Cruise in 8 months, book now or wait?

[postmanrings]

Thinking of doing a cruise for our 40th June 1st to New England. RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down. Other than them holding my $500 what is the downfall if any? Any secrets to find saving money? Plan on doing 4th deck oceanview. Thanks!

[navybankerteacher]

If you are reasonably sure you want to go, you should book now: you will be able to choose your accommodations rather than risk good ones being sold out, you will be protected against price increases while being able to take advantage of price drops. Of course, you would have to put up some money now - which might have earned you $5 if you left it in your savings account.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Book now to get the best cabins.

[CCLCruiser4321]

Book it now

 

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[Roz]

Canada/New England cruises, much like Alaska, have a limited season. If you really want to go, I would book now.

 

Roz

[notentirelynormal]

It's always better to have and not need then need and not have.

[beachbum53]

Thinking of doing a cruise for our 40th June 1st to New England. RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down. Other than them holding my $500 what is the downfall if any? Any secrets to find saving money? Plan on doing 4th deck oceanview. Thanks!

 

Why wait? You may (or may not) find a lower price later, but as others have said, your choice of cabins will be very limited. Book now, then watch for price drops. If any drops occur, submit your request for an adjustment.;)

[World of our own]

Thinking of doing a cruise for our 40th June 1st to New England. RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down. Other than them holding my $500 what is the downfall if any? Any secrets to find saving money? Plan on doing 4th deck oceanview. Thanks!

 

We're going on the Hawaiian Islands cruise (Our FIRST cruise) in September 2017 and we have just booked (yesterday) as the cabins to seem to get booked up quite quickly and also the flights can go up rather than down - And on the up side it's nice to have it to look forward to and having loads of time to research excursions etc... But that's just my opinion :)

[Cruise a holic]

You should definitely book now. As per others, you will get the cabin of your choice, and lock in a rate. If the rate does go down, you can call and have your current rate adjusted without penalty until you are paid in full. We like to book directly as no surcharges are due in the event you cancel before final payment.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Check the rates at least weekly as the cruise line or TA's usually don't do it for you.

[Underwatr]

Be aware that if the price drops after the final payment date (roughly corresponds to when you can no longer cancel without a penalty in most cases) you may not receive any adjustment from the cruise line.

The lines may drop prices significantly as embarkation day approaches if they want to sell the final few cabins.

[navybankerteacher]

Be aware that if the price drops after the final payment date (roughly corresponds to when you can no longer cancel without a penalty in most cases) you may not receive any adjustment from the cruise line.

The lines may drop prices significantly as embarkation day approaches if they want to sell the final few cabins.

 

True- the way to get the OCCASIONAL great deal due to last minute price drops after final payment date is to wait until the last minute --- which happens to be when the most desirable cabins will be unavailable. Also, unless you live within driving distance - the virtually certain last minute airfare increase will likely equal, or exceed, the cruise fare decrease.

 

Because only a minority of itineraries have SIGNIFICANT fare cuts which would exceed airfare increases, playing that game is a good way of not cruising at all - or paying more than you would by booking early.

[griffy116]

We ALWAYS book as early as possible to avoid losing out on the cabins we want. Then we start watching the airfare...and set our countdown clock. :D

[sparks1093]

True- the way to get the OCCASIONAL great deal due to last minute price drops after final payment date is to wait until the last minute --- which happens to be when the most desirable cabins will be unavailable. Also, unless you live within driving distance - the virtually certain last minute airfare increase will likely equal, or exceed, the cruise fare decrease.

 

Because only a minority of itineraries have SIGNIFICANT fare cuts which would exceed airfare increases, playing that game is a good way of not cruising at all - or paying more than you would by booking early.

 

I agree, I've rarely seen any decreases that close to sailing that would offset higher airfare. One way to combat this (if you are in a gambling frame of mind anyway) is to book the airfare when it's affordable then choose the cruise once it gets closer to sail date (you would of course want to choose a port with many options, such as Miami). You may end up with a land vacation if no suitable cruise should present itself but that's the gamble.

 

Personally we book as soon as we've identified a cruise that we want to take (we're presently looking at 2/2018).

[tatt2ed]

It's always better to have and not need then need and not have.

A stitch in time saves nine

 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

[Underwatr]

True- the way to get the OCCASIONAL great deal due to last minute price drops after final payment date is to wait until the last minute --- which happens to be when the most desirable cabins will be unavailable. Also, unless you live within driving distance - the virtually certain last minute airfare increase will likely equal, or exceed, the cruise fare decrease.

 

Because only a minority of itineraries have SIGNIFICANT fare cuts which would exceed airfare increases, playing that game is a good way of not cruising at all - or paying more than you would by booking early.

 

True. I was responding to the OP's "RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down." Very likely the price reduction offer becomes void as of the final payment deadline.

[tatt2ed]

Book it ! Check the rates repeatedly. Ive saved hundreds in price drops by booking early and ive saved hundred in increases by booking early too. Its always a win win for the wise.

[navybankerteacher]

The one exception to the "book early" rule is if the following conditions apply:

 

A) You live within easy driving or train distance of the port.

 

B) Your time is your own - meaning that you can take off for a week or so on just a couple of days notice -i.e. retired or otherwise not employed - and not obligated to give anyone advance notice.

 

C) You do not care if you sail on a particular date - because you only will if the price is right.

 

D) You are not particular about choice of cabin.

 

I enjoyed these conditions for a few years after I retired and was finished educating my children and before I remarried. From 2002 to 2007 my time was my own - and I enjoyed ten cruises - one booked about three weeks in advance and the rest within one week of sailing - a couple just two days out.

 

While great for cruising - it was not an ideal life style - so I am happier now - even though unable to do last minute cruises.

[traveler279]

We belong to the Book Now group. As noted, you get your choice of cabins and your price is protected. We've benefited from price drops in the past. Conversely our next cruise would cost 50% more if we booked it now.

 

And when you are checking for price drops you can keep an eye on drink packages, Internet packages, excursion prices and such. I've got a 10 night Deluxe drink package that is almost $200 less than what I originally paid.

 

So my advice is to book as soon as you can and then enjoy the hunt for price drops.

 

 

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[MCC retired]

We book early , usually with the first Sale that appears .

Then monitor Sales along the way until Final Payment.

I can't recall the last time that we didn't find and adjust to a better promo along the way .[emoji6]

 

 

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[sea_loving_couple]

Book now, most booking policies are flexible and you can opt out before a certian time. I would get a good room now, vs later. If you decide not to go then just cancel, no questions asked.

[spookwife]

Thinking of doing a cruise for our 40th June 1st to New England. RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down. Other than them holding my $500 what is the downfall if any? Any secrets to find saving money? Plan on doing 4th deck oceanview. Thanks!

 

the longer you wait the more likely:

 

the price will go UP instead of down

the type of cabin you want will not be available

the cruise will sell out

 

if the current price is acceptable to you, book it now.

[maldenmusic]

Book now and watch for price drops

[Fishkillbill]

We have only been on one cruise. I booked five months ahead. Then, after final payment, watched the price drop in half. At least Celebrity gave us an upgrade to Aqua class.

[Pstreet12]

Definitely book now--there is no downside. If you change your mind, you get 100% of your money back until final payment day.

 

If the price drops, you'll get the reduction IF YOU CALL AND ASK FOR IT. They will not notify you and they will not do it automatically.

 

Final payment day means the final day the payment is due to the cruise line--not the day you pay for it in full. You could (though I don't know why you would) pay 100% of it tomorrow, but you could still get all the money back until the cruiseline's set final payment day.

 

Remember to watch rates at least every week--sales come and go rapidly, and you can get the reduction only if you call and ask for it.

[Pstreet12]

We have only been on one cruise. I booked five months ahead. Then, after final payment, watched the price drop in half. At least Celebrity gave us an upgrade to Aqua class.

 

Sometimes it's worth making "dummy bookings" as time goes by where you get to the cabin choosing stage but not to the credit card stage. If there are lots and lots of your kind of cabins available when you are dummy booking, it may be a sign that there will be a significant price drop on the price of the cruise--especially if you look just before final payment day and still see a lot available; that might be a time to consider cancelling the booking you have and taking your chance on getting what you want after a possible price drop.

 

Some of the big on-line travel agents have sites that show you virtually all of the cabins in a particular class. The cruise lines themselves are less likely to let you know how many cabins remain.