best time to book for lower prices?

[nant4me]

Hi, I know that no one has a crystal ball and in no way can guarantee when is the exact time to get the best price but i wanted to ask the "old-timers" here if they have noticed a trend in pricing. I want to go on the Spirit either Feb. 4,10 or 24 but my husband's job is not cooperating!! and we don't know if he can get a week off! I'm watching the prices slowly creep up and am wondering if, at this point, I should put down a deposit(with the chance I may have to cancel) or wait until it gets closer to sail date and hope for a last minute rate. I know that Feb is a VERY popular month and I think that the last minute deals won't be so great. Does anyone have an opinion about what I should do? I need two cabins as I am sailing with my two teens and think it wil be too "tight" with all of us in one room, so I'm really looking for the best price I can. Thank you for any help! It's frustrating to sit here and see the prices going up - it's time for my husband to look for a new job!

[Maryfrei]

Well, with February sailings you are either in or close to final payment. You may have to pay in full when booking if within 60 days, and you won't be able to get all of your money back if you have to cancel. You may get a better rate if you wait and there are cabins left, but it is always a gamble. Tough call!

[nant4me]

See, I'm glad I posted this question because I forgot that you can't just put down a small deposit at this time. I forgot that final payment is due within 60 days of sailing! Oh, this IS a tough call, but I guess I'll have to wait it out, because I can't afford to lose the money if we can't go. Thanks for your input, it did help. Just wish the answer was different!

[cruizinwithkids]

Just wish the answer was different!

 

Don't look at it that way. Now you know you can't afford to lose your deposit, so really the decision has been made for you. Wait and see and maybe you'll get the deal of a lifetime.

[nant4me]

yes, you are right! I am usually not a worrier and figure things will work out as they were meant to! Just freaked out for a day but am now back to being myself! Will wait(patiently!) and see. Hubby STILL does not know if he can have time off. Thanks for your input.

[familyof4cruising]

I am sailing during that time and final payment was due last week, so yes you might as well wait. Good Luck. I thought the Noordam had great pricing that those weeks out of NYC also.

[Cuizer2]

Hi, I know that no one has a crystal ball and in no way can guarantee when is the exact time to get the best price but i wanted to ask the "old-timers" here if they have noticed a trend in pricing. I want to go on the Spirit either Feb. 4,10 or 24 but my husband's job is not cooperating!! and we don't know if he can get a week off! I'm watching the prices slowly creep up and am wondering if, at this point, I should put down a deposit(with the chance I may have to cancel) or wait until it gets closer to sail date and hope for a last minute rate. I know that Feb is a VERY popular month and I think that the last minute deals won't be so great. Does anyone have an opinion about what I should do? I need two cabins as I am sailing with my two teens and think it wil be too "tight" with all of us in one room, so I'm really looking for the best price I can. Thank you for any help! It's frustrating to sit here and see the prices going up - it's time for my husband to look for a new job!

 

The best time to book is as early as possible. If the price goes down, you can ask for the lower price. If the price goes up, you keep the lower original price. Also, the earlier you book, the better the chance you will get your first choice of cabins.

[theonlyjoie]

If the price of the cabin you've put a deposit on drops, what are the odds of NCL giving you the price break? Would you get a refund:confused: Onboard credit?

 

I've always booked online with NCL, not through a TA, and in four cruises have received one upgrade (first cruise-2001-oceanview up to balcony) and one upsell (fourth cruise-this November-balcony to AC penthouse).

 

I sail again (I hope) in March on the Jewel. I was getting ready to make the reservation when I ran across this thread. Any suggestions? Ideas? Money?:D

 

BTW, I travel solo, so any $aving$ are good!

[Cuizer2]

If the price of the cabin you've put a deposit on drops, what are the odds of NCL giving you the price break? Would you get a refund:confused: Onboard credit?

 

I've always booked online with NCL, not through a TA, and in four cruises have received one upgrade (first cruise-2001-oceanview up to balcony) and one upsell (fourth cruise-this November-balcony to AC penthouse).

 

I sail again (I hope) in March on the Jewel. I was getting ready to make the reservation when I ran across this thread. Any suggestions? Ideas? Money?:D

 

BTW, I travel solo, so any $aving$ are good!

 

NCL will not just give it to you, you have to ask for it. Prior to the time final payment is due you should have no trouble getting the lower price unless you booked using some special.

 

If you did not book using a special, and the price drops, you could easily just cancel and rebook. Rather than go through all that paper work, NCL will simply allow you to now pay the lower price. However, you have to call NCL and request it. It is not something NCL will offer you.

 

If you booked during a special, then things change a little. For example, say you booked with a free two category upgrade. Later the price drops, but the two category upgrade is no longer being offered. Then you have a choice, get the lower price and lose the two category upgrade, or keep the upgrade and the higher price. Or suppose you book and get a OBC of $100. Later the price drops $200, but the OBC is no longer being offered. You can book at the lower price and lose the OBC, or you can keep the OBC and the higher price.

 

After the final payment is due, you can not cancel and rebook without a penality, so the new lower price would have to be greater than the penality in order to make it worth trying to take advantage of the new lower price. So it is harder to get the lower price after final payment is due. However, sometimes you can get an OBC for the difference. It never hurts to ask.

[theonlyjoie]

THANK YOU!;)

 

That was very, very helpful! How many times have you cruised? And with NCL? And (Do I ever shut up??:D) do you think I'm losing anything by not using a TA?

 

Again, thanks Cuizer2.

[Cuizer2]

THANK YOU!;)

 

That was very, very helpful! How many times have you cruised? And with NCL? And (Do I ever shut up??:D) do you think I'm losing anything by not using a TA?

 

Again, thanks Cuizer2.

Been on six cruises with four different lines, including NCL once. Your need for a TA depends on your knowledge and how complex your cruise is. My first cruise was a for my parents' 50th anniversary, so I was just along for the ride, as was my parents' TA (who is a friend of the family). As a result not only did nothing go wrong, but my parents ended up in a pre-cruise hotel room that goes for $2,000 a night (in 1999) for free (the TA had a lot of pull and used it).

 

I booked one cruise direct with Carnival. I booked both cabins together and there were people with the same last name in both cabins. Yet the Carnival rep did not link the cabins for dinner. Fortunately that person left Carnival and the person who took her place noticed the error and corrected it. We had a great cruise.

 

I booked three cruises through Expedia, including my second cruise. I already knew what I wanted before I called Expedia. Expedia was very helpful in getting me what I wanted. I booked a second cruise through Expedia. After booking the cruise I had a better offer from a friend. I called Expedia and transferred the booking to the new ship without any problems. Again, in each case I told Expedia what I wanted, Expedia did not offer any advise to me. My third booking with Expedia went smoothly.

 

I booked one cruise with the Carnival Vacation Club. Again, I told them what I wanted, and they took care of the booking for me. Four times I called them because of price reductions, and each time, after a two minute hold (so they could call Carnival and confirm the price reduction) I received the credit for the difference in the price.

 

I have a seventh cruise booked. This time I used a TA and I honestly believe that it was because of his efforts that I was able to get the cabin I wanted. I have a Royal Family Suite on the Freedom of the Seas in June 2007. There are only four of these cabins, and they sold out within the first hour that they were available. I was on my sixth cruise at the time my TA obtained the cabins for me.

 

The reason I now want to use a TA is because I am interested in booking more complex cruises and need the TA's guidance. I have a good one and so I am very happy with him.

 

A good TA is an asset. A not so good TA is a liability. If you know what you want, and what you want is fairly simple, the TA will add very little value to your cruise. If you can use a TA's knowledge and experience, then a good TA is worth his/her weight in gold. So how do you find a good TA? You start with something simple and see how the TA handles that. Then you move to the more complex. In my case I had the opportunity to meet with and get to know my TA on a few ship tours prior to asking him to book the cruise for me.

 

So, to answer your question, how much you gain by using a TA depends on you and the TA. I hope the above explains why I say that.

 

If you are interested in my review of my NCL cruise, you can read the link below. However, it is long - about 19 typed pages ...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=13327

[theonlyjoie]

Thank you so much for all the info!

 

When you booked through Expedia, did you include transportation from the airport to the pier, etc. ?

 

I booked a Las Vegas vacation with them last May with airport transfers and hotel and everything went smoothly. BUT there was no worry about not getting to the pier on time and having a ship sail without me. That's why I generally book the whole package through NCL. If something untowards happens, it's their responsibility to "get me to the church on time."

 

Your thoughts?:)

[whatawonderfulworld]

Thank you so much for all the info!

 

When you booked through Expedia, did you include transportation from the airport to the pier, etc. ?

 

I booked a Las Vegas vacation with them last May with airport transfers and hotel and everything went smoothly. BUT there was no worry about not getting to the pier on time and having a ship sail without me. That's why I generally book the whole package through NCL. If something untowards happens, it's their responsibility to "get me to the church on time."

 

Your thoughts?:)

 

Good evening...I too was interested in the OP header. However your last post above caught my eye. We are going on our second cruise with NCL in September. I booked both of our cruises directly through NCL. For this second cruise we've been assigned a PCC. Now my question...have you ever booked your air through NCL as well? We are relatively new to cruising and when we booked our next cruise (while on board thoroughly enjoying our first), it seemed like a good thing to do.

 

For our first cruise, we just took the train to the ship. However this time we will be flying from NY to LA to catch the Pearl. Flying out a day earlier is not an option for us, so we're flying out the same day.

 

Have you booked your flights with NCL? How did it work out for you?

 

Thanks so much for your reply!

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[UB & AS]

I hope you are willing to continue dispensing advice for a couple more questions.

 

How do you find out if your price has changed?

 

If there has been a change and you have a complete package, including air, can you still get the difference in fare for the cruise?

Our price seems to include both air and cruise together.

 

I have not been getting help from my TA. She says that she has been checking for any price changes, but any other things we have asked her to do have not been done (reservations in the specialty restaurant, improved air connections, even in getting a new cruise brochure for me, checking my dinner table in main dining to be sure our friends are seated with us). Time for a new TA.

 

Thanks for your info!

 

Sandy

[Cuizer2]

Thank you so much for all the info!

 

When you booked through Expedia, did you include transportation from the airport to the pier, etc. ?

 

I booked a Las Vegas vacation with them last May with airport transfers and hotel and everything went smoothly. BUT there was no worry about not getting to the pier on time and having a ship sail without me. That's why I generally book the whole package through NCL. If something untowards happens, it's their responsibility to "get me to the church on time."

 

Your thoughts?:)

 

Transportation to the pier was via a private car. I was the only person in the car. I was also the driver, since its my car. I live in Los Angeles. :)

[Cuizer2]

I hope you are willing to continue dispensing advice for a couple more questions.

 

How do you find out if your price has changed?

 

If there has been a change and you have a complete package, including air, can you still get the difference in fare for the cruise?

Our price seems to include both air and cruise together.

 

I have not been getting help from my TA. She says that she has been checking for any price changes, but any other things we have asked her to do have not been done (reservations in the specialty restaurant, improved air connections, even in getting a new cruise brochure for me, checking my dinner table in main dining to be sure our friends are seated with us). Time for a new TA.

 

Thanks for your info!

 

Sandy

 

Does your receipt show a price for the cruise and a price for the air? If so, you should be able to get a refund/credit if the cruise price goes down before final payment is due. I just check the prices on line to see if there has been a price reduction.

 

I don't know if you can make reservations in the restaurants prior to boarding. The air transportation is something you want to get straightened out ASAP. If final payment is not due yet, tell your TA to either provide the service you are paying for or you will cancell your reservation and find a different TA.

 

Are you booked on NCL? If so, you will not have an assigned table in the main restaurant. If you are not booked on NCL, then you need to get the seating arrangements taken care of ASAP also.

[UB & AS]

Thank you for your quick response!

 

We don't have separation with cruise and air - it is one figure. And we paid it this week so I guess this is information I need to keep in mind for the next cruise.

 

I am on Celebrity, not NCL but I found your thread through the "new Posts".

There is such an incredible amount of info on the new posts that I am checking them regularly.

 

Our travel agent said that she was not allowed to make our specialty restaurant reservations for us and could also not seem to do anything about our air connections either. My husband called Celebrity direct and got both of these things within a 5 minute phone call. And they were so nice to talk to - no problem at all. The next time I talked to our TA, I told her that I had EMailed Celebrity for their Galopagos brochure and had received it. This after she had had a month to get it for us.

 

I didn't want to cancel before because we are so excited about the cruise (through the Panama Canal) but I think maybe we should book directly with the cruise lines or on-line for the next.

 

Well - I got that out of my system! Thanks for listening and for the good advice!

 

Sandy

[theonlyjoie]

Good evening...I too was interested in the OP header. However your last post above caught my eye. We are going on our second cruise with NCL in September. I booked both of our cruises directly through NCL. For this second cruise we've been assigned a PCC. Now my question...have you ever booked your air through NCL as well? We are relatively new to cruising and when we booked our next cruise (while on board thoroughly enjoying our first), it seemed like a good thing to do.

 

For our first cruise, we just took the train to the ship. However this time we will be flying from NY to LA to catch the Pearl. Flying out a day earlier is not an option for us, so we're flying out the same day.

 

Have you booked your flights with NCL? How did it work out for you?

 

Thanks so much for your reply!

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

 

I have always booked the full package with NCL, including air. Sometimes, like my upcoming (I hope!) March cruise, you'll find that the air fare is higher :(than if you had purchased it separately, but my feeling on that is it's worth it to have NCL responsible for getting you to the ship on time. They will have a rep meet you at the airport, help you gather your luggage, then put you on a bus and get you to the pier. (Or hotel, if you stay overnight, then they pick you up and take you to the ship.)

 

I'm sooooo jealous! Haven't done the Panana canal yet. Have a fabulous cruise! I know you will. Please post your impressions for the rest of us to see.

[theonlyjoie]

Transportation to the pier was via a private car. I was the only person in the car. I was also the driver, since its my car. I live in Los Angeles. :)

Love it! ROFLOL:p So, will you send your private car to Denver to pick me up for my NCL Star Thanksgiving cruise out of LA??? I do tip well:p

[UB & AS]

I plan to have so much fun on the Panama cruise that I will HAVE to share with everyone when I get back.;)

 

sANDY

[aprildream]

As far as airfare goes, mine from London to Houston booked by NCL was $640. It was over $1000 through the British Airways website for the same flight.

[MrLee]

As far as airfare goes, mine from London to Houston booked by NCL was $640. It was over $1000 through the British Airways website for the same flight.

 

I took that ship back from London. I found pretty much the same thing, there was an advantage of several hundred dollars by letting them book it for me. If I were to book it, it would be 2 one-way flights. (Syracuse to London, Houston to Syracuse) and one-way flights are always expensve. I don't think the difference would have been that dramatic if I were taking a round-trip flight.

[Cuizer2]

Love it! ROFLOL:p So, will you send your private car to Denver to pick me up for my NCL Star Thanksgiving cruise out of LA??? I do tip well:p

 

Glad you enjoyed my little attempt at humor. Denver to LA is what, about 700 - 750 miles? Round trip (twice) that is about $1500 without tips - just to break even. You are better off flying. Have a nice cruise. :)

[theonlyjoie]

Glad you enjoyed my little attempt at humor. Denver to LA is what, about 700 - 750 miles? Round trip (twice) that is about $1500 without tips - just to break even. You are better off flying. Have a nice cruise. :)

And well worth it just for the good company:p;)

[whatawonderfulworld]

I have always booked the full package with NCL, including air. Sometimes, like my upcoming (I hope!) March cruise, you'll find that the air fare is higher :(than if you had purchased it separately, but my feeling on that is it's worth it to have NCL responsible for getting you to the ship on time. They will have a rep meet you at the airport, help you gather your luggage, then put you on a bus and get you to the pier. (Or hotel, if you stay overnight, then they pick you up and take you to the ship.)

 

I'm sooooo jealous! Haven't done the Panana canal yet. Have a fabulous cruise! I know you will. Please post your impressions for the rest of us to see.

 

Thanks a million for answering my question. You've just taken a huge load off of my shoulders. I'm hoping that the flights will be direct...especially going to LA.

 

Thanks again...and come and join us! The canal cruise will be terrific...I can't wait.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W