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Is it too early to book a 2025 February cruise?

Leo-the-fox
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Leo-the-fox

Leo-the-fox

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I have decided go with the Symphony of the Seas, as I want to fly in and out of Miami, the Icon is two expensive comparing to Symphony. My only cruise experience is with HAL, seems so different from RCL😂. HAL has the Have it All, does RCL have similar stuff? Also, about $2800 (cruise only plus tax) for 2 ppl in ocean view balcony in February of 2025 sounds reasonable or should I wait for a better price? TIA

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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Book it now and if you see a price before your final payment date you can call and do a reprice.

As for dining and beverage packages black Friday sales usually offer best prices for items in your cruise planner but you can do the same book now and cancel /rebook if you see a sale.

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OCSC Mike "Live from...." Rare

OCSC Mike

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1 minute ago, Leo-the-fox said:

@Sunshine3601 There is a $500 non refundable deposit. How cancel/rebook works? I can see if price drops more than $500, but not if less than $500.

 

Find a TA that has group rates with refundable deposits and lower prices.

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firefly333

firefly333

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4 minutes ago, Leo-the-fox said:

@Sunshine3601 There is a $500 non refundable deposit. How cancel/rebook works? I can see if price drops more than $500, but not if less than $500.

Price matching doesnt cancel and rebooking. They keep the same booking number just reduce what you owe. 

 

Agree though if you can find a TA amd book a refundable group rate. I'm booked for 2 in feb 2025, plus I have now booked the adventure april 2025. All 3 of them if you ask me are priced high, but I think have gone up in the month or so since I booked. FOMO fear of missing out. Everyone is booking for fear the price will get even worse. 

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OCSC Mike "Live from...." Rare

OCSC Mike

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Just now, Leo-the-fox said:

@OCSC Mike Thanks for the suggestion! The issue is how do I find such a TA? I always do it online myself, don't have any idea how to look for a TA.

 

I stumbled upon one from a popular blog site and was referred to my current TA from a "friend" I met in the forums.

 

Sorry I can't just give you a referral. I prefer not to share any of my e-mail addresses publicly.

 

Best advice I can give is to do some sleuthing/searching online, contact a few, and see if they offer what I mentioned.

 

FWIW, I used to book directly myself and only began using TA's and booking early-ish over the past few months as prices were getting crazy and I realized I would no longer be able to find the last minute deals I used to.

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crzndeb

crzndeb

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9 minutes ago, Leo-the-fox said:

@OCSC Mike Thanks for the suggestion! The issue is how do I find such a TA? I always do it online myself, don't have any idea how to look for a TA.

If you want to book online yourself, go all the way to the end and put in all your info. Before you hit the pay deposit button, you will be offered choices like dining times, gratuities added and a refundable deposit. It will be more to book refundable, but that is something that people are willing to pay.

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Cruise5life

Cruise5life

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46 minutes ago, Leo-the-fox said:

@OCSC Mike Thanks for the suggestion! The issue is how do I find such a TA? I always do it online myself, don't have any idea how to look for a TA.

Post on your social media page to your friends. And someone may know some one that has groups.   
that’s how I get my group rates.   

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Leo-the-fox said:

@Sunshine3601 There is a $500 non refundable deposit. How cancel/rebook works? I can see if price drops more than $500, but not if less than $500.

A reprice prior to final payment date does not impact your deposit whether it be a refundable or non refundable.   

Prior to Royal increasing prices this year we did reprices on many cruises even if the savings was less than $100.   

I currently have one Feb 2025 cruise booked for Wonder.   Booked it a couple months ago so never too early to book.

I.e. I am booked for a sailing on Serenade for 12 nights this September.   I booked it summer of 2022 at $1945 for 2 people in an OVb with large balcony.   Last I checked that same cabin category was selling for about $4500, now sold out.

Edited by Sunshine3601
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Stick93

Stick93

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22 hours ago, Leo-the-fox said:

I have decided go with the Symphony of the Seas, as I want to fly in and out of Miami, the Icon is two expensive comparing to Symphony. My only cruise experience is with HAL, seems so different from RCL😂. HAL has the Have it All, does RCL have similar stuff? Also, about $2800 (cruise only plus tax) for 2 ppl in ocean view balcony in February of 2025 sounds reasonable or should I wait for a better price? TIA

Never too early to book a cruise - 

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OCSC Mike "Live from...." Rare

OCSC Mike

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58 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Actually kind of late to book early 2025 cruises if you're looking for a good rate

 

Everything is relative and a "good rate" doesn't mean it has to be the lowest it ever was. Not everyone is in a position to book cruises as soon as they are released.

 

You may not consider them "good rates" but I'm happy with most of the prices I got for 2024 and 2025 and they were booked over the past few months. They're all insanely higher now (at least compared to the inflated website prices).

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shippmates

shippmates

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It is never too early to book a cruise.  As many have said you can call and have your booking refared if it is less than what you paid.  Just take into account, when you refare you get the amenities that are available at that time.  If you booked when they were offering an onboard credit and that onboard credit is not offered or is less than what you have you could lose all your original amenities and get what is being offered at the time of refare.  Just something to think about.

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marci22

marci22

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On 7/23/2023 at 2:15 PM, Leo-the-fox said:

 Thanks for the suggestion! The issue is how do I find such a TA? I always do it online myself, don't have any idea how to look for a TA.

google user names. note: i am not a TA

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LuCruise

LuCruise

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No.  In fact it's smart.  We are booked up to March 2025 and we booked that one last year when the date was released.  I would say book refundable as a lot can change, but the sooner you book, the better price you will get..  One of our other cruises we also booked when it was released and got it for around $4800.  That same booking is now over $9000.  Prices only go up, and can be by a lot.  But if you do book, watch your price and if it does go down, call and have your price adjusted.  You can do this as long as it's before final payment if you are in the US and Canada (not sure about other countries).

 

P.S. - Can't comment about HAL but Royal has fantastic cruises.

Edited by LuCruise
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