book early or late

[june1]

Is it better to book your river cruise early or wait for the last minute specials that some companies run? We're flexible. Thanks, June

[ChefPeg]

Is it better to book your river cruise early or wait for the last minute specials that some companies run? We're flexible. Thanks, June

 

I always book a cruise early so that I can pick the cabin I want and in fact get a cabin.

 

If a special comes up while you are booked you can always;

1-cancel your current booking and re-book at the sale price or

2-ask if they will give the sale price for your current booking.

 

To me; you can't go wrong with booking early. But make sure you know and read the fine print before making a deposit. Ask a lot of questions when you are booking.

 

Good luck!

[steamboats]

june1,

 

The main problem with booking late is getting a reasonable priced flight (or a flight at all) unless you book your air with the cruise company. But except for Viking the river cruise companies usually do not come up with last minute specials.

 

steamboats

[Tennessee Traveler]

June1,

STeamboats is right. I have found that there are few incentives for booking river cruises late unlike large ship cruising when it usually pays to wait. I did notice Viking had a 2 for 1 incentive this year, but that's not typical, I've found. PLus it's easier to get air & the cabin you want if you book early. Tennessee Traveler

[emmylou]

June 1

we booked in Feb.for the Christmas Markets on the Rhine and we are glad we did as we just found out our cruise is sold out for Nov.28th and all other bookings for Nov and Dec are just about sold out as well.I guess the saying better to be safe than sorry does apply to some things.:)

emmy

[tban]

we have been on several river cruises and always booked early to get the best discounts. Once, "early" was not early enough and our date of choice was already sold out. River cruise boats are much smaller than the oceangoing big cruise ships you might be used to and therefor they sell out pretty fast. We are making reservations a year in advance to get our date and have our cabin choices; and this is not too early. I never heard of last minute sales for river cruises - at least not for the popular itineraries.