Help! How early does everyone book European cruises?

[Roxanna]

Celebrity cruises was suggested (for Europe) by a travel agent and I began surfing the site. Even for November 2008.....(yes! 18 months from now) I find that all the lowest-priced accommodations on two different ships are already sold out.

 

Have I just selected two random ships that happen to be sold out of more affordable rooms? or is this what I should expect on any line? I never would have expected this so early.

 

Can anybody shed some light on the subject?

[iandjm]

Hi,

 

I normally book very early, as I did for Millennium last year, and this year. I had booked on Summit for the Med next October, but looking at it again the prices for next year are 1/3+ more than this years. I have changed my mind and will be on my first Royal Caribbean cruise, on Independence of the Seas from Southampton on 6 September 2008. Wish me luck ;)

 

Ian:D

[operafan]

We too book really early; About a year early. Regarding the "sold out" cheaper cabins........2 possibilities......They aren't offering them yet or a group has put a hold on them. Never ran into that b4.

 

Ian, I was checking the Med cruises for next yr too. Wow. Prices up $700 to $1000 over what we paid last year. See you on the 25th! Vicki

[C 2 C]

Other than Expeditions to the Galapagos in Nov 2008, I don't see a category that is sold out.???

 

Prices a year out for Europe are usually lower and the most desirable cabins sell out but :

that all the lowest-priced accommodations on two different ships are already sold out.

 

could you enlighten me???

[terumim]

we booked the med cruise a year in advance.. same with panama coming in oct...and i have the transatlantic already booked .for dec 2008. i was able to get a aft suite for the same price as cc cabin....i just could not believe the price for this cruise either under 2000 for a suite 14 day cruise .. what a deal

 

Tonia

[CruisingChick]

Our last European cruise we booked 14 months out. I think it was actually the day they opened it up for booking.

[darrencantwait]

I think people book Europe pretty early. European itineraries are very hot right now too. I actually booked a phantom cruise several months before my Med itinerary was open. The day it opened, I jumped and grabbed my 6143 cabin.

 

Also, keep in mind that tours and drivers that you might book on your own tend to book up well in advance as well.

 

My Med cruise has gone up $1200 per person since I booked!

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

I think if you are picky about your cabin you should book early to avoid disappointment. We have already booked Europe for next year on RCCL's new Independence. And we booked this year's Alaska trip (09/07) last April (2006). We got lucky and booked San Diego to Hawaii and back (next week - hooray) only three months ago and waitlisted for the cabin we wanted and got it.

 

I think Europe is getting so hot because people are seasoned cruisers and have been to the Caribbean and Alaska many times. We are all ready to venture further away from home.

[Nonna and Papa]

We booked our November '07 cruise last July, and booked our September '08 cruise yesterday. Because our TA was off on Wednesday when the sales opened, we had no luck getting any of the cabins on our list yesterday when we were able to book. It was only 24 hours into sales!

 

So, I would suggest booking as early as you can.

 

Mary

[mahdnc]

To get the cabin that we wanted (because we are bringing our family of 4), we booked our June 2007 Med cruise back in April of last year. Prices have steadily climbed upwards since. I noticed that our FV is 41% more expensive now (for 1st/2nd person) and CC cabins have risen 50%. But we usually book at least over a year in advance to ensure cabin selection.

 

Why you are now finding the cheapest 2 categories sold out for a Nov 2008 Europe sailing is surprising to me.

[Roxanna]

As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I did go back and look and turns out I'm more computer-ignorant than I thought. There are some lower priced rooms available.

But I'm glad I was wrong and posted because I am still surprised at how early everyone books. I think this means we better book fairly soon to assure what we want. And if booking early saves this much money, that's reason enough anyway.

[cruiselover68]

I usually always book cruises at least 6-8 months in advance but I just booked my Med cruise on Millenium

for May 3, 2007 4 days ago. I am very happy and excited.

[Jim_Iain]

In addition to the cheaper cabins, the upper end cabins and FV always sell out quickly. I usually book the day they come out. I hate to admit it but we have a cruise booked for March 2009.

 

Jim

[Rudydog]

My advise is to put your deposit down on the cabin you want as early as you see the cruise you want. If you have a good travel agent, he or she will let you know if the prices come down before your final payment is due.

[Kathie44]

Find out when the cruise starts booking and do it right away. We learned that the hard way when looking to book Jewel for the Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords. We started looking in Oct. '04 and found that the June '05 cruise was booked up except for the higher-priced suites. So when we found out that that cruise for '06 would start booking 5/12/05, we jumped on it. That was over 13 mos ahead, the farthest ahead we have ever booked.

I found out that Mercury was doing Aust/NZ next winter and we decided to book it, but wanted to get shipboard credit. It started booking in Oct. and by mid-Nov all the verandahs and suites were gone. Our TA checked with X and said it was OK to wait to book an OV on our Mercury MR cruise, so we did. However, the OVs were almost gone by late Jan. It really amazes me that the priciest cabins are booking up first.

It seems that Europe other farther away itineraries book super early. Of course there might be cabins that open later as TAs turn in some of their block of rooms that haven't sold, but that's iffy.

[retrieverdad]

We booked our British Isles cruise 13 months out.

[chrismch]

We booked our Baltics cruise about 15 months out (which is about when we first heard of the availability) because we wanted a CC aft cabin. Glad we did the rate increased by about $800 for the cabin since then.

 

JimIain...How were you able to book 2009? We want to do a Med cruise in May - June 2009 and are impatiently waiting to see what is available for any cruise line!

[Sheik]

We always book 6-3 months before the cruise. It's easier to catch a flight from Holland to for example Rome, than from the US to Europe. That's why we don't need to book so early. Other reason is that we take an inside cabin, because of the many portdays.

[Irishwhiskey]

We are sailing out of Amsterdam in September this year.We booked it on our Hawaii cruise last April.

[dbh62ark]

For us, it depends on our work situation and other factors. We usually use frequent flyer miles for air. In the last few years, the seats are much harder to find even though we usually fly in and out of airports such as Zurich and Brussels that are not used by cruise passengers to spend a few days before or after the cruise. So we booked our May 25, 2007 Med cruise last June, and as noted by another board member, the rates have been $1,200 - $1,600 (some fluctuation and a run of the ship balcony is now available for less $$) higher than what we paid by booking early. Since you asked about the cheapest cabins, you could find a rate for early booking a couple of months after our sailing was released for booking at the rate of $1,600 per person inside, including all taxes and fees, with approx $180 onboard credit through agents at *****.com.

 

In addition to the reasons noted earlier for the popularity of European cruises, the weak dollar is a factor. And you can go to the same ports in Europe 5 or 6 times and see different villages or cities on each trip, so it has a lot of appeal to repeat cruisers.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[cruisingdelt]

I booked my 2008 Europe cruise the day after they were made available. I think this is a must do for preferred cabins with a family of 4.

[TomMMD]

We booked a September 3, 2007 Concierge Class cabin the 1st of July '06.

 

It went up about $1200 after we booked.