Last Minute Cruise Deals?

[grammie2maddie]

We have always booked our cruise in the future. However, we can now travel last minute.

 

Can you seasoned cruisers tell us the best way to book a last minute cruise at the best price? We are interested only in HA and would like a room with a veranda or a small suite.

 

Also, we would like a cabana, and we know only 3 ships have those.

 

We thank you in advance for any advice you can lend.

[catl331]

I would say watch the prices for the first week after the normal final payment date for fill-the-ship bargains.

Also, we would like a cabana, and we know only 3 ships have those.

Four have Retreat cabanas (Eurodam, Nieuw A, Noordam, and Zuiderdam) but only the first two have Lido cabanas. After 4/18/16 the Oosterdam will also have the Retreat. Edited August 24, 2015 by catl331

[take us away]

If you live close to a port, you can get awesome deals a few days before sailing. Have a friend who lives in Juneau and she has sailed Alaska twice this season for 7 days each at $300 but called and booked just a few days before sailing.

[ridealot58]

There was a couple I met on a cruise both army retirees they lived in Houston and could be in Galveston in an hour. They were saying that they were on a list from royal Caribbean. Rccl would give them a call with a 4 hour departure window. Balcony,suites,everything greatly discounted. And like the army had bags always packed. Hope that helps

[78232]

More than likely cabanas would not be available when booking at the last minute but the cruise itself could be a real bargain

[syesmar]

This is the first year I haven't booked within the final payment window. I usually book 5-8 weeks out. The last several years, I have not found better rates than when I log in to HAL's website (make sure your preferences are appropriately set under My Account). Any reputable travel agent can give these rates associated with your Mariner number, and they usually offer more perks (OBC, specialty dinners, rebates, etc.). I usually use a popular vacation website that lists sailings in various ways of your choice (region, line, date, 90 day ticker, etc) for ease of searching but rarely of late have they had better prices than logging in to HAL, the difference is usually quite substantial. I have also booked flash fares a few times. I track those we're interested in and also save pricing stats for future reference. I will say that in my tracking this summer the very best rates were not always the last one offered. The "window" seemed to be a bit earlier this year for some sailings than the last few (although one that I had my eye on did drastically drop 4 weeks before sailing). I noticed a few of those on my short list actually went up instead of down in price. It varies by occupancy. Although not an exact science, if I'm interested in a sailing, I'll call HAL to get a ballpark figure of how full the sailing is. If it's filling up quickly, it's less likely the prices will fall too much more. If it's wide open, chances are better they'll go down. But you never know for sure. The HAL rep can tell you when their sale prices (prices in green when you log in) expire. Sometimes I'll hold it on the last day of the sale and see what happens. Sometimes it will renew. Sometimes there will be a new, better sale. This year I noticed, though, there might be a 5 day gap between the next sale (I think the max time a travel agent can hold a booking is 5 days). It might go down, but this year I saw a good number go up (as is the case with my booked cruise).

 

My first several cruises, I used a different travel agency each time, as I liked the various perks. A couple of those agencies buy cabins on some sailings as a group and can offer their own specials. The ones I booked were lower than HAL's lowest price at the time. For the last 4 years, I have used the same travel agent. I'll hold it first with HAL and then transfer it over for the perks. HAL's policy is that your deposit is refundable until Final Payment and will adjust your rate accordingly if the price goes down, and offer credit or upgrades after final payment.

 

What works for us is to narrow down the best options in a short list and keep an eye on them. You can save them as Favorites on HAL's website for easy reference.

 

I wish you the best!!

Edited August 25, 2015 by syesmar

[Sue from Canada]

There was a couple I met on a cruise both army retirees they lived in Houston and could be in Galveston in an hour. They were saying that they were on a list from royal Caribbean. Rccl would give them a call with a 4 hour departure window. Balcony,suites,everything greatly discounted. And like the army had bags always packed. Hope that helps

 

A 4 hour departure window:eek: I could go with a two day notice but not 4 hours. I booked two cruises within 2 weeks of sailing and got (at least I thought I got) a good price. Keep checking.