Sudden Increase In Balcony Room Prices

[thecruisegirl]

Hi seeking advice trying to figure out if I should wait to book or not. My friends want us to join them in a cruise next April 2024 on the Carnival Spirit out of Tampa. I get amazing deals from Carnival and had the option of an inside, window or balcony at 100 each per person. I chose the balcony of course and put it on hold so I could speak to a cruise consultant. Traveled back to my home in Maui and my hold of course expired. Checked back and the balcony room had gone up to 1070 per person. I checked other dates and ports and all had gone up by 1000. So I understand if the cruises go up because there's suddenly a lot of bookings/interest but each cruise out of each different port from SF, Tampa, Baltimore, Seattle and more had gone up by this amount. All different times of the year...I am seeking advice on what to do. My spouse won't take a less than a balcony for that length of a cruise. Our friends are already booked. The deal is great even with a window room but I do find it odd that each balcony room on each cruise for each month/year went up by 1000 when I can still get the window or inside for 100 each on each cruise. Do you guys think that I should wait and see if prices go down? What I am wondering is because it's so easy and inexpensive to book a cruise initially do people book and hold until they decide what they actually want to do or if they want to go? Sorry and thanks for the help/info this is my first time ever asking a question on a public forum! Happy Cruising:) 

[euroguy]

@thecruisegirlI too recieve free room offers all the time. One thing to keep in mind is that those offers do expire and can change in a moments notice depending on demand or if the free offers limits have been meet. 

If you are really set to have a balcony I'm not sure I would wait to book for couple reasons. 1  you may not get the ship location you desire as the ship fills up choices decrease 2. The cruise industry right now is on fire and ships are selling out, so last minute deals may not be available. 

[Woody14]

It is not so much that the price suddenly went up but that your deal went away (expired).   What you are seeing now is the price and shows how good of a deal you missed out on.  It is difficult to say if they will send you another deal that good.  I am sure they will send you another deal as the cruise is still a ways off but you never know how good the deal may be, all the factors of demand and the unknown variables that Carnival puts in to the system make it a bit of a wild guess what they will do.

You could always book something a rate that would allow you to cancel or change the booking before final payment and if a great deal comes along jump on it and cancel/change the booking.

[3Sisters]

@thecruisegirl I'm not sure if Carnival Cruise Line offers this but I think they do offer price matching if the prices go down. I say that booking it now, where the prices currently are, is the safest bet. Prices are all on the rise, and I don't foresee them going down at all. That's just what I have noticed lately anyways. 

Also, you should totally do more asking on public forums! First of all, posting on the boards is fun and you get so many different perspectives and insights, and secondly sharing commentary with like-minded cruise lovers is such a treat. I enjoy sharing my experiences with novice cruisers, having my questions answered by super-experienced cruisers, and occasionally playing devil's advocate to spike up a healthy debate! 

@euroguy That is great advice. Take the offer while you can! 

@Woody14 This is more great advice. Sometimes just booking to save your spot can be beneficial. You can likely cancel or change it as needed, but at least you know you were able to pick everything out the way you would prefer it and save your spot ahead of time.