slawecki

i signed up for a couple 3 cruise lines to look at their deals. they all look the same, and the line beats the offers to death. we have been on royal carabbean 4 times. we find them quite decent. all those deals(usually at least 2 a day), and they all boil down to the same price, same benefits. does anyone, other than in off seasons, really offer a deal? to be a deal, maybe 10% off on a trip? is their an agency that will have more than 10% offers available.

NB we usually take a "suite with balcony" and do 9-12 day rides.

wife calls a couple booking agencies, and we take one,

please note, we are quite happy with royal carribbean food, cabins, and services.

bicker

A healthy market will always drive competitors to the same destination. As more information about what consumers want and how much they're willing to pay becomes evident, all the smart money will follow the path that information creates.

Anyone who did would suddenly be inundated with bookings, driving their fares up due to the higher demand.

Jaimito Cartero

I find most of the deals similar. There do seem deals with free tips, drinks etc, if booked out real far in advance.

Otherwise, I look on Costco.com, or use cruisecompete, if the cruiseline itself isn’t offering anything good.

Travelz

Topcashback offers 12% off on Expedia and sometimes more and they might be offering the same deals.

YZF_Elite

I have been closely watching prices all year and I've observed that there hasn't been a lot of movement in prices or selling off last-minute for Caribbean/Bahamas cruises, with a few exceptions. I managed to snag a great deal for kids sail free on RCCL out of San Juan, but I think that market is one of the exceptions because many flights have been canceled and probably over-capacity for a departure port which was beaten up pretty badly in the fall hurricane season. Otherwise, I find all the deals pretty much come down to the same thing and that all the main lines seem to be doing fairly well right now.

Romelle

Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation works well for me.

I particularly like their web site "Custom Search" and the way I can sort the listed results.

I'm not sure if their deals are spectacular, but I usually spend quite a while checking other sites and have never found them to get beat. I like doing my selection as to dates and area, and then changing the detail to PricePerNight and sorting on that. The better rates bubble to the top.

However, it is also necessary to go on in and look at particulars when comparing options. Sometimes one line or another will have much larger "on board credit" or other plus that doesn't show in the basic rate.

While I'm usually hunting for "Cheapest Stateroom" , one can also search just on "Cheapest Balcony" or "Cheapest Suite" . The Custom Search lets one pick shortest to longest trip duration, select certain cruise lines or even ships, eliminate cruise lines, min and max ship rating, departure ports, ports to visit. It is really powerful, yet simple to use.

Even if you don't actually use the site for booking, might be worth your time to double-check what an agent has offered.

MarcJ55

I booked on Carnival recently. they have a best price guarantee. about once a week, I check prices and have noticed them getting cheaper. Each time I see a lower price, I give them a call and they lower my rate. Since I have paid for the cruise in full, they give me an onboard credit.