I had finally decided on the Carnival Legend for my first cruise, and
found a pretty good price on a balcony 7 day cruise - $569 per person.
I went to book it, and the price jumped up to $650 - an extra $160 for
both of us. This was before taxes & fees on the cruisecheap website, at
just before 11 PM.

I checked out a couple of other websites as well, and the prices seem
to have gone up $40 there in just a few hours. (what you see isn't what
you can get, before taxes are added)

So, now I have questions. Do online prices jump up & down regularly
for cruises, or did I just run into some form of "bait & switch" ? Was
I starting the checkout process when the prices jumped? Do they
regularly change at about 11 PM on Mondays?

I was willing to pay an extra $100 for that day vs going about 10
days earlier, just because it was a little more convenient for a
relative who will be visiting. However, with another $160 on top of
that, I'm not inclined to pull the trigger just yet.

Another example, from "cruisehotsheet.com"

Sept. 19 Carnival Legend from Tampa shows
$539 for 7 day balcony, per person
- but when you click in it, I get $649

What gives? Obviously, I don't want to pay an
extra $220 for our trip.

On Jun 7, 10:43 pm, Ohioguy none.net> wrote:

I don't think you're seeing price jumps but simply the addition of
taxes and fees. On Carnival's site, the base rate was $569 pp,
producing:

CRUISE RATE $1,138.00
Gov't Fees & Taxes $141.44
Total Amount $1,279.44

But, yes, prices can jump quickly based on supply and demand.

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

"Ohioguy" none.net> wrote in message
news:kPiPn.124176$gv4.101462@newsfe09.iad...

In article , Ohioguy
none.net> wrote:

Like airline fares they can go up and down based on yield management.

Also you have to look at the taxes. Some don't include that in their
quotes.

$1300 for a balcony cabin on a seven day cruise is a good price.