Early Booking Fair - how early?

[blendedmemory]

I am considering a Caribbean cruise on the Epic (which looks amazing!) but I've never cruised on NCL before and was wondering how early you have to book to get the early booking fair?

 

I am interested in a cruise sometime between January - March of 2011.

 

I'm a 2x Princess cruiser, 1x Royal Carribean cruiser, and 1x Big Red Boat (ha!) cruiser. Any input on likes/dislikes in comparison to Royal/Princess would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

- Leslie

[jswdlw]

I'm interested in knowing more about how and when to get the best bang for your bucks. I have been watching prices on cruises for about 3 months now and I see last minute cruises are good prices. However in my line of business its usually not an option to have a lengthy vacation with a 30 days notice unless I am on the bench.

 

I booked a January 2010 cruise last month and the price hasn't changed. I do not expect it to change until late December or early January.

[Budget Queen]

Myself, I rarely book more than a few months ahead. But, for the long range planners, it is no harm to book when you decide on your trip. Especially if you use a booking agent with low/no agency cancelation fees. THEN, ALWAYS keep track of pricing trends yourself. DO not leave this to any booking agent to do for you. When you see a price drop- (before final payment), immediately contact your booking agent for an adjustment.

[smrtypnts]

I can't speak for last minute cruises, as I am a planner--mostly due to time needed to save. That said, last February I booked PoA for July 2011:eek:

Anyway, one of the advantages is that I truly have the pick of the litter where cabins are concerned. I wanted a stern/aft balcony and I had my choice. I got to choose the deck so that I was between decks with cabins and not above or below restaurants or discos. As the previous poster noted, I've continually checked the prices and have had a number of price drops. I am actually the caretaker for 4 cabins. 2 of them have military discounts. 3 of them have latitudes. 1 has seniors. We've all had various discounts and various price changes, since it's all before final price due date. I check the prices with all these various discounts, etc., practically daily. When I find one that's less I email my TA and get the price changed to my advantage. You do need to pay attention as sometimes you could lose OBC, which may or may not be a better bargain than the price change. If you book through a TA, just make sure they don't charge for price changes and make sure there is no fee if you need to cancel before final payment is due.

[patseacruiser]

Tomorrow is Royal Caribbean's WOW Sale and October 13-20 is NCL's Cruise Night Sale so if you are considering those 2 lines wait for your reduced deposit and on board credit.