Matt Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 What are your best tricks for getting the absolute cheapest price for a suite? Book early, reprice....any other good tricks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Book early Check prices relentlessly Use a good TA I just processed the 6th cruise fare reduction for my 12-22-22 Oasis cruise. Bazza, Baked Alaska, Jax and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowrider Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 We always book refundable rates on a few different dates. Whichever one or sometimes two end up repricing the lowest are the winners. We also commonly convert a refundable rate to non-refundable prior to final payment. Cactus527, WAAAYTOOO, Baked Alaska and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 5 minutes ago, Flowrider said: We always book refundable rates on a few different dates. Whichever one or sometimes two end up repricing the lowest are the winners. We also commonly convert a refundable rate to non-refundable prior to final payment. I thought you couldn't book refundable fares for suites? I'd be all over that. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 9 minutes ago, Flowrider said: We always book refundable rates on a few different dates. Whichever one or sometimes two end up repricing the lowest are the winners. We also commonly convert a refundable rate to non-refundable prior to final payment. Suites, at least for the last 2 years have been NRD. CruiseGus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowrider Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 16 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: I thought you couldn't book refundable fares for suites? I'd be all over that. Wouldn’t know about the suites. We typically book interior rooms or oceanview to save money. Sorry I totally missed the title about suites! We’re a family of 6 and we take advantage of kids sail free promotion. What we’ve noticed is that if we start with the rate during the kids sale free promotion we usually pay more vs if we book when it’s expensive(and not on sale) and reprice it. Overall rates seem to be better that second route. The kids sale free promotion applies after the first 2 persons are full priced. When we had 4 kids under 12 y/o we would book the ultra spacious oceanview room or ultraspacious interior rooms(6 passenger rooms). Mom and dad were full price and then the 4 kids were free. Now that 2 kids are older we book two connecting rooms and try and get one kid free in one room and one free in the second room. Kata 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Book early and have a MEI TA watch for price reduction. I've had a few happy emails saying my cruise went down. But booking early seems the best. We booked a cruise star class for 2023 as soon as it came out. Last checked and the same suite is $9,000 more!! Shari3, SpeedNoodles, Neesa and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 The best price we ever got was the first time we ever did a suite on Explorer in 2015 (5 night trip), right before drydock. Total cost for 2 adults and 1 child in a grand suite was $2300. No idea why it was that cheap. But I wish I knew. Since then I haven't found any good way to get a better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AspiringCruisePlanner Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Become an airline employee or recruit your parents or kids to become one! Royal offers around a 25% discount on top of the regular 30% discount for all categories, including suites. Cruises within 3 months are often 50% off the price available to the public. 12thman and SpeedNoodles 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Book early! The best prices are usually on day 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack168 Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 2 hours ago, Matt said: What are your best tricks for getting the absolute cheapest price for a suite? Book early, reprice....any other good tricks? RoyalUp if that counts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRebecca Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 We were able to cruise in our first full suite in November by applying FCC to an existing reservation. Without the FCC we'd probably not sail in a suite ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill6x6 Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 For me it's being familiar with the current going rate, check frequency, and then be prepared to JUMP on it once you see the good deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Be flexible about when you want to go, and just keep checking availability. You never know when there will be some weird deal. First time we were ever in a GS was because it happened to be priced lower than a JS about 90 days out. It was all down hill from there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heymarco Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 We upgraded to GS once after final payment for a 7 night Med cruise. It was cheaper than balcony room we had paid for. Can’t beat that! PPPJJ-GCVAB, Coda_Sarah and WAAAYTOOO 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Book early and book off peak. During peak seasons, and Royal knows when that is, prices never deviate very much so if the question is best price ever, off peak enters the discussion. Region also makes a difference. Booking Europe is way different from short Florida or Alaska. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmondFarmer Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Best price I ever got on a suite was when my parents invited me and paid. So I guess the strategy could be summed up as, wait to be invited on someone else’s dime. kadmgs, MTNeedsAVacay, RWDW1204 and 8 others 3 6 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 4 hours ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said: Become an airline employee or recruit your parents or kids to become one! Royal offers around a 25% discount on top of the regular 30% discount for all categories, including suites. Cruises within 3 months are often 50% off the price available to the public. We can't even get first responder discounts. PPPJJ-GCVAB, WAAAYTOOO and foxrunner 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 6 hours ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said: Become an airline employee or recruit your parents or kids to become one! Royal offers around a 25% discount on top of the regular 30% discount for all categories, including suites. Cruises within 3 months are often 50% off the price available to the public. Yup! miss those perks! Discounts for cruises, hotels and tax only flight! Plus jump seat when everything is sold out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 3 hours ago, AlmondFarmer said: Best price I ever got on a suite was when my parents invited me and paid. So I guess the strategy could be summed up as, wait to be invited on someone else’s dime. Can confirm this is the way. SpeedNoodles, JC Pats, twangster and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 And that is certainly my kids’ strategy! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLH Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Be totally flexible. Be able to travel within a couple of weeks or months and have access to great airfares. I have a website I use to check daily that tracks price changes and can search on categories and since royal changed its way to look for senior discounts and resident discounts, I have another website to look for those. There are many times that prices are reduced in error, especially when they are looking at a redeployment. Always look for redeployments. After redeployment they are trying to fill the ship and priced can be great. I always book suites and don't plan anything until I see great deal. WAAAYTOOO and Done 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Done Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 15 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said: I thought you couldn't book refundable fares for suites? I'd be all over that. Jr. Suites are still able to be booked with refundable deposits. I realize Jr. Suites do not have the same perks the other higher prices suites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Thanks everyone, great tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAD Posted January 7, 2022 Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 I did this… booked a balcony room and then watched the prices to later change to a suite guarantee (“WS”) for an additional $600 or so… that ended up getting me a JS. But then I got to RoyalUp bid on all of the other suite categories. And ended up in a Crown Loft Suite for about $6k less than the going rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysRollin Posted January 9, 2022 Report Share Posted January 9, 2022 On 1/6/2022 at 12:30 AM, SpeedNoodles said: We can't even get first responder discounts. right?? why do they even have that as an option when searching? SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deebarb Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 On 1/6/2022 at 6:10 AM, MLH said: Be totally flexible. Be able to travel within a couple of weeks or months and have access to great airfares. I have a website I use to check daily that tracks price changes and can search on categories and since royal changed its way to look for senior discounts and resident discounts, I have another website to look for those. There are many times that prices are reduced in error, especially when they are looking at a redeployment. Always look for redeployments. After redeployment they are trying to fill the ship and priced can be great. I always book suites and don't plan anything until I see great deal. Would you be willing to share those websites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG Teacher Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 On 1/5/2022 at 7:08 PM, Matt said: What are your best tricks for getting the absolute cheapest price for a suite? Book early, reprice....any other good tricks? 1. Figure out what parameters I'm looking for. 2. Email Kathy G. at MEI with the information from step #1. 3. Enjoy the rest of my afternoon. 4. Provide CC# for the deposit the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnUK Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 Look for anomalies. They happen less frequently now than used to be the case but do still occur. A few years ago we took the Owners Suite on Rhapsody (in the Med.) which was priced substantially below the Grand Suite and only £100 or so more than the Junior Suite. It was probably an error but the booking stood. In the last few months, we have booked a Grand Suite on Anthem for 2024 for less than we paid for the identical cruise we took in 2022. For a while, the Grand Suite with large balcony was priced below the regular version. I guess these are probably pricing errors by Royal but worth looking out for as they will be honoured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetPea Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 I used to have killer last minute deals with a NJ resident discount sailing out of Bayonne. Wahhhh! Those days are long gone. Now there are no last minute deals that i can see and so I've resorted to booking early and earning my PH.D in stalking prices, though my awesome TA does that for me as well. Quick question though ... it's my understanding that if you book a refundable fare and convert it to nonrefundable closer to final payment, your fare is priced at prevailing rates so it may not save you anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Alt Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 Royal Up has been my best and cheapest way of getting into a suite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 40 minutes ago, SweetPea said: if you book a refundable fare and convert it to nonrefundable closer to final payment, your fare is priced at prevailing rates so it may not save you anything? That is correct. If the price of the cruise has increased to a point where your original refundable price is actually lower than the current non refundable price then it would make no sense to switch. Repricing (of any kind) means calculating the new fare at the current price. Neesa, SweetPea and Allen2 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLH Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 6 hours ago, deebarb said: Would you be willing to share those websites? cruiseplum.com vacationstogo.com has Royal Caribbean senior rates Cactus527, D Alt, deebarb and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveK Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 7 hours ago, MLH said: cruiseplum.com What an amazing site! Wish they had an equivalent for Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togo Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 1/5/2022 at 8:19 PM, AspiringCruisePlanner said: Become an airline employee or recruit your parents or kids to become one! Royal offers around a 25% discount on top of the regular 30% discount for all categories, including suites. Cruises within 3 months are often 50% off the price available to the public. Do you have a website you use for airline employees to find this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvergreenCruzers Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 6 hours ago, togo said: Do you have a website you use for airline employees to find this? We prefer to use https://kvi.travel/ specifically www.travelwithgreganddonna.com . Donna always takes amazing care of us! Tell her Joe and Amanda sent you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSUFAN Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 1/5/2022 at 10:10 PM, AlmondFarmer said: Best price I ever got on a suite was when my parents invited me and paid. So I guess the strategy could be summed up as, wait to be invited on someone else’s dime. Mine are using Ole Dad to pay the bulk of the trip. Not the entire amount, but around 80%. As others have stated. My 3 rules. Book Early, Book Early, Book Early. Prices have gone sky-high since we booked our trip to Alaska more than a year ago. Only thing is you have to look at the website and it has 400+ days to your trip and that is a huge downer. teddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
togo Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, EvergreenCruzers said: We prefer to use https://kvi.travel/ specifically www.travelwithgreganddonna.com . Donna always takes amazing care of us! Tell her Joe and Amanda sent you. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxrunner Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 On 1/6/2022 at 12:30 AM, SpeedNoodles said: We can't even get first responder discounts. No teacher discounts either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 4 hours ago, foxrunner said: No teacher discounts either. They offer first responder discounts, but they never override whatever sale or promo they have going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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