what is the latest you can book last minute NCL cruise

Got some family that thinks the price is gonna bottom out, 26 days to go to the Dawn. Whats the absolute last minute you can book? i think common sense is 48 hours out.

I think that their cut off because of the Feds is 3 days (72 hours).

sounds great thank you sir.

I think that their cut off because of the Feds is 3 days (72 hours).

No...the final passenger manifest isn't due until one hour prior to the cruise departure and in theory (although not in actual practice) bookings could be made until shortly before that time. In fact Carnival allows bookings to be made via direct phone call to their reservation line as late as the morning of departure. The latest I've seen NCL cruises available for booking is about 24 hours prior to sailing.

No...the final passenger manifest isn't due until one hour prior to the cruise departure and in theory (although not in actual practice) bookings could be made until shortly before that time. In fact Carnival allows bookings to be made via direct phone call to their reservation line as late as the morning of departure. The latest I've seen NCL cruises available for booking is about 24 hours prior to sailing.

NCL ships rarely sail with a lot of empty rooms. I know that not all cruises sell out but statistically most do. The deep discounts begin usually about 3 weeks before departure. I have noticed in many cases that as the deep discounted rooms begin to sell they slowly rise in price to pre-fire sale prices, unless of course they have a ton of cabins open. Many people have chimed in over the years and it seems apparent the best time to book is 2 weeks out.

Not a definite more a guideline based on past performance and pricing levels.

The day before. Have done it.

I've booked last-minute NCL cruises 5 days out (in 2008) and around 30 days out (in 2010 and 2012). In all three cases I've gotten the lowest last-minute price. With the 2010 cabin, the price dropped for about 24 hours and then went back up. I watch the last-minute deals every year and have found the fares from Miami and Fort Lauderdale are usually more deeply discounted than the fares from Tampa.

Unless your family member lives within driving distance of the Port of Tampa, he/she should remember that last-minute airfare into TPA could offset any savings from the last-minute cruise deals.

Most of the time we book 2 or 3 days before a cruise.

We have booked at 23 hr's before sailing.

 

Unless your family member lives within driving distance of the Port of Tampa, he/she should remember that last-minute airfare into TPA could offset any savings from the last-minute cruise deals.

Excellent point. I've noticed this myself.

Booked on a Monday night for the following Friday departure. Initial manifest has to be turned in to the Department of Homeland Security 72 hours prior. THE FINAL Manifest is due 60 minutes before departure.

You can actually book the day before.

I've known of people getting rooms at the port the day of , in the past not sure what homeland security is doing now.

But the last 3 DAWN cruises have been BOOKED full , our cruise 01/27/2012 was booked full as of 01/10/2013 except 1 suite, so if they are wating that long, tell them not to pack there bags until it booked.

on your cruise 02/10/2013 -- only inside rooms, and suites available --- no more Balcony's on oceanviews

I've known of people getting rooms at the port the day of , in the past not sure what homeland security is doing now.

 

But the last 3 DAWN cruises have been BOOKED full , our cruise 01/27/2012 was booked full as of 01/10/2013 except 1 suite, so if they are wating that long, tell them not to pack there bags until it booked.

on your cruise 02/10/2013 -- only inside rooms, and suites available --- no more Balcony's on oceanviews

Didn't check to see if Jan 6 was sold out, but the ship seemed to be packed. We got a rock bottom price in October and then price was somewhat higher when I checked back a month later.

I've known of people getting rooms at the port the day of , in the past not sure what homeland security is doing now.

 

But the last 3 DAWN cruises have been BOOKED full , our cruise 01/27/2012 was booked full as of 01/10/2013 except 1 suite, so if they are wating that long, tell them not to pack there bags until it booked.

on your cruise 02/10/2013 -- only inside rooms, and suites available --- no more Balcony's on oceanviews

What you're talking about (booking at the cruise terminal on embarkation day) went away after 9/11. You can't do it under current security requirements. You will never be admitted to the terminal without some evidence of already being booked on the cruise.

Do you book flights in to FLL/MIA and then just wait to see which cruise departing from either port comes down to your price range?