Last minute cruises

[MandynJim]

I have a week off in July and I was wondering about last minute cruises. I can wait until a day or two before, do they offer deals trying to fill rooms? and how would I find out about them? Thanks!!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I would call up Carnival and ask ...

[HMH G]

I've heard last minute cruises can have the best deals. I'm not one to plan a vacation too far in advance so our recently booked Carnival cruise 6 months out feels weird to me.

 

Our last cruise was booked less than 1 month in advance. I'm not sure that we got a fantastic deal, but we did grab the last 2 balcony cabins available =)

[Shipbound]

I would go for it, last minute cruises are great if you live close enough to the port to drive but if you have to fly airfare maybe costly.

 

Gary

[firefly333]

I have a week off in July and I was wondering about last minute cruises. I can wait until a day or two before, do they offer deals trying to fill rooms? and how would I find out about them? Thanks!!

 

Last minute to Carnival is after final payment.. by a day or two away, you will be lucky to find a ship during the peak summer months not sold out... unless there is a hurricane, then you might find a deal to ponce on. I am listening for weather related deals like others are .. but you cant predict them

 

How do you find out .. you just look at carnival.com or any other site. (remember no TA site can advertise less than Carnival.com ... so the rates will all be the same you see in public)

 

Here is the hacked TA link to pack n goes.. you can see how expensive even "last minute" rates are .. its summer. expect to pay thru the nose.

 

These start wednesday.. and I jump on them if they are great rates, the ones still left by friday (they dissapear at midnight tonight) are the ones that didnt book up.

 

https://www.goccl.com/content/specials/documents/PKGO.pdf

[Sailfish]

We are going on the Carnival Dream a week from tomorrow; booked this cruise almost a year ago. When it came time to purchase airfare, we made the decision to extend our trip by one week in the Orlando area for business reasons. Our week two plans sort of fell apart about a month ago, so I began to investigate themepark resort packages and last minute cruises. I called Carnival driectly a couple of weeks ago, and found an awesome deal on a 5 night cruise on the Paradise - for about $50/night - inside room. As this option was less than spending 5 days in Orlando, guess what we have decided to do? We are now heading to the Paradise, which sails out of Tampa after we disembark the Dream. Probably not the most ideal arrangement, as we have to rent a car, but we will make it work. BTW: the price included the port fees!

 

Anyway, I saw nothing online anywhere close to that price - I simply called up Carnival's 800 number and booked it on the spot. Maybe I got lucky; perhaps the fact that I already had a cruise booked the week before may have helped. Just wanted to share my experience.

 

Suzi

[firefly333]

We are going on the Carnival Dream a week from tomorrow; booked this cruise almost a year ago. When it came time to purchase airfare, we made the decision to extend our trip by one week in the Orlando area for business reasons. Our week two plans sort of fell apart about a month ago, so I began to investigate themepark resort packages and last minute cruises. I called Carnival driectly a couple of weeks ago, and found an awesome deal on a 5 night cruise on the Paradise - for about $50/night - inside room. As this option was less than spending 5 days in Orlando, guess what we have decided to do? We are now heading to the Paradise, which sails out of Tampa after we disembark the Dream. Probably not the most ideal arrangement, as we have to rent a car, but we will make it work. BTW: the price included the port fees!

 

Anyway, I saw nothing online anywhere close to that price - I simply called up Carnival's 800 number and booked it on the spot. Maybe I got lucky; perhaps the fact that I already had a cruise booked the week before may have helped. Just wanted to share my experience.

 

Suzi

 

I think a lot of people dont know how to search for all the rates to show up, or they miss sales, or dont check the box for their state or that they are seniors ..thats why calling up helps them locate deals they dont find on their own.

 

there are very very few deals that are unpublished that you would need to call to find them if you knew how to search and find all the rates imo.

 

I find a super rate .. then I call my PVP .. she has NEVER .. not once found a cheaper rate than I pointed out to her. She said she will look for rate drops .. I found the only ones so far (and she is a great PVP, Im just more diligent and can look more hours for only my rate, she is looking for all her clients).

 

Maybe people need to try some TA sites to find these rates they dont see, dig a little deeper .. I know Im a dig dig dig person when it comes to cost.

[mondello]

MandyNJim will most likely not find anything available if waiting until 1 or 2 days before they wish to cruise, CCL will already have done everything in their power to have their ships sold-out by then. SuziSailfish was successful by searching nearly a month before she wished to cruise. More importantly, she was very flexible, being able to cruise from any port in Florida.

[MandynJim]

Thanks, it is feasible for me to drive to all of the Florida ports and the New Orleans port. I am 3 hours from Jacksonville, 4 hours from Canaveral and Tampa, 6 hours from Miami and New Orleans. I already have 3 cruises booked so it isn't a big deal for me to wait but if I can find a quickie than that would be great, but it would have to be a great deal. Just was wondering if I called up the day before and asked if there are any rooms still available what kind of deal can you give me if its worth it I would do it, if not oh well.

[mondello]

Thanks, it is feasible for me to drive to all of the Florida ports and the New Orleans port. I am 3 hours from Jacksonville, 4 hours from Canaveral and Tampa, 6 hours from Miami and New Orleans. I already have 3 cruises booked so it isn't a big deal for me to wait but if I can find a quickie than that would be great, but it would have to be a great deal. Just was wondering if I called up the day before and asked if there are any rooms still available what kind of deal can you give me if its worth it I would do it, if not oh well.

While it won't happen often that you can just call up and book, I'd imagine there are always a few last minute, emergency cancellations. Half the battle is over since you already live in Florida. I'd guess it might help if you had a great PVP looking out for you right now.

[Sailfish]

I actually asked (when I booked the cruise on the Paradise) about last minute bookings - within a day or two of the saildate. I was told they no longer sell any cabins that late - it was some sort of homeland security law they quoted me. I was told that the cruise line's idea of "last minute" is within 30-14 days of sailing, which worked out for me in this instance.

 

I also asked about no-shows, etc. and what happens if a room becomes available at the last second - I was told that passengers can upgrade on the ship to these cabins and pay the difference, or they simply hold onto the empty room and make it available in the event someone needs to change cabins. But I was also told that ships always sail full - it's required by their revenue department, so according to the agent who helped me, they keep lowering the price starting at 30 days out till the ship is sold out. She said, ALL Carnival ships sell out - meaning it may not aways sail full capacity, but sails with all cabins paid in full. Not sure how accurate this information is - I am not professing to be an expert. I am only repeating what I was told by a Carnival rep - and we all know their track record is not always great!

 

Good luck!

 

Suzi

[Sailfish]

I think a lot of people dont know how to search for all the rates to show up, or they miss sales, or dont check the box for their state or that they are seniors ..thats why calling up helps them locate deals they dont find on their own.

 

there are very very few deals that are unpublished that you would need to call to find them if you knew how to search and find all the rates imo.

 

I find a super rate .. then I call my PVP .. she has NEVER .. not once found a cheaper rate than I pointed out to her. She said she will look for rate drops .. I found the only ones so far (and she is a great PVP, Im just more diligent and can look more hours for only my rate, she is looking for all her clients).

 

Maybe people need to try some TA sites to find these rates they dont see, dig a little deeper .. I know Im a dig dig dig person when it comes to cost.

 

 

You got that right about me...no clue where to look! I simply don't have time to keep searching - much easier to call. That said, I often find good prices like this, when I am flexible. But with Carnival, I usually get the best prices by booking early - I figure I can always cancel if the trip does not work out. That cruise on the Dream next week that I booked last year cost me a lot less than I could find it a month ago. I think the port, the popularity of the ship and itinerary has a lot to do with sale pricing. Though in the summer, you would think all voyages would sell out long before the saildate.

[firefly333]

You got that right about me...no clue where to look! I simply don't have time to keep searching - much easier to call. That said, I often find good prices like this, when I am flexible. But with Carnival, I usually get the best prices by booking early - I figure I can always cancel if the trip does not work out. That cruise on the Dream next week that I booked last year cost me a lot less than I could find it a month ago. I think the port, the popularity of the ship and itinerary has a lot to do with sale pricing. Though in the summer, you would think all voyages would sell out long before the saildate.

 

I happened on a deal in July for next summer .. never went in July.. Hoping its not miserable hot.. but I need one more to fit in to get to milestone before my carnival cruise to hawaii .. so Im being pretty flexible. .. its not like me to already book next summer.

[mkayius]

Why last minute cruise deals are getting so hard to be found these days. I mean, two or three years ago things were pretty different....

[firefly333]

Why last minute cruise deals are getting so hard to be found these days. I mean, two or three years ago things were pretty different....

 

I read thru that, and except for mentioning that last minute means within a month and that florida gets more deals and more deals off season .. I see nothing.. very general. Seems geared towards someone brand new with little knowledge and not specific to any cruise line. Certainly doesnt explain to me why last minutes deals are so hard to find this year .. say vs even 2 years ago.

[theolsenfamily]

If you live close to a port, go for a last minute cruise, of course they want a full ship if possible, so you might get a good deal. I wouldn't take a chance going across the country, and having to find out there are no good deals..