HAL pricing

[wesport]

I have several cruises added to my favorites on the HAL website. Some of the prices change quite frequently. One I was watching went up $70 for several weeks, then it went down $30. I can see price changes of $100 increments up or down, but is it worth it for them to spend the time changing the price for such nominal amounts? Just curious. I guess the bean counters are working overtime.

[bigwally]

If you're looking for the sweet spot, it appears to me (non-scientifically) that it might well be between 60 and 120 days out. Certainly when I was actively watching certain cruises for spring this year starting in November last, the deals all seemed to be best in January, and February, and by March pricing had started to creep upwards again. Now this may not hold true for all cruises and at all times of year, but it's a gambit I'm pretty much counting on for next year.

[blizzardboy]

Last month we booked a spur-of-the-moment (for us) cruise for November under Ready Set Sail. Shortly after, we received a Private Sale offer which, after taking away all the RSS perks, would have saved less than $100 each. I didn't bother re-faring as next month Explore 4 should happen which for us is usually is worth re-faring to get.

[kazu]

If you're looking for the sweet spot, it appears to me (non-scientifically) that it might well be between 60 and 120 days out. Certainly when I was actively watching certain cruises for spring this year starting in November last, the deals all seemed to be best in January, and February, and by March pricing had started to creep upwards again. Now this may not hold true for all cruises and at all times of year, but it's a gambit I'm pretty much counting on for next year.

 

I suspect this may be true for Caribbean and some standard itinerries. I have seen the same thing.

 

We normally book early out. Now, most of our cruises are longer, but what I have seen the last couple of times was the price go up, not down. Had we waited to book 120 days out, our category would have been gone last year and cost a LOT more than what we booked at.

 

It nearly appears that HAL is offering the old EBS - not sure, but there has certainly been a difference for us.

 

I do watch and subscribe to the site that helps alert you so it will be interesting to see what happens with our cruise for next year. If it goes down, I will happily take advantage of it. And, if it sells out before final payment (as our itinerary did last time on this ship), I will be glad I didn't wait to book ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always booked early so that we got the cabin category that we wanted.

I have noticed that when HAL has promotions like Explore4, the price of our category goes up quite a bit -- to cover the cost of that perk.

[wesport]

If there is an itinerary that I like, we always book early. At that point I watch the fair. Not for a small amount, but for larger amounts. For the cruises that went down in price, we always get a higher class cabin or get to upgrade for the current price difference. Have always been satisfied with the end result. And you get the itinerary that you want.

[blizzardboy]

We always booked early so that we got the cabin category that we wanted.

I have noticed that when HAL has promotions like Explore4, the price of our category goes up quite a bit -- to cover the cost of that perk.

I agree with you and Kazu about booking early. As mentioned in my earlier post, booking 6 months out was late compared to our normal habits. As far as prices going up, we book Neptunes so the supply is limited, therefore the price often trends upward during high season and on popular itineraries as you approach sailing. I also have seen prices increase in almost the exact value of the promo perks when a major promo starts. On the other hand, we've added Exp 4 with all it's goodies for a small fraction of the beverage pkg value alone.

In summary, there are a lot of factors that affect pricing and promotions. There are no hard-and-fast rules on pricing other than you can re-fare anytime (more than once if appropriate) before final payment is made. Any perks you have included with your present deal will probably go away, but if you are getting enough of a price drop to compensate for their loss, or are getting enough value-added perks to justify a price increase, re-faring is the thing to do.