Any tips when booking a cruise ??

We have only been on 2 cruises , and booked both with the cruiselines .. 1 at NCL and 1 at CCL, with Carnival as price went down, we got obc, with Norwegian, we got room upgrade and then later got 3 free dinners at specialty restaurants ... now we are looking at another cruise before May i guess, but, the prices are up, and down, up, and down ...

Do you all book with cruiselines or with agencies like AAA or other places ...

It seems like when we have booked at cruiseline, they throw in stuff to make up for price drops ... the obc is nice, cause we tend to spend money on the ship, and actually last cruise we put money in an obc as well ...

We was ready to book actually the Sun again for an April sailing, 2 days later the price went crazy again, We want to book somewhat in advance, to schedule vacation time at work ... so, what do you guys do ??? :)

I book as early as possible through my local TA simply because it saves time and as a Latitudes member I get double the points if I do..

With early booking I can get the cabin I want before they sell out..

As for prices I watch carefully before final payment is due and rebook at the lowest price.

I have already booked my 2016 cruise for Alaska even though the prices are extremely high.

They will come down before my final payment is due in Feb of 2016.

As for now I have the cabin I want and I have my Email Alerts set up for Price drops as soon as they become available...

If they don't I have an alternative cruise location picked out as a backup...

That's just how I roll....

We have only been on 2 cruises , and booked both with the cruiselines .. 1 at NCL and 1 at CCL, with Carnival as price went down, we got obc, with Norwegian, we got room upgrade and then later got 3 free dinners at specialty restaurants ... now we are looking at another cruise before May i guess, but, the prices are up, and down, up, and down ...

Do you all book with cruiselines or with agencies like AAA or other places ...

It seems like when we have booked at cruiseline, they throw in stuff to make up for price drops ... the obc is nice, cause we tend to spend money on the ship, and actually last cruise we put money in an obc as well ...

We was ready to book actually the Sun again for an April sailing, 2 days later the price went crazy again, We want to book somewhat in advance, to schedule vacation time at work ... so, what do you guys do ??? :)

Everyone books differently and you're probably going to get a wide variety of opinions.. But for me, I don't watch the prices. It can drive you crazy if you're trying to book based on a price. Its like trying to book a flight on the "its lower on tuesday at 3pm" myth. We just book based on when its available and where we want to go. Of course price matters, but Im not going to sit and watch it. Ill even shop other cruise lines and see if theres a better price for the same itinerary, but thats about it.

I know a some people on here do book based on price watching or sales, but thats just not me (or many other people on here).

Im just happy to book a cruise at a good price and don't look back.

Im also the kind of person that books only thru the offering agency. So Ill book thru my NCL PCC and she takes care of me. I also only book my flights thru the airline. Having one bad experience with orbitz leaving us stranded in copenhagen will make me swear off third parties for good. ;)

We have only been on 2 cruises , and booked both with the cruiselines .. 1 at NCL and 1 at CCL, with Carnival as price went down, we got obc, with Norwegian, we got room upgrade and then later got 3 free dinners at specialty restaurants ... now we are looking at another cruise before May i guess, but, the prices are up, and down, up, and down ...

Do you all book with cruiselines or with agencies like AAA or other places ...

It seems like when we have booked at cruiseline, they throw in stuff to make up for price drops ... the obc is nice, cause we tend to spend money on the ship, and actually last cruise we put money in an obc as well ...

We was ready to book actually the Sun again for an April sailing, 2 days later the price went crazy again, We want to book somewhat in advance, to schedule vacation time at work ... so, what do you guys do ??? :)

A TA should be able to get you a better deal than going directly through the line, and also be able to upgrade you/get you OBC when the price drops. Be careful, when upgrading/getting later benefits, to clarify if your existing promos will transfer.

We decide where we want to go first; then we look over the various cruise lines and ships that travel in that area when we can go. Then the research goes to what the ships offer, time in ports, and eventually gets to price, especially what is included and what is extra, and special offers.

Often the research includes reading various forums, talking to cruising friends, and recommendations from our TA.

Having done a lot of research, we typically book as soon as the cruise lines open the new season's listings. Attempt to get the opening low price (does't always work, but worth a try)

How do you setup alerts?

Thanks

this is how i score good. If you book more then 9 months in advance you will see a good prices range depending on how long and where you want to go and which departure port. My friend told me a secret that any inside cabin should be a price range from $100 to $ 120 USA dollar per person per day. if you got the price in the range grab it. Just watch the website at least once a week to see if it drop. I ask NCL and they said you can drop as many as you want till final pay date. If the price drop after final pay date, you have chance to get a better room then you booked. If you see a price less then $100 USA dollars you getting a bargain. Don't add the port charges and tax when you looking for prices. Those two items you can't change. I give you my history. I booked this cruise in Feb 2014 and i got in the price range for nine day cruise. Later NCL gave an extra day to us due to eliminating the cruise to nowhere the day before the cruise. That was big thumb up. Later few months later the price drop more then 50 USA dollar. We change that price plan and got OBC. There was few time the price drop like extra 10 to 20 Usa dollars, but we didn't care at the time because it was nothing to us and we don't want to risk losing the 50 dollars oBc.The website was fluctuating up and down all the way till final pay date. i am happy that i was able to lock in at the price i was dropped the lowest i can. After the pay date i would keep an eye on it because you can be book to bottom of the ship. if the price drop more then what you final pay date was you may have a chance to move to top of the ship. That what happen to me today. I was assign to deck 4 then moved to deck 11. Also after final payment just remember don't argue with the representative like some people on here telling us how unfair it is. You made agreement that you lock in at set price. . That what i did and i played cool all the way. If the NCl representative said it went up and the website still show something different call back later on the day and hopefully you get someone who know their stuff. That what i had to do and it work. Good Luck to You. I hope all this help. if you need to know the price range in other cabin category, i don't because i won't spend that kind of money. TIP, If you book to travel agent and they see price drop , they may not be telling you this because they want to keep the commission high. They will never return your difference.

TIP, If you book to travel agent and they see price drop , they may not be telling you this because they want to keep the commission high. They will never return your difference.

I was in agreement with a lot of what you were saying until your last point. I can't imagine any TA doing this. It would be extremely short-sighted of them to pocket what would amount to a few dollars commission and jeopardize the client relationship and future business.

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well that what i heard from a friend who know someone who work in TA. Beside this TA does work in special area. I can't tell you who she deal with. But that what she told my friend and that how i know some TA are doing. That why it important we all help each other out. There are tons of scammers out there you don't know about. It just a word of caution to take extra step to make sure you know what right and what wrong.