Deals within the 60 days before departure ?

[Thechamp555]

According to you...is it worth it to wait after the 60 days mark has passed to get a better deal ?

 

I'm looking specifically at a departure August 4th from NY on the NCL Escape.

 

Thanks

THECHAMP555

 

 

[mom says]

Well, the sailing could sell out, and you would get the leftovers as far as cabin selection goes. If you have to fly, flights would be more expensive. But if none of that is a concern, then you might get a good price on it.

[navybankerteacher]

Probably the surest way to cruise in expensively is to wait until a week before embarkation, and then see what’s available.  If there are many unsold cabins, there will be big discounts.

 

If the ship sells out, or nearly does, prices may increase in the last weeks.   

 

If if you are happy with last minute planning (including possibly increased related expenses) stick with it. If you seriously want to sail from NY on NCL Escape on 8/4, I’d suggest you start deciding how much you want which:  a cheap cruise, or a cruise.

[zqvol]

8 hours ago, Thechamp555 said:

According to you...is it worth it to wait after the 60 days mark has passed to get a better deal ?

 

I'm looking specifically at a departure August 4th from NY on the NCL Escape.

 

Thanks

THECHAMP555

 

 

 

Not likely on NCL especially that sailing. It is close to the beginning of school and those tend to sail  very full, so NCL has no incentive to reduce fares.

[crystalspin]

It's definitely dependent on time and itinerary, as well as unforeseeable circumstances. For example I offer our experience on a April-May transAtlantic this year. I booked way ahead of time, reserving an inside near the Crows Nest (high and forward). After Final Payment date, the (shallow) balconies in the same area dropped to exactly the price I had paid for the inside!!! I decided in the future I would buy our air and land accommodations early but wait til after final payment to buy the cruise.

 

While trying to maneuver an upgrade after FP, the RCCL Oasis was damaged in drydock, and suddenly there was a very strong market for any cabin to take passengers to Europe to meet existing extensions to their suddenly cancelled cruise. The price of the balconies sky-rocketed, and I was pretty happy with the inside (with a window) cabin I had previously booked!

 

It comes down to the gunfighter's saying: "Do you feel lucky?"

[MicCanberra]

Its a gamble with any cruise doing this strategy, for some it will work but not for others.

If you really want that cruise, then book, if you are liking it but do not have to go on it, then take the gamble and see what happens.

[BlueRiband]

Since you want a specific sailing date, you can either book now and know that you can go or you can play the waiting game and maybe not be able to go.  Somebody here offered five considerations if one wants to get a cheap cruise:

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

2) you can be flexible in your sailing dates,

3) you can accept a category guarantee,

4) you can accept that the price might go up instead or that the ship sells out while you waited and watched, and

5) airfare is not an issue.

Edited June 6, 2019 by BlueRiband

[BlueRiband]

Once you do get on board it's best not to play the "How much did you pay?" game.  There's nothing to be done at that point and the braggers are outright liars.  They want anyone who will listen to believe that due to their superior intellect, masterful fact finding ability, and clever negotiating skills that they paid the lowest price on board. 

[iancal]

We mostly do late bookings.  Sixty days out to three days out.

 

It is always a crap shoot.  We want a balcony so it can be hit and miss.  Quite often there are insides and outsides, some obstructed, at greatly reduced rates even during popular vacation periods.   The more popular the route, the more competition, the greater your chances of success.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

Once you do get on board it's best not to play the "How much did you pay?" game.  There's nothing to be done at that point and the braggers are outright liars.  They want anyone who will listen to believe that due to their superior intellect, masterful fact finding ability, and clever negotiating skills that they paid the lowest price on board. 

Of course there may be some mendacious braggers on these boards as well.  Those who claim that their agent saved them $X,XXX.74, or got such and such in OBC, or got a casino rate for that cruise.  They should be given the same attention as you would give those who always win in the casino, or bought a ring in St. Thomas for $97.59 - and had it appraised for $2,500 when they got home.

 

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

8 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

Once you do get on board it's best not to play the "How much did you pay?" game.  There's nothing to be done at that point and the braggers are outright liars.  They want anyone who will listen to believe that due to their superior intellect, masterful fact finding ability, and clever negotiating skills that they paid the lowest price on board. 

I never play the how much game as one party always ends up disappointed and I certainly do not want it to be me.

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course there may be some mendacious braggers on these boards as well.  Those who claim that their agent saved them $X,XXX.74, or got such and such in OBC, or got a casino rate for that cruise.  They should be given the same attention as you would give those who always win in the casino, or bought a ring in St. Thomas for $97.59 - and had it appraised for $2,500 when they got home.

Yep, well I have a free cruise next year cannot get cheaper than that.

 

Note: the cruise is free because we took a move over offer and paid for a cruise we didn't take. Nothing in life is truly free.

[navybankerteacher]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yep, well I have a free cruise next year cannot get cheaper than that.

 

Note: the cruise is free because we took a move over offer and paid for a cruise we didn't take. Nothing in life is truly free.

Sounds sort of like the free silk scarf my wife got earlier this year.  She went to a store I happened to have been at a couple of weeks earlier and dropped off a scarf she didn’t like —- they didn’t charge her a penny for taking it off her hands and GET THIS:  they gave her a silk scarf that she really liked!

[MicCanberra]

lol.

[Hlitner]

We generally book 70-100 days of cruises per year.  We are "equal opportunity cruisers" who have been on 15 lines (the 16th is coming up next month) and have cruised for far more than 1000 days over the past forty+ years.  I am not boasting but simply laying out our credentials.  Many of our cruises are booked far in advance but we also routinely snag last minute deals (generally booked within the final payment period).   The "not so secret" strategy for grabbing great deals is actually pretty simple..but foreign to many cruisers.  "Shop around for the best deals and make a fast decision when it hits you on the head!"  Over the years we have booked cruises within minutes of seeing a good deal.  Failure to take advantage might mean that the deal will be gone.

 

Booking inside of 60 days can get you great deals.  We just returned, yesterday, from a 10 day Celebrity Summit cruise we booked about 4 weeks prior to the cruise.  We got a very good price (probably half of what the early bookers paid).  

 

But here are the "rules" to snag those last minute bargains.  1. Shop around.  2. Register your e-mail with several major high volume cruise agencies that sends out "secret" fares not advertised on the Internet.  3.  Be very flexible when it comes to the cruise line, ship and even itinerary.    

 

As I write this e-mail we have our eye on a very good last minute (within 90 days) Seabourn cruise.  Yes, even the luxury lines offer some amazing last minute deals and one should consider that you might be paying a lot more but getting a suite, great service, an all-inclusive cruise, etc.  

 

When it comes to snagging amazing cruise deals, the most accurate statements might be hesitation can be a big loss and sticking with a favorite cruise line is often a huge mistake.   We often hear those loyal to one cruise line complaining that they are bored or tired of the same shows again and again.  But that is their own fault!  There are lots of terrific cruise lines and options for those willing to expand their horizons.

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

Good points, Hank.😁

[geoherb]

When DH taught at a community college, we could only cruise during his school breaks. We enjoyed many spring break cruises, but occasionally we missed out on going because there were no deals those years.

 

I booked my upcoming cruises to Alaska a week and a half ago. I sail in less than two weeks. 

 

If you do see a deal, you may be able to place a courtesy hold on it instead of booking it right away. I have a courtesy hold that a TA placed for me today on a September cruise. The hold will expire tomorrow if I decide not to follow through on the booking.

[iancal]

We do exactly the same. 

 

Place a hold, often just for a day, in order to ensure that we can finalize air at an attractive or a reasonable cost.  

Edited June 7, 2019 by iancal

[navybankerteacher]

Placing holds is essential - if you have to fly to a port, you are looking at a two piece puzzle: you want the pieces to fit together.  No point saving $1,500 of cruise fare if only expensive last minute flights will consume the saving.

 

As long as holds are available, you can check air fares to several ports first , then cruise fares - or vice versa.   

 

However, our time is valuable and we like where we live, so we do not cruise just to get a  great deal - we only consider itineraries we want - on ships we think we’ll enjoy.

[travelnap]

I travel solo so I am pretty flexible when it comes to picking a cruise.  I usually book any where from 30 days to 60 days out.  In all of my cruises I can only remember one that I booked that was over 90 days out.  Since I live in the midwest I always have the flights to consider as I always have to fly to a port.  Flying out of MSP I have found that the best flight values are at about 45 days out from the cruise as well, so booking short term has worked well for me.  However, I am not too fussy about what cabin I end up as I don't spend much time in the cabin anyway except for sleeping.  That is probably not going to work for someone who wants a specific cabin or category of cabin, so no, it is not the perfect answer for everyone.  I am also flexible as far as cruise lines, I have those I prefer but will sail on just about any line if the itinerary is something that looks good to me.

[Thechamp555]

Great comments. Thanks all !

 

 

[iancal]

One more thing.  We never deal with the cruise line. Always deal with our TA.

 

Why? 

 

Once our TA told us to hold on booking a cruise inside the final payment window.  She had a tip that fares would be going down again within days. She had a contact at the cruise line. It did and we bagged a nice savings.

 

Another time we were ready to book a great last minute and called her.  She told us about an identical cruise on an equally good ship/cruise line  that was a few hundred dollars less per person.  It was not widely advertised.  We booked it.

 

And once when we booked outside the final payment window the TA told us that bookings were light and we should consider cancelling and re-booking when fares dropped inside the final payment window.  We followed her advice.  Actually got a better category balcony  cabin and scored a very nice reduction in the fare.

 

Plus, of course, our TA provides OBC's in addition to any that the cruise line provides.

 

Cannot see a cruise line employee doing any of those.  We are not high mtce customers.  Our TA does a perfect job for what we need.  Not looking for hand holding or for a new best friend.  Strictly a business transaction.

Edited June 11, 2019 by iancal

[Velvetwater]

We are in this position atm.

 

I wasn't keen on a cruise (love/hate relationship with cruising at times) but husband thinks its a good idea. Due to this debate we haven't booked our usual summer longer cruise.

 

We once booked a August the 1st sailing in late May for a steal (£900 13 night Celebrity Equinox Med) and are looking at a last minute cruise with them again along with a RCI cruise.

 

Celebrity seem great for last minute deals.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Velvetwater said:

We are in this position atm.

 

I wasn't keen on a cruise (love/hate relationship with cruising at times) but husband thinks its a good idea. Due to this debate we haven't booked our usual summer longer cruise.

 

We once booked a August the 1st sailing in late May for a steal (£900 13 night Celebrity Equinox Med) and are looking at a last minute cruise with them again along with a RCI cruise.

 

Celebrity seem great for last minute deals.

I agree that X has lately had some great last minute deals (we snagged one a few weeks ago).  But we think that is because Celebrity is overpricing their product (in a big way) and many of the cruising public has become wise.  For very frequent cruisers like ourselves, we simply look elsewhere (and have booked 5 cruises in the past few months...none of them with Celebrity).  

 

But we always suggest that folks look at cruises with an open mind.  "Loyalty" is the enemy of the cruiser since it locks them into looking at a very narrow range of options.   You obviously have issues with cruising and perhaps you need to have a meeting of the minds with your DH about your concerns and issues.  When I hear this from friends that seek our advice I want to understand the details that leads a person to have a negative view of cruising.  Is it because they do not want to be on a ship (nothing we can do about that) or is it because their previous cruise(s) were not up to expectations.  If the latter is the case, then you need to be exploring other cruise lines, ships and itineraries.

 

Hank

[Luckiestmanonearth]

What’s the best site to get last minute cruise deals ?