Is it worth booking a year ahead?

[bradboy]

Yes~ but be sure it's early saver where you can get $$$ back if it goes down. We lost 400 by not doing it.

 

 

 

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[kabux]

Definitely book far ahead if you know which cruise and when you are going!! We booked our upcoming 2/14 cruise for our family of four as Early Saver in March. Since booking, we have had 6 price drops totaling $990!!!

[jsfromsc]

I say yes. Get the cabin you want. Book early saver and get OBC and/or upgrades if prices drop. And, for me, looking forward to the cruise is half the fun. Plenty of time to plan your shore excursions.

[Ramrac]

We always book at least a year out so that we have some what of first dibs on a cabin. I try to do a lot of research about which cabin to pick so I want to make sure I can get the one I want.

[cruiser fanatic]

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!

 

It is very true. I don't like early saver for one reason. If there is a special promotion that comes up it is normally for new bookings only. Cruises are on sale usually for a VERY good price. Therefore, if you book Early Saver you are not eligible for the price drop. This has happened to me before. For me I could careless where my cabin is as long as I am on the ship!

Edited January 2, 2015 by cruiser fanatic

[Lerin]

If you aren't particular about your room and have the ability to "drop and go" then wait until the last minute.

 

We've booked a year out once to get a specific cabin and a few times on some smaller ship sailings that sell out quickly. If we didn't have to fly and ask for time-off far in advance, we'd plan every cruise only a month out.

[Budget Queen]

Early Saver is not applied to every rate. There have been some exceptions. It also requires some work, as you need to keep track of them and apply for each drop. Doesn't work well for me, with being a frequent traveler. :)

 

Everyone is different, from many of the above posts it sounds like some infrequent trips, maybe once per year? May be a whole different priority with cabin choices, and needing airfare (which I don't) adds plenty to the mix.

 

I do see big price differences in when when you go.

[vlynn]

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.

 

This ^. We always book as far out as possible, ES rate. 12 - 16 months ahead in most cases and have only had a price drop once; and of only a few dollars. So by booking early we get the best price and have prime cabin selection. Win/Win in our book!!

[richfret]

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?:)

 

This is a stock market question. Is the market going to go up or down for 2015? Are cruise prices going up or down for 2015? And the answer is "A definite MAYBE!" I can tell you this. I book a year in advance while on a cruise to get the $100 OBC. I pick the best price at that time and then the waiting game begins. I pick the Military rate which is similar to Early Saver so I can pick the cabin. With Military you get all price decreases until final payment. With Early Saver, you get all decreases until the cruise. With Military you can cancel. With Early Saver, you can not with out a loss. Then I watch every Carnival sale and check other times any way. For my current cruise in January, 2015, I have experienced 5 price changes for a total of $933. That's not bad! Was the price too high in the first place. Who can tell? It was the best price at that time and I knew I had the year to watch for price decreases. If they had not occurred, I could have cancelled. So you can see this is a complicated matter and not easily answered.

[SLCruisers]

I'm another for book ES. I did last June for our upcoming March cruise. Cabin next door is almost $600 higher than what we paid. I was hoping for price drops but I think I may be out of luck!