Will You Wait and See?

[sail7seas]

Seeing as there is no question our economy is in trouble in the U.S., are you sitting back and waiting to see how prices drop or raise, deals that may or may not be offered before you decide to make a new cruise booking?

 

Or, have you decided to wait it out until after the election to see how things shake out?

 

Do you expect to book another cruise within the next 6 months? Next year?

[CowPrincess]

We've booked another cruise (2nd one in 7 months after 7 years of being "cruiseless") for November. I want to go back to Alaska in 2009, but am waiting to see if the demand from American travellers reduces and the prices come down.

[usha]

WAIT? WAIT?? WAIT????

NO! I found a cruise that I needed, wanted, and had to have, and I BOOKED it!:D

[Roz]

I'm currently booked for December, 2009 (one of those floating reservations I made while onboard ship), but am seriously considering booking another cruise to take before then. I like to be at least double-booked. :D

 

I'm taking a wait and see attitude, because 2,011 people are being laid off where I work. They're trying to do it on a voluntary basis thru buyouts, but will do a real layoff if that doesn't work.

 

I'm also putting my $600 rebate in savings when I get it until the layoff cloud passes.

 

Roz

[twinkletoes4445]

Seeing as there is no question our economy is in trouble in the U.S., are you sitting back and waiting to see how prices drop or raise, deals that may or may not be offered before you decide to make a new cruise booking?

 

We've already booked a cruise for next year (Jan). When it comes to the cruise after that one, I'll book it far enough in advance to get the cabin we want. The cabin of our choice is the most important thing to us.

 

Or, have you decided to wait it out until after the election to see how things shake out?

 

Who's in office probably isn't going to have any impact on our vacations.

 

Do you expect to book another cruise within the next 6 months? Next year?

 

Most likely we'll book something next year.

[marle7]

Like twinketoes, we book in advance so we can get the cabins we want and I don't expect the american election to have any impact on our cruising ability.

 

We are looking to book at least one more in addition to the 4 we have booked right now.

[tayl]

As of Oct./07, I booked a cruise with seabourn on their brand new ship the "odysey" sailing in 2009. Other than that, I'm not booking anything. I'll wait and see. We had a most enjoyable trip with seabourn in Dec.

I recently returned from sailing on the westerdam to alaska.

Hal would need to either change their show times back to the way it used to be, or have such a fantastic deal, that I couldn't resist.

[sail7seas]

We have a number of cruises booked and when DH mentioned another specific cruise he has in mind, I suggested we 'wait and see'. I feel the prices may drop significantly and want to be able to 'make the new booking' and get the lower price. Sometimes the price reduction only applies to new bookings.

 

I also want to wait and see what if any changes are forthcoming on the ships.

 

[DKNYC]

Well, just booked one 2 weeks ago for Fall of 09. Have 3 for 08, but that was a fluke. I would probably not have that many in one year. The one next year will probably be the only one ...MAYBE:D

We have a hireing freeze but no lay offs or downsizing..Thank Goodness. Good luck out there and Smooth Sailing.

Denise

[GmaPajama]

We like to keep 2 or 3 cruises booked. Because health can become an issue at any time, we like to have lots to look forward to. I'll admit it though, the economy is starting to worry us - and I did some serious price shopping for a 03/09 cruise. We also decided to give another category a try. Between those two things, we're saving a considerable amount of cash on that particular cruise.

 

As for the election, it could be interesting. I don't think it will have much of a direct effect on our travel plans - but we've been surprised before.

 

Do we expect to book another cruise soon? You bet! We already have it picked out and are just trying to decide on an agent. Price shopping is good, but we have to balance the benefits against the saved dollars. We're not willing to give up some of the TA services we've come to expect.

 

[onebzyldy]

I have booked 2x now with VTG and if their price drops, they will honor it [but I think it is up to you to keep watching] The cost of our upcoming cruise has gone down since we booked it and I emailed them and they adjusted the price accordingly. Made me very happy :D

Happy Cruising !

[bepsf]

We're booked for two cruises and will book another for Summer of '09 - but I'm beginning to get concerned about the stability of my employment since I'm expecting that our subsidiary will be merged into the acquiring "Mothership" in the next year or so which could result in my position being "downsized"...

...will have to wait and see, but might as well put the minimal deposit down while we can.

[kakalina]

We have the long one booked in Sep/Oct this year. We haven't booked anything into '09 . . . yet. We usually book on board but haven't found that to be beneficial lately. So we will pick up some of the pretty and colorful brochures at the FCC's desk and then call our PCC when we get home after we pick what we want. I'm thinking a drive to Florida, two Caribbean cruises and then a cruise through the Canal to get us back to the west coast. That sounds pretty good to me for the spring.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We have 5 booked at last counting the one we cruise on in just 13 days:D We are not wait and see people per say. We know we will most likely cruise if not we can always cancel a few days before final payment. Now that is not to say we will not go to a lessor category. All that are booked are Suites so we at least have some where to move down to.

I will say that I believe things will turn around after the elections no matter what the results are just for the fact that the uncertainty level will be diminshed. Right now people are stopped dead in their track unsure of what it going to happen.

[srpilo]

This is the first time in a number of years that we only have one cruise booked, In fact after returning from a VERY expensive Tahitian Princess cruise to Tahiti last month we decided to hold off on future bookings to see what shakes out with the current economy. But just this week we saw all the october and november 10 and 14 day cruises to the caribbean on all the line take a downward plunge, so we made a spur of the moment booking for october. But, I have definetly been seeing a down turn on pricing on all the lines and for almost all itinerarys recently, with the sole expections being Asia.

We had every intention of booking another med cruise for next spring, but the thing holding us back, and I think for alot of people thinking about europe is not just the cruise price, but the ever growing negative feeling about rising airfares and the all round uncertainity of air travel and airlines in general, again at least for us thats the deal breaker right now.

 

Hold on tight for the time being

Srpilo

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Well, the fact that we're all here "talking" on our PCs discussing our leisure time and money indicates to me that maybe things aren't quite so dire. So maybe we have to be satisfied with part of the turkey instead of the whole carcass for a while, or perhaps we'll have to share more of the "good meat" than we've been used to in the past. There are a lot of countries emerging out of their "third world" status who are now competing with us for the resources that were once only at the disposal of the "first world" nations.

 

Those of us who have lived long enough realize that everything is cyclical. In my lifetime, I've experienced periodic "fuel and energy crises" and "economic downturns" regularly. Humans have a remarkable capacity for resilience, invention, perseverence, optimism, endurance, work, and the ability to affect change for the better.

 

We have one expensive cruise booked for 09, and a family reunion planned for this summer in Hawai'i. We have one daughter in college, and another in private school. I don't feel we are suffering or lacking in any temporal or pecuniary way. We have our health, our willingness to make compromises as needed, and the resources to handle any downturns that may come. We are always confident of the future, and know we can do what is necessary to see us through. We are blessed.

[peaches from georgia]

Its the retirees that are especially hurt as their incomes are fixed while the rising price of oil is affecting everything they need to buy from gas, to food, to everything we need for daily living. For the average senior something has to go and in most cases it will have to be spending for travel and leisure.

[brewster007]

Well we have one booked for December 08 and then a 20 day cruise booked for May 09. The interesting thing is the price has actually gone up since we booked the December cruise and I was thinking / hoping that it would go down based on the economy. I know it still could go down but I was surprised to see it go. Maybe it's because it is a Mexico cruise on Oosterdam and from what I am reading that ship is being moved. I do not know bjut now I am glad we didn't wait to book.

[cf_chuck]

We have a number of cruises booked and when DH mentioned another specific cruise he has in mind, I suggested we 'wait and see'. I feel the prices may drop significantly and want to be able to 'make the new booking' and get the lower price. Sometimes the price reduction only applies to new bookings.

 

I also want to wait and see what if any changes are forthcoming on the ships.

 

 

I suggest you check on the cancellation policy. You can, in many cases, book ahead and if something else comes up with a better price, cancel and rebook if the booking is far enough into the future. I just did this. There are multiple options on booking, so figuring out what is a new booking isn't really germaine, and the original booking agent is motivated to give the best deal to preserve the commission.

[sail7seas]

GThanks, Chuck. I am aware of the cancellation before final payment policy. We book early to get a certain category cabin. Those cabins often sell out early. There have been times when people could cancel but possibly jeopardized keeping the same cabin for their re-booking.

 

[JimVrhovac]

As you can see below we book well in advance.

 

We are in a mode now where we will be booking 60-70 cruise days per year for the forseable future.

 

Check out more of the international headlines. Food and fuel is becoming a wordwide problem and will not go away until we start drilling for more fuel and building refineries in this country.

 

Not trying to start a firestorm but it has been 30 years since we built a new refinery in this country and we are paying the price for that now. If they started exploring and drilling now it will take an estimated 10-15 years before the oil coming out of the ground will end up at the gas pumps.

 

These subjects need to be addressed with our elected officials and changes need to be made.

 

Ruth & Jim

[FlorenceItaly]

I have one coming up later this year that I probably shouldn't be taking, but am. For 2009, I have one booked and will decide as time nears if I will keep it. For us, it has more to do with putting a son through university where the costs are astronomical and just keep rising. Also, we have things that need to be done around the house, and unfortunately, the cruising will be what has to go.

 

 

 

Marie

[obriendan]

We’re booked for two trips, a river cruise in Russia in August and the Prinsendam transatlsntic on Oct. 30th. Don’t plan to wait and see and will book another land tour for Spring 09 and will be looking for a cruise in the Fall of 09.

 

One of the real pluses for the Prinsendam cruise is that we will be out of the country during the final week of the election hassle and will vote absentee ahead of time.:D

 

(Marie, you know that the Prinsendam cruise is an absolute must!!)

[FlorenceItaly]

We’re booked for two trips, a river cruise in Russia in August and the Prinsendam transatlsntic on Oct. 30th. Don’t plan to wait and see and will book another land tour for Spring 09 and will be looking for a cruise in the Fall of 09.

 

One of the real pluses for the Prinsendam cruise is that we will be out of the country during the final week of the election hassle and will vote absentee ahead of time.:D

 

(Marie, you know that the Prinsendam cruise is an absolute must!!)

 

Dan,

 

I agree, the Prisendam cruise is a must and I AM going. Dh is very supportive, so no worries there :).

 

 

Marie

[cf_chuck]

GThanks, Chuck. I am aware of the cancellation before final payment policy. We book early to get a certain category cabin. Those cabins often sell out early. There have been times when people could cancel but possibly jeopardized keeping the same cabin for their re-booking.

 

 

 

Yep. That's a risk, but it is the same risk as waiting for a lower price, as far as I can see. Another risk is losing priority on dinner seating preference if that is a consideration for you. A third risk is losing a place in the queue if you are hoping for an upgrade (which doesn't seem like a consideration if you want to book a specific category).