Do suites and more expensive cabins on cruise ship sell at discounted rates close to the sailing date?

Question

thanks for your feedback...here's my dillema: i want to book a particular cruise (sailing april 2008). i made the mistake of not booking in time, so all of the standard and mid-sized cabins are fully booked. basically only suites and up are available. so i'm debating on whether to book now before the cruise is completely sold out, or wait and possibly get a discounted rate on the suites that are left (or if we're lucky, maybe get someone's cancelled cabin).....decisions...decisions....

Answer 1

This is a supply and demand question.  If the suites are not selling well, the price goes down.  If the suites are selling well, the price goes up.

That is if any suites are left.  The most expensive and least expensive cabins are the first to sell.  Usually the suites sell out because they are so popular.  However, I have seen unsold suites offered for a discount.

Sometimes the cruise lines will offer "upsells" of unsold suites to its best customers that are on the cruise.  An upsell is an offer to a passenger to get a better cabin at a discount.  For example, lets say that a balcony cabin sells for $2,000.  Lets say the suite sells for $4,000.  Suppose a couple who have taken twenty cruises with the cruise line is in the balcony and there is a suite that remains unsold.  The cruise line might offer the couple the suite for only $1,000 more.  The couple gets the suite for $1,000 under market and the cruise line gets both a happy couple, an additional $1,000 plus a balcony cabin that it might be able to resell easier than trying to sell the suite.

Here are some real world examples:

1)  Freedom of the Seas - June 2007.  This cruise sold out completely.  There are five family suites (many more regular suites and more family cabins, but only five family suites).  These five suites sold out in the first hour of the first day that they became available (in May 2006).  In fact, the entire ship sold out well before the actual cruise began.

2)  Norwegian Jade.  It sails on February 16.  You cannot purchase ANY cabin on this ship.  They are all sold out (sold out in January).  

3)  The suite I am in (on the February 16 Jade cruise) originally sold for $6,000.  These suites were all sold out by July of last year.  However in December one of the suites did become available - for $10,000.

4)  The A1 suites on the Norwegian Star normally sell for $25,000 for the week (they are 3000 sq. ft., have three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a sitting room, sleep six, and have a private balcony with a hot tub and a sauna).  However, for the February 28 sailing they are going for 1/2 price.

It really all depends on supply and demand.

Answer 2

No, being that there are less of them than any other category they go first. Everyone wants to cruise in style (okay not everyone) so they sell fast.... Very rarely will I see a penthouse at a discount, maybe a mini suite for 2 but thats about all.

Answer 3

No, if you look at any of the cruise line web sites, you will see that, unless you book your cruise really early, that the first cabins to be sold out are the various grades of suite, followed by the balcony cabins.

I think that it is an urban myth that cruise lines sell cabins at discounted rates close to the sailing date, if you watch the web sites you will find that there are discounts about 3 months prior to the sail date and the closer you get to the sail date the price increases for the remaining cabins.

This is when those who have bought a GTY cabin benefit, as the cruise line fill the ship the chances of getting an upgrade increase.

Answer 4

NO .....  On many cruises the suites sell out first.  The only ones that are usually available are the owners' suite and the Penthouse suites that go for $4K to $5K per voyage per person.  And they are not going to "give" those away at the last minute.  In fact, cruise lines give the best discounts for early bookings and you can no longer do the walk up on the last day cheap bookings.  The cruise lines are now required to give the immigration officials a manifest of passengers at least an hour before they sail and thus they now require all passengers to register their personal information weeks before the cruise.  One cruise line web site even said that among the security checks that they do as a result of 9/11 is an FBI check.

Answer 5

You might logically think that the suites and penthouses on cruises would be the last to sell but the opposite is true.  The most expensive suites and penthouses are usually the very first to sell.

Ah, it must be nice to have money like that.

Answer 6

They almost always sell out. They are usually the first to sell, on the other hand, we have been upgraded to a mini suit before because someone canceled at the last 2 weeks. Because we have cruised with Princess 8 times so far, they choose us to be upgraded. I guess this is one of the perks of staying with one company. By the way, it was very nice.

Answer 7

Well one questioner was ceartain about that he or she just could walk up to a cruise ship and get a free cruise if there was any cabins free so help yourself... Seariously the late booking discounts is a part of the past in every travelling branch. So the best advice to get a cheap travell is to book a half a year or maybe earlier in advance. Some cruises sells out allmost the moment theyre realeased. Johan