Did you know that cancelling your existing cruise vacation and rebooking it at current rates could be saving you money? Our cancellation calculator will help you identify these opportunities in 3 easy steps.
Cancellation Calculator
If you find a better deal on your cruise fare after booking, you may think that there’s no hope of saving the money already paid. However, according to a new analysis by leading digital cruise advisor Cruisewatch, there is still a potential to save a significant amount of money.
Recent research by Cruisewatch.com, a cruise advisor known for its innovative price prediction, has shown that prices on cruises can drop significantly as the departure date nears. “Most cruisers tend to book their trips four to six months in advance,” explains Markus Stumpe, CEO of Cruisewatch, “but it could be very beneficial for them to cancel and then rebook their cruise at fares reduced up to 71%.” This is particularly true if the chosen cruise offers less-strict fee structures.
Generally, cruise lines break down into three cancellation categories: soft, moderate, and strict.
Lines like Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Star Clippers, offer “softer” fees, and may charge only a 25% cancellation fee on average at least 30 days before departure.
Moderate lines, including Viking Cruises, Windstar Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruise Line, Hurtigruten Cruise Lines, Cunard, Crystal Cruises, SeaDream, Princess Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line, offer a little more wiggle room, though they also charge about 90% for cancellations occurring within 30 days of departure. However, cancellation fees average only 15% 90 days or more before departure.
Strict lines, on the other hand, like Oceania Cruises, Ponant, Azamara Club Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea Cruises, and Seabourn tend to offer little or no refunds unless you cancel at least 120 days in advance. Within the last 60 days you normally have to pay a 100% fee.
To illustrate the potential savings, take this possible real-world situation: Someone books his/her dream cruise on Celebrity Eclipse 150 days before departure and pays a total of $5,000. Forty days before departure, this person sees an offer on the same ship with a savings of 40%. At this time the cancellation fee on Celebrity is 20%, so the person opts to rebook and saves $1,000.
Cruise Cancellation Fee by cruisewatch.com
Cancellation fee structures for most cruise lines are often very strict and difficult to understand, and multiple factors influence each policy. The length of the cruise, how far in advance you’re able to cancel, destination, cabin type, or cruise category can all contribute to the final cancellation fee. Booking special deals may mean higher cancellation fees. In most cases, deposits paid are also non-refundable. Often you will also need to draft a formal written document in order to cancel the cruise.
If the cancellation fees are prohibitive, there may be alternatives for recouping the difference in prices. Some cruise lines offer onboard credit as reimbursement for price differences, or offer significant upgrades where available.
The best way to determine whether it’s worth it to cancel and rebook your cruise is to take a closer look at your cruise line’s cancellation policy. However, if you’re still in the planning stages, you are likely still comparing prices, policies, and packages. This time-consuming process is a must for those seeking the best deals, but using innovative new online tools can help save time in the short term, and money long-term.
Use this link www.cruisewatch.com/cancellation.php to see your fees and rebooking options at a glance.
An extensive study from cruise price monitoring service CruiseWatch.com found stable average prices for interior cabins and price reductions between 6% for balcony cabins and up to 10% for oceanview staterooms. The bad news: suites are getting more expensive with an average increase of 2% on all watched cruises. And the price changes are highly variable per line.
The website compared price changes for 4.383 cruises in 2016, departing in the summer period of May to September, with 4.884 sailings leaving in the same period this year. To get comparable data, the study then compared the price per day at a locked in fixed point on May 1st for both years.
Average Cruise Price For Summer Per Cabin
Interior cabins show a mostly stable trend. The amount of price discounts (compared to the initially published price) also was stable. Interior cabins traded around 94% of the initial price both years. There are markedly differences on a line by line basis, though. The top three lines increasing prices were Azamara with an average increase per day of a whopping 24%, Costa with +22% and Disney with +11%. Amongst the lines dropping prices where Celebrity Cruises (-13%), Holland America (-10%) and Princess Cruises (-10%).
Oveanview cabins showed the most visible decline in average. While these porthole cabins traded slightly above initial price last year, lines were giving an average of 7% discount this year. However, this again was highly variable by cruise line. This time Norwegian Cruise Line leads the camp of lines raising prices with an increase of +27% on average, followed by Costa (+24%) and Azamara (+19%). Regent Seven Seas lowered their prices by 26% followed by Holland American (-16%) and Royal Caribbean (-10%).
Balcony cabins also saw price reductions, going from $358 to $336. This reduction mostly came from lowered initial prices, as the number of price drops is mostly unchanged versus last year. Azamara (+33%), Costa (+18%) and NCL (+16%) are again raising prices significantly, while Holland America (-20%), Regent Seven Seas (-20%) and Royal Caribbean (-15%) are reducing.
Lastly, on suites the prices remained mostly stable with a slight upward notion, increasing to $629 per day versus $615 last year. Viking, Azamara and Crystal Cruises are the top price increasers. Regent Seven Seas, MSC Cruises and Holland America are reducing their prices. Due to highly variable cabins and limited inventory, this category is the most difficult to draw valid conclusions from.
Britta Bernhard, founder of CruiseWatch.com said: “Our study shows that there are still good savings to be found for a summer cruise vacation this year. While some lines raise prices across the board, other are reducing. This might be a good year to utilize some next generation cruise price drop services on the web to identify the best deals.”.
The search engine Cruisewatch.com offers consumers free price drop monitoring. The website processes massive amounts of data using intuitive software that will help consumers find the perfect cruise: at the right time, at the best price. Users can receive automatic alerts when prices are reduced or when good deals are on the horizon. A price forecast is built into the website. “Cruise lines invest massive amounts of resources into revenue optimization. We are leveling the playing field and offering consumers up-to-date technology to make the right decisions,” says Cruisewatch.com’s co-founder.
We live up to our motto… RIGHT CRUISE. RIGHT TIME. RIGHT PRICE.
You can find more valuable resources on our website. For instance, have you ever wondered if it is cheaper to go on a cruise than to have a stay-at-home vacation? You can find the answer here. Consumers often wonder how far in advance to book their cruises. We answered that question in this blog post. Surprisingly, there is one day of the week when you can find the best prices on cruise tickets. Find out which day it is by reading this post. You are interested in getting up to 65% cruise price reduction by choosing the right cruise line? See more. And click here to know when to book which cruise line.
See all current price drops per cabin type over here:
Interior Oceanview Balcony SuitesEver wondered what is the best time to book? We did, and looked at more than 4 million price changes to find out. According to our new comprehensive study, there are many factors at play when it comes to price. The cruise line, the actual cruise, and the time you book. During 2016 we analyzed 3,000 cruises on a cabin level. And focussed especially on how many days before departure the best prices could be found.
Continue reading “Should You Book Your Cruise Early Or Wait To Get The Best Cruise Deals?”
Have you ever dreamed of boarding a ship bound for the perfect destination? Now imagine how you would feel about that same trip after finding a cruise price reduction of 65%. It isn’t just a dream anymore. Thanks to the innovative team at Cruisewatch.com, you can find a cruise price reduction to nearly any destination.
Our site, a cutting-edge search engine that matches customers with cruises, recently released a report showing that the average cruise price reduction is 16%. The same report indicates that shoppers can find discounts of as much as 65%, if they use the right booking tool.
We regularly publish cruise evaluations, but have gone the extra mile to prepare an analysis of all cruises for the year. This analysis uses more than 6,000,000 data points to evaluate the average and maximum price reductions each cruise company has offered during a booking period.
Minimum and Maximum Cruise Price Reduction per Cruise Line
The results are astonishing! The cruise companies use extremely different pricing strategies. Cruise companies can be divided into two groups. The first group has very flexible prices, while the other group offers more stable pricing. The cruise lines with flexible pricing quickly react to changing market situations. This flexibility allows them to balance supply and demand easily. It also allows them to offer great cruise price reductions! The cruise lines with the more steady pricing model prioritize stable and reliable fares. This pricing model prevents them from offering large price reductions on their cruises.
“The biggest savings are achieved by automatically observing price changes, then making a prediction as to whether a price increase or reduction is likely,” says Nina Stumpe, a cruise enthusiast and co-founder of Cruisewatch.com. Stumpe went on to say, “This information must be immediately made available to the end customer via modern alert functions so that they can decide on a booking. This is how cruise search works today!”
Holland America Line leads the group with very flexible prices. Holland America offers an average 23% savings over the initial price. Fortunately, sharp bargain hunters can find a near 60% cruise price reduction. Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Seabourn are other cruise lines that are pursuing a similar pricing strategy.
Carnival Cruise Line heads the group that pursues a more stable pricing model. Other major cruise lines like Costa and MSC also use a more stable pricing model, but occasionally offer last minute discounts. Carnival Cruise Line offers an average 13% savings, but will offer a cruise price reduction of 32% at times. Ponant, a smaller cruise line, frequently offers discounted cabins, but tends to wait until shortly before departure to offer a cruise price reduction.
“Our data shows that cruise prices fluctuate with cruise lines that officially claim to not offer discounts. Frequently, these lines will not offer certain cabin categories at a discount, but will make less expensive cabin categories available. The result is virtually the same for consumers,” explains Stumpe. “That is why it is important to monitor and keep track of price changes. It can help you save huge amounts of money.”
We offer consumers free price drop monitoring. Our website processes massive amounts of data using intuitive software that will help consumers find the perfect cruise: at the right time, at the best price. Users can receive automatic alerts when prices are reduced or when good deals are on the horizon. A price forecast is built into the website. “Cruise lines invest massive amounts of resources into revenue optimization. We are leveling the playing field and offering consumers up-to-date technology to make the right decisions,” says Cruisewatch’s co-founder. We are doing this to honor our motto: RIGHT CRUISE. RIGHT TIME. RIGHT PRICE.
You can find more valuable resources on our website. For instance, have you ever wondered if it is cheaper to go on a cruise than to have a stay-at-home vacation? You can find the answer here. Consumers often wonder how far in advance to book their cruises. We answered that question in this blog post. Surprisingly, there is one day of the week when you can find the best prices on cruise tickets. Find out which day it is by reading this post.
See current price drops
A study by cruisewatch.com, a next-generation cruise search engine with an innovative decision support system, finds prices for cruise sailings are cheapest five weeks before setting sail.
Have you ever experienced checking cruise prices and finding they are high and then upon checking again later prices have decreased? The biggest factor you should consider in saving money is to determine the right moment when to book a cruise, says cruisewatch.com. Based on an elaborate study that considered more than 25,000 cruise sailings, cruise prices drop the lowest five weeks before departure.
Average Historic Pricing
The best discounts can be found in the weeks prior to sailing, with average reductions of 4 percent for interior and ocean-view cabins. But that is just the average. Not fully sold sailings can be discounted up to 40 percent.
“If you’re flexible regarding the cruise sailing, ship, or departure date, you can save big money by booking short term. But you can only choose between the last unsold rooms. If you are keen to get a special category, especially a suite, you should book your cruise early,” explains Nina Stumpe, a cruise enthusiast and cofounder of cruisewatch.com.
“Cruiseline’s prices are steered mainly during the last 100 days before departure. During this ‘hot phase,’ the biggest price decreases take place, especially for interior and ocean-view cabins. Interestingly the balcony staterooms, which are more expensive, are reduced less, and suites don’t get any discounts,” Nina says.
See current price dropsYou might want to consider what day of the week to search for cruises, says cruisewatch.com, a search engine for cruise price drop. According to an elaborate study that took into consideration more than 600,000 data points, cruise prices drop lowest in the middle of the week with Thursday seeing most discounts.
Continue reading “Why you should always book a cruise on Thursdays”
Ocean Princess
According to a recent study by the next generation cruise search engine CruiseWatch it is actually cheaper to cruise continuously for an entire year than to pay rent and live in the US. That is, at least, if you live in these cities or regions.
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According to a recent study by the next generation cruise search engine CruiseWatch it is actually cheaper to cruise continuously for an entire year than to pay rent and live in Pensylvania. That is, at least, if you live in this PA city.
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According to a recent study by the next generation cruise search engine CruiseWatch it is actually cheaper to cruise continuously for an entire year than to pay rent and live in New York City.
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