Last minute pricing

Am I the only one who always meets everyone who paid a fraction of the
price for a last minute booking?

Just about every cruise I am on, someone tells us that they booked the
week before the cruise and got:

*a 50% discount
*upgrade to a balcony or Suite from an inside
*on board credit of a $100 or more

Or a combination of the above.

Usually these people are not big time repeat passengers of the cruise
line they booked or know much about cruises. Sometimes these braggers
are first timer's and they think that everyone got the same deal. They
all say they found the deal on the internet, but don't remember the
site.

On Florida sailings I am also bombarded by passengers who live up North
asking me if locals just go to the port on the sailing day, and play
"let's make a deal".

Perhaps I am missing the boat, as sailings that are half empty two week
before departure are always full when the ship leaves the port.

Where are all these deals? and how long before the cruise are they
available.

It would make sense for the highest level of loyalty club member
retirees living near a port to be notified shortly before the cruise for
a significant discount, but when we were offered a free cruise for this
month we already had another cruise booked and paid for.

Gadget

Gadget World wrote:
Am I the only one who always meets everyone who paid a fraction of the
price for a last minute booking?

Just about every cruise I am on, someone tells us that they booked the
week before the cruise and got:

*a 50% discount
*upgrade to a balcony or Suite from an inside
*on board credit of a $100 or more

Or a combination of the above.

Usually these people are not big time repeat passengers of the cruise
line they booked or know much about cruises. Sometimes these braggers
are first timer's and they think that everyone got the same deal. They
all say they found the deal on the internet, but don't remember the
site.

On Florida sailings I am also bombarded by passengers who live up North
asking me if locals just go to the port on the sailing day, and play
"let's make a deal".

Perhaps I am missing the boat, as sailings that are half empty two week
before departure are always full when the ship leaves the port.

Where are all these deals? and how long before the cruise are they
available.

It would make sense for the highest level of loyalty club member
retirees living near a port to be notified shortly before the cruise for
a significant discount, but when we were offered a free cruise for this
month we already had another cruise booked and paid for.

Gadget


There has been a lot of this... especially this Fall. Carnival has what
they call "Pack and Go" fares that change weekly for last minute
purchases but I am seeing fewer of them going into January than there
were in December which is traditionally a very slow month.

Princess makes the best use of Past Passenger data bases (IMO) when it
comes to offering good last minute deals. There was one last week for a
7 night Southern Caribbean cruise for $299 inside. Problem is that the
ad came out 5 days before sail date and airfare to SJU was either
non-existent or incredibly expensive. (FWIW - that was the lowest 7
night fare I have seen this year)

Cruise lines use a "yield management" software system that makes sure
that the ships go out full. They do that by adjusting prices based on
how many cabins are left and how many days before sailing there are.
There really isn't anything as a ship being only "half full" a few weeks
before sail date.

Pricing can change instantly based on sales. I have had times when I
booked a cabin in the morning at one fare and by the afternoon, that
fare had gone up. Last week I booked an Alaska cruise and three days
later, that fare went down $150 pp (I did get the new lower fare for the
customer). You just never know.

One other thought..... a couple of the cruise lines (Royal Caribbean and
Celebrity) are now trying a model where they accept less than 100%
capacity rather than lower fares at the last minute. This is an
off-shoot of their experience with the Solstice and the Oasis of the
Seas. It seems to be working so far as htey are holding their per-diems
higher than what used to be considered normal. It will take a few
quarters to see if this has an effect on the bottom line.

There is also an old saying about pricing.... "In any conversation on a
ship about cruise fares, the person with the lowest fare is always the
person who speaks last." vbg


--

George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Blog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster

Thanks George,

But where do these people book the low fares when they are avilable?

Gadget

"George Leppla" wrote in message
...

Not that I would ever do it, but I also know some folk who have a
ball on a ship's elevator discussing with a "friend," just how
cheaply they got their cabin. "Yup, we got the same deal that you
did, John. They called us 3 weeks ago and offered the balcony
cabin for $175 per person for the 7-day. At that price, we
thought it would be cheaper going on the ZZZ this week than
staying home and eating at Denny's."

Another favorite is, "When Princess called 2 days before we left,
I almost didn't take the phone call I was so worried that the
cruise had been cancelled. Instead, they called to tell us about
the price reduction and offered the $500 per cabin credit or a
free cruise."

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

Tourism World wrote:
Thanks George,

But where do these people book the low fares when they are avilable?

All travel agents have access to these last minute rates (when they are
available). The idea is to sell the cabins as quickly as possible... so
you make them available to as many outlets as possible.


--

George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Blog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster

Nonny wrote:

"George Leppla" wrote in message
...

Not that I would ever do it, but I also know some folk who have a ball
on a ship's elevator discussing with a "friend," just how cheaply they
got their cabin. "Yup, we got the same deal that you did, John. They
called us 3 weeks ago and offered the balcony cabin for $175 per person
for the 7-day. At that price, we thought it would be cheaper going on
the ZZZ this week than staying home and eating at Denny's."

Another favorite is, "When Princess called 2 days before we left, I
almost didn't take the phone call I was so worried that the cruise had
been cancelled. Instead, they called to tell us about the price
reduction and offered the $500 per cabin credit or a free cruise."


Our June cruise to Alaska just went down almost $700 for the 2 of us.
My travel agent told me to watch the price on the Princess web site and
if I notice a reduction, let her know. She called Princess and our
price went down even more than the price on the web site. Would the
same thing happen if there was a last minute reduction, or is that a
whole other thing?

Marcia

Marcia R. wrote:
Nonny wrote:

"George Leppla" wrote in message
...

Not that I would ever do it, but I also know some folk who have a ball
on a ship's elevator discussing with a "friend," just how cheaply they
got their cabin. "Yup, we got the same deal that you did, John. They
called us 3 weeks ago and offered the balcony cabin for $175 per
person for the 7-day. At that price, we thought it would be cheaper
going on the ZZZ this week than staying home and eating at Denny's."

Another favorite is, "When Princess called 2 days before we left, I
almost didn't take the phone call I was so worried that the cruise had
been cancelled. Instead, they called to tell us about the price
reduction and offered the $500 per cabin credit or a free cruise."


Our June cruise to Alaska just went down almost $700 for the 2 of us. My
travel agent told me to watch the price on the Princess web site and if
I notice a reduction, let her know. She called Princess and our price
went down even more than the price on the web site. Would the same
thing happen if there was a last minute reduction, or is that a whole
other thing?


We had a group on Princess to Alaska last May and some cabins went down
$1000. It does happen.

Some of the last minute fares can be applied to established bookings.
Many times, the promoted fare will say "good for new, individual
bookings only" so there is no one rule that will cover all cases.

Your best tool in these cases is a good travel agent... but you already
found that out!


--

George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Blog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster

"Gadget World" wrote in message
...
Am I the only one who always meets everyone who paid a fraction of the
price for a last minute booking?

I just got off my 48th cruise and have never asked anyone how much they paid
for their cruise.
1. It's none of my business
2. They probably wouldn't tell me the truth if I did. Those who do discuss
it amongst themselves usually say that they got the best deal anyway.

--Jean

Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Gadget World" wrote in message
...
Am I the only one who always meets everyone who paid a fraction of the
price for a last minute booking?

I just got off my 48th cruise and have never asked anyone how much they paid
for their cruise.
1. It's none of my business
2. They probably wouldn't tell me the truth if I did. Those who do discuss
it amongst themselves usually say that they got the best deal anyway.

Welcome home Jean, hope you and the Vikings had a marvoulous cruise!!

I agree with you on this and never discuss what I pay for a cruise with
anyone. On the rare occasion I am asked, I just say I don't remember.lol

sue

In article , George Leppla
wrote:

There is also an old saying about pricing.... "In any conversation on a
ship about cruise fares, the person with the lowest fare is always the
person who speaks last." vbg

Often people who tell you about the low fare don't include the taxes.

When people ask me what I paid and brag about a great last minute deal
I don't say anything about what I paid but when they have insisted on
telling me what their deal was it was either the same fare or more than
I paid.

--
Charles