How many days before sailing will Princess still be accepting reservations?

[voljeep]

I know there has to be some cutoff for manifesto purposes...

 

talking last, last, last minute, just get on the ship booking...no flights involved

 

and what's the latest you've booked a cruise?

Edited June 15, 2018 by voljeep

[pathi]

I have booked 3 days prior. I spoke to someone on a cruise that said they had booked the night before. Said they had to call. Website would not work.

[voljeep]

we could make 2 days work as we usually leave very early in the morning the day of, and would need to take our dog to the 'pet hotel' ( tell me about it...he stays in a suite about half the size of our interior...and yes, it has a tv ) the day before

 

we're just now getting into situations where we could leave with little notice - if the price was right...

Edited June 15, 2018 by voljeep

[moki'smommy]

The soonest I have booked is Thursday for a Saturday departure. And yes, it had to be done on the phone, not on line. I believe the on line stuff goes down 3 days before embarkation.

[fishywood]

I know there has to be some cutoff for manifesto (sic) purposes...

 

This is an urban legend (or perhaps "maritime legend") that somehow keeps getting repeated on these boards. No such deadline exists for submitting the manifest to any government agency, whether days or hours in advance of sailing. Cutoff times for booking and embarking are set at the convenience of the cruise line. (Yes it is true that requiring those who did not complete online check in in advance to be at the pier earlier than those who did is for manifest preparation purposes. But for those of us who follow directions, once you complete online check in you are on the manifest. Period.)

 

As for Princess specifically, online booking remains open until the evening of two days before sailing; i.e. a Saturday cruise can be booked online up to close of business (Pacific Time) on Thursday. Can it be booked on Friday, or even Saturday morning, by calling direct? I know on Carnival you can do exactly that but if someone on this board has done so on Princess I have yet to see that report.

[paradiselivin1]

Good to know. I was wondering the same thing myself as we also have flexibility and would like to jump at the last minute when possible.

[voljeep]

thanks for the clarification...:cool:

[chengkp75]

While the 90 minute or 60 minute requirement to submit the manifest to CBP is a bit of a legend, the USCIS rules from 2003 require that the manifest be submitted at least 15 minutes prior to departure (68 FR 292, section 231):

 

https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/FR/HTML/FR/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-88492/0-0-0-90061/0-0-0-90312.html

 

The cruise line's requirements that check in be suspended either 60 or 90 minutes prior to departure is just that, a cruise line requirement so that the information can be checked and submitted before the time limit. So, actually there is a time limit to submit the manifest.

 

As noted, some cruise lines allow booking up to the evening before the departure, but typically anything less than 24 hours prior to departure must be done by phone and not online. There are no sales at the terminal.

 

Also, if the manifest has to be changed more than 15 minutes after departure, there could be a fine invoked.

[voljeep]

ok, thanks

 

so , online bookings may be closed but Princess may still be taking bookings with a call.

[moki'smommy]

ok, thanks

 

so , online bookings may be closed but Princess may still be taking bookings with a call.

This was true in our case. I could still see the cruise on line, but got an error message saying that I needed to call a given number to book the cruise....which is what I did. I have heard stories of people booking even the day of the cruise (you can't got to the port to book, but supposedly you can call the cruise line and book IF the stories are true) and I have a friend who claims to have booked on Friday night for a Sat cruise. All I can confirm is that I booked on Thursday and had to do it by phone, no on line.

[CineGraphic]

This was true in our case. I could still see the cruise on line' date=' but got an error message saying that I needed to call a given number to book the cruise....which is what I did. I have heard stories of people booking even the day of the cruise (you can't got to the port to book, but supposedly you can call the cruise line and book IF the stories are true) and I have a friend who claims to have booked on Friday night for a Sat cruise. All I can confirm is that I booked on Thursday and had to do it by phone, no on line.[/quote']

 

 

 

What sort of deal did you get for booking the night before?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

[neverbeenhere]

What sort of deal did you get for booking the night before?

 

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

 

 

Whatever you can negotiate...

[Thrak]

We always said that when we retired we would snag some great last minute deals. Hasn't happened yet. I keep booking cruises a year and a half in advance. D'Oh!

[snowskier]

This is an urban legend (or perhaps "maritime legend") that somehow keeps getting repeated on these boards. No such deadline exists for submitting the manifest to any government agency, whether days or hours in advance of sailing. Cutoff times for booking and embarking are set at the convenience of the cruise line. (Yes it is true that requiring those who did not complete online check in in advance to be at the pier earlier than those who did is for manifest preparation purposes. But for those of us who follow directions, once you complete online check in you are on the manifest. Period.)

 

As for Princess specifically, online booking remains open until the evening of two days before sailing; i.e. a Saturday cruise can be booked online up to close of business (Pacific Time) on Thursday. Can it be booked on Friday, or even Saturday morning, by calling direct? I know on Carnival you can do exactly that but if someone on this board has done so on Princess I have yet to see that report.

 

I have booked morning of on Princess and posted on this forum that I have done it. Sometimes even those that live on CC miss posts.

[moki'smommy]

What sort of deal did you get for booking the night before?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

Again, I did not book the night before; I booked on Thursday for a Saturday cruise. No amazing deal--essentially what had been on line a few days earlier.

 

The person I know who claims to have booked the night before also claims that she got a "deal" of a balcony for the previously posted price of an inside. This person is not a good friend, just someone I'd "met" on line and then on the ship. I honestly don't know if I believe her or not. She claims that she presented it as "this is what I want, or I won't book" and if true, the cruise line decided that some income was better than an empty cabin. I CANNOT verify this information.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I’ve booked Princess a couple of days prior and have booked another cruise line the afternoon before sailing. It was out of Miami and I can see the ships so it was a no brainer for me. I called and ended up with a better price that what was showing on line when I asked what was the best rate they could do for me.

[neverbeenhere]

When booking Princess cruises shortly before the sailing date obtaining the various OBCs that you might like to stack can be an issue. So, we try for a "really good deal".

 

 

 

On lines without some of the OBC options it is not the same issue.

[voljeep]

well, we to would be looking to steal a real deal - price and cabin category -if we wait until a couple of days before to book...otherwise, at least a couple months before...

 

I will say my wife is a serial planner.;p., but she if finally coming around to this as a may go or not go last minute, as this would be a "bonus" cruise...:halo:

[cristine]

This is an urban legend (or perhaps "maritime legend") that somehow keeps getting repeated on these boards. No such deadline exists for submitting the manifest to any government agency, whether days or hours in advance of sailing. Cutoff times for booking and embarking are set at the convenience of the cruise line. (Yes it is true that requiring those who did not complete online check in in advance to be at the pier earlier than those who did is for manifest preparation purposes. But for those of us who follow directions, once you complete online check in you are on the manifest. Period.)

 

As for Princess specifically, online booking remains open until the evening of two days before sailing; i.e. a Saturday cruise can be booked online up to close of business (Pacific Time) on Thursday. Can it be booked on Friday, or even Saturday morning, by calling direct? I know on Carnival you can do exactly that but if someone on this board has done so on Princess I have yet to see that report.

 

Would this hold true for a cruise needing a passport?

I wonder?

[Ofmyheart]

Once on Carnival I was booked 2 hours prior to sailing but it was because of a name change from an existing booking.

[chengkp75]

Would this hold true for a cruise needing a passport?

I wonder?

 

Yes, as far as CBP is concerned, there is no difference on the passenger manifest between a DL/BC and a passport. The information goes in under "identification number" and the type is entered in another column (passport or BC/DL). For any cruise departing a US port, the manifest only needs to be submitted 15 minutes prior to sailing, so the booking time frame would be the same.