Last minute deals

[marcy0912]

Well, not so last minute now as I am looking to next year. Want to sail Liberty out of Galveston in late April/early May 2016. After Easter and spring breaks. We live in Texas so would be able to drive to the port. We have always booked way in advance. And usually do a next cruise while onboard.

 

Just wondering what luck people have had with last minute. We would schedule the week off with our jobs. We would only want a balcony or higher and are Diamond if it makes any difference.

 

We would be willing to take the risk to a point, but how last minute would be safe?

 

 

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[beachluver9]

Well, not so last minute now as I am looking to next year. Want to sail Liberty out of Galveston in late April/early May 2016. After Easter and spring breaks. We live in Texas so would be able to drive to the port. We have always booked way in advance. And usually do a next cruise while onboard.

 

Just wondering what luck people have had with last minute. We would schedule the week off with our jobs. We would only want a balcony or higher and are Diamond if it makes any difference.

 

We would be willing to take the risk to a point, but how last minute would be safe?

 

 

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I used to book some cruises last minute because there were good deals to be had. Not anymore. Now you have to book at least a year in advance to get the best rates. This is true for Celebrity as well.

[Clarea]

...We would be willing to take the risk to a point, but how last minute would be safe?

Safe in what way?

 

Here is a link that shows sales for upcoming cruises:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event.pdf

[tidygirl]

My hubby wasn't allowed to work for a month due to health reasons so thought it would be a perfect opportunity to go on a spur of the moment vacation in March. I always thought you could get really awesome deals at the last minute! For us not so

We checked with Royal nothing caught our eye, so jumped over to Holland for our first time. We did go on a cruise with them because of the itinerary but the price wasn't as cheap as I thought it may be. (We booked on a Monday and cruised the following Sunday, so very last minute!)

[grandgeezer]

The only cruises that you can consistently get good last minute deals are transatlantics. We usually book them within three months of sailing. Normally it's been about $70 p.p. per day for balconies on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. We've also found that Choice Air has been about the same price between when we start watching the cruise (about six months out) and when we book it. Make sure you check the air before you book the cruise to make sure it's priced within your budget. We've done both the spring and fall transatlantics for the past three years now. No guarantees that it will stay this way though.

[insidecabin]

The cruises I have been watching around 8weeks is when they price to sell if needed, once the inventory has reduced prices go up.

 

Best rates on GTY sales.

 

The other thing was prices were up/down on one trip all the time sometimes on the Mon-Tues sometimes on a Friday just about any days could see a short period drop.

Edited April 13, 2015 by insidecabin

[Biker19]

Despite RCI CEO's wish to eliminate the last minute sales and anecdotal evidence that they are drying up, they still do occur. The best deals are usually about 30-60 days out (after final payment but still out someways from sailing).

 

The Tuesday special gives some hints at deals but by the time it gets on the Tuesday special the really good cabins might be gone. It was very unusual but this week the Tuesday special was just one page (it's usually about 3-5 pages).

 

The best deals are usually on GTY rates. You have to trade unknown cabin location for price. The best deals on X GTY or other discount (resident/senior/FF) balcony rate got down to about $600 last year (about $200 higher this year so far) - are you willing to gamble that it will go that low again or book the lowest rate now ($900 for an E1/D3 cabin)?

Edited April 13, 2015 by Biker19