Will spur of the moment people really pay 50% more than me for the same room?

[Ned Land]

I see that our room category is now going for about 50% more than we paid 11 months ago for our particular cruise in June on the Fantasy.

Will these rooms eventually be heavily discounted maybe 30 days from cruise date or will people really pay such a high fare?

I would be sick to know that I was paying 50% more than others and think that only the rich and famous could afford such an expense.

 

[Trekker]

Many people have no idea what it cost to book 11 - 12 months ago - they are not advance planners and just decide - let's go on a cruise in 3 months and they check see the price and decide if it is worth it to them....

Kind of like flying now a days - no one pays the same amount - lots of people pay way more than others for a seat on the same plane.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

DCL may offer resident discounts and kids sail free offers to fill ships at the last minute, but they don't heavily discount their rooms like other lines. The only exception would be for upgrades at port the day of departure.

 

[kcashner]

I have a day 1 booking with a 10% onboard booking discount--2 of us booked for under $2000. That same cruise, same category for 2 adults is now selling for a bit over $3K. The following week has the IGT/OGT/VGT options available with the lowest price being just a little more than I am paying. However, there are no discounts being offered for our week.

So, yes--prices do go up as the ship fills...and if it doesn't fill enough, there are some steep discounts available. Disney has a very complex algorithm to maximize the income from each cruise and they will work it up to a day before booking.

 

[momto2girls]

Yes, some people will. A couple of years ago we decided that we wanted to take a DCL cruise rather last minute (a couple of months before). I knew that the cruise was significantly more than our last cruise (the Wonder both times), but we wanted to go so we were willing to eat the cost. When we were on the ship, we booked our next cruise. That is how we ended up going concierge for the first time. The price for our current cruise was so inflated that the price for the upcoming cruise in concierge looked like a deal in comparison.

 

[wmharley]

If it wasn't for my wife's schedule and the fact she needed to schedule her time back in December for the 1st 6 months of this yr, we'd have done a last minute on anther cruise.

Carnival has a 4 night bahama cruise the day before we go for $1200 (after taxes) for all 4 of us with an oceanview room.

Next cruise we will look ahead to the dates, pick time off based on those dates and roll the dice with a booking of 102 months prior. If not, then we plan another vacation trip on those dates.

 

[helenb]

I've done a last minute cruise (meaning booking 3 months or less before departure) twice. There is NO WAY I would pay those highly inflated prices. Both times I got a 'deal'.

The first time was in 2008, when Disney was sailing out of LA for the Mexican Riviera. We got a California Resident discount on a Cat 11 guarantee for super cheap less than 3 weeks before departure. Since we could drive to the port, it was a no-brainer.

The other one is right now. We got OGT rates on a June Fantasy cruise literally 91 days out (i.e. the day before we got to go online and book our port stuff) which was awesome! The rate is comparable to another cruise line 'normal' price, but it's on Disney. AND we got 2 rooms (because they had no GT rates for 4 people in a cabin, we got 2 doubles). We're risking that the cabins might not be near each other on the ship, but that's okay. We'll all be on there for a decent price!

For reference, I was looking at this same cruise a year ago with 4 of us in an oceanview and t was $1,000 more than what we're paying right now for 2 oceanviews.

 

[Dream_2011]

That is always my question you will never could tell went you are inside the ship who pay what for the same cruise that we are all together doing the same activity and enjoy all the amenities just a room we always book 24/18 month before our cruise or next one we booked on oct 2011 we are on fantasy spring break 2013, the wait pay or it only pay 2999 for 2 adults 2 kids age 10,12 in a varandah cabin, at this moment they are running around 7,000 the same cabinCrazy but this is the way to save money

 

[kimb96]

Yes. I know I am paying quite a bit more for my august 5 cruise than people who booked it a year ago. I knew that I wouldn't be getting a steller deal booking 6 months before the cruise. I was willing to pay the inflated price because I wanted the disney experience and this cruise is a special celebration for my family. I just finished chemo and this cruise is for my son and all the stuff I've been too sick to do for the past 6 months.

That said, knowing what I know now, I will book our next cruise onboard for the discount. I will book it far enough in advance as well to take advantage of the lower price. I tried to get dh to switch our cruise to the july 28 fantasy sailing as the verandah gty is about the same price as our cat 5E on the dream and we would have gotten 2 extra nights.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

It's like airfare... once you book it just walk away. Yes, someone else might get a better price than you. Someone else will pay more, though.

 

[Tigger&Bubba]

It's like airfare... once you book it just walk away. Yes, someone else might get a better price than you. Someone else will pay more, though.

I totally agree with you. Unfortunately for us we are unable to make plans years or even months ahead. We have lost deposits because we were unable to make a cruise and it was too late to change it.

In the past we have booked on a Wednesday and gotten on the ship on Saturday. I refuse to check prices of what could have been. If I did we probably wouldn't go at all.

We booked the Maiden voyage on the "Fantasy" six weeks out. Yes I paid an arm and a leg. As it is, my DH returns from a last minute business trip the day before we leave.

We recently booked for Christmas and have purchased insurance. (This is planning way ahead for us).

No airfare is the only thing that saves us.

It is nearly impossible to get my DH to commit to a vacation. Disney really appeals to him in part because he doesn't have to get on another airplane.

So there are all types of travelers on a Disney cruise. We miss out on the big anticipation of planning months in advance but we still get to enjoy the Disney "magic" which is priceless.

 

[NancyIL]

I am not one to walk away after I book a flight or a cruise! I like being able to say "ha!" when my airfare goes up in price after I buy the ticket, but I hate it when the price drops and I can do nothing about it. However, it pays to watch cruise prices, because when they drop before final payment, you can get the lower price. I know that doesn't happen often on Disney, but it happened several times on my May Celebrity Med cruise. We are now in a balcony cabin for less than what we originally would've paid for an inside.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

Yes. I know I am paying quite a bit more for my august 5 cruise than people who booked it a year ago. I knew that I wouldn't be getting a steller deal booking 6 months before the cruise. I was willing to pay the inflated price because I wanted the disney experience and this cruise is a special celebration for my family. I just finished chemo and this cruise is for my son and all the stuff I've been too sick to do for the past 6 months.

I just wanted to say congratulations on completing your chemo and I hope your family is blessed with the best vacation ever. Enjoy!!!!

 

[Meghatron]

My friend paid last-minute fare (30 days out) plus the single supplement to join us on our MR next week. She's lucky she got a room at all; the ship sold out even for singles a few days later. Was it a lot of money? Yes. But she just lost her father after a long, ugly battle with cancer, and due to his illness her whole life had been on hold for close to two years. She's willing to pay the premium in order to vacation with us and begin her healing process.

 

[Dislaney4n6]

For my cruise in July, I booked opening day last April. Today the same room is only $100 more pp. I figured it would have been more by now, but then again, I have no idea how many cabins are filled.