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Is it worth it to wait on the WOW sale?


Tntt
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I'm looking at the Harmony for next year. Due to our jobs We can only cruise in end of may & early June (i know that is the peak season)and right now a balcony is running between 1400-1700 per person. I know oasis ships are expensive, we just sailed symphony in may but our cruise fare was cheaper than what the harmony is showing. Alot of people say the wow sale is when you get the best deals. Would it be worth it to wait or just go ahead and book? Is it true anout the sale and how often do they advertise that special?

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3 minutes ago, Tntt said:

I'm looking at the Harmony for next year. Due to our jobs We can only cruise in end of may & early June (i know that is the peak season)and right now a balcony is running between 1400-1700 per person. I know oasis ships are expensive, we just sailed symphony in may but our cruise fare was cheaper than what the harmony is showing. Alot of people say the wow sale is when you get the best deals. Would it be worth it to wait or just go ahead and book? Is it true anout the sale and how often do they advertise that special?

The price is unlikely to go down at this point.  However, if you book now and it does go down, up until final payment, you can have your cruise repriced at the lower price.

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Royal Caribbean’s sales are basically smoke and mirror advertising. You think you are getting a great deal but you actually aren’t. When you find a fare you are comfortable with, just book it. Normally rates are higher the closer to sailing. Very rarely do they decrease and most if not all of the ships sail at full occupancy.

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33 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

No real sales for the last 4-5 years! 🙄

That is impossible to believe...since the dictionary definition of the word "sale" is a period during which a retailer sells goods at reduced prices. So based on that...If a cruise is offered at $1000 one day, and $1 less the next...it is indeed a "sale" price. Happens all the time. So your negative view isn't accurate whatsoever.

 

Now the definition of a "good price"...that's an entirely different and also highly subjective topic altogether. There's plenty of valid debate there for fodder.

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We priced our Allure cruise months ago for November 2020.  Since then I've repriced multiple times to save a little money here and there when different sales were posted -- mainly flash savings deals.   Since my last successful reprice, they've had multiple sales and deals advertised.  Each time, those "sales" resulted in a higher cruise price than what I'm currently booked at.  Where the 'smoke and mirrors' and 'no real sales' comments probably come from is that (not always, but seems to be most times) when RCI advertises a 'sale', the base cruise fair goes up to compensate for the advertised 'sale' price.  So the $819 base cruise fare (for example) becomes $894 suddenly when the '$75 flash sale' is happening.  Again, just an example.   Does that mean they don't ever have a true sale?  Certainly not.  I booked during a Wow sale and booked at a rate I felt was a good deal and I was comfortable with.   I reprice weekly to be sure it's still the best rate I can get, and as a result, I've repriced several times.  My Allure cruise planned for 2020 is now a little cheaper than what I spent on an Oasis cruise (same time of year, similar cabin type) in 2015.  YMMV.  Book a refundable cruise at a price you're comfortable with and maybe you'll luck out later for an even better price.  

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Never wait. No true sale. The Symphony and harmony are outrageous for next year. We just got off Symphony for $2300 total for ocean balcony with gratuity paid and $100 OBC. They want $3450 for next June now. With two cabins that’s over $2000 more for the week. Crazy. 

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     I've been booked on Harmony since April with a great group rate for oceanview balcony (I choose my own 8D room). I've watched every sale and checked dozens of scenarios and other sites. I've seen a few GTY prices that were close (not including my TA perks) but absolutely nothing that offers me a similar cabin for the price I'm booked at. 

    

     There's always a "sale" and always "discounts" but if you get a good price lock that in. Probably no more than 2-3 weeks after I booked my TA now only offers the same price with GTY, so new people booking an 8D at their group rate have to get what they give you instead of picking their own... I think the longer you wait the best cabins will go away, so you may get a good sale but on what cabin? (the ones no one else wanted...)?  

 

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2 hours ago, Sherri914 said:

We priced our Allure cruise months ago for November 2020.  Since then I've repriced multiple times to save a little money here and there when different sales were posted -- mainly flash savings deals.   Since my last successful reprice, they've had multiple sales and deals advertised.  Each time, those "sales" resulted in a higher cruise price than what I'm currently booked at.  Where the 'smoke and mirrors' and 'no real sales' comments probably come from is that (not always, but seems to be most times) when RCI advertises a 'sale', the base cruise fair goes up to compensate for the advertised 'sale' price.  So the $819 base cruise fare (for example) becomes $894 suddenly when the '$75 flash sale' is happening.  Again, just an example.   Does that mean they don't ever have a true sale?  Certainly not.  I booked during a Wow sale and booked at a rate I felt was a good deal and I was comfortable with.   I reprice weekly to be sure it's still the best rate I can get, and as a result, I've repriced several times.  My Allure cruise planned for 2020 is now a little cheaper than what I spent on an Oasis cruise (same time of year, similar cabin type) in 2015.  YMMV.  Book a refundable cruise at a price you're comfortable with and maybe you'll luck out later for an even better price.  

We also booked the Nov.1 2020 Allure about a year ago. Prices are now up $1600 for two over what we paid for a hump cabin deck 12.

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Just now, taglovestocruise said:

We also booked the Nov.1 2020 Allure about a year ago. Prices are now up $1600 for two over what we paid for a hump cabin deck 12.

Wow!  Ours is the 11/29/20 cruise.  We were in a boardwalk balcony on Oasis in 2015.  This time we're in the double-sized Central Park balcony cabin.   What we're paying for the 2020 Allure cruise is less than that Oasis cruise in 2015.  That's awesome for us.  

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21 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

We also booked the Nov.1 2020 Allure about a year ago. Prices are now up $1600 for two over what we paid for a hump cabin deck 12.

I just sailed symphony and we had 2 cabins for about 3600.00 I checked harmony for 2020 and the same cabin type for 2 cabins is 6700.00 I dont understand the outrageous price jump.

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I agree with the above.  We book early.  All of our cruises have only gone up and there actually no point to price check (although I still do). The exception is our Dec cruise on Adventure where there were great price drops.  This cruise is the week before Christmas so good time for lower prices.  The prices kept coming down that we upgraded to a JS, which we've never done before. Only issue is that now all the JS are sold out and so no more price drops on our category (no fun).  So it seems like if you have a non-prime time booked, then you can get some nice drops.  Our other cruises are March break of end of summer, so it makes sense that these have gone up.

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33 minutes ago, Sherri914 said:

Wow!  Ours is the 11/29/20 cruise.  We were in a boardwalk balcony on Oasis in 2015.  This time we're in the double-sized Central Park balcony cabin.   What we're paying for the 2020 Allure cruise is less than that Oasis cruise in 2015.  That's awesome for us.  

Snagging that double wide balcony is awesome, great place for room service breakfast.  At least for me it would be first breakfast, love to hit JR in the morning for hash browns and eggs while people watching. Allure will be awesome after the refurb. happy cruising

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booking interior was a great deal bc I could pick a few ships paying a reduced deposit and a refundable fare, since the wow sale no longer has reduced deposit I book refundable and keep looking for a better price

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11 hours ago, Tntt said:

I'm looking at the Harmony for next year. Due to our jobs We can only cruise in end of may & early June (i know that is the peak season)and right now a balcony is running between 1400-1700 per person. 

 This is high for a balcony cabin on the Harmony.  Have you looked at the Oasis?  It goes into dry dock at the end of this year with lots of updates.  More than likely you will see more similarities between Oasis and Symphony than between Harmony and Symphony after Oasis's dry dock.  . 

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13 hours ago, LuCruise said:

I agree with the above.  We book early.  All of our cruises have only gone up and there actually no point to price check (although I still do). The exception is our Dec cruise on Adventure where there were great price drops.  This cruise is the week before Christmas so good time for lower prices.  The prices kept coming down that we upgraded to a JS, which we've never done before. Only issue is that now all the JS are sold out and so no more price drops on our category (no fun).  So it seems like if you have a non-prime time booked, then you can get some nice drops.  Our other cruises are March break of end of summer, so it makes sense that these have gone up.

Try a search on this...

 

Royal Caribbean, Fare Reduction for Phantom Cabin

 

Edited by Casino Comp Chick
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14 hours ago, LuCruise said:

I agree with the above.  We book early.  All of our cruises have only gone up and there actually no point to price check (although I still do). The exception is our Dec cruise on Adventure where there were great price drops.  This cruise is the week before Christmas so good time for lower prices.  The prices kept coming down that we upgraded to a JS, which we've never done before. Only issue is that now all the JS are sold out and so no more price drops on our category (no fun).  So it seems like if you have a non-prime time booked, then you can get some nice drops.  Our other cruises are March break of end of summer, so it makes sense that these have gone up.

That's not necessarily true.  I got a price drop on a sold out category when a new promo came out.  

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2 hours ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Try a search on this...

 

Royal Caribbean, Fare Reduction for Phantom Cabin

 

 

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

That's not necessarily true.  I got a price drop on a sold out category when a new promo came out.  

Thank you both!  Had no idea a sold out category could be re-priced.  I do still check and have been monitoring other categorizes as well so call in and give it a try if these seem to go down.

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2 hours ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Try a search on this...

 

Royal Caribbean, Fare Reduction for Phantom Cabin

 

 

As you clearly know, it can be done! But I am always surprised at the push back that I get when I ask a TA to check for lower pricing and they “explain” to me that it’s impossible! 🤨 I can understand that most people would not guess that was true, but a TA should know better. A RCL rep or TA can access a database that shows the pricing for the sold out cabins. The bad news is that I have not yet had any of mine drop, but hope springs eternal 🤞🏼

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Are you married to sailing in a balcony?  Oasis class ships have a lot to do so not in room a lot.  Even if book and price drops it could be after final payment and can't get in on the sale.

 

When I think prices are a little high but know I want to cruise I book a lesser cabin in a good location and hope for price drop even after final payments such that could move up to better cabin.  Virtual balcony close to central park isn't bad if just 2 in cabin.

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