If the fare drops before your final payment date, you can often have your booking moved to the lower price, or get onboard credit instead, depending on the cruise line and the type of fare you booked. After final payment, a lower price usually can't be claimed, so the weeks before that date matter most.
Why prices drop
Cruise fares move with demand. Drops often come with big sales (such as wave season, roughly January to March, and Black Friday to Cyber Monday), soon after you book when a new promotion starts, or when a sailing hasn't sold well as its own final payment window approaches.
How to claim a lower price
- If you booked with a travel agent, ask them to check and reprice it. A good agent watches for this anyway.
- If you booked directly, contact the cruise line and ask to be moved to the current fare for the same cabin type.
- Check the fare type. Some lower-priced fares limit changes, or give onboard credit instead of a refund. The rules differ by line.
- Sometimes it's perks, not price: a sale may add onboard credit or a package instead of cutting the fare. Those can be worth claiming too.
Keep an eye on it
Check the price every couple of weeks after booking, and weekly as final payment gets close.
I haven't had a fare drop after booking myself. Checking is the tedious part: finding the same cabin type on the same deck at a lower price is much easier with a travel advisor watching it for you.