In the good old days the second week of January was referred to as “Wave Week,” which then turned into “Wave Season.” This was the time of year that the pent up demand for cruises was unleashed and customers throughout the Northern United States ran to their travel agents to book their upcoming cruise vacations. Well, as with many good things, those days are gone.
I am not exactly sure why those days are gone, but the increase in booking activity seems to have leveled off and the sharp spike in bookings has disappeared. I would suggest that this leveling off is a result of more aggressive sales promotions on a year round basis by the major lines. In an effort to get out ahead of each other, lines are continually monitoring their sales and inventories and adjusting pricing accordingly instead of waiting until a particular season arrives.
Lines today are spending enormous time and resources to understand the buying patterns of their customers. This has become a science for sure. The term dynamic pricing is widely used in the industry and basically describes the changing of pricing in response to the demand of each cruise and each category of stateroom.
This dynamic pricing model can cause all kinds of challenges for the travel agent trying to promote a specific sailing as the price they are promoting may have changed since the initial marketing effort took place. This is just another reason to enlist the services of a top professional travel agent. They understand these challenges and have the knowledge and skills needed to navigate through this issue and protect the customer.
There is a bright side of this for the customer. If you have a little patience and take the time to research the cruise you want, a little date flexibility can save you a significant amount of money on your cruise. Hiring the best travel agent can also save you time and money as they will do the work for you.
–Roy
