waiting til last minute, chances of good vs bad cabin?

[kimmiecruises]

We are in AZ so we planned on getting flights to LA for the weel we want to go now, then looking at which ship has the best cabins available for that week once it gets close - we would like to choose our cabin, and if nothing we like is available we can always "do" CA instead - just have seen some really great last minute prices, but know it may be the less than desired cabins - so it is a mini gamble, we just may have to change plans, although realistically not going on a cruise may be too big of a disappointment. :rolleyes:

 

Otherwise, we do like to book early and get our dream cabin

[Suze10860]

We are considering a last minute cruise, for those of you who have done this, were you happy with the cabin you were given? Obviously you were on a cruise, but my concern is the cabins no one wants being the only cabins left - under the pool or near the clubs or any loud public area. We have always booked way in advance for the pricing and choosing our cabin (cabins above and below), but thought we might take our chances. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

Add my friends to the incredibly lucky list. We sailed on the NCL Breakaway on April, and they booked their guarantee balcony cabin on the Wednesday before we sailed. They were assigned a Spa Balcony cabin - free spa access for the week. So, sometimes it does work out well!!

[iancal]

RCI also have Tuesday specials. They are also very good. Last year, while travelling in Australia, we grabbed a last minute RCI cruise. We booked it with RCI in Ausralia. Their price, adjusted for currency, was about 30 percent less than the price for the same cruise/cabin on the North American website. It pays to shop around.

 

We have signed up with Princess. We now get their last minute specials emailed to us.

Edited April 13, 2016 by iancal

[OCruisers]

You never know! It's a roll of the dice.

[JimAOk1945]

I'm usually picky about our cabin and book at least one year out. But, last year I booked a last minute cruise, within 30 days of sailing, to surprise my wife on her birthday. I got a Junior Suite on the Navigator of the Seas. It was our first time in a JS, and we were pleasantly surprised.

 

It was a great room and a wonderful cruise. Below is a link to the slide show my wife made with some of her pictures for her website. It includes pictures of our cabin in case anyone is interested.

 

Last Minute Cruise on Navigator of the Seas

 

Happy cruising!

[kimmiecruises]

Suze - now that's what I call awesome!

 

so, this started out with kind of negative responses, but I am seeing more and more positive experiences, we do realize it's a gamble, but hopefully not a huge one. And for those cruises that we will be picky about our cabin on, (Alaska comes to mind) we'll book farther out and pay the extra for the certainty.