Questions about booking LAST minute??

[bagzrpacked]

Is there a cut off – when it comes to purchasing a cruise?

I plan on being in Miami in a couple weeks and was thinking that if time permitted, I might take a cruise.

It would be very last minute, if at all.

Is this possible and if so how does it work?

Are prices cheaper?

Thanks for any info!

[biker@sea]

I booked @ 11 pm and boarded 12 hrs later a few months ago .

 

A Last minute price can go up or down or totally sell out at any time .

[bakerintn]

You can't just go to the pier and expect to get on.

 

Booking before 48 hours of departure would be my recommendation, because of the U.S. laws requiring advance passenger manifests be submitted in that time frame.

 

So...try at a week out to see. You could "test the waters" by picking a sailing coming up soon and calling to see if you can get on board. You don't have to actually book it, just ask.

[njhorseman]

You can't just go to the pier and expect to get on.

 

Booking before 48 hours of departure would be my recommendation, because of the U.S. laws requiring advance passenger manifests be submitted in that time frame.

 

So...try at a week out to see. You could "test the waters" by picking a sailing coming up soon and calling to see if you can get on board. You don't have to actually book it, just ask.

 

That's incorrect. The cruise lines have to submit a preliminary passenger manifest 72 hours prior to departure, but the final manifest isn't due until one hour prior to sailing. In theory they can add passengers until that final deadline.

 

From a practical perspective, yes, you can't just go to the pier on the day of the cruise and expect to get on, but cruise lines can and do sell empty cabins until a few hours prior to sailing. As biker@sea said in the post immediately preceding yours, he booked a cruise 12 hours prior to sailing, and Carnival Cruise Lines will book cabins through the morning of departure. You should call the cruise line's central reservations number to make these last second bookings. You can't do it on the website less than about 24 hours prior to sailing, or through a travel agent. Of course there's no guarantee that a cabin will be available that late in the game, but it's not all that unusual to have an empty cabin or two the day before a cruise departs.

[Froggitt]

I booked Saturday morning and boarded Sunday morning. The price was less than people who had booked a month earlier, however very limited choice of cabins. Saying that, all cabins within a category were the same price, so I snagged a family inside, which was twice the size of a regular inside.

[newmexicoNita]

you can book at the last minute (24 hours in advance) but the prices might be higher or lower. yes, you can book at the last minute as well, but don't be surprised if there are no cabins available, if the cruise ship won't work with you or if it is sold out.

[Will Sail For Food]

There are so many cruises that depart from Miami that taking into consideration what people above have said, you should be able to compare and contrast lots of last minute options to see the one that has the best available price and cabins available. Good luck! Spur of the moment trips are awesome.