may have better luck with specific TAs that sometimes offer Black Friday promotions for all their cruise bookings.

 

Alright, thanks.

[cruiseelady]

I watch prices on Black Friday. Unless I have a very specific itinerary, I believe last minute is still the best deal.

 

You are absolutely right, last minute prices beat black Friday or any other deals. However, if I want a cruise not leaving from my home port I need to book ahead of time.

[hawkeyetlse]

You are absolutely right, last minute prices beat black Friday or any other deals. However, if I want a cruise not leaving from my home port I need to book ahead of time.

You need to book your travel to the port, but you can wait and book the cruise last minute. It's a gamble, but then a lot of cruisers like to gamble. :p

[cruiseelady]

You need to book your travel to the port, but you can wait and book the cruise last minute. It's a gamble, but then a lot of cruisers like to gamble. :p

 

I was actually thinking about doing that, but there is a possibility of a cruise being sold out. I am not much of a gambler, even on a ship. Or maybe I am, does $10 bucks count? LOL

[aubreyc1988]

I was actually thinking about doing that, but there is a possibility of a cruise being sold out. I am not much of a gambler, even on a ship. Or maybe I am, does $10 bucks count? LOL

 

this is what we are doing

 

we have a flight booked for the Jan 15th, got a great deal (80.00 round trip per person including taxes) and are trying to wait as long as we can to book the Escape - it's after final payment now that that saildate so really hoping any day now the prices will go down a lot.

 

Worse case scenario, we end up paying a little more for an inside, but I think on a ship as the Escape, they don't really run out of insides until just before sailing :)

[Deptacon]

So if you have already booked and find a better deal then you can receive the better deal from Norwegian? We just booked our first cruise with nil and I wasn't sure if they would give you the better deal at no charge?

 

Yes, all the way until final payment, if you find a better deal on a cruise you are already booked on (say price has not changed, but they added a 2nd free package like the halloween sale, or some OBC, or even a price drop) then you can call, and they give you the difference/new rate, add the perk, etc. They basically "rebook you" on the phone. Now, if the price of your cabin has gone up...you need to do the math to see if its worth it for the extra perk....

 

I have done this multiple times with Royal Caribbean. Hoping to do it with NCL. I missed the Halloween 2 free packages sale by an hour...but I booked the next day anyway because I have been happy with the price. Hoping to catch a deal a over the next few months and I am not suspecting a price change (the cruise is very far out) and grab a little bit more....

Edited November 4, 2015 by Deptacon

[dolita22]

this is what we are doing

 

we have a flight booked for the Jan 15th, got a great deal (80.00 round trip per person including taxes) and are trying to wait as long as we can to book the Escape - it's after final payment now that that saildate so really hoping any day now the prices will go down a lot.

 

Worse case scenario, we end up paying a little more for an inside, but I think on a ship as the Escape, they don't really run out of insides until just before sailing :)

 

We are sailing the Escape the week after you're planning to in January, as well as doing the 3-night U.S. public inaugural next week, and I've been watching prices daily since booking in February. Noticed prices for insides for the 7-day on 11/14 dropped from around $849 to $699 in recent weeks (final payment was early September, I believe). Prices for all categories on the January cruises seem only to have increased, but final payment for ours is not until next week. So what I'm saying is, there's hope prices could go down, but with it being a brand new ship, I'm not sure how much. :) Hope it works out for you and you get a deal!

 

Also, to stay on topic, I've checked prices for cruises on Black Friday in years' past, but have not seen anything significant or different than normal promos. As another poster said, perhaps they'll do what they did last week with the you-pick-2 thing, but if you see a price/promo you're good with now, why not book, then check on Black Friday and re-book if there's a better price/promo?

[hawkeyetlse]

As another poster said, perhaps they'll do what they did last week with the you-pick-2 thing, but if you see a price/promo you're good with now, why not book, then check on Black Friday and re-book if there's a better price/promo?

That's good advice in general, but not for last minute bookings, like Escape in January 2016. All I can say is, keep an eye on availability, but also keep in mind that the current promo doesn't give any perks for super last-minute bookings (within 30 days of sailing). So my guess is that they will avoid lowering the prices until then, and people who find value in the free UBP for example will have to book before that.

[dolita22]

That's good advice in general, but not for last minute bookings, like Escape in January 2016. All I can say is, keep an eye on availability, but also keep in mind that the current promo doesn't give any perks for super last-minute bookings (within 30 days of sailing). So my guess is that they will avoid lowering the prices until then, and people who find value in the free UBP for example will have to book before that.

 

Good point regarding the last-minute bookings. Thank you for catching and clarifying!

[takeadip]

i would say wait until the Monday after black friday...called "cyber Monday" for online deals...they usually hit the switch at midnight sunday night...

 

good luck..

[aubreyc1988]

We are sailing the Escape the week after you're planning to in January, as well as doing the 3-night U.S. public inaugural next week, and I've been watching prices daily since booking in February. Noticed prices for insides for the 7-day on 11/14 dropped from around $849 to $699 in recent weeks (final payment was early September, I believe). Prices for all categories on the January cruises seem only to have increased, but final payment for ours is not until next week. So what I'm saying is, there's hope prices could go down, but with it being a brand new ship, I'm not sure how much. :) Hope it works out for you and you get a deal!

 

 

 

Also, to stay on topic, I've checked prices for cruises on Black Friday in years' past, but have not seen anything significant or different than normal promos. As another poster said, perhaps they'll do what they did last week with the you-pick-2 thing, but if you see a price/promo you're good with now, why not book, then check on Black Friday and re-book if there's a better price/promo?

 

 

 

My sail date is after final payment

 

I did notice some early December sailings are 699 and obviously the holiday sailings are outrageous so hard to compare Jan with December sailings but I am hoping that in a couple weeks the Jan 16th sailing will go down to maybe 699 or 749

 

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I did notice some early December sailings are 699 and obviously the holiday sailings are outrageous so hard to compare Jan with December sailings but I am hoping that in a couple weeks the Jan 16th sailing will go down to maybe 699 or 749

I think early December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) and January/early February are similar, relatively few people choose to or are able to cruise at these times (non-holiday, winter). There may be an inaugural season, new ship effect for Escape, so keep your eye on the number of cabins available. At the moment it looks like there are plenty of insides for your saildate; I would check every couple of days to see how fast they are selling. And like I said above, if you are interested in getting the UBP for free, you probably need to book at least 30 days in advance.

[aubreyc1988]

I think early December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) and January/early February are similar, relatively few people choose to or are able to cruise at these times (non-holiday, winter). There may be an inaugural season, new ship effect for Escape, so keep your eye on the number of cabins available. At the moment it looks like there are plenty of insides for your saildate; I would check every couple of days to see how fast they are selling. And like I said above, if you are interested in getting the UBP for free, you probably need to book at least 30 days in advance.

 

I have a cruise next ultimate certificate that I booked on board that I have a cruise booked in 2017 that has ubp locked in. I only get one comp change so I am trying to book the lowest price

 

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

Oh, I see, sounds good. Good luck catching the lowest price!

 

By the way, does the CN Ultimate UBP perk include the 18% tips or do you have to pay those extra?

[aubreyc1988]

Oh, I see, sounds good. Good luck catching the lowest price!

 

By the way, does the CN Ultimate UBP perk include the 18% tips or do you have to pay those extra?

 

You have to pay those extra

 

 

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[gpb11]

My sail date is after final payment

 

Aren't they all? :confused: :D :cool:

[DandDM]

I have waited in the past for Black Friday/cyber Monday to book cruises. But even though I get a ton of emails about special deals from TA's, I've never seen a drop in the price for the specific cruises I was looking at. There could have been good deals out there, but none that worked for me.

 

So I agree with the other posters in that there are probably better ways to get a deal.

[aubreyc1988]

Aren't they all? :confused: :D :cool:

 

 

Lol true that

 

 

 

 

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[MaryZ]

I don't think they will drop that far. College break extends all the way to Jan 24th, for NY state colleges, so I'm guessing other colleges are out too.