Chances of Catching A “Drop & Go” In September?

[Megtheblackbelt]

Hello!

 

My husband and I have about 2 weeks off in the middle of September 2018 planned. We originally booked an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Magic out of Port Canaveral; we live around St. Petersburg, so it’s not much of a hike at all.

 

We recently cancelled the cruise before final payment, as we have some large changes coming up that could be happening around the September timeframe, and did not want to deal with the stress of having to wonder if we would actually make it on our booked cruise.

 

Our question being: What are the chances of finding a “drop & go” cruise on a (preferably) Dream-class ship in the middle of September? Something we could book just a week before sailing, or even a few days? We’d prefer to be in a balcony cabin (guaranteed/not knowing which cabin would be fine!). I’m just unsure if finding a decent deal a few days ahead of a sailing is realistic. Of course, because we live in Florida, any of the 3 major ports would be okay.

 

We’re just hoping to get any thoughts/experiences/encounters of anyone who has partaken in such a short notice booked cruise!

 

Thank you [emoji4]

 

 

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Edited July 4, 2018 by Megtheblackbelt

[ZoeyVictoria]

If there is a major hurricane, there will be a lot of cancellations and your chances will be better for picking up a last-minute deal. Lots of good deals last year late in September and through October, thanks to Irma.

[maryred]

One thing you need to be aware of is if you book very last minute, such as after 3 days prior to departure DHS cut-off you may need to go through an enhanced security check. This past winter holiday season my husband's company switched to a use it or lose it vacation policy. We called our PVP and were placed on a standby list for a New Year's Eve cruise, a day or so before departure a last minute cancelation happened to open up a cabin that we could have. Not only did we have to pay a premium price nearly $2,000 for an interior cabin (which is why I think many ahead of us passed on the offer) but check-in required us to report to the CBP offices for a special check-in. In our case the process was helped along by one of the port employees knowing me personally, that we had passport books, and DH has some sort of trusted traveller ID through work. As it was the extra ID verification and baggage check lasted an hour, but we were told it could of taken much longer. From what I understand this procedure does vary a bit port to port.

[1AL]

One thing you need to be aware of is if you book very last minute, such as after 3 days prior to departure DHS cut-off you may need to go through an enhanced security check. This past winter holiday season my husband's company switched to a use it or lose it vacation policy. We called our PVP and were placed on a standby list for a New Year's Eve cruise, a day or so before departure a last minute cancelation happened to open up a cabin that we could have. Not only did we have to pay a premium price nearly $2,000 for an interior cabin (which is why I think many ahead of us passed on the offer) but check-in required us to report to the CBP offices for a special check-in. In our case the process was helped along by one of the port employees knowing me personally, that we had passport books, and DH has some sort of trusted traveller ID through work. As it was the extra ID verification and baggage check lasted an hour, but we were told it could of taken much longer. From what I understand this procedure does vary a bit port to port.

 

Pure hogwash and speculation. Please do NOT be an alarmist.

We have booked NUMEROUS times last minute, as close as 24 hours within departure.

NEVER EVER have we ever been subjected to the "enhanced security check" that you talk of.

And we have cruised out of the majority of US ports, both eastern, western and southern United States.

PLEASE DO NOT DISH OUT incorrect information.

[bnorris10]

Pure hogwash and speculation. Please do NOT be an alarmist.

We have booked NUMEROUS times last minute, as close as 24 hours within departure.

NEVER EVER have we ever been subjected to the "enhanced security check" that you talk of.

And we have cruised out of the majority of US ports, both eastern, western and southern United States.

PLEASE DO NOT DISH OUT incorrect information.

 

I guess its YMMV as it apparently happened to them

[jakesnana]

Pure hogwash and speculation. Please do NOT be an alarmist.

We have booked NUMEROUS times last minute, as close as 24 hours within departure.

NEVER EVER have we ever been subjected to the "enhanced security check" that you talk of.

And we have cruised out of the majority of US ports, both eastern, western and southern United States.

PLEASE DO NOT DISH OUT incorrect information.

 

I will back this up. Ideally your online check-in should be done prior to 72 hours before the cruise, however, if you book within that time frame you would still be fine. The final manifest is sent to DHS 90 minutes prior to sailing (that's why everyone needs to be checked in 2 hours prior to sailing). If you showed up to the port without a boarding pass you would have to go through a longer check in process, but it has nothing to do with CBP.

[Megtheblackbelt]

Pure hogwash and speculation. Please do NOT be an alarmist.

We have booked NUMEROUS times last minute, as close as 24 hours within departure.

NEVER EVER have we ever been subjected to the "enhanced security check" that you talk of.

And we have cruised out of the majority of US ports, both eastern, western and southern United States.

PLEASE DO NOT DISH OUT incorrect information.

 

 

 

Thank you for the clarification! We’re not worried about security. Always bring our passports/proper identity, and neither of us have even a driving ticket! Haha.

 

That being said, any chance you could offer any insight into pricing booking that close to sailing? Do you find that you’ve payed more money due to the closeness to sailing, or that you’ve paid the typical amount? Or maybe even lesser?

 

Thanks for the help. :)

 

 

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[1AL]

I guess its YMMV as it apparently happened to them

 

And are you naive enough to believe that "In our case the process was helped along by one of the port employees knowing me personally" ????

If the port employee tried to pull that crap on "CBP" as poster hinted at, most probably CBP would have a closer look a that employee. Not to mention that CBP are not involved when DEPARTING the USA. Emigration (vs Immigration) formalities

are handled by the cruiseline (much like the airlines handle that aspect at International airport departures).

I still contend that post was pure hogwash, garbage.

[1AL]

Thank you for the clarification! We’re not worried about security. Always bring our passports/proper identity, and neither of us have even a driving ticket! Haha.

 

That being said, any chance you could offer any insight into pricing booking that close to sailing? Do you find that you’ve payed more money due to the closeness to sailing, or that you’ve paid the typical amount? Or maybe even lesser?

 

Thanks for the help. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Well, I will say that we always book last minute, discounted deals, WHEN available and that WHEN is a

very important part of the equation as last-minute discounted deals seem to be getting harder and harder to find. But they are there, our philosophy is that if we find a last-minute deal, we pack and leave. If we do

not find a deal, we are in no rush to cruise again, we'll wait until a deal comes around. I will close by saying

that between February and May this year we cruised 9 times paying less than $25 per person per day!

[1lizette1]

I have not been in this situation but this is what I would do (along with asking advice on this forum of course) ... Pick a couple of future cruises and do mock bookings on them (cancel before the final step). Do these mock bookings a few times a week and see what the prices do. That might give you an idea of what COULD happen

[jsglow]

Well, I will say that we always book last minute, discounted deals, WHEN available and that WHEN is a

very important part of the equation as last-minute discounted deals seem to be getting harder and harder to find. But they are there, our philosophy is that if we find a last-minute deal, we pack and leave. If we do

not find a deal, we are in no rush to cruise again, we'll wait until a deal comes around. I will close by saying

that between February and May this year we cruised 9 times paying less than $25 per person per day!

 

Wow. That's really, really good.

 

Once we booked 48 hours before the ship sailed. And then we flew Chicago to San Juan to catch it.

[ray98]

I have booked many last minute cruises. You can get some great deals if you are flexible. Given you have a somewhat flexible time frame and multiple ports to choose from you will likely find a bargain as peak season is winding down.

 

I use a website from an online travel agency that has a highly customizable search that compiles everything in a sortable list form. You can put in you time frame, select the departure ports and you can pretty much see every cruise leaving. Just bookmark it and check it routinely and eventually you will see one or two trending down while others will be on the rise.

[jakesnana]

Thank you for the clarification! We’re not worried about security. Always bring our passports/proper identity, and neither of us have even a driving ticket! Haha.

 

That being said, any chance you could offer any insight into pricing booking that close to sailing? Do you find that you’ve payed more money due to the closeness to sailing, or that you’ve paid the typical amount? Or maybe even lesser?

 

Thanks for the help. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You MAY find a deal, so long as you are extremely flexible about itinerary, cruise line and port of embarkation. That being said, start checking the pricing about 3-4 weeks out on all of the major cruise lines. It probably wouldn't hurt to sign up for their specials on their websites.

[1AL]

You MAY find a deal, so long as you are extremely flexible about itinerary, cruise line and port of embarkation. That being said, start checking the pricing about 3-4 weeks out on all of the major cruise lines. It probably wouldn't hurt to sign up for their specials on their websites.

 

Well, being retired I have plenty of time and flexibility to cruise ANYTIME.....plus tons of airline miles saved to burn.