When to book?

[Clipper123]

I've been on a few Caribbean cruises and have always got the best price by booking 18+ months in advance. It looks like Alaskan cruises tend to be cheaper closer to sailing time on the most part? Is this correct or is it just coincidental of the sailings I have looked at? Looking at 2017 and wondering whether to book as soon as the date is released or hold off to get a better price?

[zqvol]

I've been on a few Caribbean cruises and have always got the best price by booking 18+ months in advance. It looks like Alaskan cruises tend to be cheaper closer to sailing time on the most part? Is this correct or is it just coincidental of the sailings I have looked at? Looking at 2017 and wondering whether to book as soon as the date is released or hold off to get a better price?

 

 

With MOST lines watch for price changes up until final payment and you can usually get an adjustment. Prices tend to wildly fluctuate on all cruises so if finding the least expensive is critical you have to constantly watch for changes.

[Budget Queen]

Based purely on price, the lowest are with the late bookings.

 

BUT you need to be very flexible with this type of plan, which works out superbly in my case.

 

Many people are looking for specific cabins, specific dates, specific ships. If the case- all these lesson the ability to late book.

 

It does no harm to book way in advance (I'm shaking my head as I haven't booked all my 2015 Alaska cruises yet, 2017 isn't even a thought :) :) ) verify any cancellation fees, some booking agents add some. then keep an eye out on prices up until final payment. If using ES on Carnival, up until a few days prior to cruise date (but unlikely to drop since they only have one ship sailing Alaska)

[Clipper123]

.

 

It does no harm to book way in advance (I'm shaking my head as I haven't booked all my 2015 Alaska cruises yet, 2017 isn't even a thought :) :) )

 

Oh my!!! All of my Caribbean cruises have been booked at least 18 months in advance. Only once did I get OBC because of a price drop. My 2016 cruise that I booked in Fall 2014 has more than doubled in price. I guess if, like you said, you can be very flexible then maybe there are deals to be had a week or two in advance but unfortunately I would have to book at least 3 months in advance to give vacation notice at work. I can't wait until the time comes we can be that flexible though :)

Edited June 19, 2015 by Clipper123

[varoo]

There is no one best answer to the "when to book" question.

 

Often the best prices show up on the last minute closeout sales.

 

But those great deals certainly are not for every cruise, or for every passenger, and some cruises will sell out early for one reason or another, such as when a large special interest group decides to book.

 

The deeply discounted last minute closeouts only work for passengers who are willing and able to be flexible and who qualify for the particular rate category offered.

 

 

We are among those passengers who can be quite happy with any of a number of different cruise ships and cabin categories.

 

Booking last minute flights is not a concern for us either, so we usually have no need to book early and can afford to sit back, watch and wait.

 

Especially so for the Caribbean or Alaska, competitive markets where there are plenty of cruises available that can work well for those of us who like to cruise frequently.

 

We figure that even if a cruise we are considering omits a particular port or glacier area of interest, we can hit it another time, or we have already been there previously.

 

 

On the other hand, if it happened to be a unique cruise that we absolutely, positively wanted and would be disappointed if it sold out, then we would not wait but would book early.

 

There are always tradeoffs, whichever way you do it.

 

 

[sherryf]

Oh my!!! All of my Caribbean cruises have been booked at least 18 months in advance. Only once did I get OBC because of a price drop. My 2016 cruise that I booked in Fall 2014 has more than doubled in price. I guess if, like you said, you can be very flexible then maybe there are deals to be had a week or two in advance but unfortunately I would have to book at least 3 months in advance to give vacation notice at work. I can't wait until the time comes we can be that flexible though :)

 

I have never booked more than 6 months in advance, and once as short as about 2 months in advance. I have the advantage of living near port and not needing to book flights. I just wait until I can get the price I want.

[CStorm]

Totally in the minority here. We booked last Aug for this July. HAL was offering their Explore 4 package which includes a drink package. I've watched the price of our cabin every week or so since booking, the price never moved. We have obviously made final payment and I looked again today, it's actually about $50 more and no more beverages. We (DH really) are picky about our cabin so we book early. To each their own. No matter when you book and when you go, I hope you love Alaska.

 

Happy Cruising!

[varoo]

Totally in the minority here. We booked last Aug for this July. HAL was offering their Explore 4 package which includes a drink package. I've watched the price of our cabin every week or so since booking, the price never moved. We have obviously made final payment and I looked again today, it's actually about $50 more and no more beverages. We (DH really) are picky about our cabin so we book early. To each their own. No matter when you book and when you go, I hope you love Alaska.

We just received an email from a travel agency today that looks like they are eager to dump the last remaining cabins on the July 11 Noordam sailing. They list it as 11-Day Yukon +Double Denali (Cruise Tour).

 

They are offering some great interline closeout prices, but with no drink package and no cabin choice within category.

So if anyone decided to book it with them today, it looks like they would just need to take what is available in each remaining category.

 

Their offerings in the same promotion for the July 04 Noordam cruise were similar, but they were offering a Vista Suite for $1012, which I would guess someone has probably grabbed by now.

 

It was quite tempting, except that they only cruise for a few nights and then take their passengers off the ship, continuing over land from Skagway.

We would prefer to cruise up to Seward or Anchorage and start the land portion there.

 

By comparison, the regular rates shown by HAL were much higher, as they usually are.

I did not look at any other TA's pricing, so don't know how other discounted rate categories would compare.

 

[CStorm]

We just received an email from a travel agency today that looks like they are eager to dump the last remaining cabins on the July 11 Noordam sailing. They list it as 11-Day Yukon +Double Denali (Cruise Tour).

 

They are offering some great interline closeout prices, but with no drink package and no cabin choice within category.

So if anyone decided to book it with them today, it looks like they would just need to take what is available in each remaining category.

 

Their offerings in the same promotion for the July 04 Noordam cruise were similar, but they were offering a Vista Suite for $1012, which I would guess someone has probably grabbed by now.

 

It was quite tempting, except that they only cruise for a few nights and then take their passengers off the ship, continuing over land from Skagway.

We would prefer to cruise up to Seward or Anchorage and start the land portion there.

 

By comparison, the regular rates shown by HAL were much higher, as they usually are.

I did not look at any other TA's pricing, so don't know how other discounted rate categories would compare.

 

 

We are not doing any land portion, just r/t out of Vancouver. I know they are running some specials for our cruise, just not in the cabin we want (aft Veranda). The price online is $2249 per person. We like cruising and can't be gone for 11 days because of work. Maybe one day :rolleyes:

[Budget Queen]

We just received an email from a travel agency today that looks like they are eager to dump the last remaining cabins on the July 11 Noordam sailing. They list it as 11-Day Yukon +Double Denali (Cruise Tour).

 

They are offering some great interline closeout prices, but with no drink package and no cabin choice within category.

So if anyone decided to book it with them today, it looks like they would just need to take what is available in each remaining category.

 

Their offerings in the same promotion for the July 04 Noordam cruise were similar, but they were offering a Vista Suite for $1012, which I would guess someone has probably grabbed by now.

 

It was quite tempting, except that they only cruise for a few nights and then take their passengers off the ship, continuing over land from Skagway.

We would prefer to cruise up to Seward or Anchorage and start the land portion there.

 

By comparison, the regular rates shown by HAL were much higher, as they usually are.

I did not look at any other TA's pricing, so don't know how other discounted rate categories would compare.

 

 

I usually pick up "regular" rates and rarely use interline, as they don't allow shareholder benefits or open deposit OBC's etc. Usually getting better rates without it. Most of the people on this board wouldn't qualify for those rates anyway, so, not really worth much to mention them. :)

Edited June 20, 2015 by Budget Queen

[varoo]

I usually pick up "regular" rates and rarely use interline, as they don't allow shareholder benefits or open deposit OBC's etc. Usually getting better rates without it. Most of the people on this board wouldn't qualify for those rates anyway, so, not really worth much to mention them. :)

For most cruises we do not use interline rates either, but I must admit that we have picked up some of the very best deals that way.

The offers can span a wide range from meh to wow!

 

Thousands of people qualify for them and many use them, some quite frequently.

 

Also different perks are more important to some passengers than others.

 

 

As for shareholder benefits, for us they are sometimes worth taking, but often we pass them up in exchange for a much better deal without them.

 

It comes down to weighing the pros and cons, as we each decide for ourselves which way of booking will be most advantageous to us for any cruise.

Budget Queen, you have stated many times that you usually book inside cabins.

That makes an enormous difference, since the biggest discounts are offered for the higher category cabins and suites.

 

There simply is very little room to discount prices of inside cabins.

I totally agree that it would usually be much better to take the shareholder benefit instead of a meager price reduction on an inside cabin.

 

 

[Budget Queen]

For most cruises we do not use interline rates either, but I must admit that we have picked up some of the very best deals that way.

The offers can span a wide range from meh to wow!

 

Thousands of people qualify for them and many use them, some quite frequently.

 

Also different perks are more important to some passengers than others.

 

 

As for shareholder benefits, for us they are sometimes worth taking, but often we pass them up in exchange for a much better deal without them.

 

It comes down to weighing the pros and cons, as we each decide for ourselves which way of booking will be most advantageous to us for any cruise.

Budget Queen, you have stated many times that you usually book inside cabins.

That makes an enormous difference, since the biggest discounts are offered for the higher category cabins and suites.

 

There simply is very little room to discount prices of inside cabins.

I totally agree that it would usually be much better to take the shareholder benefit instead of a meager price reduction on an inside cabin.

 

 

 

I don't find many on Cruise Critic who qualify. ;) yes, the discounts are substantial and more common for the higher cost cabins. I just don't care where I am, and am fine with being a mole cruiser. :) Good analogy on the different types of booking.

[Putterdude]

If you what a specific date, itinerary, ship or cabin then you are best to book the cruise as soon as the itinerary is released, hope the price drops and then have your TA get you the new lower price. If you are prepared to take anything at any time then you may well get your best price 14 to 21 day before the cruise. What I generally see is that about mid to late May there is often a large dump of cabins for cruises in late June into July....then in July there is another dump of cabins for mid-August to the end of the season. The other thing that may impact your decision is airfare to either Seattle or Vancouver.

[watchdiva]

We are picky about our suite location (Deck 10 AFT SF) and since there are only 4 of them we book as soon as an itinerary opens. We have been able to take advantage of price drops from time to time but we book at a price point that we are happy with for the location that we want.