Thread: When should planning a cruise start?

I know cruise lines create their ship itineraries no more than two years in advance and often only make them up for one year, but obviously I need to start planning before the schedule for each ship is released so I can book it ASAP. How early should I start planning my cruise? I certainly do not want to wait for a last-minute deal because the cabin category, size, and location matter and I can't afford to risk paying a higher price later.

Andrea:

I can't really answer your question, I'm afraid. Maybe make you think, a little!

Years ago, when I was a travel agent, there was an old and on-going discussion as to whether it was more economical to book as early as possible or, on the other hand, as late as possible.

The first obviously might result in a "significant" Early Booking Discount!

The second obviously might result in a "significant" Last-Minute Discount!

But, at the same time, there were all sorts of other discounts available. Auto Club membership. Senior Citizen status. Member of some affinity group (Elks, Moose, Giraffes, Zebras; whatever).

Today, things seem to be different, to some extent. But, in answer to your question, I frankly believe that you should book when you're ready to, hoping that you'll get the deal you'd like. If you don't succeed at first, try, tray again!

SWR


P.S.: The Cat and I hope that your Kittens receive special attention when you're not at home!

I can't tell you exactly how long before the books open that we start looking, but we do keep a watchful eye out. We usually have an idea of what we want to do and looking at this year, can figure out the time frame to start looking for the bookings to open. For example, we are booked on the Eclipse from Sydney to Honolulu on April 8, 2013 and booked it this past March. We got an excellent deal and are having fun getting to know our fellow cruisers.

Right now we're watching for the books to open for the Infinity from South America back to the States in 2014. We definitely plan ahead.

Garry

SWR: The avatar cat passed away five years ago (kidney failure, age 12). The cats in my signature are senior citizens (brown tabby 15, gray and white tabby at least 10). I might have kittens by the time I board a ship though - when one cat dies, another gets a home.

Garry: Wow, that really is planning early! I have three long itineraries on my list, but Mom is reluctant to sail more than one week, so I probably will take a shorter one first.

So many cruiselines have gone to the no price drops after final payment theme, that I am saying I will only book last minute and wait for deals.

I do have some I booked early too though, so I am both. If i find a deal, like Mariner jan 2012 was a deal when it first came out, so I booked early, but on RCL more often than not, I got much better deals by waiting for last minute.

I do have 7 booked cruises .. so me telling you to wait for the deals last minute is like preaching to the choir .. Im open to a last minute, but usually so booked up cant fit a great deal in when it does come along.

I have been saying Im going to book more last minute deals though.

Cruise lines tend to do the same cruises each year with minor changes to ports from time to time. Therefore, you can look now for what is currently available and pick one you like. In the UK bookings usually open some time in April for cruises the following year so the details come out late March.

As for booking, I would always say if know exactly what you want and nothing else will do then book early. If you don't mind where or when and with whom then wait for a deal thre is bound to something on offer, but it's pot luck.

On my longest ever cruise of 26 days from Beijing to Vancouver. My wife had just quit her job with a lot of acrimony. I looked around saw this cruise discussed it and a few days later , less than three weeks before it sailed. It was a fabulous cruise and a good deal mainly becasue it was a repositioning.

Originally Posted by Lanky Lad

Cruise lines tend to do the same cruises each year with minor changes to ports from time to time. Therefore, you can look now for what is currently available and pick one you like. In the UK bookings usually open some time in April for cruises the following year so the details come out late March.

As for booking, I would always say if know exactly what you want and nothing else will do then book early. If you don't mind where or when and with whom then wait for a deal thre is bound to something on offer, but it's pot luck.

Of course, ships don't stay in the same place forever. Ten years ago, the Golden Princess was in Europe. Now she is going to Hawaii and back. It makes me wonder if planning on one ship that has been sailing in the Mediterranean for years makes sense.

This is a question that is asked all the time and I always give the same answer; book your cruise as early as possible.

First, that may be the best price offered - prices could go up after the initial offering.

Second, most of the time if a special is offered, your agent can get the lower rate for you. There's only two things stopping this and that's if the special is designated as 'for new bookings only', but this hasn't been the case much lately. The other thing is that alot of cruise lines have now adopted the policy (thanks to Carnival) that they will not honor drops in prices after final payment has been made. However, some cruise lines will provide upgrades or onboard credit if the price goes down after final payment.

Third, if you book early, you can get the cabin you want and make all your arrangements accordingly. Airfare never goes down, so the earlier you book that, the better off you'll be if you have to fly to the port.

And lastly, if you wait for a special, it may not come and then you'll either have to pay more than you want or decide not to go. Personally, once I've decided I want to go on a cruise, I feel a whole lot better making all my plans in advance so there's no worries or hassles involved with my vacation. After all, isn't a vacation suppose to be a time for relaxation? And how can one relax when they're fretting whether or not they got the best deal.

Pete

This is just my feeling, but if you are super flexible, and you can do almost any date, then you can afford to wait until last minute. If its off season especially.

When Carnival had those cabins with two large windows as 1As, I went thru 3 months worth of cruises looking for one that had those two available and we booked both of them. For that we booked early. There were only the two per ship and now they are OVs again.

If you want a particular cruise only .. I would always book early. The earlier the better.