Christmas 2015

My family of four (2 balcony cabins) would like to take a Christmas cruise in 2015. What is the best strategy to use to get the best price? I have only traveled on Royal Caribbean, so that is my first choice. Any other suggestions?

You just have to do your research by watching prices. Holiday cruises usually are higher priced, due to popularity. Most cruise lines will honor price drops up to final payment, so there is not really a special "best" time to buy.

At Holiday time, expect to pay premium prices. That said though, savings are available. We booked a holiday cruise at a mall cruise fair and got savings and perks

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I'm going to be something of a downer, but it's my honest assessment of having cruised one year at Thanksgiving -- and I would not do it again:

- The price started high . . . and climbed higher. I'm a price-watcher, and that's the only cruise I've ever seen that steadily rose higher, higher, higher in price. It was the most expensive cruise we've ever taken, and though we did enjoy ourselves, it was not the best value for the money.

- The cruise saled at more than 100% capacity. What that means: If every non-suite cabin sails with 2 passengers, the ship is at 100% capacity. If those cabins sail with a 3rd and/or 4th passenger, the ship is above 100% capacity. Being a holiday week, many cabins had children as the 3rd and 4th passengers, and -- as a result -- the ship felt more crowded at every point: More people at the shows, more people in the buffet, more people crowding to get off the ship.

- Up until that point we had enjoyed traditional dining, but on that cruise -- and this is tied into the overcrowding -- we were not even assigned to the main dining room. Though we had made our reservation more than a year ahead of time, we were assigned to an over-flow dining room off to the side. It felt like being placed at the kids table. It was really the thing that turned us against traditional dining; now, with the more flexibile options, we may get a bad table one night, but we aren't stuck with that bad table for the whole week.

- The cruise wasn't without positives: During the week they put up the Christmas decorations, and they were lovely, but overall, the price and the crowds have made me say, "Never again. No holidays for us."

We have chosen to sail the week just prior to Christmas - the prices are much lower, the ship is nicely decorated and less crowded. I realize that it is not the holiday but we had great time and it was our holiday gift as a family.

we have just booked a B2B on Carnival Breeze. the 6 day before christmas and the 8 day for christmas. the week before is super cheap, but I lucked out for the actual christmas week and found a great deal. i'm super thrilled with our pricing since it just keeps increasing.

Book sooner rather than later. Take advantage of the deals/promos. Dont be particular on rooms/deck. Keep checking!!

Good Luck

We just got back from the Xmas cruise 2014 on the carnival splendor. Xmas cruising is awesome... My kids and mother loved it every bit as much as I did. The cost was significantly more than the originally booked sunshine for a cheap January week but im glad we did it. I just booked rc for next year for my honeymoon cruise. No more carnival or online cruise agents for me...I believe in keeping your word and neither did with regards to OBCs. The cruise itself and ship was great. One caution... holidays include many more kids and the teens are not supervised and many were very obnoxious on our end of the ship.