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When to Book a Royal Caribbean Cruise for the Best Price


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EDIT - Title should read "When to sail to get the best price".  This is for folks who have flexibility to sail anytime.  Booking cruises far into the future almost always will secure the best prices and best choice of cabin.

I've often thought of plotting this myself but then I found someone who already did.

This is from 2012 and it is specific to interior cabins to the Caribbean but in my experience most other cabin categories track this and it repeats year after year.

Want to sail when its cheapest? 

Want to avoid cruises with a ton of kids?  

Avoid those peaks.

1247489131_RCIpricetrends.jpg.7943c4a984c1c50b9d0fbe2f49afa9fc.jpg

Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/

This research tracks my own experiences very well. 

Who doesn't like to save money on a cruise?

Suite cabins can be an exception but often suite deals can be found in the same low periods simply because demand is lower.

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Just now, WAAAYTOOO said:

This is the result of the unnatural integration of bots and dweeb-geeks.

Just sayin'.

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I think a more specific question is when to book for the best price, knowing your preferred cruise date.  For many, we have to cruise within those peak periods because kids are out of school or that is when vacation can be used.   For example, I looked at some Caribbean cruises for August 2018 (to see if my deal was still strong), and the pricing is better than those same cruises for Aug 2019.  The prevailing theory is always book early for the best price, correct? 

 

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39 minutes ago, RaleighTrout said:

I think a more specific question is when to book for the best price, knowing your preferred cruise date.  For many, we have to cruise within those peak periods because kids are out of school or that is when vacation can be used.   For example, I looked at some Caribbean cruises for August 2018 (to see if my deal was still strong), and the pricing is better than those same cruises for Aug 2019.  The prevailing theory is always book early for the best price, correct? 

 

I am always in this situation where I have to work around the school calendar.

12 minutes ago, twangster said:

Yes.  For the most part booking early yields best results but be diligent about checking the fares each time any sales or promos are announced.

^^^This strategy has yet to fail me in all my years of cruising.  I often book once fares are released and monitor from there.

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

I've often thought of plotting this myself but then I found someone who already did

Thanks for this info twangster, pretty interesting. Low prices in the fall time frame (hurricane season) and high prices in the summer months. Seems to me the Caribbean is pretty hot in the summer. I guess a lot of folks don't mind that (Canada or Europe) or look forward to it? :27_sunglasses:

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Just like" vote early and vote often," I book early and book often WITH A TRAVEL AGENT. . . rinse and repeat.

That's the nice thing about RCCL versus Disney, is that you can do that. Since prices are not necessarily on a linear upward slant (hello specials/sales), like they are with Disney (rarely a sale or special unless you live in Florida, Canada, or Timbuktu), we actually have the opportunity to re-book, not only the cruise itself, but port excursions, spa appointments, and specialty dining. Definitely not on option on the all-inclusive, whether you want it or not, pay through the nose, Disney Cruise Line. Don't get me wrong, we last sailed concierge with Disney just 3 weeks ago and loved it. But man, it wasn't worth the price because we didn't do or use everything little thing we paid for in the "all-inclusive" Disney price. So yes, book early! And book/re-book often because you can! And yes, I check RCCL throughout the week. . . because it's like I take a mental cruise every time I log on. . . and it has paid off! ?

Edited by Baked Alaska
added travel agent suggestion
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5 hours ago, twangster said:

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I resemble that remark.

Book as early as possible through a cruise specialist travel agent (like MEI travel). They check all the subsequent deals for you. Just got an email from Sharla last month about saving me $250.

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6 hours ago, twangster said:

I've often thought of plotting this myself but then I found someone who already did.

This is from 2012 and it is specific to interior cabins to the Caribbean but in my experience most other cabin categories track this and it repeats year after year.

Want to sail when its cheapest? 

Want to avoid cruises with a ton of kids?  

Avoid those peaks.

1247489131_RCIpricetrends.jpg.7943c4a984c1c50b9d0fbe2f49afa9fc.jpg

Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/

This research tracks my own experiences very well. 

Who doesn't like to save money on a cruise?

Suite cabins can be an exception but often suite deals can be found in the same low periods simply because demand is lower.

The peak summer sailing dates probably skew a little to the right of this when sailing out of Europe, as most European children have summer holiday from around mid July to the end of August.  And many European businesses take the month of August off.

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I am really glad that I not only have a flexible schedule that allows me to cruise pretty much whenever and a strong dislike of travel to warm destinations in the summer. So, let’s hear it for Caribbean cruises in early December! It could not have been a coincidence that both of my cruises are scheduled on December 8th, 365 days apart from one another ?

Thanks for the info, Mr. Twangster bot-dude ?

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Just now, yaya luvs to cruz said:

I see that the best time to book is early December or take advantage of the Black Friday sales. I'm booked for January 2019, so I will be paid in full by Black Friday. How will that affect my rate? Will I still be able to get a reduced fare if available or once paid in full,am I done. Thanks.

The graph depicted here is simply a comparison of rates over the year for the same cruise on different sailing dates.   For example, an interior cabin for a cruise in early December is going to be cheaper compared to the identical cruise on the same ship if the sail date is over the Christmas holiday or New Years, regardless when you book it.

In other words, when you sail versus when you book.  I suppose my choice of words for the title wasn't ideal.

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1 hour ago, yaya luvs to cruz said:

I see that the best time to book is early December or take advantage of the Black Friday sales. I'm booked for January 2019, so I will be paid in full by Black Friday. How will that affect my rate? Will I still be able to get a reduced fare if available or once paid in full,am I done. Thanks.

When I recently spoke to an RC cruise planner and stayed I would reach diamond during my next cruise, he told me to call back after it and see about extra discounts. I said my final payment will be done already and he said a refund or credit would still be able to be done. I am assuming the same hold for a discount. At least worth a try to call.

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