How early to book an accessible cabin?

My sister-in-law is planning a family cruise for next March or April, but wants to wait for Carnival to come out with a special rate that she's used before. I am in a wheelchair and will definitely need an accessible cabin, so I'm concerned about availability when we get around to booking. Has anyone had any luck getting an accessible cabin 6 months out or so, or do you have to book considerably earlier than that? (I called the special needs dept at Carnival, but they couldn't really tell me much unless I had a specific cruise. All I know right now is they're looking at a 7-day Caribbean cruise sailing out of Galveston.) Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

We always book at least 8 months in advance, after we tried to book a cruise 6 months out and all the HC rooms were taken except for the suites.

The other reason we book early, if prices go down, we call the cruise line and ask for the lower price.

I book as soon as I know the cruise I am interested in. If the price goes down I ask to be re-fared. If the price goes up I am sitting pretty. Regardless I have an accessible room which I could not cruise without.

It also depends on the size of the ship, where you want to go, time of year, etc. I booked an NCL cruise to Bermuda for me and my sister last month and we're going the end of August. My sister requires an accessible cabin. I only had two choices of cabins but did get one. On previous cruises I've booked more than 6 months in advance and as the OP said, until you make the final payment if the price goes down and they redo your booking. I would call on a monthly basis. Last year we saved over $1000.

The best times are now and after final payment. We are currently booked through the end of 2017 in order to have accessible cabins. If you skip very early booking you will have some chance after the final payment date since some will drop out then. Good luck and happy sailing.

Book as early as you possibly can. I tried booking a cruise a year out on RCCL and all accessible balconies and suites were gone.

I'm not on other lines but on NCL if you book more than 9 months our you get double the Latitudes points.

I book at least a minimum of one year out . More often than not I book 1.5 -2 years out with more popular itineraries and popular ships. Than I watch pricing on a regular basis and call for a price adjustment if it drops .

I book my accessible cruises as soon as i see them. I booked out 2016 Alaska cruise the day it came out. I booked it over a year in advance. I got the cabin I wanted and i can wait and see if there is a price drop.

Book what you need as soon as you can....I have been lucky 4 times to find a cabin a few months or after final payment but if you really,really needed to plan with others I wouldn't wait........

Depends on how many accessible cabins there are in your desired category.

For our cruise next April we booked last May, 11 months out, in order to get an accessible cabin in the category we wanted (inside, midship).

Thank you everyone for all the advice! We booked our cruise last week for March 20, 2016, so about 7 1/2 months in advance and did get an accessible inside cabin. I don't know how many they had available -- I was just happy to get one! :) We're at the forward end of the Lido deck, and I've read that the front isn't the best place to be, but I'm kind of excited to have a window, even if we don't have much of a view. I can't wait!

I am waiting for the 2017 Princess Alaska itineraries to come out in December and I wanted to know if anyone has an idea of how quickly I need to book. I will be on the Ruby and it appears there is only one accessible suite on on the ship. I would like to book this and if by some chance I miss it hopefully another suite would be fine.

Darlene

I am waiting for the 2017 Princess Alaska itineraries to come out in December and I wanted to know if anyone has an idea of how quickly I need to book. I will be on the Ruby and it appears there is only one accessible suite on on the ship. I would like to book this and if by some chance I miss it hopefully another suite would be fine.

 

Darlene

As soon as the itinerary is published! You can than continue to monitor for price drops to prior to final payment. Any later you probably won't be able to get the suite and may not be able to get any other suites. Accessible suites and balcony cabins for Alaska book up very fast.

I think when you cruise plays a big factor into availability as well. We typically cruise the week before Thanksgiving, which seems to be a low demand time. This year, we book on Sept 4th for a cruise on Nov 14th. There were many accessible cabins available when we booked.

Years ago....we booked accessible rooms on 3 ships for the same timeframe. It was the popular Hawaii to Vancouver sailing. We weren't sure which we liked the best. One day....my wife said we should choose one and release the other two as there could be folks who might not be able to cruise as we were, in essence, hogging the accessible cabins.

So.......YES!!!.....book the accessible rooms as soon as you're mostly sure you're going then. But, please...please....cancel as soon as you decide you're not going as others might desperately be needing that accommodation.