That's why, as a consumer, you might see slight variations of price among several agencies. So we'll negotiate the terms of our deal and enter all that information into our reservations system. All of our agents across the system will have access to that program, but we can't advertise those rates. Walker also noted that direct mail advertising of cruises is a bit different from the other deals. So chances are the deal offered by direct mail is pretty good, usually the best deal the agency has.
Prices fluctuate with demand and can vary from day to day, much as they do with the airlines.
There's always pressure to fill empty cabins. A ship can have an abundance of space and good deals one day, and then a big group books a lot of cabins the next. In a blink, the good deals for that particular sailing evaporate. But the discounts may be available for the next sailing. Or the sailing after that.