Is it worth booking a year ahead?

[Tracey/Thom]

We're thinking about a 7 day Caribbean cruise from Florida in December 2015.

Is it worth booking it in January or should we wait for those great last minute sales? We can drop and go within 7-14 days and we live in Florida. Experienced cruisers, what do you think?:)

[chocolate melting cake]

We always book a year ahead----but live in CT and couldn't do last minute. IF you book early saver you can not get a better price up till 2 days pre cruise. We normally get OBC---and if not we got the best price to begin with. I think the 2 main benefits of early booking are having a much larger choice of cabins and (at least for us) the joy of anticipation!

[Remus2010]

We always book a year out. Mostly because its just easier for us to pay it off in smaller increments. However, this cruise we got huge price drops from about 5 to 3 months out. for the last month the price has been steadily increasing. The cruise is Jan 24th, 7 day eastern, we book a balcony at around $750/pp and dropped down to $513/pp. Now the price is back up to $749/99. Ship is looking pretty full. So absolute last min may not be the best deal? If you are the type that can check the site often for price drops then book early and get the drops. Good luck and have a great time what ever you do.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Remus2010

[cruiser fanatic]

I never book this far out. You can get MUCH better deals if you wait until a month or two before.

[WindsorFred]

We always book a year ahead----but live in CT and couldn't do last minute. IF you book early saver you can not get a better price up till 2 days pre cruise. We normally get OBC---and if not we got the best price to begin with. I think the 2 main benefits of early booking are having a much larger choice of cabins and (at least for us) the joy of anticipation!

Same with us. We like to choose our cabin location and booking a year out gives us the best selection. Have booked ES for almost all of our cruises and this is the first year we have received OBC, like you the other cruises were best price at the time we booked.

[meatloafsfan]

If you are particular about your cabin, or are planning to cruise over Christmas or New Years then I would book now.

 

If you're just looking for an early to mid December getaway, I would wait and watch the various deals offered.

[dulcimergirl]

I once booked a cruise 675 days out. Was great, I had it paid off before we went, but since it was so far out, I had to take a couple of small cruises in between. Just for the sake of my nerves.. lol That started an avalanche. Now, I'm in the 4 or more times a year club. :eek:

[audcc77]

We (DH) could not make up our minds to do a cruise during spring break April 2015.

 

This summer, I was finally able to make my DH commit to one & we ended up with an 8D balcony on the Pride for 3 people for $2,927 and that was supposedly a special casino rate.

 

If I’d have waited until now, that room it would be $3,437.

 

I booked the exact same room & same cruise next year 2016 for spring break, and I only paid $2,087.

 

I think booking Early Saver is best if you go during peak times. You can certainly get a good deal if you wait to the last minute & go during off times. At least that has been my experience.

[ILCruzr]

YES!!! Cuz you get the cabin you want and you can watch the price drops. You will always get the lowest price.

 

My upcoming Valor cruise we booked last February for this month and I also have 2 other cruises that are planned well far an advance, so I have something to look forward to :)

[iheartmarshall]

I booked over a year out on our first cruise and paid a little here and there when we had extra money. I'm glad I did too; I was able to save money by watching price drops and went from an interior to a balcony at no extra cost (even got OBC since our final upgrade was after final payment). Once we added up the total cost of the cruise, gratuities, excursions, flights, and a pre-cruise hotel, there was no way we could've been able to afford everything if we had booked a month or two out. I wish we had the luxury of doing that but we don't unfortunately. So, we book in advance and pay as we go. We're doing the same thing for a cruise in September, although it's not going to be as expensive as our first since we're driving but still -- it's nice to just pay as we go and not have to put down a large amount of money at once.

Edited January 1, 2015 by iheartmarshall

[Tracey/Thom]

We (DH) could not make up our minds to do a cruise during spring break April 2015.

 

This summer, I was finally able to make my DH commit to one & we ended up with an 8D balcony on the Pride for 3 people for $2,927 and that was supposedly a special casino rate.

 

If I’d have waited until now, that room it would be $3,437.

 

I booked the exact same room & same cruise next year 2016 for spring break, and I only paid $2,087.

 

I think booking Early Saver is best if you go during peak times. You can certainly get a good deal if you wait to the last minute & go during off times. At least that has been my experience.

 

Thanks for your answer - but what would be considered "peak times" ? Around the holidays?

[cruiser fanatic]

Thanks for your answer - but what would be considered "peak times" ? Around the holidays?

 

Summer and Holidays.

[Cruise life]

Summer and Holidays.

 

 

Definitely agree. Long ago we cruised with another line and the rate was three times higher in December than January. CCL seems to be similar but not as drastic.

We like to book ahead so we have plenty of time to pay in full, although it seems that may not always be a good idea because once paid in full you only get credit for price drops. Some on here have received a substantial amount of OBC.

 

 

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[kona_wahine]

We booked ES, about a year in advance for this coming april. Have got one price reduction. Guarantee is less right now, but I don't want to give up are primo room on Lido dedk. :D. Also, I like to make payment each month. Just makes it easier to pay for. But, with the Father's Day promo, and now Verizon rewards program, I will always buy gift cards at 10% off to pay for everything on cruise.

[Budget Queen]

For many years, IF you are flexible, Nov and Dec cruises- except holiday weeks are give away sailings- every year. I don't care about what cabin, or ship. I do have preferred itineraries. I never have any issue with paying in full with late bookings. I sailed Carnival 10 times this year, 7 of those booked after final payment. Of the 7 other cruises I took on other lines, 4 of those were booked late after final payments.

[2chilover]

We've been cruising in the fall, then once off the ship, we book for the next fall. Nice selection of cabins and as someone else said - it's all paid by the time we go. We use a travel agent (friend of my d-I-l) and when there are price reductions, she adjusts. And we love having something to look forward to all year as we put every extra penny into our vacation club at the bank. (ship and port $)

[serene56]

We booked 18 months ago with a very cheap rate. Quite a few price drps for the cruise but not for me as the price I paid was still cheaper. Another drop this past week and I still paid 50.00 less then the going rate

[audcc77]

Thanks for your answer - but what would be considered "peak times" ? Around the holidays?

 

I’m sure everyone would have a different opinion, but I’d consider January, February, September, & October to be non-peak. When I’m forced to sail during peak times, I usually book way ahead. This time I did not & now we’re paying more.

 

On the other hand, it depends on which ship b/c just DH & I sailed on the Valor out of Puerto Rico mid-March (college spring break) and it was $700 pp for an aft balcony. By the time the sail date arrived, regular balconies were going for about $350-400 pp. In that instance, I should have waited to book and would have gotten a better price, but I was too freaked out over the airfare and wanted to get that nailed down.

[kelkel2]

We live in Illinois and cruise as a wedding anniversary gift to ourselves. Ours is in January and we love cruising that time of year, especially the weather in the Caribbean and avoiding the weather in Illinois. But we have already booked our January 2016 cruise. We have noticed that we have never gotten price drops and that with airfare and hotels it's just easier to book in advance. We booked about 8 months out for our last one, it was in Miami and I was attempting to book a downtown Miami hotel and it was slim picking. Plus, airfare I don't enjoy booking last minute. Ever.

Now, I book the cruise, then the hotel and then as soon as the airlines open booking I book with Southwest so I can get a "wanna get away" fare and get there as cheap as possible.

Maybe part of the reason we don't get price drops is because we get balcony rooms or categories that are quickly sold out, like this time we booked an aft view extended balcony.

[HollandAvery]

I definitely think it's worth booking Early Saver. We booked our upcoming cruise in September 2014, 400-something days in advance. The beauty of booking early is that you can catch price drops! :D

[N00B]

If you know what cruise you want, then book it. You can always get price drops if the rate goes down after you've booked. Even without early saver, you can get price drops up until final payment. Basically if you book now you will still get the best price.

 

Only if you aren't sure which cruise to take and are hoping for a great deal/sale should you wait. You never really know if a certain cruise will go in sale.

[ski_mom]

We booked ES, about a year in advance for this coming april. Have got one price reduction. Guarantee is less right now, but I don't want to give up are primo room on Lido dedk. :D. Also, I like to make payment each month. Just makes it easier to pay for. But, with the Father's Day promo, and now Verizon rewards program, I will always buy gift cards at 10% off to pay for everything on cruise.

 

What are the Father's Day promo and the Verizon reward programs?

 

We are booking a cruise for the summer and i love any way to save on it!

[ski_mom]

sorry - double post

Edited January 1, 2015 by ski_mom

[buddylover]

I never book this far out. You can get MUCH better deals if you wait until a month or two before.

 

Not true, if you book ES you always get the best price and BEST DEAL no matter when it occurs.....furthermore when you book far out you definitely get the EXACT cabin in the EXACT location you want. When you wait until a month or two out it is what is "left" that you choose from. We always book MORE than a year out, have always gotten the LOWEST price offered by CCL cuz we book ES and we get a prime cabin in a prime location as well and not just the slim pickings that are left close to departure!

[MCC retired]

Booking early is worth it if you book ES .

Those Guarantee's after Final can save you big $$$.

You can trade in your ES cabin for one of those Guarantee's if you wish .

 

 

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