How Early Should We Book?

[Beejay4016]

:confused: I need some help from you lovely people with a wealth of experience.

 

We are booked on our first ever cruise on 7 January, Singapore to Hong Kong on the Volendam. It's a birthday treat for my husband as he has a special birthday in January. Super excited.

 

In fact, we are so excited, and we just know that we will love the whole cruising experience, that we are planning on booking a Baltic cruise to celebrate my special birthday in July of next year, also with HAL. Now, at the moment there is an early booking advantage that gives us an upgrade from an inside stateroom to an H category outside (I think that's a porthold cabin - vessel is the Rotterdam). I'm a bit tempted to go ahead and book, bearing in mind that July is such a busy holiday season for the northern hemisphere. However, I'm wondering whether it's wise to hold out until we're on board the Volendam in January and then buying a future cruise deposit, or actually booking the July cruise while on board the Volendam.

 

Any advice about the need to book early for a 14 day Baltic cruise, or whether we are wise to hold off until we're on board and take advantage of the FCD would be most welcome, as would any advice or comments about our intended cruise. :)

[tartanmum]

Sorry I can't give you any info on the booking question. I just wanted to say I would enjoy hearing about your Singapore - Hong Kong cruise when you return. We wanted to the 2012 holiday sailing for that itinerary but for various reasons ended up the 14 night Prinsendam holiday cruise. Hopefully we can do the Singapore/Hong Kong route next year. We've been to Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand in separate trips but it would be fun to string them all together in 1 cruise. Lots to see and do! Enjoy!

[Beejay4016]

Sorry I can't give you any info on the booking question. I just wanted to say I would enjoy hearing about your Singapore - Hong Kong cruise when you return. We wanted to the 2012 holiday sailing for that itinerary but for various reasons ended up the 14 night Prinsendam holiday cruise. Hopefully we can do the Singapore/Hong Kong route next year. We've been to Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand in separate trips but it would be fun to string them all together in 1 cruise. Lots to see and do! Enjoy!

 

Hi Tartanmum. Yes, I'll certainly let you have my thoughts re the Singapore/Hong Kong cruise. As we live in Perth, Singapore is only a 5 hour flight for us and so we've been there quite a lot of times - it's easy enough just for a long weekend - and we've been to Hong Kong three times and love that place, so for us it's great to connect the dots, so to speak. The in-betweens should be interesting (although we may not even bother going into Bangkok) as Cambodia and Vietnam are both places which hold some appeal.

 

We've been to France for a few holidays, and I lived in Germany and England for years, but have never been to the Baltic states or Scandinavia, although my husband went there before I met him. I was a little tempted to do the Carnival Legend out of Dover instead of the Rotterdam one, but I just love the look of those blue bottomed boats. :)

[High Flyer]

I would wait and book while on board in January. While the new FCD changes will cost a little more the on board credit will be greater. This announcement was provided by "chloes nana".

 

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Thanks "chloes nana"

[Krazy Kruizers]

It really boils down to -- how lucky a gambler are you?

If you wait until January, you may get the cabin you want and then you pay the lower deposit and get shipboard credit.

Or you may find yourself in the position of having to book a higher price cabin category.

Rough decision for you.

For me - if money is a problem -- I would book the cruise now.

[Randyk47]

Personally I'm a book early person and when I say early I mean sometimes as far out as two years and typically at least a year. Generally that's not because of early booking discounts, there rarely are early discounts, and more because we want a specific itinerary, time frame, and cabin. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw but I've rarely had a cabin go up or down in price. If it goes up I'm obviously happy that I froze the fare in place. If it goes down, at least down before final payment date, then I have the opportunity to garner some savings. I will admit that part of my early booking tendency is that I discovered years ago that if we didn't plan and book a year more out we'd get overtaken by work requirements. That has gotten a bit better since I'm semi-retired now and we've really only have to plan and schedule Mrs. K's vacation time but it's still a consideration. The other side, maybe the downside, is that we don't have the flexibility to take advantage of "last minute" deals. We don't dwell on it and I really don't know what bargains we may have missed but at least I kind of envy that option.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We always book as soon as possible...

[BumperII]

There is a real advantage to booking onboard. Be careful of those upgrades, especially if you are an inside cabin person.

Depending upon the length of the cruise, the deposit can run from $100 on a week cruise to $1000 per person. on a world cruise. We have learned to watch the fares after booking. We have seen the fare drop as much as $2000.00!! All it took was a phone call from our TA to HAL to take advantage of the reduced fare.

Those port hole cabins that they tell you are an upgrade may not be to your liking. We got stuck in one, and it was so tiny that you had to go out into the hallway just to change your mind!! The upgrade they gave us had two porthole windows, but no place to sit down, neither a sofa nor a chair, only a stool by the vanity. To my way of thinking, the port hole cabins are the worst cabins on the ship.

There are usually three classes of inside cabins, J, K and L. We have been in all of them. Trust me, regardless of the letter class designation, one inside cabin is pretty much like all the rest. The inside cabins on the deck with the walkaround are our favorites. No machinery or public areas directly above or below you. We give thanks to the Rev. Neal, another experienced inside cabin guy, for the tip.

If you are trying to save money, 'guarentees' are a great way to learn what you like and don't like until you find out what fits your cruising style best. We were upgraded favorably on nine of our first ten cruises. Now we know what we like, and are quite willing to pay the extra $100 to pick out the cabin we want.

Any way you go at it, you are going to spend a few thousand on a cruise. You need to spend that money on what you like, not what I like. Nice thing about HAL ships is that there is something for everyone and every budget. A great cruise for me means an economy cabin, several nights at the Pinnacle Grill, and the pricier excursions on float planes, aerial trams, swamp boats and submarines. And if at all possible, aboard the MS Maasdam.

Please, enjoy your cruise. You are not going to get everything perfect the first few times. Once you find out what you like, cruising gets addictive.

Bottom line, we currently have two cruises scheduled, both booked in advance while on a cruise. :)

[RuthC]

I totally agree with BumperII regarding an inside vs a porthole cabin. Take a good look at the deckplans, and see where each of those choices would put you, before you decide that the porthole cabin is preferable. I have been offered the same choice, with the porthole cabin less expensive!, and found the location of the inside cabin was much better for me.

I will say, though, that booking the porthole cabin improves your chances of being upgraded to an outside with a full window. And in that area of the world, a view from your cabin is a nice thing.

I prefer the inside cabins on Lower Promenade. I can get outside---on either side of the ship---in short order. Those views can be so gorgeous!

[PathfinderEss]

To me this is a simple question with a simple answer, book on board so you can get the lower deposit and OBC.

[Alcarondas]

I'm the wrong guy to ask about this; I'm just throwing my own experience out there for comparison purposes.

 

I'm fortunate in that life circumstances usually permit me to travel at the drop of a hat, and I generally take advantage of that. I usually book somewhere between 30 and 90 days out, with 60-75 being the "sweet spot" that offers the best combination of fare and cabin availability (not to mention flight choice).

 

I'm not very fussy about the cabin - I usually book an obstructed-view outside and then make daily supplications to the Upgrade Fairy and hope that she smiles upon me. My record on that is about .500 so far. Worst case scenario is that my window looks out on a lifeboat or a blank wall.

 

I've never done the FCD because I usually have no idea when The Bug is going to bite next. Only once did I ever book long in advance - slightly over a year. I don't think I'd do that again; while it was nice to have something to look forward to, it was also slightly uncomfortable to me to be locked in to something that far away, thus limiting my options in the meantime.

 

In terms of cabin choice, I'll add my voice to the chorus and not recommend the porthole cabins. I'd take an obstructed-view over a porthole any time. In my experience, the no-views still allow plenty of natural light, and do offer some view, even if it requires some creative use of the furniture to see it. ;) Otherwise, they tend to be exactly the same as the full-view rooms in the area. Meanwhile, the porthole rooms are usually oddly shaped and equipped.

[Typhoon1]

The sooner, the better. It always gives you greater choice of cabins. You can pick the cabin you want.

[Beejay4016]

Thank you all for such great responses; I think I'll jot down the main points on a pros and cons list. If I do book now, deposits in Australia are non-refundable and so, unlike you lucky people in the US, if the price does drop considerably closer to the date there's not a lot we can do about it.

 

For our January cruise we have a verandah suite, but for the Baltic cruise we feel that most days are port days and we will be onshore and so an inside suite would be fine. There is also the fact that the cost of flights from Perth to Europe, particularly in July (high season) is pretty high, so we have to add the cost of the airfares to the cruise cost. Also, although we've been to Europe a few times in the past half a dozen years, we will want to spend a few days in Amsterdam pre or post cruise. We will have to show great restraint not to add in a few days in our beloved Paris.

 

I will definitely check out what those portholes are like, though. There is a Carnival cruise from Dover which also appeals, and which is a few hundred dollars cheaper - and for a balcony suite into the bargain - but I love the look of those Dam boats, and dont' particularly want to fly into UK at peak season.

 

Thanks again.:)

[Randyk47]

Non-refundable deposits make a big difference and if that were true here in the US I know we, and probably a lot of other people, would wait until a lot closer to a cruise to book. I've recently come across one of the luxury lines that's recently changed their policy and now charges a cancellation fee if cancelled before the final payment date. From what I can tell it's a flat $200 per cruise. The fee is refunded, actually credited as a future cruise credit, if you book another another cruise within 12 months. So far it only seems to be this one line so hopefully this isn't a trend. It's not a Carnival Corp line.

[Beejay4016]

Non-refundable deposits make a big difference and if that were true here in the US I know we, and probably a lot of other people, would wait until a lot closer to a cruise to book. I've recently come across one of the luxury lines that's recently changed their policy and now charges a cancellation fee if cancelled before the final payment date. From what I can tell it's a flat $200 per cruise. The fee is refunded, actually credited as a future cruise credit, if you book another another cruise within 12 months. So far it only seems to be this one line so hopefully this isn't a trend. It's not a Carnival Corp line.

 

Yes, that non-refundable deposit, which is quite a large one, does make a difference and so really needs to be a consideration when booking. My fear with waiting is that the cruise is July, and while that is winter here it's holiday season for you good folk in the northern hemisphere and I think the cruises - as with hotels etc - fill up pretty quickly. I've been checking hotels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and am amazed how many are already booked out for those first few days of July. I think the timing is my biggest worry - I'm sure booking while on the Volendam is great for the extra benefits, but would hate to miss out on this cruise. Ah, off to see A Chorus Line this afternoon so will at least not have to puzzle over it for a few hours. :)