Booking last minute

[nbsjcruiser]

So kind of a hard question to answer perhaps but here goes anyway. DW and I are currently booked on the Vision for next November, i.e 2014. Looking at last minute deals for this November we see several pretty decent prices for next week including a 5 day on the LOS and a 4 day on the Majesty. We're thinking about cancelling our Vision cruise and waiting until last minute next year to book something. We're thinking about booking our air for the week before US thanksgiving next year and taking the best deal we can find on any cruise ship. So for those who have done this thing before, what are your experiences with last minute cruises? We're not too picky and would be as happy on a 4 day cruise on the Majesty as we would be on a 5 day on the Freedom and so we're thinking about giving this a shot. Is the week before thanksgiving a good time to get a decent deal?

[Artemis]

Yes, that's a good week, and you can see the same or even better deals the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Prices are so favorable, you might consider 7 nights if your schedule permits. As you note, you have to be flexible, especially as to cabin. But it can be a good time to try a higher cabin category on the cheap! I would book air into FLL or MIA, whichever cheaper or more convenient, then you have max cruise options. It is hard to convince people, but industry stats now show that air prices are often at their lowest at 21 days pre-flight. We do a lot of last-minute travel and have experienced that phenom; if I'm looking far ahead, I will use a price alert feature on Kayak or similar to monitor fares and the book when there's a price drop.

[nbsjcruiser]

Yes, that's a good week, and you can see the same or even better deals the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Prices are so favorable, you might consider 7 nights if your schedule permits. As you note, you have to be flexible, especially as to cabin. But it can be a good time to try a higher cabin category on the cheap! I would book air into FLL or MIA, whichever cheaper or more convenient, then you have max cruise options. It is hard to convince people, but industry stats now show that air prices are often at their lowest at 21 days pre-flight. We do a lot of last-minute travel and have experienced that phenom; if I'm looking far ahead, I will use a price alert feature on Kayak or similar to monitor fares and the book when there's a price drop.

 

Thanks for the reply. We've got 6 free air flights on Delta because of our points. We're using 2 in February 2014 and will be using 2 next fall so we're really hoping to luck out.

[Artemis]

Lucky ducks, that's a lot of points!!! Are you doing a repositioning transatlantic? Those spring and fall trips across the pond can be very cheap...rock bottom...and with points to cover the one-way air, you are set!

 

Anyway, enjoy your travels!

[trev71]

Thanks for the reply. We've got 6 free air flights on Delta because of our points. We're using 2 in February 2014 and will be using 2 next fall so we're really hoping to luck out.

 

 

Hey fellow New Brunswicker. We always fly out of Portland or Bangor.. and we always use Delta.. how do you collect points ? is it another Credit card ?

[nbsjcruiser]

Hey fellow New Brunswicker. We always fly out of Portland or Bangor.. and we always use Delta.. how do you collect points ? is it another Credit card ?

 

Hey - great to hear from a fellow NB'er. Like you, we fly out of Portland or Bangor every year (sometimes twice a year). We signed up for the Capital One Delta Skymiles Credit Card about 2.5 years ago. We got 25,000 miles for signing up. FYI, one ticket on Delta in North America costs about 20,000 air miles. On top of that you get 2 miles for every dollar you spend on the card and we put EVERYTHING on the card - gas, groceries, travel - you name it. If you earn more than 25,000 miles in a year they give you a bonus 10,000 miles. We earn about 2.5 free tickets every year. Plus it has world wide travel insurance and trip protection provided you book the entire trip on that card. It really is worth it. As I said earlier, in 2.5 years we've earned 6 free tickets and we figure we can fly twice a year in 2014 and 2015 and once in 2016 before we'll have to pay for tickets again.

 

In case you're interested here's the link to the World mastercard that we use - > http://www.capitalone.ca/credit-cards/delta-skymiles-world/

It is $120 per year but when you consider you get free travel insurance then its really worth it.

 

There is also a Capital One Delta card that has no fee but it doesn't have the bells and whistles this card has.

 

One thing to note about travel insurance with this card. They have a 6 month pre-existing condition clause so if something changes medically 6 months prior to your trip make sure you call them to confirm that you have coverage. I've already put in one claim for a trip last year when my son broke his glasses on the trip - went smooth no issues. Plus the call center is in New Brunswick (Moncton I believe) so its always nice to talk to someone local.

Edited November 14, 2013 by nbsjcruiser

[reedl]

Thanks for the reply. We've got 6 free air flights on Delta because of our points. We're using 2 in February 2014 and will be using 2 next fall so we're really hoping to luck out.

 

Good luck using those Delta points. If they are 25,000 mile amounts, you will have a tough time getting flights at that level!

[nbsjcruiser]

Good luck using those Delta points. If they are 25,000 mile amounts, you will have a tough time getting flights at that level!

 

Already booked 2 tickets for February - no issues. Guess we'll see later in the fall. Sometimes they can go as high as 40,000 for a round trip, which is ok too. We've got 160,000 miles left so even at that level I'm ok with it.

Edited November 14, 2013 by nbsjcruiser

[Tripper10]

So kind of a hard question to answer perhaps but here goes anyway. DW and I are currently booked on the Vision for next November, i.e 2014. Looking at last minute deals for this November we see several pretty decent prices for next week including a 5 day on the LOS and a 4 day on the Majesty. We're thinking about cancelling our Vision cruise and waiting until last minute next year to book something. We're thinking about booking our air for the week before US thanksgiving next year and taking the best deal we can find on any cruise ship. So for those who have done this thing before, what are your experiences with last minute cruises? We're not too picky and would be as happy on a 4 day cruise on the Majesty as we would be on a 5 day on the Freedom and so we're thinking about giving this a shot. Is the week before thanksgiving a good time to get a decent deal?

 

We book last minute for every cruise. We save a bunch by doing this. If your schedule is flexible, this is the way to go imo.

[MonaCK]

as long as you are ok with not caring about cabin choice, or even necessarily the ship you are going to be on, it's the way to go. Good luck!

[jules71]

We book last minute for every cruise. We save a bunch by doing this. If your schedule is flexible, this is the way to go imo.

 

Curious as to how last minute? When are the best deals--right after final payment or a week or two before sailing?

[Tripper10]

Curious as to how last minute? When are the best deals--right after final payment or a week or two before sailing?

 

This coming cruise I booked 37 days out, but I have booked 10 day out. I just keep a look out for the ship/ships I'm interested in and watch the pricing trend. I use 3 different TAs and they are competitive. I have never made a payment on a cruise, I just pay in full because its alway after final payment date. Any price drop, if I miss the rock bottom, I usually get in OBC.

[Merion_Mom]

This coming cruise I booked 37 days out, but I have booked 10 day out. I just keep a look out for the ship/ships I'm interested in and watch the pricing trend. I use 3 different TAs and they are competitive. I have never made a payment on a cruise, I just pay in full because its alway after final payment date. Any price drop, if I miss the rock bottom, I usually get in OBC.

 

Do you live in Florida? :)

[Tripper10]

Do you live in Florida? :)

 

No, I live near Boston

[Merion_Mom]

No, I live near Boston

 

When you wait until the last minute to book a cruise, don't you find that airfare is rather pricey?

[Tripper10]

When you wait until the last minute to book a cruise, don't you find that airfare is rather pricey?

 

Sometimes I'll pre book the flight, but usually it is pretty reasonable. Logan airport in Boston has a lot of flights to Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale.