The last three cruises we booked:
1. about three weeks ahead (we were driving to the port, the only thing I had to do besides pack was to get the girl's homework from her teacher)
2. about eight months ahead (also had train travel, hotels, rental cars to book)
3. 13 months ahead. This was for a cruise that usually sells out early so as soon as we decided to do it, we booked it.
The shortest amount of time between booking and sailing was eight days ahead. And right after I booked the cruise, I also had to deal with flights, hotels, rental car. Did all this in three days total (with a lot of emailing and calls to hubby at his work).
C.C. nice post. This clearly shows why it is difficult to answer this question with just one answer. It is also why I love the CLF site. I just keep learning. Thanks for sharing.
For our earlier Caribbean cruises it was between 6 and 9 months out. Now that we have been doing some bigger cruises it's been a year out. We like the early booking prices. Also we usually have 3-4 gals or more so need more time to coordinate with everyone's vacation times. With my previous jobs I needed to book that far out to be sure I would get the vacation time. With my new job I think I could get vacation just a few weeks out as there are just 3 of us involved with needing to be there. I haven't done that yet but would be comfortable with it if a great deal just popped up!
If we are taking a group cruise we book at least a year out, or if it is for a specific event. But one=ce in a while I will see a deal that is great and works into our schedule, so we do a short turn around cruise. I love them all, but do enjoy the planning that goes into the year out cruise.
C.C. nice post. This clearly shows why it is difficult to answer this question with just one answer. It is also why I love the CLF site. I just keep learning. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. Unfortunately, we can't plan a cruise for the next year due to major health problems in hubby's family. Also there's another factor for him too. When we can plan a cruise, it will have to fit in with our girl's school schedule as her school district makes it hard for parents to take their kids out for a vacation while school is in session. Which means travelling in the summer and late December. And holiday cruises need to be booked early because of the heavy demand. So I'm keeping that things work out for December 2010. It may just be a repeat of our last cruise, so no flights or hotels involved. Just fun researching those ports again and deciding what we may do in them.
Gayla, I am a planner also. It is so cool once we are on vacation. Especially when everything goes smoothly. My wife still works so I am the acting travel agent for us.
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that things work out for December 2010. It may just be a repeat of our last cruise, so no flights or hotels involved. Just fun researching those ports again and deciding what we may do in them.
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