Booking VERY LAST minute

[yesplease]

I have a question. We live in the Midwest and plan on driving to the port in Galveston. About a 16 hr drive. I have been watching prices and really feel like I could snag a really good deal last minute, and when I say last minute I mean 2-3 days before the cruise departs. Am I forgetting something that would prevent us from doing this like not having appropriate paperwork from the cruise line?? We would have our passports, time off work etc ready and if the cruise doesn't drop we would either pay what that price was or just wait for another cruise. Any thoughts?? TIA!

[kitty9]

You can book two to three days out by calling the cruise line directly, not going through a TA.

[yesplease]

Thank you! Has anyone here ever done that?

[4x4bob]

We booked last minute last October. Our Planning was, if something bit us at the last minute we would just eat the lost payment. We did not drive 16 hours strait, but did go for 9 hours. We rented a hotel for the night before departure, so had a good night sleep before the cruise.

 

You have to factor in what time of the year you are planning on going.

 

If this month, Mother Nature might drop a nasty storm on you last minute. Plus 16 hours of pedal to the metal may cause a mechanical break down or a nasty traffic accident might hold you up as you sit there watching the clock, etc.

 

And, after 16 hours you will walk onto the ship feeling like a big rubber band and will want 24 hours or so to get back into good shape.

 

I would say, go for it. If you try and don't make it, that is part of the adventure and you would have that experience for next time.

 

Bob

[YubaSutter]

When I lived in Long Beach and had a few days off, I would often check if the cruise still had cabins left for that days sailing. About 25% of the time it did. I would book at 10 am and be onboard at 2 pm. I didn't have to drive 16 hours to the port as the ship was docked 5 minutes from my home.

Edited February 5, 2014 by YubaSutter

[yesplease]

Thanks Bob! My thoughts are we'll keep an eye on availability via some of the websites that track that sort of thing. We would possibly not book or pay a dime until 2-5 days before it's scheduled to depart.. If the weather's bad we just won't do it. We would definitely want to go most of the trip one day, get a hotel and either have just a few hours left or actually be in Galveston the night before. I guess I little bit like gambling. To me part of the fun of vacation is the planning and keep and eye on prices is fun to me. As long as there's no paperwork I would be missing, that was my main concern here. Not saying this is for sure what we will do. If a really good price hits I'll snag it, for my dh's job it maybe better to do that, anyway. Thanks!

[yesplease]

When I lived in Long Beach and had a few days off, I would often check if the cruise still had cabins left for that days sailing. About 25% of the time it did. I would book at 10 am and be onboard at 2 pm. I didn't have to drive 16 hours to the port as the ship was docked 5 minutes from my home.

 

It had to be heaven to live close to a port.

[navybankerteacher]

I did it several times from 2002 to 2005 - usually 2 or 3 days in advance - never more than a week. Got some great deals - sailing as a single with no, or very little, supplement.

[yesplease]

I did it several times from 2002 to 2005 - usually 2 or 3 days in advance - never more than a week. Got some great deals - sailing as a single with no, or very little, supplement.

 

What do you mean by supplement? And tell me this, you just needed your passport then and everything else the cruise line had? or you filled forms out online?

[navybankerteacher]

What do you mean by supplement? And tell me this, you just needed your passport then and everything else the cruise line had? or you filled forms out online?

 

Ordinarily when you book a cruise traveling solo you are charged more than the fare quoted per passenger, because you will be occupying a cabin which could carry two revenue-producing passengers. The charge, called "single supplement" generally runs from 25% to 100% of the quoted fare, making sailing solo prohibitively expensive. By booking very last minute - essentially taking cabins which may have gone unsold, I usually got a very low fare with a very low supplement. I would book on line, be sent cruise docs via email hat day, would complete them on line, print them out, and show up at the port like anyone else.

[yesplease]

Ordinarily when you book a cruise traveling solo you are charged more than the fare quoted per passenger, because you will be occupying a cabin which could carry two revenue-producing passengers. The charge, called "single supplement" generally runs from 25% to 100% of the quoted fare, making sailing solo prohibitively expensive. By booking very last minute - essentially taking cabins which may have gone unsold, I usually got a very low fare with a very low supplement. I would book on line, be sent cruise docs via email hat day, would complete them on line, print them out, and show up at the port like anyone else.

 

Oh wow I didn't realize that! Dang, that's a rip!

[gerif]

When I lived in Long Beach and had a few days off, I would often check if the cruise still had cabins left for that days sailing. About 25% of the time it did. I would book at 10 am and be onboard at 2 pm. I didn't have to drive 16 hours to the port as the ship was docked 5 minutes from my home.

 

Alas, after 9/11, that is no longer possible.

[TwizzlersAddict]

Alas, after 9/11, that is no longer possible.

 

Actually it is still possible to book a cruise the day of sailing, as long as space is available.

The manifest just has to be turned in 90 mins prior to sailing.

[biker@sea]

I book most of our cruises last minute.

Our last Bermuda cruise a few months ago I call at 11 pm Thursday night and sailed the next morning .