When do you book?

How much time in advance do you book your cruise? We're contemplating cruising in March 2012. We're casually looking at options now but maybe we should start being a little more aggressive?

thx

I booked for April, 2012 in January, 2011.

wow! is that common?

I'll be next cruising in April; I booked last August. I have to book way in advance as I need a handicap-accessible cabin, and they're in very short supply.

But people book anywhere from last-minute, to years out. It really depends on your personal schedules, how free you are to book way ahead, and whether you want to risk having to cancel if something comes up that will interfere with your cruise.

unfortunately, due to work schedules, we can only go one week in March or the summer.

It varies by personal preference.

I have to fly a lot and what type of vacation and where I want to fly depends on flight prices too. Last minute deals don't work for me. If I wait too long, I may get a good deal (or not) on the cruise, but in my experience I just watch flight prices rise, can't get the last minute vacation time off at work...etc...

Cruise schedules come out before the flight schedules, so I may kind of look at cruises way in advance to get ideas, but like to book flight and cruise on the same day. So in general 5-9 months in advance...Mainly when I see a good flight price, I hop online and book everything at once.

I would just hate to book a cruise and then cancel and choose another vacation option or ship because of the flight to a particular embarkment port, so just do it all simultaneously so that I am 100% sure everything is within the budget I set aside for my vacation.

Usually 4 to 8 months in advance - have to confirm with the manager and co-workers, can't reserve a couple of years in advance :)

We booked our upcoming fall cruise last April and several people had already booked a couple months before us. For us at's all about the great sales that come along. We can pre-plan our vacations at work so this makes it possible for us. The airlines do make a difference but the earlier you can book the better you can watch for great flight fares. The down side is that sometimes you have to cancel because of sudden changes at work or life. We had to cancel our cruise last fall because a work opportunity presented itself for my DW.

Good Luck

There are advantages to booking early and to waiting till the last minute.

By booking early,

you get better cabin choice.

you are assured of being on the ship

if rates go down, you can get the fare lowered

if rates go up you are not affected

lots of time to plan and look forward to the trip.

Waiting,

you can look for cruises that have not sold too well have have great savings.

Even though you get good deals by booking wayy early, I just wouldn't be able to stand waiting a few years to go on my vacation! I would burst from so much excitement lol. But we usually book a month and a half in advance, and we always go during the same week so yeaaa lol

The past three cruises have always been booked about three months prior, booking air at the same time. We always use air miles for air and last year's cruise and this years as well have been all through air miles. those times we had a pretty good selection of cabins available, however this year, being that it's march break time, we still got a balcony that we wanted but would have preferred a room with more space. I checked a couple days after we booked just to see what was left and there was one oceanview and one balcony left!!! With hubby's business, ususally April is the time to go for us, but he needed a break earlier this year, yipee!! But we only just booked this cruise just over three weeks ago! Trying to find airfare was just as tricky!!! Because we wanted to use air miles for flight too, there was very limited options for us.

So, in a nutshell, my advice would be to try and book well in advance!!!

we book anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 years in advance -- that way we get the cabin of our choice

I try to book 9-12+ months in advance. We get better cabin choices that way (usually), can do early saver rates and plan excursions with plenty of time to spare.

Also helps at our jobs when you have to schedule vacation leave with a whole office.

We book at least a year in advance. We get the best cabin selection. I can buy any cruise clothing during the off season. It gives us the ability to ask for the time off from work and coordinate everyone's schedule and gives us time to save up the money...plus, it gives me plenty of time to scope out all the advice on Cruise Critc :D and dream about my vacation during the nasty winter weather!! I'm a planner...

I booked my last one 3 weeks before cruise date. It wasn't something that we have been looking for. There was a sale on a Sunday morning that caught my attention. Checked the airfare and it was even better :D. Then I just booked both of them almost at the same time. I didn't get the deck or cabin location that I like if I could have the choice earlier, but I am happy with what I get as a whole.

I find that there's a tension between having something to look forward to, and "wishing your life away." I think it helps to have a big vacation planned, plus several smaller events throughout the year, so you're not living every day for a vacation 18 months out, kwim?

Having said that, I think we're planning to "stack up" vacations for the next few years, planning something big for about the same time every year, so we have some predictability and ability to plan and save in advance. Right now, we tend to kind of scramble around in January thinking about what we'll do this year, or as summer is ending realize that we want to do something to extend it. We're now at a point in our careers where we can make plans with the assurance that we will likely have the same jobs and will have sufficient seniority to take the time that we want.

Normally many months in advance, but we've had to cancel 2 doing it that way. Last June picked up a last minute trip round N. Spain and France for just 7 nights at a crazy price....I wouldn't risk doing that for something we really, really wanted to do.

I'm just investigating a week in the Caribbean + transatlantic.....for next March....

Jo.

It depends. I'm already booked my March 2012 in June, 2010 -- but we need 4 cabins with 2 of them connecting. So, if you have a group or want connecting cabins, you should book early. Also, I book the refundable rate so I can always cancel and get a full refund before final payment date.

If you need just one cabin and are not picky on cabin location, you can try to hold out for a sale price. But -- I've read other threads where someone held out for a cruise sale price and got it only to find the air fare had gone up even more than the cruise saving. If you can drive to the cruise terminal, and can leave anytime, you have the best options for holding out for a discount price.

Depends on the down payment needed, where I am going. I need as much time as possible to pay for my cruise. As a single mother (one income) we travel as much as possible. I will be booking NCL Jade when I get back off the Enchantment. The Jade is for Nov 2012. It is a European cruise. So 18 mos out for this one is good. ;)

We generally book within 2 weeks of departure.

For our first cruise we booked 60 days out because that was the week we had vacation and because our original plans were cancelled by the tour company due to lack of interest (a tour of Ireland for our 25th wedding anniversary). Our upcoming cruise in Nov. 2011 we booked in January 2011 which was as soon as we could due to my husband's company's vacation selection process.

We have booked as far as two years out a couple of times, other times several months up to a year in advance.

I read constantly about last minute specials, but in reality the fare we pay a year in advance has always been less than the last minute prices. Right now our next cruise is almost $900 less than the list price right now...and those cabins are waitlisted.

We've even had the ability to upgrade and pay less once when we book far in advance, from a regular balcony to a mini suite. I just keep my eye on the pricing and catch discounts when I can (if the line allows it). So to get the cabin we want at a great price, we book in advance. We have the ability to take time off when we request it, never a problem for us, so that is an advantage over other people who can't schedule until later in the game.

How much time in advance do you book your cruise? We're contemplating cruising in March 2012. We're casually looking at options now but maybe we should start being a little more aggressive?

 

thx

We booked our Aug '11 cruise last July '10. We were able to lock in on early saver got Mid-ship balcony for 590 pp that price at last check a few minutes ago is 1044 pp for our category. If anything at worst you would lose minimal dollars if anything changes. We actually had that happen and had to cancel a cruise after final payment but more then 100 days before date I believe we lost the trip insurance fee plus 100. CC was great in helping us.

Another great thing about booking real early is that you can take your time making payments and have nearly everything pre-paid before you leave home.