last minute booking?

[CPCruisers]

What is the best way to get a good deal on last minute cruise booking? Are you better going directly with cruise line or with a TA?

[cruising cockroach]

There is an internet travel agent who does specialise in last-minute clearouts. I don't think one is allowed to mention it (or any other) by name. Might be able to get you a better deal especially if the cruise line is trying to keep peace with people who had paid higher rates before final payment.

 

Sometime, the cruise line does these deals directly. One way to stay on top of this is to sign up for the line's last-minute deal email list. I did a last-minute cruise with Princess a few weeks ago and got a whopping $10 p.p. off the sale rate. Did get a higher cabin though (cheap rate was for inside and oceanview, private sale included balconies for the same rate).

[navybankerteacher]

If by "good deal" you mean minimum total cost and nothing else, the step one is to live very close to a cruise port so any savings on cruise fare is not obliterated by last minute travel costs.

 

Then, rather than working with agents, keep checking with the lines in which you are interested daily during the last two weeks before sailing - the really "good deals" will be the less desirable accommodations on the unpopular itineraries.

 

Finally, when you see a fare you can live with on a sailing you will enjoy - book it. Sure the price may be lower the next day, but there will always be a time when you must decide to act.

 

On the other hand, if a "good deal" means an enjoyable cruise on a ship you prefer, on an itinerary you will enjoy, in comfortable accommodations - start a year in advance monitoring fares for varying accommodations on different sailings from ports you can get to without breaking the bank. When you find something you like - based on all variables - book it - then continually monitor prices until final payment date so you will be able to get fare adjustment or on board credit in the event of price drops.

[MCC retired]

Last Minute generally means 60-30 days out to the cruise lines.

They can't afford to wait too long to offer a special rate to fill out a soft sailing.

Edited June 12, 2016 by MCC retired

[cherylandtk]

On Princess the last minute (which really means about 6-8 weeks or so) deals are called Flash Fares. They are not sold directly by Princess to customers and can only be purchased through a travel agency.

[navybankerteacher]

Last Minute generally means 60-30 days out to the cruise lines.

They can't afford to wait too long to offer a special rate to fill out a soft sailing.

 

True - but to the cost-obsessed potential passenger, I'm inclined to think "last minute" means less than two weeks.

[paul929207]

True - but to the cost-obsessed potential passenger, I'm inclined to think "last minute" means less than two weeks.

Last two weeks means that people needing to fly are effectively cut out, reducing potential sales.

[biker@sea]

What is the best way to get a good deal on last minute cruise booking? Are you better going directly with cruise line or with a TA?

 

I like to book direct with the cruise line within the last week before sailing.

 

I did book 1 cruise 12 hrs before boarding when I saw the online price drop by 50%.

 

.

Edited June 12, 2016 by biker@sea

[navybankerteacher]

I like to book direct with the cruise line within the last week before sailing.

 

I did book 1 cruise 12 hrs before boarding when I saw the online price drop by 50%.

 

.

 

Spoken like a man who lives perhaps a half hour away from Black Falcon.

 

I understand: living about 45 minutes from Brooklyn and Manhattan Cruise terminals, I have frequently booked less than a week in advance.

[navybankerteacher]

Last two weeks means that people needing to fly are effectively cut out, reducing potential sales.

 

That's why "step one" is to live very close to a cruise port.

[biker@sea]

I also watch the next weeks cruise price very close when on a cruise. ;) :D

[marco]

And along these lines....why is that when you research a particular cruise far in advance, frequently it shows top category suites "not available", "sold out" or similar verbiage, but when you look at the same cruise for last minute specials, they sometimes are the only categories available?

[Hlitner]

Now you are speaking my language...when it comes to last minute good deals. The best deals we have gotten, over the years, have all come through various high volume cruise agencies. Since we always book our cruises (about 100 days a year) with reputable cruise agencies, dealing with them comes natural. But in many cases, the real good last minute (this would be inside the final payment period) deals are never published on any web site....per agreements with the cruise lines. So these deals are only available to folks who are registered with the appropriate cruise agencies so that they can received e-mails (or links) to the unpublished fares.

 

So we suggest just registering your e-mail with several (the more the better) reputable major online cruise agencies. This is free (if they want to charge money....cross that agency off your list). Just beware that you will get lots of e-mails (most will not be the kind of deals you want) so you might want to create a special e-mail address just for this stuff.

 

And I will also tell you that the amazing deals are sometimes found by luck. For example, last October we received an e-mail from one of our favorite agencies that included a real good deal on a 10 day repositioning cruise for the new Regal Princess. The offering was $1700 total price (including taxes and fees) for two for a balcony cabin. This worked out $85 per passenger day which is a pretty decent deal. We decided to call the agency to find out what cabins might be available, and while we were on the phone the agent mentioned that Princess had just sent them a Fax with updated offers. The price for that cruise had dropped to $1200 (this was the entire cost for 2 persons) or $60 a passenger day for one of the highest category balconies. It took about 5 seconds for me to tell her., "book it."

 

2 weeks ago we stumbled on a very good deal for a 24 day HAL cruise (leaves next month) which also happened somewhat by accident. We had been looking for a good deal on another HAL cruise (which never developed) and in the process stumbled on an amazing deal on a different cruise. And a quick call to that particular cruise agency ended up getting us a few hundred dollars off that deal plus several hundred dollars in OBCs. It also helps to build some relationships with humans at these agencies. In our case, they know that we will give them a booking with no hesitation (so we do not waste their time).

Hank

Edited June 13, 2016 by Hlitner

[iancal]

You just never know. We have done four late booking Sept/Oct Med /Adriatic cruises. All four 10-14 day cruises were in surprisingly well located balcony cabins. We did a 14 day Late booking Caribbean cruise a few Christmasses ago and snagged great verandah cabin. We were quite surprised-I suspect someone was upgraded . Our last was an Australia New Zealand booked three weeks out. The guy balcony cabin assigned was In a perfect location for us.

 

Don't know about insides or ocean views other than they seem to be easier to find, more plentiful, and very well priced. We have not shopped for any suites.

 

We get last minute offers from several cruise lines but we always book with an on line TA. She often makes us aware of offers that we overlooked or were not aware of. We are watching pricing now ***** Med cruises. We hope to snag a late booking offer for a Sept/Oct departure. The trick is to understand the pricing,know a good price when you see it, establish a strike price, and make a buy decision as soon as your target price hits.

Edited June 14, 2016 by iancal

[Hflors]

Spoken like a man who lives perhaps a half hour away from Black Falcon.

 

I understand: living about 45 minutes from Brooklyn and Manhattan Cruise terminals, I have frequently booked less than a week in advance.

 

You don't always need to live at the port. We met a woman on our Christmas/ New Years cruise (Amsterdam Dec 18, 2015 - Jan 4, 2016) who lived in Las Vegas. She booked the cruise the morning the ship left from San Diego. She said she booked Cruise, and flight at the same time on the morning of the 18th.

 

We actually booked the same cruise on Dec 15th. The price was very good including taxes, fare and port charges for both of us is was $3000.00 total for an 18 day Panama canal cruise over the holidays. (about $85 pp per day) Our airline fare was $200 pp as we flew from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego. So instead of buying gifts (we probably don't need or want) we bought a cruise! The morning of the 15th we were sitting at our breakfast bar having coffee thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday and wondering what we were going to do and on the 18th we were standing at the back railing of Amsterdam watching the skyline of San Diego recede in the distance!

[BlueRiband]

If you want to make a last minute booking five things must all work for you:

 

1) lowest price is your goal over and above any other consideration

2) you can accept a category guarantee

3) you are not tied to one sailing date

4) airfare is not an issue

5) you can accept that the fares might instead go up or the ship sells out before you make up your mind.

[GUT2407]

What is the best way to get a good deal on last minute cruise booking? Are you better going directly with cruise line or with a TA?

 

In my experience there is no hard and fast rule.

[MTdreaming]

We watch and wait...but my understanding is that Royal Caribbean now has a policy that cruise fares will not drop further starting at 30 days out, so if you are looking specifically at that Cruise line..(TX residents ;-) ) last minute is slightly different.

[jocap]

As Hank says...use your TAs and have last minute offers sent to you- my emails sometimes consist of nothing else, especially in the slacker seasons.

[iancal]

Don't assume that you will pay more for last minute air. Research it at the same time time you are looking at cruises.

 

We often book 30-45 days out. Our experience over the past few years on transatlantic fares is that booking in this timeframe gave us the same air price as booking five or six months out...and sometimes less.

[Hlitner]

We watch and wait...but my understanding is that Royal Caribbean now has a policy that cruise fares will not drop further starting at 30 days out, so if you are looking specifically at that Cruise line..(TX residents ;-) ) last minute is slightly different.

 

But here is your real problem. You mention one specific cruise line (RCI)! One real important factor in grabbing great last minute (inside the final payment period) bargains is being flexible. When you limit that search to a single line or ship...the odds of you finding a good deal plummet. So expand your horizons. Personally, having been Diamond with RCI (RCCL) for over twenty years....this particular line is at the bottom of the heap (for many reasons). That being said, if we were looking for a last minute deal we might still book RCI.

 

RCI has targeted a very specific niche of the cruise market...and done it well. But we are not in their target group and simply wish them well. But in our cruising life (will cruise over 100 days this year) we now prefer other lines.....many other lines :)

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

We watch and wait...but my understanding is that Royal Caribbean now has a policy that cruise fares will not drop further starting at 30 days out, so if you are looking specifically at that Cruise line..(TX residents ;-) ) last minute is slightly different.

 

Even if such a "policy" existed do you really think that any line would refuse to modify ANY policy if they found themselves with dozens of unsold cabins two weeks before sailing date? Of course they want people to book early at prices they want --- but keep looking at ALL lines if you wish to play in the last minute market.

[iancal]

We are hoping to snag a last minute Med cruise this Sept/Oct. Perhaps 2, 1 12 day and a 7 day. We are watching the pricing now. We have researched the ships, our preferred itineraries and dates. Now we wait a little while and watch. We are following a HAL, Princess, Celebrity, and RCI cruises. Plus perhaps a 7 day Costa to try them out.

 

First one to reduce their verandah fare to our target price on any of our preferred ships/itineraries will win our business. End of. And if it is close, the one that allows us to select our cabin will win. We want to get on Hal's K'dam but would be very pleased with a Celebrity Solstice class ship. Air fares are down. We will probably book air to Europe in late July, early August for a late Aug/early Sept departure date and then try to shoe horn a cruise into the vacation slot.

 

And if we do not get a cruise then we will be just as happy with an independent land trip.

Edited June 15, 2016 by iancal

[geoherb]

I booked us quite a few last-minute holiday cruises. DH is about to retire from teaching a a community college, so we won't be tied to his school break schedule anymore. But when we were, I would track prices of cruises that fit his schedule--usually starting in August. I kept a spreadsheet listing the various cruises we could take and the prices for inside, oceanview, and balcony cabins. It was interesting watching how the prices would go up and down from week to week.

 

We did not get to go last year since his break at Christmas and mine from my job did not work out (since my boss wanted off the week after Christmas). But when we went in December 2014, the price we paid when I booked the cruise in November was $500 less per person than it had been when I first started tracking prices in August, plus we got $200 in on-board credit each. I'm glad I waited.

[navybankerteacher]

We are hoping to snag a last minute Med cruise this Sept/Oct. Perhaps 2, 1 12 day and a 7 day. We are watching the pricing now. We have researched the ships, our preferred itineraries and dates. Now we wait a little while and watch. We are following a HAL, Princess, Celebrity, and RCI cruises. Plus perhaps a 7 day Costa to try them out.

 

First one to reduce their verandah fare to our target price on any of our preferred ships/itineraries will win our business. End of. And if it is close, the one that allows us to select our cabin will win. We want to get on Hal's K'dam but would be very pleased with a Celebrity Solstice class ship. Air fares are down. We will probably book air to Europe in late July, early August for a late Aug/early Sept departure date and then try to shoe horn a cruise into the vacation slot.

 

And if we do not get a cruise then we will be just as happy with an independent land trip.

 

You will get a much better air fare if you book it using the line's cruise air connection.