pmck Posted January 8, 2020 #1 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Hi Everyone, My family (my husband, daughter and I) are in the market for a cruise this May and we are shopping them. Can anyone give me your best advice for finding the best prices? I remember last year (we sailed on the Allure in May), after we booked it, I read a bunch of posts from people talking about how they saved so much money and got great deals from cruise lines. Sadly, now that I want to remember all of that, I can't...haha!! We loved the Allure and would like to sail on the Oasis class, and are looking for a balcony. Are the prices all going to be over $1K per person for that? When we multiply that X3, then add all the other stuff, plus airfare and hotel on the front end, it adds up pretty quickly. I appreciate any and all of your tips and hints. Have a great day everyone. Patti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 8, 2020 #2 Share Posted January 8, 2020 You are going to be faced with higher prices than $1000 pp if you want Oasis class. You’ve left it very late to be booking. Because Allure is going to Europe and Oasis goes to NJ that only leaves Symphony and Harmony in Florida and with them being the new ships, overall reduced capacity and only 5 months away prices are high. I know. I just priced out some for a client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dplusd Posted January 8, 2020 #3 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Best prices will be during off peak times on an older ship. If your May timing is fixed, your best bet at lower prices will be an older ship...definitely not Oasis class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherco Posted January 8, 2020 #4 Share Posted January 8, 2020 What I usually do is research the ships and itinerary we would like and go from there. I then price out cabin categories for each ship etc... Royal Caribbean’s cruise prices are the same no matter who you book with. What is different is that many agencies will give you extras like prepaid gratuities, shipboard credit, etc.. I pretty much decide on ship, sailing and cabin category. Then I go to a site where agencies “compete” for your business. You plug in all the info and get emails back from agencies offering their best deals. Not sure if I’m allowed to post the site, but you can google something like..cruise compete agencies. Whoever offers us the most extras is who we book with. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 8, 2020 #5 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Heatherco said: Royal Caribbean’s cruise prices are the same no matter who you book with. What is different is that many agencies will give you extras like prepaid gratuities, shipboard credit, etc.. Many TA’s will have group space available which can be significantly cheaper than Royals price. Edited January 8, 2020 by Ourusualbeach 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molly361 Posted January 8, 2020 #6 Share Posted January 8, 2020 38 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said: Many TA’s will have group space available which can be significantly cheaper than Royals price. But going in May they are probably too late for group space in their situation right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 8, 2020 #7 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) 7 minutes ago, molly361 said: But going in May they are probably too late for group space in their situation right? Group space, still exists for cruises departing from May 7 😉 onward. It gets recalled at the 120 day mark. Edited January 8, 2020 by Ourusualbeach 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandgeezer Posted January 8, 2020 #8 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I just got a flyer from my travel agency and they are showing ocean view balconys on the Oasis and Allure for under $1,000 p.p. the first two weeks of December. I didn't look at the neighborhood balconys as they are no interest to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 8, 2020 #9 Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 minutes ago, grandgeezer said: I just got a flyer from my travel agency and they are showing ocean view balconys on the Oasis and Allure for under $1,000 p.p. the first two weeks of December. I didn't look at the neighborhood balconys as they are no interest to us. Shop around. A better price that’s available is in the low $700’s pp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh464 Posted January 9, 2020 #10 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) Bayonne New Jersey has Oasis or Adventure sailing in May with pretty good prices.no flight cost involved! Edited January 9, 2020 by dh464 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Illbcruzn4life Posted January 9, 2020 #11 Share Posted January 9, 2020 52 minutes ago, dh464 said: Bayonne New Jersey has Oasis or Adventure sailing in May with pretty good prices.no flight cost involved! excellent suggestion 😊👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmck Posted January 9, 2020 Author #12 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Thanks everyone for your suggestions.. We don't want to sail from Bayonne in May. We like to start in Florida (or we have sailed from Galveston and Puerto Rico), liking warm weather from the get go! I know that it's late to plan for a May cruise and am always in awe of people that can book a year out, but we don't have that situation. I do like booking it, and only having to wait for a few months to go, but I realize that the best prices aren't always available then. We do have a travel agent that we work with sometimes. We are interested in the May 16th, Symphony sailing out of Miami, oceanfront balcony, room for 3, so I will ask her what kind of rates she can get for us and perks. I do appreciate all of your comments and welcome them. Although this will be my 7th cruise, I feel like a newbie compared to some of you! Have a great day!! Patti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa6191 Posted January 9, 2020 #13 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Bayonne is perfectly warm in May...certainly warm enough to justify saving airfare! I can see not wanting to sail from Bayonne in the winter but in May it will be fine. That being said, the Oasis cruises out of Bayonne in May are well over $1000/person for a balcony cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karter Posted January 9, 2020 #14 Share Posted January 9, 2020 20 hours ago, Heatherco said: What I usually do is research the ships and itinerary we would like and go from there. I then price out cabin categories for each ship etc... Royal Caribbean’s cruise prices are the same no matter who you book with. What is different is that many agencies will give you extras like prepaid gratuities, shipboard credit, etc.. I pretty much decide on ship, sailing and cabin category. Then I go to a site where agencies “compete” for your business. You plug in all the info and get emails back from agencies offering their best deals. Not sure if I’m allowed to post the site, but you can google something like..cruise compete agencies. Whoever offers us the most extras is who we book with. Hope this helps! Not always true that all agencies have the same price some agencies create group bookings by buying a block of cabins then offering the cabins at a lower rate. When I book with an agency that has a group booking available for the ship and cabin I am looking for it usually saves me about $300 pp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmck Posted January 13, 2020 Author #15 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) On 1/9/2020 at 9:30 AM, lisa6191 said: Bayonne is perfectly warm in May...certainly warm enough to justify saving airfare! I can see not wanting to sail from Bayonne in the winter but in May it will be fine. That being said, the Oasis cruises out of Bayonne in May are well over $1000/person for a balcony cabin. I'm with you, but sadly can't get my husband "on board" with that That being said.. have any of you sailed on Norwegian? We are looking at that too, but haven't sailed with them at all and wonder what the comparisons are between the two lines?? Edited January 13, 2020 by pmck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONECRUISER Posted January 13, 2020 #16 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) 46 minutes ago, pmck said: I'm with you, but sadly can't get my husband "on board" with that That being said.. have any of you sailed on Norwegian? We are looking at that too, but haven't sailed with them at all and wonder what the comparisons are between the two lines?? 20-30YRS ago Royal was 1-2 steps up from NCL. Now, lot more similar then different. Still prefer Royal myself for many reason's including food and service, but on a newer NCL if get good price i'd do again. Beware peak seasons crowded ships on both Edited January 13, 2020 by ONECRUISER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmck Posted January 14, 2020 Author #17 Share Posted January 14, 2020 On 1/8/2020 at 1:47 PM, Heatherco said: What I usually do is research the ships and itinerary we would like and go from there. I then price out cabin categories for each ship etc... Royal Caribbean’s cruise prices are the same no matter who you book with. What is different is that many agencies will give you extras like prepaid gratuities, shipboard credit, etc.. I pretty much decide on ship, sailing and cabin category. Then I go to a site where agencies “compete” for your business. You plug in all the info and get emails back from agencies offering their best deals. Not sure if I’m allowed to post the site, but you can google something like..cruise compete agencies. Whoever offers us the most extras is who we book with. Hope this helps! thanks I will do this.. I appreciate your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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