marti1

[marti1]

How to book for last minute deals.  How many days out can you do it.

[*Miss G*]

One time, when a particular sailing had been delayed a day in port due to a hurricane, I called the cruise line to see if I could get a good deal on it.  They had to put me through to a specialist as the regular staff didn’t have the ability to sell a cruise which had technically sailed.

[Heidi13]

59 minutes ago, marti1 said:

How to book for last minute deals.  How many days out can you do it.

 

Depends on where you want to cruise and if you require Visas, flights, etc.

[thinfool]

You can book on the day the ship sails, tho I would not want to try it without my trusty TA.  

But this begs the question...Price?  Dont expect a fabulous price.  If you happen to get one, hooray, but the cruise lines give preferencial pricing to special people...that means that employees, relatives of employees, Travel Agents, etc, are going to get those super duper prices we have all heard about but can never seem to find.

[Heidi13]

47 minutes ago, thinfool said:

You can book on the day the ship sails, tho I would not want to try it without my trusty TA.  

But this begs the question...Price?  Dont expect a fabulous price.  If you happen to get one, hooray, but the cruise lines give preferencial pricing to special people...that means that employees, relatives of employees, Travel Agents, etc, are going to get those super duper prices we have all heard about but can never seem to find.

 

The OP asked about booking last minutes deals, which I assume means they are looking for the deals provided by mega ships to fill the remaining cabins. I'm having difficulty understanding why employee, relative & TA pricing is relevant, as even if they were available, it wouldn't be to the general public.

 

BTW - at least on the cruise line I know, the relative cruises are not just available to last minute bookings. The reason you can't find these, is you need to either work for the cruise line, or have a family member/friend that works for the cruise line. The fare rules also require non-disclosure, hence the reason they are not normally discussed.

[Essiesmom]

I believe most cruise lines will allow you to book the evening before and sail the next day.  Carnival will allow you to book in the morning and sail in the afternoon, but you have to call, cannot do it online.  EM