How far in advance do you usually book a cruise?

I book as soon as I find one that I want and gives me enough time to save up for everything(flight, cruise, spending money)usually about 1 yr in advance, but we just barely booked for our May cruise.

I would take it on a case by case basis, especially if you've been watching cruise prices the previous season. Sometimes it is better to wait till last minute going to places like Alaska, and cherry pick a good deal. Celebrity has a Bermuda repositioning cruise that keeps going up, and from what I'm told, is always the case. We're going to book it ASAP early next year, for 15 months later. Our upcoming cruise on the Navigator of the Seas, we wanted to try the promenade stateroom, and they sell out too quickly to wait.

If you are going to hold off until a couple months before sail date, I would still keep an eye out for e-mail promotions and price reductions, have the flexibility to lock it in at a good price. If you can move the date, all the better.

We usually book about nine months out. Our next cruise is a B2B and we wanted the same three cabins on both cruises. It was booked in October for our Feb, 2015 cruise. That's the furthest out we've ever booked.

We book 9 months to a 18 months. When we find a cruise we look for the best price and what works with my time off. Cruise for next September we booked November.

Generally like to book about a year in advance also. I especially like to look at the cruise options when new dates, itineraries are released and if something is interesting will book right away.

I book about 12 months in advance while on a cruise to get the $100 OBC. At that point, you can select just about any cabin you want. I book Military and then check pricing every two weeks or so and especially during Carnival sales. If the price goes down, you get the decrease. If it goes up, you don't pay the extra cost. You can do this until final payment which is about 2 months before the cruise. As long as you can live with the price you first book, you have nothing to lose. With Military, you can cancel until final payment. With Early Saver, you get penalized. Using this formulae, I think booking 12 months in advance is a good way to go.

I sail in another month and I received $500 in decreases during the 12 month cruise wait. Got a mid ship balcony on a 12 month old ship and my $100 OBC is posted on my invoice. Now, that's what I call a cruise! You can bet I will be buying another cruise while on this cruise for next years sailing.

Usually a year out for us. Cabin selection is important.

Mom and I cruised in Jan. 2013 and booked in Aug. 2013 for Nov. 2014. We've also already booked pre/post cruise hotels along with FTTF. We like having lots of time to plan and save money. We just have to book flights and a shore excursion. The rest is planning activities in other ports and our packing lists :)

It depends. We have booked a year in advance and learlier this month decided we were already tired of winter and booked one a week ahead for Dec 14.

We do try to do it early enough to do ES.

We tend to book as soon as the itinerary/ship we want becomes available. We are picky about cabin selection & this ensures that we get what we want.

Op if you are very picky to what cabin you are wanting book early like 8 months to a year. we usually book apx a year out and watch prices weekly. The friend that talked me into my 1st cruise told me this only one thing better than going on a cruise is waiting on a cruise. We love looking at the ports and stuff to do then play with different ideals on what to do. But we truly plan so far out due to money we do a budget and save money monthly so we don't fill worse at the end of the cruise due spending lol...

I normally book somewhere between 9 and 18 months out. I am very particular about our cabin. I research on CC to find cabins or balconies that are larger or better in some way and for those you normally have to book early. I keep checking pricing, especially when there are new sales out. Booking early normally gets you a good price but if you check pricing you can take advantage of any new lower prices. We are already looking at summer of 2015 for an Alaskan cruise on Princess. Just waiting for the itineraries to be released for booking. I have my eye on a particular cabin and there are only 2 on the ship.

Back in June my boyfriend and I took a cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival and loved it! We're now thinking of taking another cruise November 2014 but, we're unsure of when to book. Last time we booked 6 months in advance, which was plenty of time to book flights, plan excursions, etc. He thinks booking now, early January, is too soon. I think the sooner the better! When do you usually book your next cruise?

 

 

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We'll be booking our January 2015 B2B while on our January 2014 B2B in order to get the $100 OBC on each cruise. I've already decided where we will go.

We book ES and usually have a lot of OBC from price drops (or reduced price if we still owe on it).

We usually book a year out, within a couple of weeks returning from one.

I book when I find a cruise I like or a price I like. Sometimes it's over a year away or 1 month away

Usually 10-12 months in advance.

usually as soon as we can book our flight on points so that is usually a year!

I book ours 12-18 months out. First off, we live in South Dakota and drive down to NOLA, so we like to make it count by taking a full 2 weeks vacation. We need time to pay for lodging, gas, food, and to pay the cruise itself off. That doesn't even count shore excursions and whatever money we decide to budget on board the ship. I cut the credit cards up in 1998, we live on a cash basis for vacations.

Go for it and book ES (early saver) that way you will get price drops and OBC if the price goes down for your category. If your BF is concerned about canceling for some reason, purchase insurance. We have booked over a year out before. The only drawback is the anticipation!