Cruise availability

[mary.morgan]

Is it likely that many cruises for 2019 are already booked, or is this just hype given by cruise companies to get people to book early?. New to cruising, so a little puzzled trying to plan far ahead.

[CruiserBruce]

When in 2019 are you looking at. I seriously doubt all are booked up. Specifics of what you want would help us answer your questions.

[Texas Tillie]

Is it likely that many cruises for 2019 are already booked, or is this just hype given by cruise companies to get people to book early?. New to cruising, so a little puzzled trying to plan far ahead.

 

There are probably spaces left on most Caribbean cruises in 2019, but maybe not in every cabin category. Unique cruises - Antarctica, Norway, etc. do fill up quickly as there aren't that many to choose from. Alaska also fills up sooner rather than later as the season is time limited. So, it all depends on what kind of cruise you are considering.

[lisiamc]

Some of us book as far ahead as we can, because sometimes you get a lower price for booking early, or you can get a specific cabin. But there is normally some availability until quite near the sailing date for many cruises. It depends on how big a risk you like to take, and how flexible you are. If you don’t have your heart set on a particular ship or itinerary, or need to book airfare early, you will have lots of opportunities to get last-minute savings.

[AdGuyMG]

Is it likely that many cruises for 2019 are already booked, or is this just hype given by cruise companies to get people to book early?. New to cruising, so a little puzzled trying to plan far ahead.

 

Most ships will already be partially booked and due to supply vs demand dynamic pricing the best pricing will always be to book early.

 

The other advantage to booking early is availability of your 1st choice of cabin location OR the availability of limited specialty category cabins such as Accessible, Family Size, Suites etc..

[Flatbush Flyer]

Is it likely that many cruises for 2019 are already booked, or is this just hype given by cruise companies to get people to book early?. New to cruising, so a little puzzled trying to plan far ahead.

 

 

I recently booked (onboard) the last available balcony cabin an Eastern Asia cruise on Oceania Insignia for spring 2020. Many of the most desirable cabins/cabin classes on favored Oceania itineraries are often sold out within weeks of being announced.

[iancal]

Depends on the itinerary and date. We typically book inside the final payment window-45-60 days out. So far we have had good luck doing this. Even for two different 10 day Christmas cruises.

 

It also depends on your ship/cruise line preferences. We select by ship and itinerary. Cruise line is seldom a consideration for us.

[donaldsc]

Cruises when and to where and how fussy are you about cabin location?

 

DON

[PROCRUISE]

Cruises when and to where and how fussy are you about cabin location?

 

DON

 

 

Yep, Don is correct.

 

My cruise on the Celebrity Reflection (2/18 - 3/01/19) has no oceanview or balcony cabins left available. It's a popular time to cruise and a very popular Southern Caribbean itinerary with the ABC islands.

[Langley Cruisers]

Is there a specific question we can help you with? Have you decided on ship, date, and itinerary yet? If so, just go ahead and book it. Some people actually book years in advance, and some book months or weeks in advance depending on when they can get vacation time, best price, preferred cabin, etc.

.

[navybankerteacher]

Very few cruises are fully booked more than a few weeks before sailing. The lines are too good at inventory management to let that happen: they want to maximize revenues, and that means adjusting prices in response to demand. A February Caribbean itinerary fully booked now probably means someone at the line is going to lose his job for incompetence.

[taglovestocruise]

We are booked on Symphony of the Seas for Oct. and it was fully booked and removed from travel sites about a month ago. Also booked a cabin on Ovation for April 2020 and the cabin I wanted was already gone. Both were balconies that seem to fill first.

[squick64]

Symphony of the Seas for Oct.

I booked SoTS for April 2019, and while there were plenty of cabins left, it was amazing how quickly some categories had been snapped up. Some decks might have only had a few left in a certain category or in a given location (mid or aft or whatever). IIRC, most or all of the aft balconies were already taken.

Having said which, it's entirely likely that there'll still be some cabins left into 2019--they just won't be the best ones. Most ships will have at least something available, especially on common itineraries, right up to the sailing date. I think both of my cruises next month still have cabins left, although on one, it's basically only the Haven (which apparently people aren't too keen to spring for).

[SRF]

We booked our April 2019 cruise in August 2017. We got the LAST cabin in our desired class.

 

So yes, some do book up quite early.

 

Especially holiday periods (including summer school holiday time) and, as mentioned, desirable cruises.

[iancal]

Keep in mind that there is a fair amount of churning. People sign up for a cruise, then cancel.

 

We have snagged a number of late booking cruises where many cabins opened up right after the final payment period. Some people,or organizatins, wait until the last minute to cancel. Our experience is that you will not have much trouble finding something, even after final payment date, if you are booking on a popular, competitive itinerary. Price is another matter....strictly supply and demand.

[SRF]

Some lines, due to churning, have come out with non-refundable deposits. They expect to see less cancellations prior to final payment, due to the monetary loss.

 

Many people would book up to 10 cruises, knowing they would only take one. And hope for one to have large prices drops. Then cancel the others.

 

The cruise lines don't like this, as it means all of a sudden, less than 90 days before sailing, they have a number of open cabins.