How CruiseGem measures cruise price drops

The fares included in this analysis

A price observation is a dated result for a sailing, cabin class and traveling party. This research uses available fares for two adults, no children, US residency and payment in US dollars. Totals must be between $25 and $100,000, and a series needs at least two observations.

How observations are grouped

Observations belong to the same series when the sailing, cabin class, disclosed cabin category and recorded fare basis match. Missing category or fare-basis information is grouped as unknown. That preserves the distinction between known categories, but unknown values do not prove identical booking terms.

Repeated observations at an unchanged price can remain in a series. A series contributes once to the sample regardless of how many observations it contains.

What counts as a later decrease

A series records a decrease if a later eligible observation is lower than its first eligible observation. The decrease is the difference between that first price and the lowest recorded price in the series. It is not the difference from a traveler’s booking price.

Median decreases and sample sizes

The median decrease describes the middle result among series that recorded a decrease; the average and largest decrease are separate measures. A public breakdown needs at least 100 qualifying series. Multiple cabin categories on the same sailing can contribute separate series, so the sample size is not a count of unique ships, sailings or travelers.

What the homepage’s fare-variation total measures

The homepage adds the difference between the highest and lowest observed prices in each qualifying series, then rounds the combined amount. This measures recorded fare variation. It does not require the high price to occur before the low price, and it is not money saved by travelers or the value of refunds obtained.

Limits of the comparison

• Coverage varies by line, sailing and date. Gaps in the history are periods without an observation.
• The data does not include every private, casino, group, loyalty or residency offer.
• Inventory can return with different promotions or benefits. Matching recorded fields cannot establish details that a source did not disclose.
• The aggregate analysis does not independently match every promotion, refundable-deposit rule, onboard credit, tax component or package benefit.
• An observed price is not a held cabin or a guarantee that the fare remains available at checkout.

Research editions and booked-cruise alerts

Published statistics identify their observation period and sample size. Dated guide editions explain their own selection rules, which can differ from this aggregate analysis; an archived ranking is not a live offer list. Booked-cruise alerts separately compare a saved booking amount with new fares and identify details that still need checking.