What are the benefits of booking a year or more in advance?

[TMLAalum]

A big advantage that hasn't been mentioned is the ability to secure flights with ff miles as soon as seats become available- typically 335-330 days out.

 

In addition to the cost of the cruise, the expense to get to the departure port- especially if one has to travel over the pond- has to be added in! Even if one doesn't use ff miles, by booking early there's a better chance of snagging a reasonable airfare.

[Project_gal]

Other than a particular cruise itinerary and cabin guarantee? Is one just gambling that it is a good deal sooner than later? Is the deposit totally refundable so many days prior to full payment?

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

In the UK, our deposits are NOT refundable but we still book as soon as a cruise is released - on average 18 months before the cruise. It guarantees that we get the suite we require and a very good price. With early booking discounts and great OBC, we have rarely had to ask for a price drop to be honoured - both times we have done, it has been less than US$100 in total.

 

Add to all this, we get the enjoyment of the anticipation of our cruise for such a long time.

 

Sue

[C 2 C]

Now I read that they are not accepted for Tuesday Specials, so I'm not sure when we will use them.

Sheila

 

Hi Sheila:

 

We used our Passages this past Tuesday for booking an Exciting deal special and we talked friends into going as well using a "Friends & Family Special Offer" by which we both get an OBC from Celebrity and the TA. :D

Bargain hunting at its best.

 

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.”--Spanish Proverb

[Shooraq]

For me, i have limited vacation time and can't just choose any vacation time I want. So first I strategically plan what weeks I want to travel. Typically May and December/January when most people at my company (bank) don't compete to take off. I then figure out where I'd like to travel and where is affordably go. Then I try to book the cruise as soon as its availbile to book. Where in the past I chould usually get price drops, the cruises I have chosen lately only go up and up in price! Apparently I choose popular cruises that don't reuire price drops to fill the ship. :rolleyes:

 

So booking once the itinerary is released can be a good thing: often cheaper price than closer in time to departure, get a better choice of room (midship since DH has motion sickness), more time to plan flights/hotels/private excursions, and just more time to get excitied about my trip. I currently have my cruises planned out to May 2013! And if I need to cancel, I just get my deposit back.

[sazzinfredericton]

I am not clear on what exactly is meant by "Passages". Would someone please elaborate?

 

At Sheila/ aka Smtcan: And yes I have my US credit card. Learned the hard way that even though that our Canadian dollar is at par, it was not accepted on a par of the US dollar in Jamaica and Mexico last year. Not sure if that has changed.

[fleckle]

I am not clear on what exactly is meant by "Passages". Would someone please elaborate?

They are certificates sold on the cruise ships that give you onboard credit on future cruises. You purchase one for $100. When you decide to book a cruise, anytime in the future, that $100 is then applied to the cost of that cruise and in addition you get onboard credit.

The amount of the onboard credit will vary depending on the length of the cruise you select.

$50 for 3-5 nights

$100 for 6-9 nights

$200 for 10-13 nights

$300 for 14 nights

 

In addition, when you book your cruise you can request Family and Friends Certificates which give the same onboard credit to others traveling with you who book within 30 days of your reservation.

[fortinweb]

I just checked the current price for our upcoming Med cruise next year. We booked 16 months in advance. Now, six months later the price has gone up $250 per person, for a total of $500 more for our stateroom category. There is no way to know if or when the price may go down (or even up higher), but at the moment anyone booking now will pay more than we did.

 

I also was able to pick a better cabin location in exactly the spot I wanted after we discovered our first choice was directly above the outside smoking area on the port side of deck 5. Booking and managing my reservation early has given me an almost unlimited choice of staterooms to move into to get away from a potentially undesirable location.

[dln929]

They are certificates sold on the cruise ships that give you onboard credit on future cruises. You purchase one for $100. When you decide to book a cruise, anytime in the future, that $100 is then applied to the cost of that cruise and in addition you get onboard credit.

The amount of the onboard credit will vary depending on the length of the cruise you select.

$50 for 3-5 nights

$100 for 6-9 nights

$200 for 10-13 nights

$300 for 14 nights

 

In addition, when you book your cruise you can request Family and Friends Certificates which give the same onboard credit to others traveling with you who book within 30 days of your reservation.

 

If you're a shareholder, you get the same benefit in OBC for all those same categories but the 14 night cruises, in which case you get $250. The Passages gives you $50 more OBC. If you're planning a long cruise, it would definitely be in your favor to book on board.

 

We booked our TA on the Equinox yesterday and I'm relieved that I have next year's vacation fully planned out. Now I don't have to worry about anything; it's all settled. That in and of itself is worth its weight in gold to me. Oh yeah, we got the exact stateroom we wanted, too. :p

[travelfreelasvegas]

We typically book well in advance, often a year or more. We like to have the choice of picking the stateroom we want and of knowing we'll have the dining time or method we prefer. Additionally, my wife works in a hospital, and even though she has high seniority, she has to put her request for vacation time in many months early if it's for a two to three week vacation. Plus, we now know what our long term vacation plans are and can begin to save and budget accordingly, and can plan shorter vacations around that major vacation. Since we live on the west coast of the US, we always have to book long flights to either the east coast, or overseas to get to our ship. Planning far in advance usually results in cheaper airfare and the assurance that we'll have seats for flights that work best for us. Same goes for hotels in pre and post cruise cities.

 

We sometimes pay a lower deposit for booking early, often half the standard deposit. This is what we were able to for our next cruise. We also check on the prices several times per week. If they go down, we request and always receive the lower fare if it's prior to final payment. If the fares go up, as they have on our upcoming cruise, we feel pretty good about having gotten that cheaper rate by booking early.

 

Just as important, we have a year of anticipation as the excitement of our cruise slowly builds as the date of our departure gets closer and closer.

 

As to refunds, if you cancel prior to final payment, all deposit funds are typically refunded back to you.

 

Well said. Totally agreedbb

[Richjoxyz]

I am retired and the reason that I wait until the last minute is that I may not be here next year. :eek: :(. :D.

 

 

 

 

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LOL, That goes for all of us...