Originally Posted by
slawecki
we are planning another boat ride. 12 days in nov for 3 persons. we plan to book a 2 bedroom cabin on royal caribbean. the prices are all over the place, however, about 5 or 6 booking agents are offering the same rock bottom price. question is, does the price go down some time frame before the boat goes to sea? we just came back from a 12 night cruise, and about a third of the cabins were vacant.
November is one of the shoulder or off-season months so prices can fluctuate quite a bit. It is frequently true that cruise lines will hold off major reductions or incentives until after the final payment date for already booked passengers. At that point the passenger may be stuck and may not be able to take advantage of the lower price or incentive. Of course the other side is that even though it’s an off-season cruise it might be very popular and fill up quickly. That can mean early prices are lower and the line will raise fares based on the increased demand. The third consideration is regardless of cruise popularity your preferred cabin category might get all booked up. Personally we decided years ago to book early and take our chances. That really has more to do with having to plan work schedules, going on more popular itineraries during high season, and wanting a pretty specific cabin category.