Booking two weeks before...

[NJ2003WVUGrad]

Just curious if anyone has ever booked a cruise around two weeks before sailing.

 

We are in a tough situation, me and my fiancee are planning to take the AOS out of San Juan 8/22/04.

 

Our wedding is 8/6/04 and we plan on using money from the wedding to pay for the cruise, since we are paying for the wedding ourselves and have no extra cash unitl after.

 

I'm curious if anyone has any advice, pointers or stories about this being done.

We have psyched ourselves up for the cruise and would hate to see something so wrong, as I said, its just a tight money situation till after the wedding.

 

 

I lookl forward to all your responses and hopefully gain some encouragement about our situation.

 

Thanks...!!!

[D4]

If you're sure you'll have the money right after the wedding, you could put the cruise on a credit card now and pay for it as soon as you get married, most likely without incurring any interest charges.

 

On the other hand, if money is so tight, are you sure you want to take the cruise right away? Do you have a cushion of money to pay for unplanned expenses such as car repairs?

[NJ2003WVUGrad]

We don't have a credit card currently, student Loans are enough!

 

I have a company car, so repairs are not my responsibility.

[JanNSteH]

Hi, we're on that same cruise. I can hardly wait. I'm with D4. From the sound of it, you haven't booked it yet. Booking this late may get you a good price for the cruise but have you thought about the airfare? I'm not sure where you are coming from but you may need to add in the cost of airfare to SJ. With a few weeks to go, the airfare to SJ can go either way, reasonable or very costly because it's so close to flight time. I know not too long ago, I saw flights go about $400 a piece. Next, it you're on the cruise, you may want to do excursions, etc. Those can add up to. I don't mean to be negative about the cruise for you but you wanted to know about the extra charges...something to think about. BTW, congrats on the nuptials.

[NJ2003WVUGrad]

Thanks for the response,

 

 

I expect to pay a bit more for airfare, but being from the NY/NJ area there are plenty of airports within driving distance and airlines that fly into San Juan, so we can usually get a competitive rate.

 

As for added expenditures, we expect that and have money already allocated for it.

 

I'm more worried about the logistics of booking two weeks before.

 

Thanks for everyones interest and helpful comments so far, I truly, honestly appreciate it.

[jimbulger]

the only problem you may have is getting docs on time You may end up with a slightly longer embarkation procedeure due to this!!!!

 

You are sending me down memory lane My honeymoon was on the monarch of the seas out of san jaun sunday departure day after our wedding

 

we are booked on the adventure (aruba routing not antiga barbados st lucia) next july for anniversary

 

Good luck but book asap so you doont have any issues

[jlarew]

Greetings from Morgantown! I booked 2 cabins 2 and a half weeks ago and we are leaving this Sunday. I booked on line, had to pay the entire rate at once, they emailed me a RCCL secure site with my documents and reservation number. I went on the RCCL site and filled out the boarding documents, and we are ready to go. It was simple, as we are driving to Baltimore. Would you consider a cruise leaving out of Miami? The airfare would be cheaper.

Good luck!

J in WV :)

[bld24]

I think if I were you I'd have some type of backup plan in case things don't work out with the AOS. Just do some research on an alternative. I'm sure things will work out for you, but while you have some time now get a backup plan so you won't be rushing at the last minute for something else if it doesn't work out for some reason. Good luck with the wedding and the honeymoon planning.

 

 

Linda

[jerseygirl3]

Your choice of cabins will be quite limited if you wait. Does anybody in your family or one of your friends have a credit card you can use, and then pay it off as soon as the bill comes in? Chances are, it'll take a billing cycle or two for the expense to even show up?

 

Booking two weeks in advance is otherwise not a problem. If it's cutting it too close, you can pick up your docs at the pier. I'd be more concerned about your lack of cabin selection. Usually the most expensive and the least expensive cabins sell out first.

 

Why not look for a cruise leaving out of the NJ/NY area so you can save on airfare. The Carnival Legend does 8 night sailings out of NYC to the Caribbean, and Royal Caribbean and NCL also have cruises out of that area.

 

Good luck!

[Caroleb]

Last year I booked a cruise 10 days before sailing. My agent got me a great price, but I had to do the airfare on my own. The cruise tickets were waiting for us at the Ft Lauderdale port check-in. I had completed my embarkation paperwork online, and everything was a breeze.

[TheRoses]

Our travel agent (who's name I am not allowed to provide) will usually place a courtsey hold on a cabin for us. In the past this hold has ranged from 2 days to an entire week. It does not cost anything to place the hold and might help give you an idea of cost and availability.

Good Luck!!

[imosoreal]

If I were you I would cut $2000 from the cost of the wedding and use it to pay for your cruise now. Weddings can be very expensive, but a few ways to save money are: 1. Don't tell the flower shop you're getting married when you pick out your flowers. 2. Don't tell the limo company it's for a wedding but ask how much they charge for four hours. 3. Rent your wedding dress. 4. Check with your friends and family to see who knows a professional photographer and maybe someone will gift the photographer to you so you'll only have to pay for the film. 5. Everyone has video cameras these days so ask at least three friends to videotape the wedding for you (much more fun than professional). 6. You should have saved hundreds by ordering invitations by mail instead of your local print shop.

 

Your honeymoon budget should be part of the wedding budget. If you are spending between 10-15k for a wedding you are spending too much. I had to put together a wedding five months after we had just spent a nice chunk of money buying a house but I really wanted a wedding and I was not a young bride. It was elegant and inexpensive. We went on our first cruise for the honeymoon.

 

Good luck to you! You can expect money as gifts but some of that should be your cruise spending money not the payment. Airfare on Spirit to PR from DC is $95 one-way right now.

[NYDee]

Our TA has been able to put a hold on a cabin on RCI for up to 2 weeks. See if yours can't do the same.

[MHoward909]

Why don't you go on the Voyager of the Sea out of NJ to the carribean . Its a great ship.

[awatt]

We booked our radiance cruise,Southern caribbean, two and a half weeks prior to sailing and had no problems. Got a great deal on a mini-suite to boot. It was one of our favorite cruises. Good luck and enjoy!

[Tatka]

From what I see there are only 1 GTY Balcony Suite ant several JS left for your Aug. 22nd sailing.