Early bird or last minute cruise specials?

Question

Hi All,

I am looking towards doing a cruise around Christmas time 2008. There are quite a few early bird specials on sale at the moment and I am now at a crossroads. Do I purchase now with the early bird special or do I wait and see if I can pick up a last minute special??

Answer 1

I have been on about 20 cruises and of late generally book 2 or 3 cruises a year on line.  You WILL get the best deal by booking now.  Do not wait because the price will go up the closer you get to the cruise date.  In addition, the best cabins will sell out and if you think that because its in December it will not sell out, you are wrong.  We just went on a cruise this past December and the ship was sold out,  completely full.

Also, if you reserve now and the price goes down for the exact same cruise and cabin you can get the cheaper price.  AND, if you decide on a different cruise with a different cruise line you have until about 60 to 75 days before your cruise to cancel and get a complete refund.  I just did that last year too.

Finally, there is no such thing as last minute specials because cruises sell out and because the usually cruise line pricing policies is to increase the price as the cruise date approaches.  Plus they no longer allow people to book a couple days before the cruise because the cruise lines are required to provide a passenger manifest to Immigration officials 96 hours before the cruise departs.

Answer 2

Get it now. The longer you wait the more you risk increase prices or the room you want or cruise selling out. A few cruise lines offer low rate guarantees, so if you book but see it cheaper later they will refund the difference.

Answer 3

Last minute is almost always your best bet. Check out applevacations.com under sizzilin specials or last minute vacations.Ive booked through there a few times and never had any probs.

A last minute cruise doesnt mean "minutes" It means SOON! Trust me you will get a WAY better deal! Last minute usually means 1-3 weeks from departure.

Answer 4

I think you should book early, especially during the Christmas time.  I just booked my 2nd cruise - travelling in june - so that's 6 mos out and I was able to book a modest oceanview room at a very reasonable promotional price.  Give yourself permission to "upgrade" with these early bird specials - you deserve it!

As referenced above the better rooms go now; the crappy ones are the leftovers at the last minute.  Book it now, you'll have plenty of time to save up money to spend during the trip

Now, if I could just get some feedback on my question regarding budgeting my bar tab......Bon Voyage.

Answer 5

Christmas is a pretty popular time, so there probably won't be many last minute specials.  Book ASAP.

(Basically cruise line prices are like air line prices.  They move around based on supply and demand, but during the holidays they only go up.)

And here's some advice on getting the best deal:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/ch...

Have a great trip!

Answer 6

to cut through the deals, you should check out http://www.travelcuse.com to book your cruise. the site is an aggregator which means it takes offers from various online sites and shows you the best deals. good luck!