When is the best time to purchase a cruise

[RetiredinPanama]

I have found a cruise I like for Octobur 2025.  But I dont know when to get the best pricing, most amenities included, etc.  I know there are a number of cruise sales every year.  And I understand you can request that NCL matches any price reductions.  But generally, when would be the best time to make your reservation and when is the worst.  Thanks!!

[DorothyB]

I think it depends on the ship and itinerary.  

 

If you don't care too much about which cabin, there can (but are not always) discounts after final payment date (so less than 120 days).

 

However, some ships (like the newer Prima) seem to sail out and not discount.

 

I booked an end of October cruise on Getaway at the end of May.  I think the price hasn't gone below what I paid for a solo balcony.  I have checked the price periodically.  Now that we are under 100 days out, I continue to check.  I cannot get in any balcony as a solo for less than what I paid in May.

 

I also booked a solo balcony at the end of February on the Prima in mid May.  I think this is the one that I got repriced down about $50 several weeks ago, but so far I cannot get in any balcony as a solo for less than what I paid in May.

 

[yakcruiser]

One way to get an idea on your particular cruise is if the cruise line is offering a similar cruise this October is to follow the prices on this year's cruise and see which direction they go.

[complawyer]

i have found that ncl has a very bad habit of lowering the cabin fare after the  final  payment due date has passed.

 if you catch it, they may give you a credit for the difference.

 

i have been watching a cruise for the past month or so. final payment was due (i think) mid june.

 

while i would very much like to book this cruise, if i ddint get  the cabin, it's not the end of the world for me.

 

so far, it has gone down almost $3,000. while i understand if i book it now, it's all due and payable immediately, im still willing to play russian roulette, and wait to see if it goes down anymore.

 

so, if youre willing to take the chance/risk, wait until a few days after "final payment" is due and check the prices again. also, remember to take into consideration that you havent previously booked the cruise, or made any prior payments

[Oakman58]

The way the cruise industry is selling out, I would book it now to get the best choice of cabins.  If in the future the price drops before final payment, you can call NCL and get the better price.  It depends on the particular cruise, but lately it seems as though almost all sailings are selling out.

 

I booked club balcony suite on a New England/Canada cruise last October and including port fees, taxes, and gratuities for the beverage and dining package I paid $1479.59 per person.  To book that same cruise today you would have to accept a guaranteed club balcony and the cost would be $2198.00

[mjkacmom]

If you definitely want to sail, book as far out as possible, you can always reprice before final payment. If you want to gamble, wait until the last minute since most lines will lower fares if they need to fill the ship. Keep in mind the most desirable cabins will have already been booked.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

I’d argue the best time to buy a cruise is…on a cruise. With the cruise consultant and cruise next, you can often get a pretty good deal.

 

Or if time isn’t a factor and you don’t care about the cabin, like a week (or less) out.

[WarfRatWA]

I'm a planner.  The further out the better.  I'm still working, so it works for us to plan.  While prices do fluctuate, I don't often seek the reprice as any potential savings really aren't worth the hassle to me.  I've done it a couple of times, when I saw substantial savings, but either I am missing the bottom (entirely possible) or I get in at a good price from booking early.  Itineraries/ship will also affect that.  I seem to cruise on itineraries that seldom drop in price (or I miss that price drop).  

 

The upside to reserving early is that you have an extended time to monitor pricing. 

[www3traveler]

In order to book the exact cabin type and location you want, book now.

 

As a solo passenger who does not drink (been sober 40+years now), the various offers made in the different sales pitches, do not mean much.  Cabin type and location does.  To give you an example, I booked the The Aqua sailing in late March 2025 from Southampton, U.K. to Boston on the 3rd of October 2023.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, RetiredinPanama said:

I have found a cruise I like for Octobur 2025.  But I dont know when to get the best pricing, most amenities included, etc.  I know there are a number of cruise sales every year.  And I understand you can request that NCL matches any price reductions.  But generally, when would be the best time to make your reservation and when is the worst.  Thanks!!

Ignore the 'sales'.  You'll find these sales do not result in any savings.  For example, NCL is currently offering a 70% off the second guest 'sale'.  Supposedly, this 'sale' will go away in 36 hours.  Won't happen.  It will either be extended or it will convert to 35% off all guests.  Well guess what.  Those are equivalent.  Both are the same bottom line price.  Don't fault NCL for this as all cruise lines do something similar.

The best time to make a reservation is when you see a cruise with a price you're comfortable with.  Then watch for price drops, not 'sales', but price drops.  Then rebook.  

 

The surest way to get a lower price is too find a Travel Agent that discounts the NCL published fare.  Eight to ten percent discounts can be had.  And that includes all the amenities offered by NCL.

Edited July 24 by RocketMan275

[fredflint]

We book when we find a cruise we like and then pick the cabin we want I keep an eye on deals and then just go from there.  For me i want a cabin on a certain side of the ship, don't want to be under the buffet or near the anchor etc... these are all factors that can make the cruise less fun.

[DorothyB]

Hijacking here . . . just read your name "Retired In Panama" - Curious where in Panama?  I have gone to Potrerillos / Boquete / David (Chiriqui) frequently

[RetiredinPanama]

1 hour ago, DorothyB said:

Hijacking here . . . just read your name "Retired In Panama" - Curious where in Panama?  I have gone to Potrerillos / Boquete / David (Chiriqui) frequently

We built a house on the beach in Pedasi, on Playa Distiladeros.  It is amazing down here and we couldnt be happier.  We live in Franklin, Tennessee but I would be happyto never return to the USA ever again!!

[BirdTravels]

12 hours ago, RetiredinPanama said:

I have found a cruise I like for October 2025.  But I don't know when to get the best pricing, most amenities included, etc.  I know there are a number of cruise sales every year.  And I understand you can request that NCL matches any price reductions.  But generally, when would be the best time to make your reservation and when is the worst.  Thanks!!

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There is really no "best time". Book a cruise. If you see something significantly better, just rebook. You can do that repeatedly until final payment (at least in the US, not so sure about where you would book through in Panama). 

 

NCL sales are all about the same.

 

NCL promos haven't changed in years. Occasionally, you'll see them throw in an additional perk, but it isn't enough to drive me to change my cruise. 

[Rob_H]

Over the past couple of years, it's usually worked out cheaper to book as soon as an itinerary is announced.  That's also the best way to get the same cabin on a back to back.

 

There are certainly some last minute discounts (especially on repositioning cruises) but they're not as common as they used to be, and it's harder to get affordable last-minute airfares. 

 

We like to be flexible, but booking far ahead (and repricing if the fare does drop by a significant amount) saves money, makes b2bs possible, and provide a better choice of cabins. So we usually book a couple of different series of b2b cruises for the same time period, and then choose one of them just before final payment.

 

 

[prov2727]

Book the cruise. Then set yourself a reminder to check and/or get on a price change email. I booked a cruise in January of this year. I've repriced several times and it is currently $1,000.10 less than I started out at. Will make a nice bid on an upgrade!

[schmoopie17]

I don't see any advantage in booking at the last minute. Booking early gets you your choice of cabin (if that's important to you...to most of us, it is). If the price drops, you can get the lower price. Plus, booking early lets you start scheduling excursions and planning everything related to the cruise in earnest.

 

Win-Win all the way around.

[dbrown84]

I think you'll find that everyone is different.  I usually book two or three months out.  I have one booked for next January, and I've never booked that far out before.  It seems soooo far away 🙂

[KDebreuil]

I've found that the promos are generally priced the same for two guests, but sometimes they can have a significant difference if you have 3 or more guests in a room.

 

Another strange factor for some to consider is fluctuations in currency.  I purchase all my cruises from NCL in CAD, so often I try to guess what will happen with currency, as when I make the booking it locks in my price at the CAD equivalent.  

 

There have also been a couple times over the last ten years that there was a CAD at par promotion, and this made for a nice discount.

[snorklinbarb]

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I don't see any advantage in booking at the last minute. Booking early gets you your choice of cabin (if that's important to you...to most of us, it is). If the price drops, you can get the lower price. Plus, booking early lets you start scheduling excursions and planning everything related to the cruise in earnest.

 

Win-Win all the way around.

Agree with you except for solos when solo insides, oceanviews, balconies sold out, last minute NCL will often drop the supplement but in my last 3 experiences it was for an inside guarantee only.  Just did Joy B2B and the first wk was assigned deck 12 inside and my upgrade bid was turned down.  On 2nd leg (added on a wk before) I was assigned deck 13 inside - but this time NCL took my offer and I moved to a deck 12 balcony.  

 

So even last minute it can be an excellent deal with the above caveats.

 

For May Prima I booked within the last month and was still able to take advantage of the one time price adjustment when prices fell further!  Used that FCC for last wk's Joy as there was a 1 yr limit on mine.  Someone else reported here they got 2 yrs.

[SimplyAlbert]

18 hours ago, RetiredinPanama said:

We built a house on the beach in Pedasi, on Playa Distiladeros.  It is amazing down here and we couldnt be happier.  We live in Franklin, Tennessee but I would be happyto never return to the USA ever again!!

Small world, my sister-in-law lives in Franklin, TN and we visit there frequently.  She moved there over 40+ years ago and comments frequently on how built up it has become and how bad the traffic is.

[carohs]

I'm of two thoughts. 1 - because of inflation, etc prices generally will go up so book as far out as possible, especially if you're specific on cabin choice. 2- FAS air promo is baked into the price, and the reason price drops close to sail date is they no longer include BOGO air with FAS. If you're not using NCL air, may be better to wait. Full disclosure, this is purely a hypothesis I have not tested nor gathered data on. 

[slavetoabunny]

On 7/24/2024 at 8:33 PM, RetiredinPanama said:

We built a house on the beach in Pedasi, on Playa Distiladeros.  It is amazing down here and we couldnt be happier.  We live in Franklin, Tennessee but I would be happyto never return to the USA ever again!!

My best friend lives in Franklin (I am in Florida) and I visit at least once a year.

[DorothyB]

On 7/25/2024 at 1:46 PM, snorklinbarb said:

For May Prima I booked within the last month and was still able to take advantage of the one time price adjustment when prices fell further!  Used that FCC for last wk's Joy as there was a 1 yr limit on mine.  Someone else reported here they got 2 yrs.

I just got a FCC approved today - it is available after my cruise so November 2024 and valid for 24 months after that time.

[Adventures ahead]

On 7/25/2024 at 11:50 AM, prov2727 said:

Book the cruise. Then set yourself a reminder to check and/or get on a price change email. I booked a cruise in January of this year. I've repriced several times and it is currently $1,000.10 less than I started out at. Will make a nice bid on an upgrade!

 

On 7/25/2024 at 3:46 PM, snorklinbarb said:

Agree with you except for solos when solo insides, oceanviews, balconies sold out, last minute NCL will often drop the supplement but in my last 3 experiences it was for an inside guarantee only.  Just did Joy B2B and the first wk was assigned deck 12 inside and my upgrade bid was turned down.  On 2nd leg (added on a wk before) I was assigned deck 13 inside - but this time NCL took my offer and I moved to a deck 12 balcony.  

 

So even last minute it can be an excellent deal with the above caveats.

 

For May Prima I booked within the last month and was still able to take advantage of the one time price adjustment when prices fell further!  Used that FCC for last wk's Joy as there was a 1 yr limit on mine.  Someone else reported here they got 2 yrs.

So, "repriced several times" for the same cruise?

Or "the one time price adjustment" per cruise is all that is allowed?