Last minute deals?

We are new to cruising and unfortunately are tied to the school calendar so we can't take advantage of the deals that are offered during the school year. I recently won some $$ and would like to take the family on a cruise departing from either NY or Boston. It is going to have to be summer of 2015 as my DH won't have enough vacation time in 2016 due to other plans. Does anyone have a recommendation as to when is the best time to book for last minute deals? We are hoping for NCL. Thanks.

We are new to cruising and unfortunately are tied to the school calendar so we can't take advantage of the deals that are offered during the school year. I recently won some $$ and would like to take the family on a cruise departing from either NY or Boston. It is going to have to be summer of 2015 as my DH won't have enough vacation time in 2016 due to other plans. Does anyone have a recommendation as to when is the best time to book for last minute deals? We are hoping for NCL. Thanks.

Sounds like you live between those two ports and do not want to fly. Also, you want a family cruise during a school vacation period. I'm guessing you realize that is also the desire of many other folks. And you want it for about 3-5 months from now. Tall order for a "last minute deal."

Yes to all of the above and I do realize that there are many other folks in the same boat (pun intended). I work in a school, so don't have the option to just pull my kids out during non-vacation time. I also realize that what I may consider a "deal" is not the same as folks that can cruise during any time of year when the prices are considerably lower. I have looked into the pricing for both options and am not unwilling to pay what is currently offered, but just wanted to know if there tend to be any drops as it gets closer to the sailing date. I thought this forum might have folks with more experience in booking cruises who could answer my question. I appreciate your quick response, but I wasn't looking for anyone to tell my that my question was futile.

Sign up on NCL website for their Last minute cruises

You can probably get something about a month before or a week before you want to travel

Check other lines as well

When you see one that works for you book it

Do a search on "last minute cruises" and don't skip the ads.

There are lots of "last minute" so called deals out there, usually 45 days or less before the sailing date if the ship is not filling up. Sign up with each cruise line for last minute deals, check cruise consolidator sites, and good luck.

If you're looking to cruise out of NY or Boston in the summer, there may not be too many 'last minute' deals. There are not as many ships departing from those ports AND with schools out for the summer its prime vacation time for families.

My suggestion is to keep looking now and find a ship/itinerary and price you can live with.

Last Minute promos where sailings need help , may start 30 to 60 days from sailing .

Popular sailings for this summer , you may have already missed the better rates.

Finding a good last minute deal out of Boston or NYC during school vacation is a real long shot. But, it never hurts to keep your eyes open and be ready to make a fast commitment if something develops. Register your e-mail with several reputable cruise agencies so you get their e-mailed special deals (often not permitted to be advertised on the web).

Hank

We are new to cruising and unfortunately are tied to the school calendar so we can't take advantage of the deals that are offered during the school year. I recently won some $$ and would like to take the family on a cruise departing from either NY or Boston. It is going to have to be summer of 2015 as my DH won't have enough vacation time in 2016 due to other plans. Does anyone have a recommendation as to when is the best time to book for last minute deals? We are hoping for NCL. Thanks.

Do you care where you go? The Bahamas would seem like the best cruise to get a deal on in the summer. We did a last minute from San Juan before. The cruise fare was cheap which was good because the air fare was not.:).

If you're looking to cruise out of NY or Boston in the summer, there may not be too many 'last minute' deals. There are not as many ships departing from those ports AND with schools out for the summer its prime vacation time for families.

 

My suggestion is to keep looking now and find a ship/itinerary and price you can live with.

Which are the best ports to search for last minute deals at in the USA? How do the cruises do for assisting in securing airline connections? Are they a rip off or a good deal?

Last Minute promos where sailings need help , may start 30 to 60 days from sailing .

Popular sailings for this summer , you may have already missed the better rates.

So 30 to 60 days out is the window for when deals would come, if they come? Do they get sweeter within a week or less?

Which are the best ports to search for last minute deals at in the USA? How do the cruises do for assisting in securing airline connections? Are they a rip off or a good deal?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So 30 to 60 days out is the window for when deals would come, if they come? Do they get sweeter within a week or less?

In reality a cruise line can't wait that long to fill a ship .

There may be cabins 1 week out but at what rate ?

Just a word of warning - if you are looking for a cabin that can accommodate more than 2 people, they are often limited. So even if you see a great last, last minute sale, you may not be able to take advantage if a cabin for more than 2 people is not available. Likewise, if you are looking for 2 cabins, you may not find 2 available near each other.

In general, there may be discounted prices after final payment because people have opted out of a booked cruise, but you have already passed final payment.

At this point, I would save money with inside cabin(s) and consider it high quality camping for a week. As new cruisers you will probably not be spending a lot of time in the cabin. If you book ahead of time, you will have some time to make other arrangements which can save you money over jumping on your first cruise without any preparation. Some of the things I am thinking of is parking at the pier or a hotel park and cruise package and touring the ports on your own rather than with expensive ship excursions (the cost of which gets multiplied up because you have more than 2 people).

That's a good point about cabins that can accommodate more than two passengers being in higher demand during the summer. It's not just about being able to book one of these cabins (as obviously you won't be able to book a 2-person cabin for you and your kids....and if your kids are much older, say, teen-aged, you might be able to book a second cabin for them, but you'll need to book early because there may not be two cabins close to each other at this point for this summer...unless you ended booking back in March when you last posted here). There's also the total capacity of the ship based on life boat capacity. The ship can not book a passenger in each berth so some of the 3- and 4-person cabins will just have two passengers. After the capacity nears the magic number, you won't be able to book three or more in a cabin.

Waiting for a last minute deal works only if all of these five things are true for you:

1) lowest price is you number one priority over any other consideration

2) you are not tied to one sailing date

3) you can accept a category guarantee

4) you can accept that the price might go up or the ship can sell out before you make up you mind

5) airfare is not an issue.

In your case you are tied to work and school calendars and you need accommodations for a family - as opposed to a couple.

Which are the best ports to search for last minute deals at in the USA? How do the cruises do for assisting in securing airline connections? Are they a rip off or a good deal?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So 30 to 60 days out is the window for when deals would come, if they come? Do they get sweeter within a week or less?

Read the sticky on top of the Cruise Air board. Only you can decide if cruise air is worth it or not.

Very much luck of the draw. We have had three in the recent past-all from either FLL or MIA. A Celebrity 14 day over Christmas, an NCL 10 day over Christmas, and a 7 day Carnival in March (not certain if it was a school break). All were great. Booked about 6 weeks, 3 weeks, and 5 days out respectively.

You need to understand the pricing, decide on a few ships/cruise line, and then watch. Be prepared to book immediately if your 'price' hits. And sometimes it does not so don't get your hopes up. We were hoping for a cruise in late Aug. Looks like occupancy is high, prices are high, and our currency is low. So we passed in favour of a land trip.