Fare Availability

Request available fares for the selected voyage (and category) with the CruiseFareAvailRQ/RS message pair. A list of available fares will be returned by the cruise line and the traveler can then select a fare.

BESTPRICE Fare Code

Seaware's "best fare" mechanism is a default "BESTPRICE" fare code that is always returned as long as there is any availability on the sailing. In order to simplify the booking flow this "BESTFARE" fare code can be used to omit the fare availability step from the flow.

Request Example

<ns:OTA_CruiseFareAvailRQ xmlns:ns="http://www.opentravel.org/OTA/2003/05" CorrelationID="236f0af8-53af-41c8-9c19-b1cef3e60ae6" Version="1.481">
    <ns:POS>
        [..]
    </ns:POS>
    <ns:GuestCounts>
        <ns:GuestCount Code="10" Quantity="2"/>
    </ns:GuestCounts>
    <ns:SailingInfo>
        <ns:SelectedSailing VoyageID="101676">
            <ns:CruiseLine ShipCode="CS"
                ShipName="Crystal Symphony" VendorCode="CRYSTA.."/>
            <ns:DeparturePort
                EmbarkationTime="2015-12-12T19:00:00.000-08:00" LocationCode="USMIA"/>
            <ns:ArrivalPort
                DebarkationTime="2016-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00" LocationCode="BRRIO"/>
        </ns:SelectedSailing>
    </ns:SailingInfo>
    <ns:SearchQualifiers PricedCategoryCode="A1"/>
</ns:OTA_CruiseFareAvailRQ>

Category Code Parameter

Providing PricedCategoryCode is optional, but only to allow for this request to be invoked before category is known in the booking flow. Category definitely must be provided if it is known already, as it may affect the result (promotion eligibility) and it will significantly affect performance of the call.

Important

If no category provided the server will need to first establish available categories for the sailing and then query promotion availability for each category available. This can significantly impact response time.

Response Example

Response will contain a list of FareCodeOption elements with available promotions:

<vx:OTA_CruiseFareAvailRS xmlns:ns3="http://www.versonix.com/ota" 
  xmlns:vx="http://www.opentravel.org/OTA/2003/05" 
  CorrelationID="236f0af8-53af-41c8-9c19-b1cef3e60ae6" 
  TargetName="SW_OTA_TEST@ORADEV" 
  TimeStamp="2021-08-27T14:20:09.616" 
  Version="1.999">
    <vx:Success/>
    <vx:SailingInfo>
        [..]
    </vx:SailingInfo>
    <vx:FareCodeOptions>
        <vx:FareCodeOption FareCode="BESTPRICE" FareDescription="BEST_PRICE" Status="36"/>
        <vx:FareCodeOption FareCode="PROMO_DISCOUNT" Status="36"/>
        <vx:FareCodeOption FareCode="PROMO_FLAT" Status="36"/>
    </vx:FareCodeOptions>
</vx:OTA_CruiseFareAvailRS>

Understanding Fare Codes

All values except "BESTPRICE" are Seaware promotion codes
The BESTPRICE is always going to be available and directs SwOTA to use Seaware's default "best price" mechanism
Best price mechanism picks up promotions automatically based on eligibility rules and provides best available price

See also Seaware OTA Basics for more information on the difference between OTA Fare Codes and Seaware Promotion Codes.

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