For you, when is a deal - a deal?

[dpmfloyd]

Hey CC'ers, I'm sure a many of you (like me) watch fares like a hawk. Do you book when you see a good deal, and leave it? Or do you book, low and upgrade as prices come down?

 

My wife and I booked our anniversary cruise, for this upcoming October on the Oasis, a few months back. We booked a really good price (in my eyes) on the smallest interior room with $100 OBC, $1712/total. Once or twice a week I'll jump on a certain fish website to see how things are looking. Today, I noticed they opened up the guarantee class rooms. It cost an extra $223/total to upgrade to an Ocean View Balcony Guarantee. Now, this does figure in the extra $100 C&A loyalty discount, but in my eyes - paying the added $223 for a random balcony room was worth every penny.

 

So who among you would have jumped on that? Worth Losing the $100 OBC? Worth the extra elbow room? What kind of deal does it take for you to book or upgrade your reservation?

[reallyitsmema]

I would upgrade in a heartbeat. Since you are a US booking, once your cabin has been assigned, you can typically move to another cabin within that same category.

[Clarea]

I'd go to an oceanview balcony from an inside for $223 on a 7-day cruise. Especially on Oasis class where outside views are tough to come by.

Edited March 30, 2016 by clarea

[UCF_Knight]

So $323 more total (when you factor losing OBC) to go from interior to Oceanview Balcony for the week? I'd say that's well worth $46 per day. Especially on Oasis where views of the sea aren't always easy to find around the ship.

[molly361]

I would have gone for it as well!!

[cruiseguy1016]

Money well spent. Congratulations on the find!

[dpmfloyd]

Thanks all! But what about you? When do you pull the trigger on booking/upgrading? ...I can't be the only crazy person that does stuff like this.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks all! But what about you? When do you pull the trigger on booking/upgrading? ...I can't be the only crazy person that does stuff like this.

 

No, you aren't the only one that watches prices. We have been watching a $1,399 JS on our upcoming Oasis cruise, but we paid a ridiculously low price on an ocean view balcony. Would cost us around $1,000 to upgrade and I am too cheap to do it.

 

We are planning on a more expensive anniversary cruise for our 30th in 2018 and I would be ecstatic to get a JS to Alaska for $1,399.:p

[TheInnocentAge]

Thanks all! But what about you? When do you pull the trigger on booking/upgrading? ...I can't be the only crazy person that does stuff like this.

 

We try to book very early, right when the cruises become available, which lately has averaged 15-18 months before the cruise. In the event I didn't book at the intro price, I use the "fish" site you mentioned to view the full price history of that particular cruise and cabin type, and if the price is still close to the lowest point, then I'll book it.

 

I check frequently for a price reduction, but since we book so early, those are rare. On our next two upcoming cruises, the prices have more than doubled since we booked.

[crookedhalo]

Yeah, I do that too. My poor DH is like "don't bother telling me what cabin we are in until the end". On average, unless we have scored the corner afts on Voyager or freedom class, I would say that I change cabins about once a month as better locations become available. Booked Anthem on 3/15/16 and changed cabin last week.:o

[Desert Cruizers]

I too book early and get our first choice room. In all but one case have we ever seen prices for our category drop below our initial booking price and the one time it did was due to a residence drop. One booking when we cruised out of Sydney, Australia, our JS jumped $700 4 months after we booked.Since I book all our cruises, DH really doesn't care how or where I put us, he figures we will have a good location and prepares to have a good time and looks forward to meeting people.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Desert Cruizers

[molly361]

No, you aren't the only one that watches prices. We have been watching a $1,399 JS on our upcoming Oasis cruise, but we paid a ridiculously low price on an ocean view balcony. Would cost us around $1,000 to upgrade and I am too cheap to do it.

 

:p

 

 

Same here. The JS is a little more than double what we are getting our D6 cabin for. Not doing it:):)

[tserface]

I wouldn't even hesitate to do that upgrade. We could live without a balcony, but we live so much better with it. If I were trying to stick to a budget I'd drop an excursion or something to get the extra funds to make the balcony happen.

 

Or course, each cruiser is different. Some would stay in the cheapest cabin to have money to gamble or do excursions or [insert here].

 

Tom

[molly361]

I would consider anything less than $50 per day total to move from an inside or OV to a balcony pretty good

Edited March 30, 2016 by molly361

[dddone]

We try to book very early, right when the cruises become available, which lately has averaged 15-18 months before the cruise. In the event I didn't book at the intro price, I use the "fish" site you mentioned to view the full price history of that particular cruise and cabin type, and if the price is still close to the lowest point, then I'll book it.

 

I check frequently for a price reduction, but since we book so early, those are rare. On our next two upcoming cruises, the prices have more than doubled since we booked.

 

 

Can somebody tell me more about this "fish" website that allows me to track cruise prices?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[smileyjannie]

Hey CC'ers, I'm sure a many of you (like me) watch fares like a hawk. Do you book when you see a good deal, and leave it? Or do you book, low and upgrade as prices come down?

 

My wife and I booked our anniversary cruise, for this upcoming October on the Oasis, a few months back. We booked a really good price (in my eyes) on the smallest interior room with $100 OBC, $1712/total. Once or twice a week I'll jump on a certain fish website to see how things are looking. Today, I noticed they opened up the guarantee class rooms. It cost an extra $223/total to upgrade to an Ocean View Balcony Guarantee. Now, this does figure in the extra $100 C&A loyalty discount, but in my eyes - paying the added $223 for a random balcony room was worth every penny.

 

So who among you would have jumped on that? Worth Losing the $100 OBC? Worth the extra elbow room? What kind of deal does it take for you to book or upgrade your reservation?

 

Do you watch anywhere besides the cruise line website? Are there any reputable websites out there? I am skeptical.

[Topo Gigio]

Since I don't really care in what type of cabin i stay on a cruise, everything less than $50 p/d I consider a good deal.

[molly361]

Can somebody tell me more about this "fish" website that allows me to track cruise prices?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Not allowed to mention it here but if you google it you will find it

[dpmfloyd]

Do you watch anywhere besides the cruise line website? Are there any reputable websites out there? I am skeptical.

 

there's one, I like them because its convenient and quick, vs doing a mock booking on the Royal Caribbean website. The mock booking is time consuming, where the fish website allows you to see everything across the board.

 

do a google search for "cruise price tracker" one of the top results will list the word "fish" - click on the "finder" at the top of the web page and then click your cruise line, then itinerary and then your date. easy!

[cruiseguy1016]

No, you aren't the only one that watches prices. We have been watching a $1,399 JS on our upcoming Oasis cruise, but we paid a ridiculously low price on an ocean view balcony. Would cost us around $1,000 to upgrade and I am too cheap to do it.

 

We are planning on a more expensive anniversary cruise for our 30th in 2018 and I would be ecstatic to get a JS to Alaska for $1,399.:p

 

We just booked our 30th anniversary cruise in Alaska next year. We also were willing to spend a little more for a JS for this cruise. Unfortunately, the "little more" is more than we want to spend. I keep looking, hoping to find a better price but I'm not holding my breath.

[cruiseguy1016]

there's one, I like them because its convenient and quick, vs doing a mock booking on the Royal Caribbean website. The mock booking is time consuming, where the fish website allows you to see everything across the board.

 

do a google search for "cruise price tracker" one of the top results will list the word "fish" - click on the "finder" at the top of the web page and then click your cruise line, then itinerary and then your date. easy!

 

You don't need to go through the entire mock booking process every time. Do it once and when you get to the page that has the pricing, bookmark it. Then it's one click to get back to that page every time.

[Wanderista]

there's one, I like them because its convenient and quick, vs doing a mock booking on the Royal Caribbean website. The mock booking is time consuming, where the fish website allows you to see everything across the board.

 

do a google search for "cruise price tracker" one of the top results will list the word "fish" - click on the "finder" at the top of the web page and then click your cruise line, then itinerary and then your date. easy!

 

Totally new to this. What do the percentages listed under "Categories" mean when you find your sailing on this unnamed site? Are those the percentages of rooms that are booked or still available or something else?

 

Very interesting info. Thanks in advance!

[reallyitsmema]

We just booked our 30th anniversary cruise in Alaska next year. We also were willing to spend a little more for a JS for this cruise. Unfortunately, the "little more" is more than we want to spend. I keep looking, hoping to find a better price but I'm not holding my breath.

 

That's what I am afraid of but we will see. I did look at the prices for next year when they came out and I agree, they were higher than I would book too. I am going with the theory, that I showed control on our upcoming Oasis cruise, so I can be a little bit crazy next year when I book our Alaska cruise.;):p I am even looking at Princess which is even higher, but everyone I talk to says Princess is the cruise line to book with for Alaska. I would be happy with Royal Caribbean but I have a year to research why my siblings keep saying Princess.

[njm5378]

I also book early and watch religiously. On our October Oasis cruise I ended up with $400 obc for the same price by watching. Now our class of cabins is gone, so I'm happy. Watching prices netted us a GS on Indy for a modest increase compare to the balcony cabin we had originally booked. Also looking at Alaska, yikes!

[Robinhill]

Hey CC'ers, I'm sure a many of you (like me) watch fares like a hawk. Do you book when you see a good deal, and leave it? Or do you book, low and upgrade as prices come down?

 

My wife and I booked our anniversary cruise, for this upcoming October on the Oasis, a few months back. We booked a really good price (in my eyes) on the smallest interior room with $100 OBC, $1712/total. Once or twice a week I'll jump on a certain fish website to see how things are looking. Today, I noticed they opened up the guarantee class rooms. It cost an extra $223/total to upgrade to an Ocean View Balcony Guarantee. Now, this does figure in the extra $100 C&A loyalty discount, but in my eyes - paying the added $223 for a random balcony room was worth every penny.

 

So who among you would have jumped on that? Worth Losing the $100 OBC? Worth the extra elbow room? What kind of deal does it take for you to book or upgrade your reservation?

 

 

for me- it is when i can pay $100/day for a superior oceanview balcony before taxes and port fees of course.