When to book Cruise for June 2020

[JEN5508]

When is the best time to book to get the best deal?  I see right now is 60% off 2nd guest.  Will there be any black Friday promotions?  I'm booking for 8 people.

 

Jennifer

[Clarea]

Now.  Then watch prices for any price drop.

[KsucAts]

14 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

Now.  Then watch prices for any price drop.

 

This is exactly correct.  We booked for June 2020 about 2 months ago (the day we decided to go).  I have been checking prices almost daily and it dropped 3 times in the first week or so.  Now, it is about $100 higher than original per person and $200 more than what I got it repriced at.  

[JEN5508]

Will they price adjust if prices drop?  Also, I know this is a Royal Forum but it looks like we can do Carnival a little cheaper.  Is it worth the extra $$ to go Royal?

 

Jennifer

[Snit13]

I booked in May 2019 for June 2020 and to date have been able to get 2 price drops for a total of $1,049.  I will be checking each day this week for additional price drops.  Sometimes you catch them and other times you don't .  Good Luck

[island lady]

I am booked into May of 2021.  There is never a "too early" time to book a cruise.  😉

 

I actually don't pay much attention to the price when booking that far out.  There will almost always be price drops, that you can take advantage of up until final payment.  Then even after that, check for upgrades to higher cabin cats if there are more price drops.  

 

Happy cruising!  🙂 

Edited November 26, 2019 by island lady

[Snit13]

8 minutes ago, JEN5508 said:

Will they price adjust if prices drop?  Also, I know this is a Royal Forum but it looks like we can do Carnival a little cheaper.  Is it worth the extra $$ to go Royal?

 

Jennifer

Your choice.  I would not sail with Carnival if it was a free cruise.  Not my style.

[JEN5508]

Do you book directly with Royal or use a travel agent?

 

Jennifer

[island lady]

6 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

Your choice.  I would not sail with Carnival if it was a free cruise.  Not my style.

 

+1.  😉  

 

You get what you pay for.  

[island lady]

1 minute ago, JEN5508 said:

Do you book directly with Royal or use a travel agent?

 

Jennifer

 

I book directly with Royal online, or if convenient...with Next Cruise department on the ship.

 

But you will find me to be in the minority, if I had to guess.  

[KsucAts]

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I book directly with Royal online, or if convenient...with Next Cruise department on the ship.

 

But you will find me to be in the minority, if I had to guess.  

 

Same here.  No way will I mess with a travel agent.  

[JEN5508]

Do I need to purchase the insurance to be able to get price adjustments?

 

Jennifer

[orville99]

51 minutes ago, JEN5508 said:

When is the best time to book to get the best deal?  I see right now is 60% off 2nd guest.  Will there be any black Friday promotions?  I'm booking for 8 people.

 

Jennifer

Iterations of that 60% off sale have been going on constantly since May 2014. It’s not a real sale. Prices are generally lowest when the itineraries are first released and then drift up the closer you get to the sail date. We will book our 2021 2022 cruises when we’re onboard Rhapsody next week, and expect that the prices offered after we book will never be lower than what we booked for. So, book as soon as you know you want to cruise. You may see a price drop between now and final payment date, but it will always be a drop from a price that has crept up substantially since the cruise was first released.

 

Our May 2020 eastern is now “on sale” for only $1,000 more than the same category on the same deck as the one we booked on opening day.

Edited November 26, 2019 by orville99

[orville99]

Just now, JEN5508 said:

Do I need to purchase the insurance to be able to get price adjustments?

 

Jennifer

No. Two separate entities.

[Tree_skier]

The earlier you book the better.  We booked our Dec 2020 Allure cruise at the end of April 2019 and I have been tracking the price ever since.

 

Here is a graph of the price of this cruise from the day we booked until now. We have gotten a few price drops early on on this one but nothing recently.  The more recent price adjustments to shown on the blue line reflect OBC I received from the cancelation of the soda package included with a Boardwalk Balcony.

 

 

Earlier is almost always better plus you get a greater selection of cabins.

 

Also, I used to book direct however, I found a TA that provides great service and has gotten me substantial discounts through his group bookings. Sorry I'm not allowed to give names of TA's but you do find a few who post here on CC.  They can't solicit business on the forum though so that makes it tougher to identify them.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tree_skier

[Biker19]

41 minutes ago, JEN5508 said:

Will they price adjust if prices drop? 

Yes, on a NA booking, up till final payment.

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, JEN5508 said:

Do you book directly with Royal or use a travel agent?

 

Jennifer

If you are a little nervous about booking then book direct, get exactly what you want, make any changes over the next month and then transfer to a TA to pick up perks, you have 60 days to transfer.  Free gratuities and a specialty dinner from a TA is easy to find.  If you see a price drop before final payment a quick phone call to the TA, or Royal if you book direct, and instant repriceing.  And as others have said we much prefer Royal over Carnival. If you are booking a Oasis Class ship there is no comparison. happy cruising 

[JEN5508]

thank you so much!!!  Do you recommend purchasing Insurance?  I know it's a gamble, but wondering what the majority tend to do?

 

Jennifer

[taglovestocruise]

2 minutes ago, JEN5508 said:

thank you so much!!!  Do you recommend purchasing Insurance?  I know it's a gamble, but wondering what the majority tend to do?

 

Jennifer

Not through the cruise line, many here use Insuremytrip or Squaremouth. 

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, JEN5508 said:

 ...  Is it worth the extra $$ to go Royal?

 

Jennifer

 

"Worth" is subjective, only you can decide.  Try it and decide for yourself.

[luv2sailAgain]

I buy insurance for the medical/medical evacuation coverage.  I might be willing to roll the dice and take a chance with the cruise fare and air fare as I usually do not insure stateside vacations.  But if there was a medical emergency at sea - $$$$$.

Edited November 27, 2019 by luv2sailAgain

[Snit13]

16 hours ago, JEN5508 said:

thank you so much!!!  Do you recommend purchasing Insurance?  I know it's a gamble, but wondering what the majority tend to do?

 

Jennifer

Would not consider sailing without buying the insurance.  You must read threads on CC where cruisers report the consequences of not buying insurance.  Even though I drive to port I still buy insurance.  

[orville99]

17 hours ago, JEN5508 said:

thank you so much!!!  Do you recommend purchasing Insurance?  I know it's a gamble, but wondering what the majority tend to do?

 

Jennifer

We always get insurance. At ~$150-$200 it may seem like a bit of a stretch, until you actually have to use it. Only had to use it once when my spouse threw out her knee a week before our cruise, but we got all of our cruise costs (~$3,000) back. That's about 20 cruises worth of insurance costs.

[Cruising-Snowbird]

We buy the RCL travel insurance.  Over the years we have had to cancel THREE cruises within a week of leaving due to health issues.  RCL refunded excursions/onboard purchases/etc and the insurance paid 100 percent of the cruise fare less the insurance premium.  We had the check in hand in less than two weeks after we called to cancel.  We would not go on a cruise without the insurance.  It is worth every penny. 

 

Also if you are flying to the cruise and book with RCL insurance, be sure to book the air fare through RCL.  The air fare will be put on the cruise booking confirmation and if you have to cancel, the air fare will be covered.