Those of you with 1 or more cruises booked way in advance....

[ariawoman]

I was reading a few other threads and couldn't help but notice how many people have 1-2-3-more cruises scheduled, some up to a few years out (2012) so it got me to thinking, how can people do this so easily?

So I'm asking you all, how do you do it? Are you retired and have the time? Do you work and somehow know when you can take off, etc? Financially, how do you do it, is it just a deposit then worry about it later type deal?

I took my last cruise in October and reaaaaaaaaaaaally would love to book another one for Sept/Oct timeframe of 2011, but at this point, can't because I don't know what schedule my mom is on (she comes and stays with my diabetic cat so without her, I don't get to go away) and she goes away many months of the year since she's retired.

But my secondary question is, how do you also decide where you want to go, is it a bucket list, or just whatever is a good price at the time, or the right ship, or what?

Just curious :-)

I'm afraid I might have to not go with HAL in 2011 due to the fact that I'll probably be staying within driving distance so that limits me to NY/Newark/Baltimore ports but we'll see what comes up. Looking at the new england/canada tours but unfortunately the one I want on HAL ends in Quebec so I'd need to figure out how to get home from there without flying hehe.

Anyway I'm off topic. All of you with all these cruises booked (i'm jealous!) tell me your secrets! :-)

[mikjr]

I was reading a few other threads and couldn't help but notice how many people have 1-2-3-more cruises scheduled, some up to a few years out (2012) so it got me to thinking, how can people do this so easily?

So I'm asking you all, how do you do it? Are you retired and have the time? Do you work and somehow know when you can take off, etc? Financially, how do you do it, is it just a deposit then worry about it later type deal?

I took my last cruise in October and reaaaaaaaaaaaally would love to book another one for Sept/Oct timeframe of 2011, but at this point, can't because I don't know what schedule my mom is on (she comes and stays with my diabetic cat so without her, I don't get to go away) and she goes away many months of the year since she's retired.

But my secondary question is, how do you also decide where you want to go, is it a bucket list, or just whatever is a good price at the time, or the right ship, or what?

Just curious :-)

Anyway I'm off topic. All of you with all these cruises booked (i'm jealous!) tell me your secrets! :-)

Personally... we are self employed, so our schedule is somewhat flexible. AND... I can't afford to retire, because I want to continue to cruise!! Most of our disposable income goes towards our cruise fund.

Unfortunately, if you want rooms located in better positions on the ship, then you need to book early... and that means a year out.

If you reserve a future cruise while on a cruise, you only need to put the the $100 each!! Then... you have the year, or whatever it is, to save and make the final payment, which is normally due 2 or 3 months from sail date.

Our destination decisions are driven by what ports we want to cruise out of. We've gotten to the point where we fly as little as possible. So if we can take cruises out of Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco, that makes it even better.

that's my story...

[sapper1]

Personally... we are self employed, so our schedule is somewhat flexible. AND... I can't afford to retire, because I want to continue to cruise!! Most of our disposable income goes towards our cruise fund.

Unfortunately, if you want rooms located in better positions on the ship, then you need to book early... and that means a year out.

If you reserve a future cruise while on a cruise, you only need to put the the $100 each!! Then... you have the year, or whatever it is, to save and make the final payment, which is normally due 2 or 3 months from sail date.

Our destination decisions are driven by what ports we want to cruise out of. We've gotten to the point where we fly as little as possible. So if we can take cruises out of Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco, that makes it even better.

that's my story...
That would be our reasoning as well. The time factor is not an issue and with the $100 future cruise credits purchased on board you can "book it and forget it" until final payment date.
In addition to cabin location, as you mentioned, you are more apt to get the dining option you want if you request it a year or more out.

Once you get a booking number you can access the shore exes as soon as they are published and start purchasing them so you get what you want before they are sold out, as the more popular ones often are.

Another factor for me is that the planning and anticipation are so much a part of the whole picture that having the cruise booked makes it real. Sitting back and saying that we will book a certain cruise as it gets closer to the date doesn't evoke the same feelings about the cruise.

I notice that the roll calls start very early on as well, and you get to chat with other CCers that are going on your cruise for a long time before you actually meet them in person.

I find the best time to purchase future credits is the first sea day. It only takes a few minutes and the consultant is not usually busy until later in the cruise when they have publicised her/his existance and start pushing the offer to those who are unaware of it.

[rafinmd]

I'll be just a bit different from sapper1 and mikejr, since I don't have total loyalty to a single cruise line.

I am now retired but starting travelling extensively about 10 years before retirement. I was working on long-term projects and a few weeks out of my schedule wouldn't have much impact on any deadlines.

With most cruise lines, the deposits required at onboard bookings are modest and can be moved to another cruise or refunded with little trouble. I do kind of have a list of things I want to do but look at all schedules soon after they come out to see what looks interesting.

You may notice that I have also grouped several cruises into major getaways with a potential for less flying (my last 7 cruises are actually 3 grand getaways, 2 without flying).

All of my cruises in my signature are onboard bookings except for Blount (they don't do them) and HAL (I haven't been there for 8 years but will probably have an OBB by the end of August.

Roy

[esther e]

We are retired and don't fly long distances any longer. Nor are we "loyal" to any one line. We drive to FLL (or occasionally fly there -- 1 hour flight) and sail from a ship berthed there.

We also want a specific suite. And I've noticed the prices are a bit lower early on and tend to get higher closer to sailing date.

It also gives us something to look forward to and plan for. Not that there's much planning, but still.....

[AZNative2000]

If you reserve a future cruise while on a cruise, you only need to put the the $100 each!! Then... you have the year, or whatever it is, to save and make the final payment, which is normally due 2 or 3 months from sail date.

This is our plan too. Not only do we reserve the cabin we want while dealing with the Future Cruise Consultants while aboard ship, we get some onboard credit. We also have the option of changing our cruise and/or date and retaining that "only $100" p.p. deposit right up to final payment date. If you cancel after booking,(before final payment) your $100 remains on account for four years so ... lots of flexibility.

[iriemon]

We book when we see something we like. We have done 36 so most of them are repeat ones but we do it to get away from the cold. My wife doesn't work and I can pick when I go on vacation to schedule is not an issue. The other thing that we look at is unless it is a Flash sale we can get a refund if we change our mind so we have nothing to lose. We have our vacation fund which takes presidence over most other things so, it is all in the planning.

[ariawoman]

Sadly, I didn't purchase any FCC when I was on board in October, nor did they really advertise that they were selling it, that I noticed anyway. I knew they did due to these forums but had I not known that, I'd have never thought of it. I just can't know my schedule that far out due to my pet sitter needs with my insane cat (i'd never be able to board her - long story but made short, she's a shelter cat, and I'd not want her to think she's back there). Of course I know someday I'll no longer have that restriction, but I hope that someday is a long time away since i love the cat dearly.

I'd really love to book something for 2011 sooner rather than later, just because as someone else said, a lot of it is the planning and knowing you have something to look forward to. That was the entire summer for me this year. I had such a good time on my "quests" to find things for my vacation. Of course my quest list would be less since I got a lot of the travel stuff for this year ;-)

Anyway, keep the stories comin' i love them! Off to work for me.

[NorthPhoenixGuy]

i have to book cruises at least a year out because of my employer's vacation planning situation. every october, we have to choose the time off we want for the following year. not easy to make last minute plans or get last minute discount pricing either. so i'm always looking for the next cruise. then, when i'm on a cruise, book a future cruise credit and will also book the mini-suite i want too. that's why i'm booked out two years now. then i come home and call my online travel agent. they always get me a better price than they give me on the ship. they take over my reservation with the cruise line and i still get my on board credits and $100 deposit. but i get a lower price and still usually have a year or more for final payment. seems like a no brainer to me!

[lorekauf]

I have fixed deadlines at work so as long as I'm not gone at those times I'm good. It gets tricky at times to plan something so I usually plan far out. I like to know where I'm going. I'm not really to much of a last minute person although I do sometimes do that as well.

[m steve]

so we can book as many as we can afford. We will have done 3 this year as of Dec. Booked a last minute cruise due to the price although we have sailed that tour several times. This time we're taking a deluxe suite at what we usually pay for a balcony. Just off a cruise and we bought 4 future cruise bookings but will select the cruise later. We always seem to need another set and since they are good for 4 years $200 is not a big deal especially when the banks pay.045% interest vs, the ship credits we can get. (Min. $50 pp.)

[Alcarondas]

Here's a contrarian view:

While I'm not a pure "last-minute" type, I am somewhat existential about my travel plans. I tend to look for bargains as they come along, and when I see one that's too good to pass up I jump on it. Usually, I'll find an itinerary that I like, with ports of call that I haven't visited yet, and hawk it until the price fits my budget. Sometimes the stars don't align; I sat on my current cruise for almost a year and a half before the deal fell into place. I do need to fly to my port of embarkation, so airfare and flight schedules need to cooperate as well. Luckily, getting the time off from work isn't really a problem as far as scheduling goes, although I do face practical limitations as to how much and how often I can take off. Generally, I can devote one week per year to cruising; I like to save the rest for family visits and my other getaway passion, motorcycling.

I've found that the "sweet spot" seems to be in the 60-to-75-days-out range. This is when the emails and flyers usually start pushing harder to fill the boats. This is also when the "guarantee" categories generally open up. I'm not above rolling the dice on an Outside Guarantee if it saves me a few hundred dollars. As a solo traveler who nowadays faces a 200% single-occupancy surcharge, every little bit helps. And while some cabins may be better than others, on modern ships there really aren't any "bad" ones - just degrees of goodness. As long as I have some natural light, I'm cool. If I want the view, there's plenty of outside deck to use. One of the happy side-effects of modern mostly-balcony ships is that, as more people use their private perches, the public decks become less crowded.

Also, maybe I've just been lucky, but on two occasions I was bumped at check-in from no-view to full-view, and once from full-view to verandah! It's true, I confess: room service breakfast on the porch as we pulled into Cabo at dawn was pretty darn sweet. :)

So we'll see what happens this time. I'll probably have an unobstructed view of a lifeboat. But you never know... ;) For me, that extra bit of mystery adds to the excitement of the trip.

Best of luck with your own cruise plans! Maybe we'll see you out there sometime soon. And yes, cats are wonderful, but boy-oh-boy can they complicate travel.

[sail7seas]

We always buy FCC while aboard so only have to place $100 deposits. We are very particular which cabin and if we don't book early, we may not get the cabin we want.

As far as Caribbean, we choose now more by ship/sail date/number of days for the cruise and where friends with whom we wish to sail will be. We've sailed the Caribbean so much that, for the most part, itinerary is not a priority. We avoid certain ports and favor others but are very flexible in that regard.

My husband is hugely busy in his professional life but has the ability to choose his travel date. We are limited to being away 16 or so days at a time but he has made one exception for a future booking we have made. There is one cruise we wish to do which will take us away a little longer than he likes but we want that cruise.

We currently have five cruises booked.

[Taxguy77]

Itinerary, want to see some new places but lots of places we don't care to go.
Cruiseline, like to try new ones since NCL went down in quality so fast a few years ago.
Ship, saw a picture of the Royal Clipper on a brochure and booked the most expensive trip/cruise we have taken. Worth every penny!
City at one end of the cruise, picked a TA from Lisbon as we had never been there and wanted to spend a couple of days. Sorry we didn't book 2 more days before sailing.

[kent4489]

Personally, I could never plan my life so far in advance. We too have a diabetic cat, so I have to work within the pet/housesitters schedule. Without their excellent care, we could not go away at all. Add to that, we both have elderly Mothers, so if they seem to be doing fairly well, we take the chance of booking something a few weeks out. We're going on our third cruise this year at the end of Dec. and we just booked it while on the Ryndam, 2 weeks ago. I'm very pleased with the cabin cat. and price we got and we also confirmed late fixed dining. Our cruises this year have been on the Eurodam, Ryndam and Westerdam coming up and we booked each about 5-6 weeks out.

[GmaPajama]

We like to have at least 2 cruises booked ahead. The anticipation, and the roll call here (for me), are things we very much enjoy. We're partial to the Caribbean and have seen most of the ports - but will book a cruise specifically because the itinerary includes one we've missed. We're retired, which can be a double edged sword. We have more time than money ... which means we don't usually cruise more than twice a year anymore. We use the future cruise credits as down payments, but don't book a cruise unless we have the full payment, cash in hand. I can't imagine enjoying the memory of a cruise if I have to worry about paying for it afterwards.

[sail7seas]

I so agree with you, Donna. I could never enjoy the cruise if I had to worry how we were going to pay for it when we got home. :eek: What kind of vacation is that?

[onthegogirl]

If you want to do the New England-Canada cruise look into taking the train from Quebec City to Montreal and then from Montreal to NYC. I hear the Canadian trains are wonderful, the train from Montreal to NYC (Amtrac?) not so much but it is a reasonably stress free way home and you could spend a day of two in those wonderful Canadian cities.

Carole

[rafinmd]

If you want to do the New England-Canada cruise look into taking the train from Quebec City to Montreal and then from Montreal to NYC. I hear the Canadian trains are wonderful, the train from Montreal to NYC (Amtrac?) not so much but it is a reasonably stress free way home and you could spend a day of two in those wonderful Canadian cities.

Carole

That or B2B Northeast to Quebec and back.

The "wonderful" Canadian trains are mostly transcontinental, but the Quebec-Montrael and Montrael-New York are both stress free and pleasant. You would likely need to have an overnight in Montrael (nothing wrong with that).

Roy

[kent4489]

I so agree with you, Donna. I could never enjoy the cruise if I had to worry how we were going to pay for it when we got home. :eek: What kind of vacation is that?

I will third that opinion. We may not book far in advance, but it is fully paid before we go. We did put our Dec. Westerdam on c/c last week, but will get the bill and pay it before we go.

[mikjr]

Sadly, I didn't purchase any FCC when I was on board in October, nor did they really advertise that they were selling it, that I noticed anyway..

I might mention that many of the cruise lines have "SALES" during the year where they will allow you to put down only $100 per person. you might want to check with your T/A and have them notify you when those specials occur. Also, get on the various cruise line email and snail mail list and look for the specials. Although we've cruised on Princess the most, we also use HAL, Celebrity, and now Cunard... so we get all their stuff in the mail.

As one other poster mentioned... the "Roll Call" participation is also fun. Communicating with people sometimes starting a year in advance, and then finally meeting them, is great!

[sail7seas]

That or B2B Northeast to Quebec and back.

The "wonderful" Canadian trains are mostly transcontinental, but the Quebec-Montrael and Montrael-New York are both stress free and pleasant. You would likely need to have an overnight in Montrael (nothing wrong with that).

Roy


Don't forget Maasdam does seven day cruises Boston to Montreal to Boston which are fabulous. It's wonderful to be able to sail all the way to Montreal and not have to stop at Quebec City. (Eurodam is too tall to fit under the bridge.)

[Randyk47]

We book one cruise at a time about a year out. With Mrs. K still working it's hard to get more than one cruise in a year. Part of it is her vacation time, part of it is that she's a director and it's hard to get away, and part of it is purely financial. The other thing we discovered was, especially when we were both working, that we if we didn't plan and book a cruise out some distance we'd be overcome by events. By events I mean the demands of our jobs. In retrospect we realized we got caught in that trap from 1998 until 2004 when we didn't cruise much less take a major vacation and vowed we'd never get stuck in that situation again. Now that I'm retired, or actually semi-retired as I still pick up the odd consulting job from time to time, it's not as difficult and we really only have to plan and schedule out my wife's time. Right now we have the March Maasdam cruise booked and may book a Med cruise for later in the year or possibly 2012. We're still researching and considering itineraries and cruise lines.....yep....it may not be HAL. We don't particularly worry about the deposit, just a cost of planning and booking like we do so we accept that as a down payment and try not to worry about it. The breaking news today that my wife may not be getting a pay raise for the next two years will certainly causes us to examine what we commit to in the next couple of years.

[CowPrincess]

We book well in advance in order to have the cruise paid for before we sail. We also use FCDs. With a year's advance notice or so, we are able to bank the necessary money. The upcoming cruise was booked 15 months in advance. Our considerations are cost, ease of flights, cost of flights, itinerary. They all weigh about the same in our decision-making. Except for my recent AK cruise, which was ALL about the itinerary, and booked spur-of-the-moment, with a silent prayer that I'd have LOTS of work in advance, in order to have it paid before sailing :)

Recently cancelled a Maasdam cruise we had booked for 2012.

OP -- we had an elderly cat with kidney disease, and understand the difficulty. We didn't leave home at all for 3 years in order to ensure she got the care she needed. We did one 5-day vacation, and the vet came to the house to look after her, but would not accept payment. So that was no longer an option for us.

[cruisinggranmama]

We plan three vacations a year. We do not always cruise. We are looking for the destination. We always compare a land trip and a cruise if both are options for our destination. I guess we have a bucket-list of sorts which we are working on. But it is not a must do list. We will have to fly no matter where we go so we plan each vacation within a month of completing the current trip (February or October- beach is the 3rd and rentals go quickly). So we are always almost a year out in planning and we get our air then too. We do our own air when we cruise so that it can be used again if we have to cancel. I'm retired but DH knowing way ahead when his vacation is planned for, will start rearranging his work to fit. So far we have not had our plans interrupted because of work or elderly parents or children and grandchildren. If we must cancel, we must cancel. We look at the sunny side.

PS. I have to renege on one statement: we did rearrange one vacation when we found out our first grandchild was due 2 weeks after our planned vacation. No problems with rearranging as it was not a cruise.

[Jade13]

I was reading a few other threads and couldn't help but notice how many people have 1-2-3-more cruises scheduled, some up to a few years out (2012) so it got me to thinking, how can people do this so easily?

So I'm asking you all, how do you do it? Are you retired and have the time? Do you work and somehow know when you can take off, etc? Financially, how do you do it, is it just a deposit then worry about it later type deal?

I took my last cruise in October and reaaaaaaaaaaaally would love to book another one for Sept/Oct timeframe of 2011, but at this point, can't because I don't know what schedule my mom is on (she comes and stays with my diabetic cat so without her, I don't get to go away) and she goes away many months of the year since she's retired.

But my secondary question is, how do you also decide where you want to go, is it a bucket list, or just whatever is a good price at the time, or the right ship, or what?

Just curious :-)

I'm afraid I might have to not go with HAL in 2011 due to the fact that I'll probably be staying within driving distance so that limits me to NY/Newark/Baltimore ports but we'll see what comes up. Looking at the new england/canada tours but unfortunately the one I want on HAL ends in Quebec so I'd need to figure out how to get home from there without flying hehe.

Anyway I'm off topic. All of you with all these cruises booked (i'm jealous!) tell me your secrets! :-)

Hi ariawomen,

We are still working full time but took 4 cruises this year and have 4 future cruises booked. I have about 7 weeks vacation next year when I include holidays (we have floating so can take them when we like). I am fortunate that I work for someone who just asks us when we are taking off. My DH is in the hospitality industry and they are really flexible as long as it's not during the holiday season from Labor Day through New Years.

We book in advance because all of our HAL cruises have sold out, and have one cruise booked in 2012. Our cruise for next July is sold out. We were recently on a Celebrity Cruise and plan to cruise with them on the Solstice Class ships in the Caribean Only. We are looking differantly on how we will book with Celebrity which will be preferably last minute/within final payment as they are getting very differicult to deal with as far as price adjustments and other issues (48 hour price guarantee and new policy only allows 60 days to transfer to an outside TA, if you wish to do so). Their itineraries aren't that interesting (the ships are though) so don't feel any rush to book early.

We will pay more for a unique itinerary with places we have not been to before, but will look for a deal in the Carribean since there are so many ships there, we do not wish to pay a premium.

I hope this helps.

[Jade13]

OP -- we had an elderly cat with kidney disease, and understand the difficulty. We didn't leave home at all for 3 years in order to ensure she got the care she needed. We did one 5-day vacation, and the vet came to the house to look after her, but would not accept payment. So that was no longer an option for us.

Just want to mention to the OP that with HAL's Platinum Plan (which includes insurance such as 50,000 medivac) you can Cancel for Any Reason (sick animal) up until 24 hours prior to departure and get 90% back on your credit card (plus the cost of the policy).

[sail7seas]

Just want to mention to the OP that with HAL's Platinum Plan (which includes insurance such as 50,000 medivac) you can Cancel for Any Reason (sick animal) up until 24 hours prior to departure and get 90% back on your credit card (plus the cost of the policy).


Just want to add that anyone thinking of HAL insurance should investigate what they pay for medical coverage. If your own health insurance does not pay out of your country, HAL's medical coverage is very low. Verify to be absolutely sure what you are buying.

[KirkNC]

I was reading a few other threads and couldn't help but notice how many people have 1-2-3-more cruises scheduled, some up to a few years out (2012) so it got me to thinking, how can people do this so easily?

So I'm asking you all, how do you do it? Are you retired and have the time? Do you work and somehow know when you can take off, etc? Financially, how do you do it, is it just a deposit then worry about it later type deal?

I took my last cruise in October and reaaaaaaaaaaaally would love to book another one for Sept/Oct timeframe of 2011, but at this point, can't because I don't know what schedule my mom is on (she comes and stays with my diabetic cat so without her, I don't get to go away) and she goes away many months of the year since she's retired.

But my secondary question is, how do you also decide where you want to go, is it a bucket list, or just whatever is a good price at the time, or the right ship, or what?

Just curious :-)

I'm afraid I might have to not go with HAL in 2011 due to the fact that I'll probably be staying within driving distance so that limits me to NY/Newark/Baltimore ports but we'll see what comes up. Looking at the new england/canada tours but unfortunately the one I want on HAL ends in Quebec so I'd need to figure out how to get home from there without flying hehe.

Anyway I'm off topic. All of you with all these cruises booked (i'm jealous!) tell me your secrets! :-)

It is quite easy for us, we both work but have been working long enough to get a nice amount of vacation, I get six weeks, my wife gets five. While we have to plan some, our jobs are pretty flexible on when we can be gone. On the money side we put some aside every month toward our vacations so I know in advance how much I have to spend. As far as how to choose where to go it is a combination of where we haven't been, where we have been but want to go back and the timing and cost of a particular cruise.

Kirk

[m steve]

to cover my partner's birthday and Thanksgiving. We have done so many Caribbean cruises that she wishes there were more islands that HAL would travel to. There seems to be the same itinerary year after year. And Princess is not much better. As a smoker she is limited to these lines.

[Kay240]

I'm sure our situation is similar to many of you, but I am going to write first, and read later, as we will be going out soon.

We currently have 4 cruises booked, but years ago, when we were still working, we didn't even take one cruise a year. Some factors for us, other than retirement:

(1) Sometimes we take an Inside Guarantee, as opposed to a balcony; it depends on where we going and what time of year, which means we can afford to cruise more frequently.

(2) Despite certain issues with the economy, we feel more "comfortable", than when we were working and worried about retirement.

(3) Most of our cruises are Caribbean and most ports we have been to 3 or 4 times, so we don't spend $$ on shorex.

(4) Oops! How can I forget? We moved to Florida, in part to save airfare for our cruises!

(5) We book our cruises while on board, so that we can get that extra OBC and charge only $100pp for the deposit. Also, early booking usually means a great price.

(6) We ran out of wall space, so we know longer spend money on Art Auctions.

(7) We accumulate as many OBC as we can: sometimes from the TA, sometimes from his "consortium", sometimes "specials" from HAL, and of course my stockholder credit...all in addition to (5) above.:D

(8) WE rarely "drink", so we don't have a big bar bill.

(9) I gave up the slots when we started to take cruises longer than 7 days; I can buy definite jewelry with my cash instead.

(10) Despite all the "older" cruisers we see, I told DH we had a limited span of "our best" travel years, so we had to get started.;)

(11) I told DH, if he wouldn't travel somewhere, other than the Caribbean with me, DD would...

(12) How to select? A combination of where you have NOT BEEN TO BEFORE, where you would like to RETURN to, what fits your schedule of "events", any great prices available, any friends or family that want to cruise with you...and probably other suggestions from CC.

[Kay240]

A couple more comments:

(1) HAL has a Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, 13 day cruise (one way) April 24, with good prices (still cold weather up north).

(2) We have an SY guarantee, our first full size (as opposed to a "mini") suite for our trans-Atlantic cruise in October, because early booking gave us a wonderful price.

(3) HAL may not let the TA "discount" prices any more, but we get a lot of good "perks".

(4) The excitement of planning, looking forward to, and discussing upcoming cruises on CC really enriches the entire experience! A "guarantee" also increases your growing excitement level!

(5) As one of the previous comments stated, we also spread the cost of our Shorex over MULTIPLE billing periods, if we purchase many/ expensive tours (such as for our 33 day Hawai'i / French Polynesia Cruise.

(6) DOWNSIDE: When you pay only $100pp as a deposit, FINAL payment is a lot bigger.:eek:

[bepsf]

I work for a living and book my cruises 18 months or more in advance.

It's much easier to schedule a vacation so far in advance (and budgeting for it) than it is to book later, and concern myself with other people's schedules. Meanwhile, my boss and co-workers know about my plans so far in advance that they are easily able to work around it for their trips.

On the other hand, I don't take vacations during the winter holidays - perhaps just a day here or an afternoon there - I leave that for my boss and co-workers with families.

[petrakae]

We are now retired and so therefore we can travel anytime, but living in Australia, we find it cheaper to book WAY in advance so that we can then organize 'earlybird' international flights. Sadly because of the flight fares we are unable to go as often as we would like. We always ensure that we can pay for the cruise at time of booking. Both of us do have a rough 'bucket' list, but we choose our destinations carefully based on price and flight charges. In August we will be doing a HAL cruise of 29 nights, from Dover to New York, followed by a 14 night cruise on another ship to New England/Canada. This way we can fulfill several destinations with only one flight cost. We have previously cruised with HAL and that is why we are return passengers. We have also cruised with Celebrity and Princess lines.:)

[mikjr]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is another way to save a bit of money... and that is the Shareholder OBC. if you own 100 shares of Carnival stock, you can receive up to $250 OBC on any Carnival owned cruise line, including: Princess, HAL, and Cunard.

on our recent Princess cruise, we had $500 of OBC... and on our upcoming Cunard, we'll have $600! That covers a lot of on board extras.

[ariawoman]

Personally, I could never plan my life so far in advance. We too have a diabetic cat, so I have to work within the pet/housesitters schedule. Without their excellent care, we could not go away at all. Add to that, we both have elderly Mothers, so if they seem to be doing fairly well, we take the chance of booking something a few weeks out. We're going on our third cruise this year at the end of Dec. and we just booked it while on the Ryndam, 2 weeks ago. I'm very pleased with the cabin cat. and price we got and we also confirmed late fixed dining. Our cruises this year have been on the Eurodam, Ryndam and Westerdam coming up and we booked each about 5-6 weeks out.

Finally found someone in the same boat as I! The diabetes complicates things, on top of that, she hates people (and other animals) and takes time to adjust to her new "replacement human" as i call it lol. I have to factor in my moms schedule and Jewelies needs (the cat) before I can even think about booking. Sad but that's the way it is.

I'd love to be able to see a great deal for next week and jump on it, but right now, that can't be the case. If only this cat knew what I did for her lol.

[ariawoman]

If you want to do the New England-Canada cruise look into taking the train from Quebec City to Montreal and then from Montreal to NYC. I hear the Canadian trains are wonderful, the train from Montreal to NYC (Amtrac?) not so much but it is a reasonably stress free way home and you could spend a day of two in those wonderful Canadian cities.

Carole

Carole - thats exactly the idea I had, taking a train back that is. My boyfriend actually said the train between boston and NYC was actually very nice when he took it a few weeks ago on business. He mentioned wanting us to do that, so maybe I just add in that we can do that PLUS take a cruise LOL

And to Gma - I'd never book one without having the funds to cover it either, for the same reason. I'd not want to worry about where the money was coming from. Thankfully, I tend to be a saver, so I'm ok in that category provided my situation stays as it is.

I still have a ton of replies to read. This is great :-)

[ariawoman]

Don't forget Maasdam does seven day cruises Boston to Montreal to Boston which are fabulous. It's wonderful to be able to sail all the way to Montreal and not have to stop at Quebec City. (Eurodam is too tall to fit under the bridge.)

I saw this as an option as well but I'm really nervous about how I'll like the smaller ship (maasdam) vs a signature size. I know so many people love it, and well, I've been on a 200 passenger ship so I'm sure I'd be fine, but, is there the same amount to do (entertainment wise/activity wise) on the ship as there is on a sig class? Maybe I'm comparing it to a 200 pax vessel and shouldn't since it's not THAT small, but there was NOTHING to do on Seabourn really besides hang out in your cabin, with the exception of the band playing out on deck some nights.

I'm also nervous about the AC on Maasdam since veendam is of the same class isn't it? Or is it really just the lanai retrofits that have this bad issue? (seemingly)

I need people to help talk me into the idea that i could love the smaller ships. I do know they have self serve laundry and that's a plus for me away from the sig/vista level.

[ariawoman]

It is quite easy for us, we both work but have been working long enough to get a nice amount of vacation, I get six weeks, my wife gets five. While we have to plan some, our jobs are pretty flexible on when we can be gone. On the money side we put some aside every month toward our vacations so I know in advance how much I have to spend. As far as how to choose where to go it is a combination of where we haven't been, where we have been but want to go back and the timing and cost of a particular cruise.

Kirk

Wow I dream of 6 weeks vacation LOL. My company tops out at 5 weeks but you have to be there 20 years before you get that. I'll get 4 weeks if i last another 3 years and 2 months there lol. So right now, I'm playing with only getting 3 weeks per year. This past year I used 2 to go to the mediterranean. Next year, not sure what I'll use, but I'm hoping to use the same for another cruise in october timeframe :-)

[sail7seas]

Carole - thats exactly the idea I had, taking a train back that is. My boyfriend actually said the train between boston and NYC was actually very nice when he took it a few weeks ago on business. He mentioned wanting us to do that, so maybe I just add in that we can do that PLUS take a cruise LOL
<snip>


We took the train (Acela) Boston to NYC and back this summer and it was great. We happened to go first class and found it very comfortable. They gave us breakfast going and lunch coming home. Liquor service if one wanted. WiFi available and seats were comfortable. We arrived within a few minutes of scheduled both trips.





I saw this as an option as well but I'm really nervous about how I'll like the smaller ship (maasdam) vs a signature size. I know so many people love it, and well, I've been on a 200 passenger ship so I'm sure I'd be fine, but, is there the same amount to do (entertainment wise/activity wise) on the ship as there is on a sig class? Maybe I'm comparing it to a 200 pax vessel and shouldn't since it's not THAT small, but there was NOTHING to do on Seabourn really besides hang out in your cabin, with the exception of the band playing out on deck some nights.

I'm also nervous about the AC on Maasdam since veendam is of the same class isn't it? Or is it really just the lanai retrofits that have this bad issue? (seemingly)

I need people to help talk me into the idea that i could love the smaller ships. I do know they have self serve laundry and that's a plus for me away from the sig/vista level.

Maasdam is one of our two favorite ships (the other being Noordam). We have sailed five cruises on Eurodam and really like that ship very much, as well. That is three different classes of HAL ships. :) What we love most about all HAL ships are the Officers/staff/crews.


They all offer something different IMO but Maasdam is perfect for the Boston to Montreal to Boston itinerary. There are 6 ports in 7 days so it is a very busy cruise. There isn't much tme aboard to be looking for lots of activities. If you are on tour all day or out and about in port on your own, you may not be looking for tons of shipboard things aside from perhaps a cocktail before dinner, enjoy a wonderful dinner and show. Maybe stop by Crows Nest After the Show or Ocean Bar or certainly Casino etc

[ariawoman]

We took the train (Acela) Boston to NYC and back this summer and it was great. We happened to go first class and found it very comfortable. They gave us breakfast going and lunch coming home. Liquor service if one wanted. WiFi available and seats were comfortable. We arrived within a few minutes of scheduled both trips.







Maasdam is one of our two favorite ships (the other being Noordam). We have sailed five cruises on Eurodam and really like that ship very much, as well. That is three different classes of HAL ships. :) What we love most about all HAL ships are the Officers/staff/crews.


They all offer something different IMO but Maasdam is perfect for the Boston to Montreal to Boston itinerary. There are 6 ports in 7 days so it is a very busy cruise. There isn't much tme aboard to be looking for lots of activities. If you are on tour all day or out and about in port on your own, you may not be looking for tons of shipboard things aside from perhaps a cocktail before dinner, enjoy a wonderful dinner and show. Maybe stop by Crows Nest After the Show or Ocean Bar or certainly Casino etc

To be honest, you're right. When we went to the Med it was very port intensive (almost too much so) so I didn't care much about doing stuff. We did go to shows when we could, but i was sick for part of it (the dreaded NA cold that went around in october) so I ended up in cabin more than i wanted.

What i've found with both of my cruises, moreso the HAL cruise, was that I didnt' feel like I used the ship enough, know what I mean? I know I don't really want sea days, but I want more hours in the day to get enough sleep AND do everything i want to do LOL

[ariawoman]

Ugh I looked at the Boston Maasdams however the last one is 9/24 and that's too early for my moms schedule, she's usually not available for me to leave until the first week in october :( So I might be stuck with a non B2B outta NYC...

Also, what's with all the balconies saying "inquire" for maasdam, is it because there are a lot less of them on the smaller ships? I had a VF last time on NA and can't imagine not getting another verandah :-)

At least I didn't get a suite! lol

[sail7seas]

That cruise is very popular and many cabins sell out very early. We do the b-to-b every summer and have done so for years. We book our suite at least a year in advance in order to get the cabin we want and not have to move for the second segment.

Because of the 35 days Maasdam is away every summer doing the Voyage of the Vikings, there are normally only two dates or three one can board in Boston and do the round trip cruise.

Next year, Maasdam is doing a 30+ day round trip FLL/Caribbean to Europe back to FLL cruise that embarks October 28. That is probably why her Canada/New England season ends sooner than usual as she has to do the 14 day repositioning cruise to FLL to board for the Caribbean/Europe cruise.

[Trader Ron]

It's not entirely true that prices go-up the closer you book a cruise. I started looking this

past summer for cruises in the fall. Prices continued to fall after Labor Day and I saw Inside

cabins on HAL sailings for $ 399. I was offered an upsell for a Veranda the week of my

sailing for $69.00.

In regards to wanting a certain cabin, well in advance, it's not a guarantee you will have

QUIET shipmates in the cabin next to you. The people next to me were out on their

veranda at two o'clock in the morning, having a jolly old time. Needless to say, I put an

end to that !. lol

[iancal]

We do both...book just at the cancellation window and book further out. When we do the latter our experience is that prices tend to go down and we get the benefit of repricing.

Not loyal to any cruise line-for us they all have their particular strengths and weaknesses. The particular ship/itinerary can be more of a deciding factor than the cruise line . We tend to travel on shoulder season with one exception...we like the Caribbean in Feb because we live in the snow belt. We seldom do European cruises as we prefer to spend much more time in each location....a one day stop does not do it for us.

[bepsf]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is another way to save a bit of money... and that is the Shareholder OBC. if you own 100 shares of Carnival stock, you can receive up to $250 OBC on any Carnival owned cruise line, including: Princess, HAL, and Cunard.

on our recent Princess cruise, we had $500 of OBC... and on our upcoming Cunard, we'll have $600! That covers a lot of on board extras.

That's assuming the price of CCL doesn't drop more than one dollar a share in the time that you use one $100 OBC - Otherwise, you've not saved any money at all.
(And with commissions, you wouldn't break even unless there's a dividend declaired during your period of ownership)

IMO - This is a poor reason to purchase and own 100 shares of CCL stock unless you're a VERY frequent cruiser.

[CowPrincess]

That's assuming the price of CCL doesn't drop more than one dollar a share in the time that you use one $100 OBC - Otherwise, you've not saved any money at all.
(And with commissions, you wouldn't break even unless there's a dividend declaired during your period of ownership)

IMO - This is a poor reason to purchase and own 100 shares of CCL stock unless you're a VERY frequent cruiser.


We aren't frequent cruisers (DARN!!) but since purchasing we've received about $500 OBC. That is tax-free money in my view :) I hold the stock in my RRSP so whether it goes up or down is pretty much immaterial to me for the next decade or so.

[ariawoman]

RCL does the same with the stock and I considered the idea briefly but as was pointed out, it doesn't make a ton of sense unless you are a frequent cruiser (or want to purchase at a younger age for when/if you become a frequent cruiser in retirement (and assume the policy is still there which it prob wouldn't be lol).

I'd love to be offered OBC for having ownership in a company, but then I'd really have to decide what cruise lines had me. So far I've only sailed under the carnival umbrella having HAL and Seabourn as my 2. So...if I went with that I'd buy CCL but who knows what the future holds? :-) I looked at the stock prices a while ago and it was way too pricy for me to buy the needed amount to benefit lol.

[ariawoman]

Just did the math and it would cost about 4200 (not including commissions) to purchase 100 shares of CCL. That's like, a trip and a half on HAL lol. If you can get up to 250 it would then take you 17 cruises to get the money back (not assuming the stock sale price and if you make anything i'm just saying the break even point).

If i had money burning a hole in my pocket then I'd do it but...I have other more pressing needs to put my money into, so I guess this isn't in the cards for me in the near term lol

[Jade13]

It's not entirely true that prices go-up the closer you book a cruise. I started looking this

past summer for cruises in the fall. Prices continued to fall after Labor Day and I saw Inside

cabins on HAL sailings for $ 399. I was offered an upsell for a Veranda the week of my

sailing for $69.00.

In regards to wanting a certain cabin, well in advance, it's not a guarantee you will have

QUIET shipmates in the cabin next to you. The people next to me were out on their

veranda at two o'clock in the morning, having a jolly old time. Needless to say, I put an

end to that !. lol

Not on Maasdam Canada New England as far as the cheap prices. That itinerary usually sells out before final payment dates.

[Trader Ron]

Not on Maasdam Canada New England as far as the cheap prices. That itinerary usually sells out before final payment dates.

I should have clarified my post. I was talking about Caribbean Cruises.

[KirkNC]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is another way to save a bit of money... and that is the Shareholder OBC. if you own 100 shares of Carnival stock, you can receive up to $250 OBC on any Carnival owned cruise line, including: Princess, HAL, and Cunard.

on our recent Princess cruise, we had $500 of OBC... and on our upcoming Cunard, we'll have $600! That covers a lot of on board extras.

Assuming you cruise once a year that is like a 6.0% dividend based on $4,200 to purchase the stock. Not all bad and if you cruise twice that would double.

Kirk

[m steve]

and our OBCs have more than made up for the $$ losses and will continue to be a lot better than the dividends or what I would get from a bank. I just wished that I bought it a second time whenit was in the teens as it's doing quite well now. I always look for stocks to put my money where my money goes.

[ariawoman]

Assuming you cruise once a year that is like a 6.0% dividend based on $4,200 to purchase the stock. Not all bad and if you cruise twice that would double.

Kirk

True, in this economy a 6% return would be great, but again, it's contingent upon spending about 3-5k a year in vacation costs depending on where you go/where you live (for example the VF category I had was 2999 PP and then airfare was another 900 and this isn't including other incidentals lol. That 5k in the bank making 1% is guaranteed to leave me ahead monetarily (though much sadder and grumpier without a vacation).

I'm not saying it's a poor choice overall, it's just a poor choice for me, as I don't have the likelihood of taking 1-2 cruises a year to make it worth my while financially.

[KirkNC]

True, in this economy a 6% return would be great, but again, it's contingent upon spending about 3-5k a year in vacation costs depending on where you go/where you live (for example the VF category I had was 2999 PP and then airfare was another 900 and this isn't including other incidentals lol. That 5k in the bank making 1% is guaranteed to leave me ahead monetarily (though much sadder and grumpier without a vacation).

I'm not saying it's a poor choice overall, it's just a poor choice for me, as I don't have the likelihood of taking 1-2 cruises a year to make it worth my while financially.

I agree you would only want to own the stock if you were taking the cruises anyway. It would make no sense to take the cruise because you owned the stock, that would be a fun way to go broke.

Kirk