In September I booked a Royal Caribbean cruise using Priceline.com. At the time I was more excited about booking a cruise than thinking about what could happen if the price went down. At the time, I thought the pricing was pretty good and it fit in our vacation schedule because I found a cruise that started just a day after we were done at Universal’s Epic Universe and Walt Disney World.

I was also enticed by the offers being provided. I’m guessing it would come to about $100 of on board credit when everything was said and done. So I booked this cruise:

Since the balcony was reasonably priced more than the interior, I decided to book the balcony. In total, with port fees and taxes, I paid $1,034.61. Again, I think I was more excited about booking than about the price going down.

Royal Caribbean does make repricing adjustments, but typically only when reducing the fare price and not offering a discount that applies only to new bookings. Oh! Repricing only happens until the final payment date. Once the final payment date, then the ability to get a repricing basically goes out the window, not entirely, but when you use an OTA, like I did, it goes out the window.

Well, 28 days before we sailed, I happened to look at Priceline again and this is what I saw:

The price of the cruise went down by $392.00 in total and the pricing went down 2 days after I could have potentially gotten a lower price (that was probably on purpose). That was a punch in the gut because it wasn’t like I had to sail on this ship specifically, nor did I really have to book in advance. I just wanted to get on a cruise rather than having to take a particular ship or route.

I did call up Priceline to see if they can talk to the cruise line to reprice, give me more on board credit, or upgrade, but they came back with nope, sorry, you can’t do anything.

To soften the blow, the actual savings would have been about $283.40 (I think I am getting $108.60 in total of on board credit and prepaid gratuities - this repricing had no offers that I would qualify for).

So what did I learn from this?

If you are someone who isn’t particular about where your room is on the ship, the itinerary, the ship, or even the cruise line, last-minute deals are to be had. I did not even book this cruise because it was the newest ship or unique; I just wanted to get on a cruise. I could have done that with any ship or cruise line.

In May, I am thinking about taking another cruise, but this time I might wait until 29 days before the cruise leaves to book so I can try to get the lowest possible cost.

Oh! If you are looking for a specific ship, time, and itinerary, you run the risk of the ship being full or the price going up. So in those cases, definitely book ahead.

Did I spend too much on my cruise?

You Might Be Leaving Money on the Table when booking with Priceline.com!