Price protection
Unlock Savings at Sea: How to Snag the Best Cruise Deals!
Dreaming of turquoise waters, exotic destinations, and the all-inclusive ease of a cruise vacation? You’re not alone! But the initial price tag can sometimes feel like a hurdle. The good news is that the cruise industry is dynamic, and savvy travelers know that cruise lines frequently roll out sales and promotions throughout the year, offering fantastic opportunities to reduce the overall cost of your dream getaway.
The Ever-Changing Tides of Cruise Pricing:
Just like airline tickets and hotel rooms, cruise prices aren’t static. They fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including seasonality, demand, ship occupancy, and even special events. This means that the price you see today might be different tomorrow, next week, or next month. Cruise lines use these sales and promotions to fill cabins, especially during off-peak seasons or for specific itineraries.
Your Secret Weapon: Staying Vigilant for Price Drops!
Here’s a crucial tip that many cruisers swear by: once you’ve booked your cruise, don’t set it and forget it! You need to become a savvy price watcher. Why? Because if the price of your exact same cruise (same ship, sail date, and cabin category) drops after you’ve booked, you can often receive the difference back from the cruise line!
How to Capitalize on Price Drops:
The exact policies and procedures for price adjustments vary between cruise lines, so it’s essential to understand the specific rules of the company you’re sailing with. However, here are some general steps you can take:
Monitor Prices Regularly: Keep an eye on the cruise line’s website or the website where you booked your cruise. Check the price of your specific sailing every week or even a few times a week, especially as your sail date approaches.
Set Price Alerts: Many online travel agencies and some cruise line websites allow you to set up price alerts for specific cruises. You’ll receive notifications if the price drops below a certain threshold.
Contact Your Travel Agent: If you booked through a travel agent, they can often monitor prices for you and handle the price adjustment process on your behalf. This is a significant benefit of using a travel professional.
Contact the Cruise Line Directly: If you booked directly with the cruise line, don’t hesitate to call their customer service and inquire about a potential price adjustment if you’ve seen a lower fare for your cruise. Be prepared to provide your booking information.
Understand the Timeline: Most cruise lines have a cut-off date for price adjustments, often a certain number of days or weeks before your sailing. Make sure you’re monitoring prices within this timeframe.
Be Specific: When requesting a price adjustment, be clear about the lower price you’ve found, including the website or source and the specific cabin category.
Be Patient and Polite: The process might take some time, but be persistent and polite in your communication with the cruise line or your travel agent.
What You Might Receive:
If your price adjustment request is successful, you might receive the difference in several ways:
Onboard Credit: This is a common way for cruise lines to compensate for price drops. You’ll receive credit to spend on the ship for things like drinks, specialty dining, shore excursions, or spa treatments.
Refund: In some cases, the cruise line might issue a direct refund to your original form of payment.
Cabin Upgrade: Less common but sometimes offered, you might be able to snag a complimentary upgrade to a higher cabin category.
Don’t Leave Money on the Table!
In the exciting lead-up to your cruise, it’s easy to forget about the financial aspect after booking. However, by actively monitoring the price of your cruise, you could potentially save a significant amount of money or score valuable onboard credit. Make it a part of your pre-cruise routine and set sail with even more reason to celebrate! #CruiseHacks #TravelDeals #SaveOnCruises
Price drops by the day of the week
Data source: Cruise Critic
Price Alerts
Look no further than cruiseline.com! They have a fantastic service that you will love. Simply set up low price alerts for your favorite cruise route, and they’ll do the rest. Their website features an easy-to-use system that keeps you updated on discounted fares for your desired destination and travel dates. With their great range of cruise lines and itineraries, you’ll surely find your voyage!
Carnival
Carnival offers all guests a 48 hour lowest price guarantee. If you notice a lower price on your cruise fare within 48 hours of booking, contact Carnival in order to get the lowest rate.
However…
I would recommend booking an Early Saver rate with Carnival as far in advance as possible when you book your cruise. Planning ahead and booking this rate will ensure you get the lowest rate on your Carnival cruise. The Early Saver rate gives you price protection up to 2 days prior to your sailing.
Early Saver rates are the lowest available core rate when open. Sometimes, limited audiences will see rates lower than Early Saver rates such as casino rates and other promotional rates. Also, Super Saver and Pack & Go rates may be lower than Early Saver but they come with a lot more restrictions. You also cannot pick your own cabin when you use the Super Saver and Pack & Go rates.
Early Saver rates are the only rates eligible for price protection up until 2 business days prior to your voyage.
Carnival Rate Types
Early Saver
Early Saver rates are available up to 76 days prior to sail dates for voyages 5 days or shorts and are available up to 91 days before the sail date on voyages 6 days and longer. The Early Saver rate will give you price protection up to 2 days prior to your cruise. This is the lowest fare that will allow you to choose your own cabin. If the price drops, Early Saver rates are eligible for the lowest price. This is personally my favorite rate to book under because I get the lowest price always, and I can choose my own cabin. That’s very important to me.
Super Saver
Super Saver rates are typically the lowest fare available, but you do not get to choose your own cabin with this rate. You’re only allowed to select your cabin type. The Super Saver rate requires a non-refundable, non-transferable deposit and it’s available for bookings made more than 90 days prior to the sail date. The Super Saver rate DOES NOT qualify for price protection. If you know for sure you won’t need to cancel your cruise and you don’t care where your cabin is located, this may be your best option.
Fun Saver
The Fun Saver rate is the standard rate where you allow Carnival to choose your cabin for you. This fare typically includes 50% off deposits and you allow Carnival to choose your cabin based on the type of cabin you select. The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferrable. No name changes are allowed and the Fun Saver rate DOES NOT qualify for price protection.
Fun Select
Fun Select rate is the standard rate that allows you to pick your own cabin. This fare typically comes with free cabin upgrades that will upgrade your cabin up to 2 categories within the same cabin class. Upgrades are based on availability. Your deposit is refundable subject to the cancellation policy and penalties.
Pack & Go
The Pack & Go rate is good if you’re a last second planner and go at the last minute. These are specials that run very close to the sail date and helps Carnival fill a ship to capacity. If you choose the Pack & Go rate, you need to pay for the cruise in full, not just a deposit. The entire fare is non-refundable and non-transferable. You only get to choose your cabin type, and the Pack & Go rate DOES NOT include price protection.
Compare apples to apples
The first thing you need to check when you’re looking at price drops, is to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. When you check for price drops on your cabin, be sure you’re checking the exact same category.
For instance, let’s say you have a balcony cabin booked on deck 11 (category 8G). You check for price drops and notice that a balcony cabin on deck 6 (category 8B) is cheaper. Even though they are both balconies, they are not the same category. The easiest way for someone who does not understand cabin categories to do this, is to look at the deck plans of your ship and look at the legend on the map. This will show you which cabins are in the same category as yours.
Be aware of promotions & deposits
When you apply for a price drop, it’s possible you will lose any promotion that you originally booked with. For instance when you booked, you may have used a promo code to get $100 of on board credit. When you submit a price drop, you’re moving to the new rate and could potentially lose your on board credit, of whatever other promotion you booked under. Be sure you’re comparing everything side by side. You may not want to submit a price drop for $25 if it means losing $100 of on board credit.
Also, the new rate you’re moving to may require you to come in with a higher deposit. You may have initially booked your cruise with a $50 deposit but the new rate requires a full deposit. Be prepared for this, and know what you’re switching to.
What happens when I submit a price drop with Carnival?
If your cruise is paid in full
Carnival will give you the difference in non-refundable on-board credit that you can use for your cruise.
If your cruise isn't paid in full
If you have not paid your cruise in full, Carnival will adjust the final amount owed to reflect the new lowest rate.
How to submit a price drop with Carnival
- The quickest way to submit a price drop is to use the price protection request form online.
- Give Carnival a call at 1 (800) 764-7419 and let them know the details of where you found your price drop.
- If you used a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner, you can give them a call/text/email and let them know of the lower fare.
- If you used a travel agent for some reason, you MUST go through them for anything. Carnival cannot assist you.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean offers a 48 hour best price guarantee. If you notice the price of the cruise is cheaper elsewhere within 48 hours, be sure to submit the best price guarantee form on Royals website. That can be found here.
Royal Caribbean will also allow you to re-price the cost of your cruise up until the final payment date. It’s up to you to monitor for price drops, then request the change in price.
This is not done automatically. If you find a lower publicly available rate then Royal Caribbean will honor the lower fare by refunding you the difference in price. If you are past your final payment date, then you will not be able to re-price the cruise any longer.
Group rates, membership programs, charters and other travel agent promotions not offered by Royal Caribbean to the general public are ineligible.
The lower rate must:
- Be for the same ship, sail date, cabin category and number of guests
- be available for reserving at the time Royal Caribbean reviews your request.
Norwegian
Norwegian does not have an official price matching policy. However, they are known to be flexible when it comes to matching and beating competitors pricing. They do however have a best price guarantee. If you find a lower price for the same exact cruise within 24 hours of booking, NCL will match that price.
Even though it’s unofficial, if you notice a price drop with your NCL cruise, it doesn’t hurt to contact NCL to rebook the cruise at the current lower rate. This has been reported in cruise forums as being successful. However, it’s very unlikely if the price drop is after your final payment date.
