How close to cruise do you book??

[Sea and Me]

I know that there are those that book further out to select their cabin choice. I wonder how many of you wait until final payments are due to book. We are looking into the Adventurer in August out of San Juan. Airfare right now is pretty high. Should we wait to book later and hope airfare will go down (I know only the rain comes down)!! Or should we book now with the "sale" price on the cruise?

 

Thanks for your replies.

Carol

Edited April 21, 2016 by Carol P.

[Clarea]

There's no predicting cruise or air prices. If you want to roll the dice and take whatever stateroom might be available, then by all means, wait until after final payment date to book the cruise. Just know that there is a possibility that may be no staterooms available.

[ColoradoGurl]

If I lived within driving distance to a port I would book lots of last minute cruises. The airfare and hotel stays are half my vacation cost when cruising.

 

We did the Adventure from San Juan last summer and I tracked prices of airfare and cruise fare daily. The cruise fare dropped significantly the closer to the cruise we got (it went down from around $900/person for an inside to $550).

 

Airfare however, went waaaaaaaay up. We booked 8 months in advance for $345 per person round trip, and a month later the prices were already up to $600/person, and continued to rise until the cruise and reached about $1200/person. A hundred or two hundred dollars more for last minute airfare isn't a big deal when you figure it in to the cost of the vacation, but $900 more per person isn't worth the wait. It's always possible for airfare to drop, but I don't see that happen very often to places that are touristy year round (like florida and San Juan).

Edited April 21, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[iahawkfan21]

I work right next door to Port Canaveral and live thirty minutes away. We've booked two cruises out of there last minute, and also an 8-nighter on Indy from port Everglades last minute previously. I had vacation time to use and the prices were excellent for our budget. This time we booked our dece,beer cruise almost eight months out since my parents will be coming along.

 

I do agree being closer allows a bit more flexibility for sure, but booking early and being able to adjust the prices if they go down is always nice too. Last minute also doesn't tend to get too many "perks" as you're at the mercy of what's available.

[Pipo]

I start looking about a year in advance, and then I usually book 8-6 months before departure. I buy air tickets right after the cruise is booked.

[cruiseguy1016]

We always book as soon as we decide what cruise we want to go on. By doing that we are guaranteed the lowest price up until final payment date. I monitor air fare and book that when it is at a price I feel comfortable with.