first cruise how much time do i have to book

This will be our first family cruise. My question is how far in advance do we need to book? I was originally looking at a Dec 3 cruise on the liberty out of Galveston but can't find it so I am assuming it is all booked up...so now I am looking at a cruise out of Galveston on Oct 31. We have to make sure we can get the dates off and my mom is trying to decide if she is coming so how long will I have to make up our minds?

Thank you for any help u can give me. I see where people are already booking for 2017 so just thought I would ask.

Did you mean December 4th? I was able to locate that sailing.

If you're not particular about your cabin size or location, there's usually no big rush. However, if you want a midship location, or a coveted "aft" balcony, then booking sooner than later is recommended!

Are you proposing putting 3 adults in one cabin? Standard ship cabins are MUCH smaller than any hotel room...so keep that in mind!

Always wise to book sooner rather than later.

Keith

Book as soon as you can.

How many children in the family? How many are you planning for each cabin?

The longer you wait, the less chance you will have to get the cabin(s) you want for everyone.

How many cabins are you planning to book? If you want them together, you need to book early. Less need to book early if you are okay with cabin on different decks and at different ends of the ship

Are you looking at Carnival Liberty, or Liberty of the Seas? Carnival Liberty sails from Galveston on Dec. 3, Liberty of the Seas on Dec. 4. EM

It also depends on if price is a factor. The farther in advance you can book, generally the better.

My Central Park Balcony on Oasis at the end of this month was about $900pp when I booked it, and now that same room is over $1400pp. Prices change as supply and demand allows.

Pick a sailing and put down a deposit, then put in for the vacation time at work. If you don't get the vacation time approved, you can cancel and get your deposit back (or move it to a different sailing).

For many bookings, you put down a deposit when you book and the rest is due 2 to 3 months prior to sailing. If you cancel before final payment, you may get a full refund. That depends on the cruise line, TA (if you use one) and the deal you are booking under.

If you deposit is refundable, you can book early and lock in a maximum price. If the price drops before final payment you should get the lower price. If the price goes up, you just smile since you keep your lower price.

If my mom goes it will be 3 adults and 2 kids...I was looking at 2 rooms if she goes. I don't think she is going now so it will be just one room with 2 adults and 2 kids. Interior rooms is what I was going with.

I can't find the Oct 31 cruise now either. All that shows up is Oct 17. Carnival liberty is who I am looking at. Thank you all for the info. I am going to call them today and see what they say. According to online there is deck 1 and 2 left. I have read it is better up higher but I guess we will be stuck with that if they can't do anything over the phone. I put the 48 hour courtesy hold on the 17th one just in case. I don't have a travel agent so I am doing this all on my own for the 1st time.

Thank you all for the info. I am just nervous about going during hurricane season so was hoping for the Dec. one:)

Are there kids under age 21 and are you getting 2 cabins? If so, you need to have the kids in an adjoining cabin or a cabin directly across the hall. For younger kids, connecting cabins work well -- with an inside door so you can go from one cabin to the other without going into the hall. My point is -- book early if you have kids and need 2 cabins. Otherwise you might find these cabins are not available. We often book over a year away since my wife's son and family go with us, and they need 2 cabins and have kids.

I suspect you were looking at the Carnival Liberty. It is not available because it is going into dry dock for a couple of weeks December 2016. Oct. 31 is the tail end of hurricane season. You should be OK, but then Sandy hit New York on Oct. 31, 2012, and Wilma was close to the end of October back in 2005 -- so you really never know. Gosh, the storm that hit the Anthem of the Seas this past week had hurricane force winds. Just have a plan B in case weather does delay or cancel the cruise, like maybe going to San Antonio. Oct. 31 should be fun -- Halloween night.

If my mom goes it will be 3 adults and 2 kids...I was looking at 2 rooms if she goes. I don't think she is going now so it will be just one room with 2 adults and 2 kids. Interior rooms is what I was going with.

I find it always better to book earlier than later. I tend to book over a year out, when someone has a good sale going on. (Like my current NCL booked one, kids sail free, free alcohol for adults, soda for kids). Carnival alas doesn't have that great of sales, you are generally better off booking as early as possible with Carnival and if you aren't going to change things, Early Saver so you can get a price drop if prices go down.

What is really important in this isn't when you book though, it is how old are the 2 kids going?

I can't say for the Carnival Liberty specifically, but with booking 4 in a room, there IS going to be a bunk bed. Either you can't sleep in the same bed with your wife or you have to be comfortable letting your child up there. I am 5'1 and the bunk beds come up to about my eye level if that gives any indication of height.

There are also inside rooms on Carnival that while the beds go together, there is a drop down bunk over one side of them, and the 3rd person is a trundle bed essentially making it so one person is in a bunk, and the other 3 kinda share a bed.

It sounds like with an inside you are trying to spend as little as possible, but since you have kids, you might want to consider a balcony cabin instead if possible. I only say this because when the kids go to sleep, you might not want to, and while you could leave them alone in the room after they fall asleep... well I just won't say anything about that option. In having a balcony you have a space you and your wife could go, while still being close to the kids if they are young enough to go to bed early, or still take naps.

Since it's your first cruise, you might want to consider going with a brick-and-mortar travel agent. It won't cost you more to book this way and sometimes a TA can get you some amenities.

If you have school-aged kids, first check with their schools to make sure you can take them out of school (many school districts don't allow for absences for a trip) and make sure there aren't any black out dates for any activities they might have (sometimes a coach might not allow absences for games or practices or with a performing activity, the kids won't be able to miss rehearsals or performances). It's easier to figure these out ahead of time, then not and the kids have to miss out on activities.

As others have said, there are rules on the minimum age for cabins. So if yo have kids that are 6 and 10, you definitely shouldn't have them in one cabin without supervision. If you book more than one cabin (even with older kids who you might feel are old enough), you would need to book early so you can get two cabins together, and emphasize with your TA that it's a must that you stay in those cabins.

One reason you may have a problem booking is that many of the cabins have been reserved by large travel agencies. That's a common practice, but at time of final payment, which would be a few months before the cruise, any unsold cabins would be released back to the cruise line and placed back in the "avails."

Another aspect is that there's a total capacity of passengers. Not every berth (bed) in every cabin will be filled. This gets more critical if trying to book three or four in a cabin (some will accommodate more than two)...if you wait too long, you could be out of luck.

There is no rule as to when to book unless you are dead-set on a certain cabin.

We've booked a year in advance and another time with only a month notice-enjoyed all our cruises regardless.

Though I'm a little confused as to which ship, date and # of passengers you are looking for, we too, were recently looking at sailing out of Galveston this fall. We're also doing a cabin for 4 and another two for 2. Due to work schedules we won't be able to book until at least July. So if you're booking tomorrow-you've got us beat by a lot!

If it's not working for you online, just give them a call and get it all set up.

Enjoy your first cruise!

Sooner the better. If you will cruise again after this one, i book onbaord to get the best cabin/price.

If your group is that large you may want to talk to the cruise line or a travel agent to book as a group. If you can get one cabin free you can sread the savings back to your family.

As a group the line should be able to accomodate you to sit together in the MDR, arrange shore tours etc.

Have a good time!

always book as soon as you are ready. several factors: you want a cabin that allows four in the room. these go fast AND as soon as the lifeboat capacity for that section has been reached, even if a cabin is designed to hold more than 4 they WILL NOT let you book it for that many.

the earlier you book the more options you have. up until final payment date, if the price goes down you can get that adjustment( but not once FP date has past) but if it goes up you have gotten a deal.