Tips & Tricks for getting the best price?

[FamilyOfSix]

Just about to go on my first Carnival cruise, 3rd cruise ever. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks they use to ensure they get the best price on a cruise. Do you book early or last minute? Via travel agent or on your own? Any other tips you want to share?

[JerseyGirlJen]

Following

 

 

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[LadyVol1]

I use a website that allows travel agents to compete for my cruise. I enter my cruise info (cruise line, ship, date, cabin category, etc.) and I get fares from different agents and I book with the cheapest agent.

[KatPem]

I always book myself through the Carnival website. I wait til I find what I feel is a fair price and book early saver. I check it a couple of times a week for any lower prices and then submit the online form for the lower price. The more rooms in your category, the better chance you have of finding a reduced rate before sailing.

[SpainAlien]

I play MyVegas and managed to get my cruise for free, don't think I can better that.

 

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[tallnthensome]

Book 2 years out when sailings open. I've found that prices are lowest when booked way in advance. Each cruise I've done in the past few years as well as the ones I have booked for 2019 and 2020 have already gone up in price as well.

[salty dingo]

We like to pick our exact room. I would imagine getting the absolute best price would involve taking a cabin nobody else wants. Discounting is how to move unsold inventory.

 

Also, booking early is the best way to get the room you want.

 

Finally, price is only one component of the deal. Are there any OBC, prepaid gratuities, or other sweeteners? All that factors in.

[pe4all]

I book early saver, and literally price-check every day -sometimes even a few times a day - to see if I hit a price drop. Not only does this give me the possibility of obc, but I also pick the exact cabin I want, which is usually open that far in advance.

[bobandsherry]

If you have Costco membership the check their travel site. Always offering some promotional credit such as Costco gift card and we've also received OBC on some cruises in addition to the gift card. Found nothing that beats their prices/promotional credit offerings.

 

Also, book early. Typically earlier bookings are the lowest price. But keep eye on rates, if they drop call for price adjustment. If you use a travel agent you'll need to contact them for price adjustment.

 

Our last cruise dropped $50 before final payment was due, Costco adjusted our price, no problems. Costco travel representatives are available very early in morning until late at night.

 

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[Melissahac99]

I use a website that allows travel agents to compete for my cruise. I enter my cruise info (cruise line, ship, date, cabin category, etc.) and I get fares from different agents and I book with the cheapest agent.

 

I did this as well. I priced my trip through carnival, Costco and several discount websites myself so I knew the pricing and then placed it on the compete website. I ended up booking with one of the TAs that offered a good OBC and had good reviews. It was better deal than carnival,or Costco. We just booked this week for a year out.

[teknoge3k]

I try to book my cruises at least a year in advance, I book myself and won't involve a middleman in my cruise. I book ES rates and if the price drops then I submit the form and get the difference back, so I am getting the lowest rate. Then I use the 10% discounted gift cards to pay for my cruise.

[Joebucks]

If you've sailed Carnival before, they will have plenty of past guest offers available. About 2 weeks ago, I had four in my offers during an obvious promotional push. I found the one that gave me the best discount. I saved 25% off of what the fare is today, and got a $50 OBC.

[Saint Greg]

I use a website that allows travel agents to compete for my cruise. I enter my cruise info (cruise line, ship, date, cabin category, etc.) and I get fares from different agents and I book with the cheapest agent.

 

I’m giving that a try. So far they’re giving me the same price as Carnival with $30 more OBC than I’d get booking on Breeze in a couple weeks. They’re going to have to do better than that to take control of my booking.

[summersigh]

We like to pick our exact room. I would imagine getting the absolute best price would involve taking a cabin nobody else wants. Discounting is how to move unsold inventory.

 

Also, booking early is the best way to get the room you want.

 

Finally, price is only one component of the deal. Are there any OBC, prepaid gratuities, or other sweeteners? All that factors in.

I agree with the above comments and would add that, unlike the good ol' days, prices are controlled by computer algorithms not humans. We normally book our balconies 9-11 months out and in most cases the fare increases.

We use a gem of a TA we've used for years. Since we pick the exact cabin we desire at booking we have no need to act quickly on some upsell offer. She takes care of any requests or problems we have. When we had to cancel for medical reasons 4 days before our sailing in december she took care of everything, canceled the trip, opened the insurance claim, resent me any docs I needed for the claim. Was nice to have somebody have my back. :)

[beachbum53]

I use a website that allows travel agents to compete for my cruise. I enter my cruise info (cruise line, ship, date, cabin category, etc.) and I get fares from different agents and I book with the cheapest agent.

 

I’m giving that a try. So far they’re giving me the same price as Carnival with $30 more OBC than I’d get booking on Breeze in a couple weeks. They’re going to have to do better than that to take control of my booking.

 

Travel agents are not allowed to sell a booking for a price lower than the cruise line's posted price. In order for a travel agent to get your business, he / she may offer some sort of incentive, such as a free bottle of wine, some OBC, or even a prepaid excursion. If you opt to book through an agent that offers some sort of incentive, get that offer in writing, and confirm it. We booked with a TA once that promised us a bottle of wine would be waiting for us in our cabin. Guess what? No wine. We never booked with that agent again.

[kdawg954]

Yea it is all about the perks as the price will likely be the same everywhere you look.

 

That said, I booked Early Saver for the first time with my May 2018 Cruise. I booked this in August 2017 and I had a really good price drop in January and I am down $115 pp. I did have to increase my deposit to $250 pp, from $125 . . . but final payment was coming up anyway so that was fine.

 

Now that final payment has passed, I still can get price drops and they would come in as OBC for the cruise. Not expecting any as my category seems to be sold out but I will check it every once in a while for kicks.

 

With Early Saver, the biggest perk is booking early and getting your choice of stateroom, while knowing you can take advantage of price drops.

[FamilyOfSix]

These are all great replies. Thanks so much!

 

I have been a Costco member for years but always forget about checking there for some reason.