Do discounts actually exist for cruises?

[MCC retired]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

The offer I referred to in my post was from Carnival.  

Carnival offers special Casino rates to those with lots of Casino activity on previous cruises. 

[teeeej]

On 2/26/2024 at 2:52 PM, MCC retired said:

Carnival offers special Casino rates to those with lots of Casino activity on previous cruises. 

My dad doesn't utilize the casino, so he got targeted with "almost free" for some other reason.

 

When we were on the Panorama last fall, the casino was extremely smokey the entire time that it was open,  he didn't even bother to use his $5 of free play or whatever his tier gave him for free. 

[cruiseaholic777]

Black Friday sales are the best. I booked my last cruise on black Friday and received a great price. I also booked 2 excursions at 40% off.

[navybankerteacher]

Almost every service or property can be purchased at a “discount” , which term is often used in advertising - and which is pretty meaningless.  Cruise prices vary as frequently as daily - but what difference is there between booking a $2000 cruise and getting a 10% discount (meaning you pay $1800), or you book the same accommodations on the same itinerary at full price - when it is offered for $1800?

 

If you get a cruise at a price you are comfortable with, enjoy it- and don’t compare it with others - there will almost always be someone who got a better deal.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Almost every service or property can be purchased at a “discount” , which term is often used in advertising - and which is pretty meaningless.  Cruise prices vary as frequently as daily - but what difference is there between booking a $2000 cruise and getting a 10% discount (meaning you pay $1800), or you book the same accommodations on the same itinerary at full price - when it is offered for $1800?

 

If you get a cruise at a price you are comfortable with, enjoy it- and don’t compare it with others - there will almost always be someone who got a better deal.

Along with politics, how much you paid for the cruise should be an off limits topic.

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Along with politics, how much you paid for the cruise should be an off limits topic.

We add religion to that list too.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

We add religion to that list too.

I have no problem adding that to the list of topics that should be avoided.

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Along with politics, how much you paid for the cruise should be an off limits topic.

Funny thing about cruise pricing.  We have been around plenty of folks who want to discuss the topic and talk about where to get the best overall deals.  We have also met plenty of folks that make it clear they do not want to discuss cruise pricing (not just the cruise they are taking at the time).  One common thread seems to be that folks who book direct, with the cruise lines, do not want to "hear it" about ways to get better deals.  Kind of like the person who pays sticker prices for their cars and do not want to know about folks who negotiate discounts.

 

How does the cost topic come up in a conversation?  Many times, somebody will ask the innocent sounding question, "how do you book your cruises?"  I have previously posted (often in response to questions) that, over the years, we have learned about better ways (and good agents) by just listening and asking simple questions.  

 

And lest not we forget the topic of this thread.

 

Hank

 

 

[SelectSys]

It seems with respect to cruising, one of the best ways to get a "discount" (i.e., better price) is to wait until the last moment.  Fortunately it seems that there are at least a couple of websites that tend to focus on making these deals visible.  One of the habits that I am trying to break myself of following retirement is not to plan too far ahead with respect to travel to get a "discount" regardless of the trip being a cruise or not. 

 

My only counter to last minute cruising that I am trying to balance is the cost of airfare versus the cruise fare as these tend to go in opposite directions for last minute travel.

[George C]

MSc offers a ten percent discount to veterans and first responders.

[capriccio]

20 minutes ago, George C said:

MSc offers a ten percent discount to veterans and first responders.

And retired civil servants at all levels of government (federal, state and local).

[Miss Ellsworth]

52 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

It seems with respect to cruising, one of the best ways to get a "discount" (i.e., better price) is to wait until the last moment.  Fortunately it seems that there are at least a couple of websites that tend to focus on making these deals visible.  One of the habits that I am trying to break myself of following retirement is not to plan too far ahead with respect to travel to get a "discount" regardless of the trip being a cruise or not. 

 

My only counter to last minute cruising that I am trying to balance is the cost of airfare versus the cruise fare as these tend to go in opposite directions for last minute travel.

With my retirement coming up in a few years, I'm seriously considering getting a cheap apartment and living in a port city for a year just to be able to hop on whatever is steeply discounted at the last minute. Once I sell my house, I think I could go to Port Canaveral for a while - they are the busiest cruise port. I run into the same thing you do - as cruise fares drop at the last minute, air fares increase.