Can last minute cruises be purchased at the port on the day of departure for a heavy discount?

Question

Has anyone had any experience going to the port the day of departure and trying to score a really cheap price on a cruise? I have heard of this through the rumor mill, but have not been able to get any details. How about any other ways to get super bargains on cruises?

Answer 1

i dont think you can just show up at the day of the cruise, but i've gone on ones where other people paid like half the price because they booked it like a week or two before it left. the day of would be cutting it though just find out which ones are about to leave and have open rooms left. some money is better to none to them. you can definately get them at least half  off

Answer 2

In addition to the passenger manifest needing to be turned in  at least 72 hour before sailing, the other problem will be that many cruises sail completely full. Go to vacationstogo.com for last minute sales on cruises. That means anything 90 out from the sailing date. The other problem happens if you need to fly to the port. Flights get very expensive the closer to the date you want to leave.

Answer 3

We were told he cut off date is ten days prior to cruise.

This is due to security since 9/11.

It's just a rumor aout showing up on sail date.

The best way to get a bargain cruise is by booking yourself with one of the planners. If you live near a port city then there is no airfare. We found we spend more money on the ship than he cruise costs.

But we wouldn't enjoy ourselves if we didn't. Most of the cost comes from excursions off of the ship. We tend to go for the scuba/para sailing and the like.

Answer 4

I've never seen it.  There is not booking agent outside, and they will not let you in the cruise terminal without a boarding pass.  I do know people who have booked online the day before, and gotten a good deal, but not a stellar one.  

Additionally, all of the cruises that i have gone on have been fully booked when we departed.  The cruise lines offer all of their deals before the sail date.

Answer 5

We have got some racehorse deals at the last minute. mostly 2 weeks before the cruise sails.  So banking on a great deal can leave you at the dock because the ship is full. If you can travel at the last minute, and don't mind what kind of room you get you can get some deals.

Answer 6

NO, you cannot do this any more.  The cruise lines require passengers to complete their personal information days before the cruises sail, including information like passport number, mailing address, and name of an emergency contact person.  Since 9/11 the cruise lines need this information to do their security checks.  The do security checks but will not tell anyone  what they are and the purpose of these is to make sure that they know who is getting on ships.

In addition, most cruises these days sell out, even in the fall and winter when you may expect that the ship would not be full.

If you want the exact story on this I suggest that you just call a few cruise lines and ask them.  I did ask a Royal Caribbean representative about last minute tickets and was told they do not do that.

Answer 7

Prior to September 11, 2001 this was possible.  Now it is impossible.  The cruise lines must provide Homeland Security with a passenger list 72 hours in advance.  So even if there were unsold cabins on the ship (which is not likely) the cruise line would not be able to sell one of the cabins to you.

Also, a typical cruise leaves with over 100% capacity.  Cruise ships reach 100% capacity when there are twice as many passengers as cabins.  However, since some cabins hold more than two people, cruise ships can go over 100% capacity.  The limiting factor is lifeboat capacity.  A cruise ship cannot have more passengers than its lifeboats can hold.  Since the typical cruise ship sails completely full, it is unlikely that there would be any cabins open to sell to someone who just shows up at the pier, even if the Homeland Security restrictions were not in place.