Anyone know how far in advanced you can book a cruise????

[beart72]

Just wondering if you know how far in advanced you can book a cruise???
Thanks

[doone]

You can book as soon as the itineraries are available. I booked my cruise on the Volendam for this March 20th, last March while I was sailing on the Rotterdam. I received $150 per cabin shipboard credit by doing this. Also, when my cruise went down, I called my TA (which I switched my reservation over to her from Holland America) and she was able to get me the lower price.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Since we know that some cruises are offered only once a year by HAL - we book early. For example - for our Oct 15, 2004, cruise - 21 days Pan American - we booked it in July of 2003.

Others that are offered more often - like the Caribbean, we usually book 6 - 9 months in advance so that we get the cabin that we want.

[localady]

We booked our July 05 Prinsendam cruise in May 04 in order to get the cabin we wanted. By doing that and keeping an eye on prices we were able to get the cabin for MUCH less than they want now for a lesser cabin. The type of cabin we wanted is no longer available and the cruise is not till this next July.

Our November 05 Veendam cruise was booked about the same time (June 04) and we got the last Suite at that time!! :eek:

If you have your heart set on a particular cruise or a particular type of cabin, book early! You will generally get a better price doing that as most TA's will agree to drop the price if it goes down after you initial booking and before your final payment.:cool:

[xpcdoojk]

We booked our upcoming November 2005 cruise last spring. I checked it yesterday and there were no verandah cabins available and we are 10 months out. Plus the prices on all cabins were 25% to 40% higher than they were last spring. Book early as you can... you can always get them to change your pricing if the pricing falls!

jc

[jhannah]

We booked our upcoming November 2005 cruise last spring. I checked it yesterday and there were no verandah cabins available and we are 10 months out.Same for our August cruise. We booked while on the Prinsendam last September. There are just a couple of categories now showing as available. However, there will almost assuredly be some others that will open up after final payment time. That is when the larger agencies who have blocks of cabins assigned to them have to turn the unsold ones back over to HAL. In some instances, however, some categories are truly sold out. What is left may not be in the location that is your preference. So the advice above holds true. Book as soon as the itinerary is published.

[CathyLynn]

Just to let you know that the cruise lines tend to have thier prices out around 15 months in advance for most caribbean cruises. It seems to take them a little longer to get their stuff in order for the Alaska cruises. The prices work just the same as on the airlines, the farther in advance and the fewer people on the ship, the cheeper the price.

[CaptData]

I booked my Hawaian cruise at almost 17 months out. Since then it has gone up $1000.00 (US). I booked my Maasdam cruise 10 months out. It depends on where you want to go and if they are available to book.

[saltydog28]

I booked our Veendam Nov '05 cruise in Feb'04. That was almost 2yrs. in advance.
I found out about that cruise on this board. I think I might have had the info before the TA's. Because when I was pricing it, the TA's were telling me that sailing didn't exist.
Pat.

[emmalbrent]

We booked this December 17, 2004. Our friends booked this yesterday and today we changed our cabin to min-suite next to them.

[Aussie Gal]

We booked our S.A. cruise for January 2006 in June 2004. Now all the verandahs and suites have gone. We needed to book early to work out our itinearary as we will be away for 6 weeks and will be seeing quite a bit of S.A. Next week I need to book our F.F. seats on Qantas - 355 days out from when we leave.

Jennie

[bepsf]

I booked my '05 Alaska cruise back in January of last year - before I even boarded my first cruise!

[obriendan]

We booked our Maasdam, Transatlantic, August 2, 2005 13 months in advance. The HAL website shows this cruise virtually sold out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Like everyone is pointing out - if there is a special itinerary that you are interested in - book early.

If there is a specific cabin you want - book early.

If the price drops you can always get the lower price - even after final payment.

Another big sell out - Alaska.

[Gardendog]

I'd like to look at cruises for late spring of 06. They are not on the HAL website. Where do you find them so early so you can book them?

[Traveller1]

http://crm.hollandamerica.com/broadbaseema/ha4009/asia.htm
This link was put up the other day and it has some info about e-tinerary's in 2006 I looked at it and it seems to work ok --I note tho that the itineraries are subject to change.
Good hunting

[BigDogMom]

Generally it's about 15-18months prior to the season. If you are looking at early 2006, now is the time to start seriously looking. I have noticed that while the cruises are open for sale, the printed brochures may not be available until about 12 months prior. You are at the mercy of either the web sites or the TA for more detailed info. That's OK though since you can still get a refund on the deposit if you change your mind before the final payment is due.