Rolling the 'price dice'...

So my husband and I are doing something we have NEVER done in our 27 years of marriage...NOT pre-planning the heck out of a vacation. Scary but fun, really!

We have a week already approved and we knew we wanted someplace warm. We love cruising and decided why not do what some folks do and hunt for a 'last minute' deal...something after final payment date passes and prices fall?

We don't care about ports cause we're literally just looking to relax and use the ship as our retreat. We may still get off to wander about, but no plans for excursions or shopping trips.

Anyone have some insight as to when the best time to snag the last minute deal will be? Anyone know what the lowest fare for a 7-day inside guarantee is? I know I've seen some cruises get to $399...is that the floor?

I've seen even lower online, usually 3-4 weeks prior to cruise date

There can be some low prices after final payment, no doubt. But there can also be cruises that are sold out as well, leaving you without a cruise.

Do you have your airfares? If you do, you run some risk of having airfares w/o a cruise. If you wait until last minute, the increase for last minute airfares may take a significant bite out of your cruise fare savings.

There can be some low prices after final payment, no doubt. But there can also be cruises that are sold out as well, leaving you without a cruise.

 

Do you have your airfares? If you do, you run some risk of having airfares w/o a cruise. If you wait until last minute, the increase for last minute airfares may take a significant bite out of your cruise fare savings.

Just bought the airfare the other day, so we are committed to FLL.

There's quite a few available staterooms on the HAL cruise we're watching; we're also watching some RCL ships too...about 6 in all.

If we don't get on a ship, no worries. We'll just stay on land and bum around FL for the week. Spring training will be underway and we're big baseball fans.

I did just get a quote from a HAL PCC for $449 for an inside guarantee. For a whole week? Sure I can live with that price.

In our forty+ years of extensive cruising we have snagged some amazing last minute (inside the final payment period) deals. There are a few steps that one can take to enhance the possibilities. First, do not get hung-up on a single cruise line and expand your search to many different lines. Second, register your e-mail address with multiple large (and reputable) cruise agencies. Many of the best last minute deals are never publicly advertised or offered directly by the cruise line. Most lines have found it advantageous to sell off excess inventory (cabins) through various cruise agencies who are not permitted to advertise the specials. So they are sometimes divulged to only those on those agencies own e-mail lists. We use quite a few major cruise agencies (and book with whichever can give us the best deal) and some of the deals can be almost staggering. But in the final analysis, everything depends on supply and demand which means timing and itinerary can be very important factors. If you are looking for a 7 day Caribbean cruise you will usually find the best deals in Sept, Oct, and early January (right after the New Years cruises). There are also often some amazing deals on longer repositioning cruises (our favorite deals).

Hank

Just bought the airfare the other day, so we are committed to FLL.

 

There's quite a few available staterooms on the HAL cruise we're watching; we're also watching some RCL ships too...about 6 in all.

 

If we don't get on a ship, no worries. We'll just stay on land and bum around FL for the week. Spring training will be underway and we're big baseball fans.

 

I did just get a quote from a HAL PCC for $449 for an inside guarantee. For a whole week? Sure I can live with that price.

You have already eliminated (in your mind) many possible deals since you are looking at one cruise line for one port. With an airline reservation to FLL you also would be able to take advantage of deals out of Miami, Port Canaveral (just get a one-way rental car) and there are multiple lines using these ports. The key to getting great deals is expanding your horizons :).

But since you mention Spring Training, that sets off my internal alarms since you might be up against "Spring Break" which is not often the best time to snag good prices or be on any ship :)

Hank

You'll get a cabin on one ship or another at a good price. Be flexible as to cruise line/ship and with all the cabins that will come into Port Everglades the dates you want, there is sure to be a cabin for you. :)

I like your "no plan" plan! Good luck!

You'll get a cabin on one ship or another at a good price. Be flexible as to cruise line/ship and with all the cabins that will come into Port Everglades the dates you want, there is sure to be a cabin for you. :)

Agree. There are 6 ships leaving FLL every Sunday - there will be room for you. The $449 price quoted sounds good - $299-$399 were low prices in the fall, and the springtime is usually higher. Best and lowest prices are about 3 weeks out. Best to snag a hotel room now, as those do book up. And do look at Miami too - easy shuttles to get there from FLL airport.

You have already eliminated (in your mind) many possible deals since you are looking at one cruise line for one port. With an airline reservation to FLL you also would be able to take advantage of deals out of Miami, Port Canaveral (just get a one-way rental car) and there are multiple lines using these ports. The key to getting great deals is expanding your horizons :).

 

But since you mention Spring Training, that sets off my internal alarms since you might be up against "Spring Break" which is not often the best time to snag good prices or be on any ship :)

 

Hank

Thanks Hank...we are looking at Miami as well...even Tampa. Port Canaveral is certainly a possibility...I actually put a chart on the fridge with about 10-12 itineraries and the current pricing, just to keep track of what's out there. We're four weeks before Easter so early enough from 'true' Spring Break for most families.

Its just so weird knowing I'm going on vacation in a few weeks and have no clue what I'll be doing....

Agree. There are 6 ships leaving FLL every Sunday - there will be room for you. The $449 price quoted sounds good - $299-$399 were low prices in the fall, and the springtime is usually higher. Best and lowest prices are about 3 weeks out. Best to snag a hotel room now, as those do book up. And do look at Miami too - easy shuttles to get there from FLL airport.

You are braver than I am! we bought our flights last August to FL for the 14th of March and then started scoping out cruises............the one we really wanted was the Eurodam eastern Caribbean and it started out at $899 for an inside cabin. Having sailed on HAL before, I knew the prices would drop .........I began watching it weekly. We get flyers and letters almost weekly! Right after Christms it had dropped to $599 per person. Last week I logged on and snagged an inside cabin for $499 per person. The lowest I have ever paid was $449 back in 2005 on HAL. We prefer to cruise only on HAL as our experience on Carnival was horrendous. So, we are set, and I feel got a good price..............if I was really brave, I would wait til closer to sail time, but as we are flying down from Vermont, I knew I had to snag the airfare back when it was cheapest! Good luck!

I'm a solo cruiser. Therefore I have to pay the burdensome supplement. So I ALWAYS wait until after final payment to book and, FWIW, I've never yet been shut out. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

I already have my flight to FLL and pre-cruise lodging booked in FLL for an Amsterdam repo that I want, sailing in May. That's FIVE months out now and I'll start looking at cruise prices approximately one month out.

But in fact I also do a lot of dummy bookings all along just to make sure that there will likely be staterooms available in the class that I prefer. Some day on some cruise I suppose it'll happen that those staterooms may be getting full early. At that time I guess I'll have to grab what I can at the going price. But, again, I've been lucky so far.

Anyway, that's the way I do it. Hope this helps.

ms mayor...I say go for it. You have a reasonable back up plan.

This is what we do now. We have snagged cruise deals one week prior to sailing. We are picky though since our strong preference is a balcony. We keep an eye out for several ships, several cruise lines. We used to plan every trip down to the ground but not any more. In fact we are 'winging it' right now in our SE Asia travels. It takes time to change your mindset to this mode of travel...at least it did for us. But, there are usually unexpected rewards that surpass the monetary benefits.

For future reference, cruising with a return just before Christmas is about the cheapest we have found even without late booking discounts. Then you can add in the late booking discounts for another savings. There were about 30 people who snagged an 11-day cruise on HAL for $500 per person but they did book about 4 days before departure - they were quite vocal on their deal which was kind of cute as they were all seniors from NY who lived in a retirement community close to FLL.

Thanks all for your comments...

Right now I have a chart posted on my fridge of all the ships leaving FLL/Miami/Tampa/Port Canaveral on the weekend we arrive. I went to one of those websites that lists all the ships in port on a particular day and made the list of possibilities.

At the bottom of my list is Carnival and NCL. We've been on Carnival before and not a particular fan of the overall atmosphere of those ships (and on vacation, we want to feel GOOD about where we are) and hesitant on NCL. I have RCL on the list but won't consider Oasis or Allure...I have zero desire to be on those enormous ships.

At this point in our lives, we remain tied to specific vacation weeks and due to the work my husband and I do, we can't take advantage of all the great deals before or after the holidays. That will wait for retirement.

I'm taking Hank's advice and contacting agencies. I've already found one that has a stateroom price cheaper than what I see on line...

We were told by a few people who lived in a Florida retirement community that a travel agent comes by their complex from time to time to offer them last minute specials. We met them on an early Dec. Caribbean cruise.

The people we met said it was sometimes cheaper than staying at home. One of the couples told us that their bags are always packed an ready to go!

Good for them...they deserve a break.

We have several times booked airfare before booking the cruise. So far it's always worked out - but we know that may not always be the case.

We are in the process of doing the same for a rather exotic sailing and are willing to eat the airline change fees if things don't work out. Based on history to book the cruise now is MORE THAN DOUBLE what it is likely to be after final payment. I am not concerned with getting the "Cheapest" fare, just a "Fair" (yes, in my opinion) fare.

Please come back after you book and let us know how it worked out. Just my two cents - we really like the Westerdam in the Caribbean.

HAL had a 7 day Caribbean cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for $199 and a 14 day cruise out of a Tampa for $599 in late Nov14, early Dec14 ! Those fares were available for 2-3 days only.

USD $449pp was the price we paid for the Eurodam 7-night over Christmas. We booked it 2 weeks prior to sail date.

USD $449pp was the price we paid for the Eurodam 7-night over Christmas. We booked it 2 weeks prior to sail date.

The PCC I am working with at HAL told me that pricing may very well be the bottom for the time frame we are looking. Since it is within a month of Easter, bookings are stronger and the need for bigger drops isn't there.

Considering the rates I've seen for hotels in FLL and some of the surrounding areas, that rate for a cruise still represents a great bargain. Room, food AND entertainment for 2 for less than $200/day? Not bad...not bad at all.

Book after final payment if you are agreeable to a guarantee cabin which could be fabulous or not so great. The longer cruises rarely are sold out, so booking airfare for some exotic adventures should not be a problem. Since we haven't figured out how HAL does guarantee balcony assignments (we are four star mariners), we take a chance. One cruise we had a balcony across from the captain of the ship, another cruise we were over the aft deck which was very noisy. The money we have saved, however, by booking late, has been substantial. Everyone has their own comfort zone, the 39 days above chairs scraping, staff moving furniture, the band setting up, could have been too much for some people. One cruise we had a cigar smoker next to us, and it was a very nice cabin and location. He loved to smoke that smelly thing every time we left port. Go figure..........

There is a website out there that tracks historical fares on each ship down to the cabin category. I'm not sure that we can post the names on here so I won't. That may be helpful to you in making your decision. As others have said, it is about supply and demand. We are booked on a 12 day Celebrity cruise in May that will visit Italy and Croatia. That cruise has gone up about 25% since we booked last summer.

There is a website out there that tracks historical fares on each ship down to the cabin category. I'm not sure that we can post the names on here so I won't. That may be helpful to you in making your decision. As others have said, it is about supply and demand. We are booked on a 12 day Celebrity cruise in May that will visit Italy and Croatia. That cruise has gone up about 25% since we booked last summer.

I've found that Celebrity is much more loyal to early bookers. They seem to value people that commit early. Hal doesn't seem to.

You were right not to mention that site. It's a no no:).

Don't know about that. Our last four Celebrity cruises- three in the Med and the last one a 14 day Christmas Carib cruise were all booked just prior to, or within the final payment window. Same with our RCI Med cruise this past October. All booked at very attractive rates, well below prior rates and below competing ships at the time of booking.

Currently have our eye on a HAL, a Celebrity, a Princess, and 2 RCI sailings for March. We will book the first one that has an attractive offer. If not we will revert back to our land based plan. Unlike many others we have a great deal of flxibility in our schedules.

Based on past experience Celebrity drops first with a Tuesday special, followed by HAL, then Princess and RCI. But, it is really a supply and demand driven price curve. Anything can happen including a price increase in the final payment window.

We're four weeks before Easter so early enough from 'true' Spring Break for most families.

My college's Spring Break IS four weeks before Easter. (It's a FL college, too.) My guess is that many colleges are off that week or close by. K-12 schools around here have theirs a couple of weeks later. You may be competing against college students also looking for deals.