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Cruise Planner Purchases: When??


CJS2766

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Hello all,

Just curious to see when you would purchase items through the Cruise Planner? Our next cruise is not until Oct. 2023. I have started to look at beverage packages and internet, but prices seem really high right now. I do realize that I can purchase now and cancel if I see a better price. I'm more curious to see what most cruisers would do right now? I'm hoping there will be some good deal for Black Friday, but who knows! I just hate the whole buy now, cancel later, reprice, etc.. Currently, Voom Surf and Stream is $25 per day and the refreshment pack is $30 per day (we aren't alcohol drinkers) and those prices seem high to me. 3 night dining is about $120 PP

I know that no one knows right now, but I'd like to think that prices will come don a bit vs right now? Any thoughts?

Thanks all!!

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How long is your sailing?

I would say that all 3 are on the high end.  For us, we would choose Refreshment over Soda at around $23 and it reached that for us.  You will likely find lower on that and the Internet.  3 night dining was running about 100 and bumped to 112 in the last few weeks.  That one didn't drop on the latest sale either.

As far as strategy goes, book as soon as it reaches the line of acceptability for you and then reprice knowing your worst case is in your acceptable range.  I know you don't want to reprice, but not doing so is counter to getting the best pricing.

if there is something you would want and would pay that amount closer to sailing, get it now.  If a reduction is needed for the item to make sense to you then wait.

Get it all paid for now and your wallet will be fresh when you get onboard next fall.  

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I think you'll see a sale in the next 2 weeks.  But even if there isn't much for your itinerary, later in the year you'll see an appealing price.  I agree with Xaa that you should strike when the price seems fair, knowing you can cancel and rebook later.  We found that for our last cruise, we were able to reduce a couple of excursions and Voom by 25% by canceling and rebooking.  The initial prices weren't that great.

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At this point I would wait for the monthly sale (which will happen to be Black Friday this month) since your next cruise isn't imminent and you aren't thinking of getting the deluxe package.  I always track refreshment and internet to know when a sale is active since alcohol and dining are more volatile in the upward direction.  It's been consistent on all my sailings for the past several months that refreshment is $30 not on sale and $23 on sale and s&s internet is $24 not on a sale and $22 on sale (on oasis and quantum class ships).

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I think that’s good advice.  It feels like pricing on packages won’t go down, and you can always cancel and re-buy if the price of a package drops.  They may continue offering lower prices on cruises but once booked, they can make some money back on the add-ons. I don’t mean that to sound like a trick, it’s just the economic landscape is changing rapidly and the impact of the shut down and even the first full year back was bound to have profound effects on the industry. So many cruises are really cheap right now, maybe it’s supply and demand, but people have cash so once they book they are likely to spend and invest more into the vacation.

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On 11/10/2022 at 2:34 PM, WoodsTravels said:

When is the best time to book the beverage package? We are not sailing till July 2024 but I want to know when to start checking for the best deal. 

When you find it at a price you feel is worth it.  The key is to constantly check your cruise planner...We check ours at least 3 times a week and even have a spreadsheet to track it.  We currently have four cruises booked but so far, we feel the price of the beverage package it too high and not cost effective for us.  We will keep monitoring it.

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16 minutes ago, Psycho and Barb said:

 even have a spreadsheet to track it.  

I was dragging out scraps of paper every time something seemed like it was less expensive and recalculating over and over. After seeing several regulars on this site post that they track via spreadsheet I decided to try it out. I highlight when I purchase so super easy to see when there's a lower price. I feel so much more organized and am hopeful/ready for Black Friday!

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11 minutes ago, FloatyBoaty said:

 I highlight when I purchase so super easy to see when there's a lower price. I feel so much more organized and am hopeful/ready for Black Friday!

We use different fill colors on ours.  Gray is the original or base price...Red when the price goes up and Green when the price drops.  Blue is when we purchase it.

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On 11/9/2022 at 9:03 AM, CJS2766 said:

Hello all,

Just curious to see when you would purchase items through the Cruise Planner? Our next cruise is not until Oct. 2023. I have started to look at beverage packages and internet, but prices seem really high right now. I do realize that I can purchase now and cancel if I see a better price. I'm more curious to see what most cruisers would do right now? I'm hoping there will be some good deal for Black Friday, but who knows! I just hate the whole buy now, cancel later, reprice, etc.. Currently, Voom Surf and Stream is $25 per day and the refreshment pack is $30 per day (we aren't alcohol drinkers) and those prices seem high to me. 3 night dining is about $120 PP

I know that no one knows right now, but I'd like to think that prices will come don a bit vs right now? Any thoughts?

Thanks all!!

I follow Matt’s advice and just book the drink package if ultimately I would spend that for the convenience and budget factors. I can benefit if it goes down, but what if it goes up? 

My question about that is purchasing the Thrill Water Park Cabana as a Christmas present for our family cruise. They sell out so what option would you have to cancel and we-book?

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3 hours ago, TKinRock said:

My question about that is purchasing the Thrill Water Park Cabana as a Christmas present for our family cruise. They sell out so what option would you have to cancel and we-book?

If the price drops and there is one available, you book it under someone else's name in your party before you cancel the one you already had purchased.

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I've been posting on this website for a few months now and the only constant on purchases is that they seem to have no rhyme or reason.  What I have figured out for myself is that if I see a price that I can live with, I buy it.  I really want the Key. I will buy it at $25, but it has not fallen below $31, so I keep looking. Due to Mrs Fan's lightweight drinking (maybe 2 drinks total per day), I will never buy a DBP. 

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