Looking for a lower rate after you booked your cruise? New cruise policy says you may not get one!

If you already booked and placed a deposit for your cruise, a new policy could affect your plans to hold out for the posting of a lower rate and requesting a price change. As it has always been, cruise lines have the sole discretion to lower the price or not at the time you request a price-reduction. On occasion, more often than not, in the past, they have done so. Perhaps no more.br /br /Royal Caribbean recentlynbsp;changed the price guarantee for its three brands, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara, givingnbsp;guests justnbsp;48 hours to find a lower price after they book. Royal Caribbeannbsp;will no longer offer pricenbsp;reductions up until 72 hours before departure. br /Under the new rules,nbsp;guests who find a lower price will receive 110% of the difference as onboard credit. (The lower rate must be publicly advertised bynbsp;a Royal Caribbean brand cruisenbsp;line.) br /br /The new policy is similar to those of Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines, ( Carnival owns Princess, Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard and other brands ) which also givenbsp;guests 48 hours to find a lower fare and offer 110% of the difference in onboard credit if they do find a lower price. br /br /What does this mean for passengers? Cruise lines often adjust prices based on consumer demand and cabin availability. So, if you book a cruise month's in advance you will most likely see prices change as you get closer to the sailing date. However, with this policy, past 48hours after you book, you will not get a rate adjustment to the prevailing rate at the time the cruise line lowers the price. The price you paid is the price you paid. Period. The new lower price is for new bookings only, put in place to sell the unused space.br /br /However, you do have some options. If you have not paid in full for the cruise and you have not entered into a penalty phase for cancellation, you could just cancel your cruise and rebook under the lower rate. The upside.. you save money. The downside... you may not get to keep your cabin assignment and the choice of cabin category and availability may be limited. Some cruise line's rules may prohibited this tactic. If you are a past passenger and have cruised with the line a number of times, you could contact the cruise line and make an issue of the lower price. In the interest of good business, they may lower your rate. If your Travel Agent does a significant amount of business with the cruise line, they may have the necessary clout to affect the price-reduction for you. All of these options, come with a certain degree of risk and may or may not work for you.br /br /You could also wait until the last minute, usually within 60 days of sailing to book your cruise at a reduced rate. Many of these last minute deals include shipboard credits or other incentives to book. Your choice of accommodations may be very limited. The cabins available may be inside, or next to the laundry, stairs, elevators ( lifts ) or below or above the disco. Or, a great balcony or mini-suite cabin becomes available in the last minute when someone cancelled their cruise.br /br /With this new policy, you will likely find just like with airline seats, that the people next to you on the ship either paid more or less than you did for the exact same accommodations. br /br /In the end its up to you. To get a good price, book early for the best choice of accommodations, perhaps take advantage of early-booking savings and other amenities, or wait to the last minute, get a better price and take you chances on getting just the accommodation you want.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9902695-7630586130387878361?l=cruisenews.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Top 10 Most Searched Cruise Destinations for 2010

Cruise travel search sitenbsp;Cruise Direct Onlinenbsp;(www.cruisedirectonline.com) says the Topnbsp;10 most searchednbsp;cruise destinations from United States and Canadian webnbsp;browsers includenbsp;Western Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Canada and New England, Western Caribbean all of which were among the top spots, followed by Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Bermuda and the Bahamas.br /January 12, 2010 -nbsp; Cruise Direct Online, billed as the Cruise Traveler's Ultimate Search Enginenbsp;announced the results of their 2010 Cruise Trends Report. Among the more noteworthy findings are that cruisenbsp;travelers continue tonbsp;cruise to the Caribbean in large numbers, particularlynbsp;on 7-day Western Caribbean cruises, and thatnbsp;Greek Isles and Mediterranean cruises remain high on the list, despite pricier airfares from North America and the U.S. economy.nbsp;nbsp;Datanbsp;for the report was gleaned from actualnbsp;searches made through December 31, 2009, along with insight and opinions of Cruisenbsp;Traveler Magazine's editors. Also included is supplemental information provided by Online Agency and Cruise Reports.br /br /"Our research shows consumer search interest begins first on the itinerary, thennbsp;a particular cruise line, thennbsp;on pricing and spreads to comparison shopping once the cruise traveler narrows down the choices to the cruise they want to take." says Marty Trencher, editor and publisher of Cruise Traveler Magazine.br /br /"Wave season", the industries most active booking period from January to March is well underway. Based on a survey of 25,206 searches at Cruise Direct Online,nbsp;out ofnbsp;2,888,149 site visitors over time, average information requests are up 34% so far in 2010 over the previous year. As a result, the cruise search portal Cruise Direct Online, is predicting a better year for cruise travelers in 2010 than in 2009.br /br /The prediction is predicated on cruisers seeing a continuation of aggressive price promotions, a reluctance on the part of the cruise lines to add fuel supplements based on the US economy, high interest in new ships that joined the fleet, a continued evolution of shipboard facilities and activities ( such as wave pools, zip lines, ice skating rinks, bowling alleys, top name entertainment, shopping arcades, rock climbing walls, water parks and more ). The added interest in new exotic, remote ports and the continued growth of domestic close-home departure ports.br /2009 Top Cruise Destination Searches:br /predicted to remain much the same for 2010br /br /1. Caribbean, 53%br /br /most popular in order of search resultsbr /br /7-day Western Caribbean br /br /7-day Eastern Caribbeanbr /br /7-day Southern Caribbeanbr /br /2. Alaska, 13%br /br /most popular in order of search resultsbr /br /Alaska Cruises br /br /Alaska Cruisetours br /br /3. Mexican Riviera,nbsp;10%. br /br /4. Europe – Mediterranean,nbsp;8%br /br /most popular in order of search resultsbr /br /12-day Mediterraneanbr /br /7-day Greek Islesbr /br /10-day Northern Europebr /br /12-day Scandinavia/Russiabr /br /14-day Mediterranean/Egyptbr /br /5. Canada and New England 4%br /br /6. Hawaii,nbsp;4%br /br /7. Bermuda,nbsp;4%br /br /8. Panama Canal,nbsp;3%, br /br /9. Bahamas, 2%br /br /10. Trans-Atlantic,nbsp;1%br /br /Average number of days between a search that results in a request for information and the cruise traveler's intended travel date is 147 days. Searches for Last minute cruises accounted for 9%. The average price cruise travelers are looking to spend is $818 per person. However 34% look to spend $500 or less.br /br /29% searched for prices for an Inside cabin, 33% for an Oceanview, 30% for a balcony and 7% for a Suite.br /br /What do Cruise Travelers look for when searching the Internet?br /most popular in order of search resultsbr /br /Specificnbsp;itinerarybr /Specific cruise linebr /Pricebr /Port of Departurebr /Accommodations – i.e. type of stateroombr /Specific cruise shipbr /Amenities – dining, onboard activitiesbr /br /Most Up and Comingnbsp;Cruise Destinationnbsp;for 2010. br /br /River Cruisingnbsp; ( Europe and Asia )br /br /*all percentages rounded off br /br /About Cruise Direct Online : Billed as the "Cruise Traveler's Ultimate Cruise Search Engine", Cruise Direct Online search offerings include cruises from 2 days to 105 days, on more than 96 cruise ships representing the top cruise line brands - Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, Uniworld Cruises, and Windstar. Luxury, themed and specialty cruises are also available. The Last Minute Cruise Deals section searches for great rates within 60 days of sailing, is a popular feature. br /br /Real-time instant price quotes are available from a number of sources including Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, and the most popular cruise lines, Guests get a "real time" look at what's available directly from the cruise line's own reservation systems. They can check the latest discount pricing, availability, make a cabin selection, look up an itinerary, Guests can peruse an extensive library of customer and Cruise Critic cruise ship reviews. View photos, cruise line movies, and over 3,700 Virtual 360° ship tours. Plus, see itineraries, deck plans, ship details, and more.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9902695-6093730516049526242?l=cruisenews.blogspot.com' alt='' //div