First time booking a cruise far in advance - question for frequent cruisers

[tbmrt]

I booked a cruise while on a Celebrity ship in 12/16. Received an OBC from the cruiseline along with usual Celebrity perks. Received a better price from my TA when I returned home so I transferred booking to him.

 

In the past I booked a cruise about 6 months out, then checked costs and if I found a decrease, wrote my TA who usually was able to pass the decrease on to me in cost or additional OBC.

 

Should I wait to start checking for price decreases now since I am a year away?

OR

Wait til I get to at least 6 mos. before my upcoming cruise to check?

 

Do cruise prices sometimes drop a long time in advance of the cruise?

 

I don't want to drive my TA nuts with requests for lower prices, etc., but don't want to lose out on any better deals.

 

Thanks

[trish1c]

I was always a last minute booker -- about 90 days out. I booked a cruise about a year out & drove myself & my TA crazy. She was amazing & very understanding. Now I've learned to trust her to do her job; she'd get in touch when there was a change.

[CruiserBruce]

Check the prices once or twice a month. Perhaps once a week in the 3 or 4 months leading up to final payment.

 

There is no big secret here. If it is selling well, you likely will see no drops, you might even see increases, as we see with our upcoming cruise. If it is selling poorly, you are likely to see drops.

[Nic6318]

I booked a cruise while on a Celebrity ship in 12/16. Received an OBC from the cruiseline along with usual Celebrity perks. Received a better price from my TA when I returned home so I transferred booking to him.

 

In the past I booked a cruise about 6 months out, then checked costs and if I found a decrease, wrote my TA who usually was able to pass the decrease on to me in cost or additional OBC.

 

Should I wait to start checking for price decreases now since I am a year away?

OR

Wait til I get to at least 6 mos. before my upcoming cruise to check?

 

Do cruise prices sometimes drop a long time in advance of the cruise?

 

I don't want to drive my TA nuts with requests for lower prices, etc., but don't want to lose out on any better deals.

 

Thanks

 

hi there

 

I would check prices every day. It only takes a minute. I have seen prices go down and back up within a 24 hr. period. If you don't see the price go down you can't apply for the price drop.

 

You can ask your TA if they would be able to do this for you but why depend on someone else. The problem some people have when using a TA is trying to get hold of them on weekends when they see a price drop and the cruise line wont deal with them. As some have said you might not see any price drops.(which means you have the best price)

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[Guest maddycat]

Start checking right away. We book future cruises while on board which is usually 1 to 1 1/2 years out. We come home and start checking prices. We've found price drops right after we booked.

 

Don't worry about bothering your travel agent. So far you did all of her work for her.........you booked the cruise while on board and then transferred it to her. Let her earn her commission and get you any price drops that you find.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't ask our TA to keep checking for lower prices and special perks. She has enough to do.

We tend to book 1 1/2 years in advance and I do check prices about once a week.

Don't wait until you are nearing final payment.

[Kartgv]

Of course start checking immediately - you have nothing to lose! However...also read the new fare terms & conditions, as it may be for new bookings only, or you might lose any perks you already have. In addition, I would never ask a TA to go to the trouble of changing a fare for a very small amount ($50?? - whatever is small to you in comparison with the original fare).

[Cruise Lover Kathy]

What sites do you use to check for lower prices? I just started cruising again and could use some extra info. Thanks

[Nic6318]

What sites do you use to check for lower prices? I just started cruising again and could use some extra info. Thanks

 

Hi there

 

We really are not allowed to mention specific sites since they are considered TA. There are a number of different companies that would come up if you googled vacation bookings, they would all show cruise line prices. Try a bunch of them and use a few that seem easy to use. You can also use the cruise line site.

 

hope this helps

[janetz]

I found the price drop on our cruise on the Celebrity website.

I did this by just doing a mock booking with the same room category.

The price was lower then on my TA's website. I notified my TA who adjusted our pricing. :)