Last minute booking experience?

[cruisendave]

Looking to hear from anyone who booked a cruise at the last possible minute, and if you were able to get any amazing deals. We have an open week this year with no plans, and wondered if it ever pays to take a chance and wait to book.

[Demonyte]

Last year I'd have said that if you are not too strict about your preferences for cabin (or even ship or itinerary), the go for it.

 

But now with the new management things regarding pricing have changed and I don't think that anybody can give very reliable advice about last minute bookings nowadays - to my understanding the new boss rather has cabins empty than lowers the prices too much thus devaluing the brand.

[cruisendave]

Interesting. We usually book about 8 months in advance, but fantasize about rock bottom deals when a ship isn't filled to capacity.

[jkneern]

It really depends on the week...if it's prime time then chances of getting a good deal are slim to none. If it's off season you can get some good rates but you need to be flexible with cabin choices as most of the good ones are already taken or assigned to guarantees. We booked 5 days out for our March 1st breakaway cruise and got a spectacular deal. Our upcoming Dec cruise we booked in April has already gone up $420pp so it just depends.

[fstuff1]

im about to find out.

 

will try to book a Gem cruise immediately after I get off the breakaway and buying a nextcruise certificate.

 

it's sailing 6days after I get off the breakaway

[Tiggertastic]

There are offers on many ships and cruises last minute but it may not be the cruise line or ship that you were wanting. If there's one you really want the only way to guarantee is book in advance. However if you check most cruise lines right now, some have cabins for two days time.

[ndabunka]

It depends on what you mean by "last minute". I think everyone here already KNOWS that you can save a LOT if you simply wait until after the final payment is due (60 days from departure in most cases). That is basically the way we ALWAYS book. Ding it that way typically saves around 50% off what the people who booked 1 year, 6 months or even a few as 3 months prior.

 

59 days prior to departure also typically gives the buyer good room options as well. 30 days from booking, most all cabins have ALREADY been booked so buying 14 days or 7 days in advance isn't typically much less than the people who booked on day 59. There are a few "low demand" cruises that may or may not go where you want that you could easily jump on in those last couple of weeks but if you DO have a destination in mind, simply book it on the 59th day and take advantage of 30% to 50% off the cabin you want on the cruise you want!

 

Don't believe the naysayers who tell you that you HAVE to book in advance for the high-demand cruises. We used this same technique on both our Hawaiian and Alaska cruises as well as both Disney Cruises (not quite 50% on Disney though)

Edited June 28, 2015 by ndabunka

[trex-de]

Hope the trend goes back to last minute deals. 15 years until I retire and my 401k is earmarked for last minute deals when I move to FLORIDA.

[phoenix1181]

I generally book at least a year in advance & prices went down on only one of our cruises. I booked our upcoming cruise @ 6 weeks & paid $300/pp more for the same cabin category other family members booked several months ago. Additionally, they received the UBP inclusive of the 18% gratuity & I paid the gratuity on our package. If I booked it today, it would only be $90/pp higher but it's still higher.

 

Now that we're retired, I thought we'd be able to get some last minute deals but, based on this experience, I'll continue to book early.

[ndabunka]

I generally book at least a year in advance & prices went down on only one of our cruises. I booked our upcoming cruise @ 6 weeks & paid $300/pp more for the same cabin category other family members booked several months ago... If I booked it today, it would only be $90/pp higher but it's still higher.

 

Now that we're retired, I thought we'd be able to get some last minute deals but, based on this experience, I'll continue to book early.

 

Whenever I see posts like this it makes me do research. Here is what I found that contradicts your statement:

 

Congratulations on your free upgrade to a balcony room but based on your other posts here you originally booked in an an obstructed OceanView cabin so we will use that as our baseline for the analysis. Ocean View rooms have dropped an average of $300 in the past two months for your specific cruise. Balcony rooms have dropped $400 in that same time period. A picture is worth a thousand words so...

 

Promotions are a separate issue and therefore do not warrant inclusion into this general observation of price decrease over time. They can be leveraged to reduce your own personal costs but you can literally take advantage of those whenever they occur within the analyzed timeline.

 

Are you saying that an obstructed OV room would have been only $559 "several months ago" and that you would have also have gotten those FREE promotion incentives at that time? if so, that would have been a heck of a deal but nothing online shows that could have been even remotely possible. If so, we would all love to see those details.

Edited June 28, 2015 by ndabunka

[phoenix1181]

Whenever I see posts like this it makes me do research. Here is what I found that contradicts your position. Congratulations on your free upgrade to a balcony room* but based on your other posts here you originally booked in an an obstructed OceanView cabin so we will use that as our baseline for the analysis. A picture is worth a thousand words so...

 

* I could run the same analysis on the current Balcony costs and those also would show a similarly descending line graph (for price paid)

 

 

Your graph & spreadsheets are too small to read & they don't answer the question. You can analyze all you want but the fact remains that I paid more & didn't get an "amazing deal" which is what the OP is asking about.

 

[biker@sea]

Looking to hear from anyone who booked a cruise at the last possible minute, and if you were able to get any amazing deals. We have an open week this year with no plans, and wondered if it ever pays to take a chance and wait to book.

 

I have the whole Bermuda season open with no plans and a cruise reward .

 

I have not found any thing close to a great deal all season so far . Even checking some sailings the night before they leave . ;)

 

Good luck with only one week open .:(

 

.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

It depends on what you mean by "last minute". I think everyone here already KNOWS that you can save a LOT if you simply wait until after the final payment is due (60 days from departure in most cases). That is basically the way we ALWAYS book. Ding it that way typically saves around 50% off what the people who booked 1 year, 6 months or even a few as 3 months prior.

 

59 days prior to departure also typically gives the buyer good room options as well. 30 days from booking, most all cabins have ALREADY been booked so buying 14 days or 7 days in advance isn't typically much less than the people who booked on day 59. There are a few "low demand" cruises that may or may not go where you want that you could easily jump on in those last couple of weeks but if you DO have a destination in mind, simply book it on the 59th day and take advantage of 30% to 50% off the cabin you want on the cruise you want!

 

Don't believe the naysayers who tell you that you HAVE to book in advance for the high-demand cruises. We used this same technique on both our Hawaiian and Alaska cruises as well as both Disney Cruises (not quite 50% on Disney though)

 

60 days for final payment? I thought that was for the short cruises which NCL doesn't have many of. I thought it was 75 days before sailing date for final payment.:confused:

[ndabunka]

Your graph & spreadsheets are too small to read & they don't answer the question. You can analyze all you want but the fact remains that I paid more & didn't get an "amazing deal" which is what the OP is asking about.

 

 

Did you 'click' on them? They show that the prices for your cruise decreased over the last 2 (or maybe 3 months) which is basically the opposite of what you said. You can look up the details on the fish site yourself if you like.

 

The OP was looking for "deals". Over 50% off the price a year prior would be (by most) considered a "deal". That is what I got by booking our Hawaii cruise on day 60. Suite was originally $4,516pp when it first opened up. The price DID go up to a high of $5,647pp on 10/29/14. In contrast, our price was $2,079pp on 5/25/15 for our 7/25/15 cruise. So yeah, you CAN do MUCH better if you wait.. by 50% in our case.

Edited June 29, 2015 by ndabunka

[ndabunka]

60 days for final payment? I thought that was for the short cruises which NCL doesn't have many of. I thought it was 75 days before sailing date for final payment.:confused:

 

That could be but the actual date is not that material to my point which is to wait until the cruise moves into the "must pay in full" time period. That could be day 75, day 59, day 24, etc. Doesn't really matter. All that matters is that we have been able to get the best pricing by waiting until the cruise has moved into that period. We have found this to be accurate for NCL, RC, Carnival and even Disney.

Edited June 29, 2015 by ndabunka

[phoenix1181]

Did you 'click' on them? They show that the prices for your cruise decreased over the last 2 (or maybe 3 months) which is basically the opposite of what you said. You can look up the details on the fish site yourself if you like.

 

The OP was looking for "deals". Over 50% off the price a year prior would be (by most) considered a "deal". That is what I got by booking our Hawaii cruise on day 60. Suite was originally $4,516pp when it first opened up. The price DID go up to a high of $5,647pp on 10/29/14. In contrast, our price was $2,079pp on 5/25/15 for our 7/25/15 cruise. So yeah, you CAN do MUCH better if you wait.. by 50% in our case.

 

Yes, I clicked on them & couldn't read them but that's really not the point.

 

The OP asked a question & I answered with my experience. It may be different from yours, but that doesn't invalidate it. I have watched the prices increase on most of the cruises that I've booked a year or more in advance. It's nice to hear you did better & there are some deals but............. I'll keep doing it my way.

[tulch]

My family has cruised 1-3 weeks in January with NCL over the past two decades. We always have booked at least a year in advance -- usually as soon as the itineraries are posted. Last year was the first time that our cruise would have been cheaper had we waited until to book until after our then-final payment date. We received OBC from NCL for 25% of the price drop which I consider quite generous since we got the stateroom we wanted.

 

My belief is that since 9-11, there are not too many last minute deals since Homeland Security requires (I believe) 48 hours to clear each passenger.

 

(Like Phoenix1181, I am answering with my experience with NCL. I don't appreciate others trying to invalidate responses because they disagree. Present your own experience? Absolutely. Spreadsheets to try to prove you are right and others are wrong.... Really? Take a cruise and chill out!)

[jenseib]

I would watch several different cruise lines and if you don't care so much as to which you go on you most likely will find something.

[yoyocruiser]

This is a loaded question--because it so depends on whether or not you are looking at the possibility of just one cruise--or are you really open to booking any cruise? If your heart is set on one particular cruise and you have any level of feeling whatsoever about what type of room you are in--then early booking is probably going to work out much better--but that is only PROBABLY--anything could happen. But if you literally have a week and are really ready to jump on ANY cruise and you really don't care about what type of cabin--and that means that you REALLY DON'T CARE--then that's different. But I have been watching closely over the last year and I don't think that as many last minute deals are coming up. I too have been watching the Dawn to Bermuda and have not really noticed any decreases.

[rvsullivan]

We always book one to two years in advance. We have never had a cruise go down below what we've paid. We still have almost six months to go for the next one and it is sold out. The cruise still 18 months out has more than doubled in price.

If someone were to ask if there are ever any deals the answer of course is yes. But if the question is whether you can count on it, then no. The cruise lines have the math sorted out so that with upsells and upgrades, they mostly sail full.

[perditax]

I booked June 20 on the Getaway at t-minus five days to sail. I'm pretty sure I paid rack rate / higher than day-one rate. No 'deals' site showed anything special even though ********** browsing implied cabins of most categories were available. (Many cabins in my specific category were selectable when I booked, so we must have sailed with empties?)

[pfk5454]

We always book one to two years in advance. We have never had a cruise go down below what we've paid. We still have almost six months to go for the next one and it is sold out. The cruise still 18 months out has more than doubled in price.

If someone were to ask if there are ever any deals the answer of course is yes. But if the question is whether you can count on it, then no. The cruise lines have the math sorted out so that with upsells and upgrades, they mostly sail full.

 

I booked June 20 on the Getaway at t-minus five days to sail. I'm pretty sure I paid rack rate / higher than day-one rate. No 'deals' site showed anything special even though ********** browsing implied cabins of most categories were available. (Many cabins in my specific category were selectable when I booked, so we must have sailed with empties?)

 

This has been our experience as well. No bargains to speak of.

[Tiggertastic]

We always book 18 to 24 months in advance but twice now our price has dropped by $1000 each before final payment and I've been able to book my parents last minute for a great deal but never with NCL only with another cruise line. We've found with ncl that if it does drop its been by less than our deposit amount and in the UK we forfeit our deposit to change. I booked the epic in May and the day after the price dropped but couldn't take advantage of it

[lisakoivu]

If you haven't read this thread, you might want to. Helped me immensely.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115592&highlight=set

[Magoo618]

We have cruised 12 times in the last 4 years. We have never booked more than 90 days out. We have saved beaucoup $'s this way. We always stay in balcony, mini suite, or the Haven and have never had a problem getting choice rooms. In fact, we would NEVER book one year out. Just our preference.