When to purchase your cruise?

[Charlestongirl]

There is an RC Cruise my husband and I want to go on in November. We decided it will depend on whether he gets his promotion in August. I know it's best to purchase early but we prefer to wait on the promotion.

 

Also, I'm glad I didn't buy it yet - it just went down in price. What if you buy your cruise but only put the deposit down, then if it goes down in price will you be able to just pay the rest of the new price or do you still have to pay the old price? I thought when it came time I could do that, so if it is reduced again I can get the reduced price, but I don't know how that works.

 

Do you think if I wait till late August to purchase the November cruise, that it'll be too late? I've only gone on one cruise years ago, someone took care of the arrangements so I don't really have experience with this. Any advice would be great. I know I could just pick another cruise, which is fine - the deal is DH wants this ONE specific port at any point on the cruise (Athens) so I have to keep that in mind.

 

TIA for any advice.

[Keith1010]

Keep in mind that the rooms that are the lowest in price and those highest in price tend to go first on a cruise. So, when you wait you run the risk that the lower price room will be taken. Also, if you book early and the price goes down most cruise lines will match that lower price. And then you have to consider the costs on the airline. And this one can vary in terms of booking early or late.

 

If you wait to hear on the promotion than I think the key is to be flexible in your choice of cruises so that if one no longer works out you can look at something else.

 

Keith

[paul929207]

If the price drops after you put down a deposit but before final payment is made, call your TA or cruise line and they should getyou the lower price.

 

If the price drops after final payment, the lowered price usually applies to new bookings only.

 

I would g ahead and book. You can get your depost back from the cruise if you cancel before final payment.

[Charlestongirl]

THanks for the info guys. I may just talk to DH and book anyway. If the promotion is a no-go we can deal with it - although, truthfully, I'd like to just go anyway. ;)

[98Charlie]

You can put your deposit down on the cruise now and know that you have the cabin that you want. Your final payment will be due 70 days before the sailing.

 

So depending on how late in August DH knows about the promotion and how early in November you're planning to cruise, you should have time to bail out and get your deposit back. If you are going through a TA make sure you know up front their cancellation policy and costs if any.

 

Charlie

[Leafpeeper]

With RC, we book as soon as their itineraries are announced because we can always cancel before final payment with no penalty. RC always has great prices the first month they are open for booking. Otherwise, I would wait until after final payment. Find out if the itinerary you want is available for several sailings. If so, then prices usually drop after final payment. If it is a limited sailing, I would book soon if you are set on what kind of cabin you want. If you are flexible, then you can afford to wait. Final payment is usually 2 months before sailing.