Do cruises get discounted closer to departure date?

Question

I want to honeymoon on a carnival cruise in July. I have been told to wait until like June because the rates go down on last minute deals...is that true, or should I go ahead and book now?

Answer 1

Some time the prices go up, some times they go down. It all depends on how full the ship is as sail date approaches.

If you are booking at the last minute, see if the cruise line is offering a guarantee type booking.

If you get lucky, you may end up with a cabin worth several thousand dollars more than you  paid for. The worst that can happen with a guarantee fare is you get what you paid for.

Since this will be your honeymoon, I don't think I would take a chance on a last minute booking. The guarantee works best if you have a lot of flex ability in your travel dates

Answer 2

No, that's not really true.  Most cruises are booked at least 6 months in advance because they sell out really fast.  As you get closer to the date of the cruise, most if not all of the cheaper rooms will be sold out - there is usually only balcony and VIP rooms left over.  If this is your honeymoon, I would not want to gamble to see if there are any rooms left.  A lot of travel agents will take a small deposit at the time of booking, and the balance of the fees due before the cruise departs.

Answer 3

First off, congratulations on your honeymoon!

Well, the price of a cruise depends on a variety of factors. Carnival in particular is notorious for offering super-deep last minute discounts on cruises which they can't fill. However, if a boat is near or at capacity, they make not offer those discounts or only offer them to a local market (since local folks are more likely to be able to just up and go than someone several states away). A good example are their "cruises to nowhere" out of New York. When Carnival can't fill the ship, they offer drastically reduced prices to people in NY, NJ and CT (since they can pretty much just drive to NYC for a weekend).

Other cruiselines may or may not be as generous. Celebrity, Holland America Line and Cunard are known for generally letting a ship sail with several empty staterooms in order to prevent brand dillution.

The point is it's risky, especially if you want to do it for a particular purpose (i.e. your honeymoon). Plus, since you're going in July, you have to keep in mind that millions of other Americans will be vacationing with their families (school's out afterall...), so ships will likely be sailing at full capacity. Even if there are rooms left over, they probably won't be in the category you want (you might either get stuck with inside rooms when you want a balcony, or a suite when you want an inside room). So you might actually wind up paying more (either in actual cost, or in satisfaction) than you would have if you booked in advance.

My very strong recommendation, in this case, would be to purchase your cruise now. You can still get a great deal, you just have to know where to look. I'd suggest first submitting a "bid request" with a cruise-competition website such as www.cruisecompete.com (there are several others). They will then submit your request to a variety of discounters who in turn will respond with their best bid. Take the lowest bid you get and call some of the other companies bidding for your business. Ask if they will match or beat the fare. 99% of the time they'll at least match it. 80% of the time they'll beat it (by a dollar or so), and about 75% of the time they'll be willing to beat it by $100 or more. Sometimes they may even throw in things like complementary champagne or bath robes or spa treatments just to entice you over.

Never hestitate to pit one company against another. And never be afraid to ask if they'll beat a price; the worst that can happen is they say "no" and you're left with a good deal (instead of a great deal).

Several other websites offer good discounts:

www.vacationstogo.com (advertises heavily on msnbc.com) offers deep deep discounts and a price-match guarantee. I've booked two cruises through them, and they seem pretty friendly and reputable.

www.cruisevaluecenter.com (according to them, America's primary cruise source) generally is willing to match or beat vacationstogo's prices. I prefer them because they also tend to throw in something extra just to swing you a little. I recently booked a cruise for late September through them. They not only beat vacationstogo's price by $150, but threw in a free bottle of wine (hey, every little bit helps eh?).

www.cruisecompete.com: go here first, enter a bid, and let all the other discounters fight over your business (it's nice to be fought over instead of having to fight for a change)

Also, it never hurts to check out the "big travel sites" like expedia, travelocity and orbitz (orbitz can often give you a good deal on airfare+cruise, since it is owned by a consortium of airlines and tends to offer fares at a slightly more discounted price (usually about 5 bucks but I'm cheap, so what can I say?).

Once again, congratulations on your honeymoon. I'm sure you'll have loads of fun whatever you wind up doing.

Answer 4

I checked on a cruise to go on with some friends and it actually went up as it got closer to the departure.  Why don't you look at some cruises that are departing soon to see if the rates go up or not and then make your decision?