Rwasons for Booking Early or Late?

[soxfan2013]

The primary advantage I see of booking early is to be able to pick your cabin.

 

I usually book late, so I don't know about the disadvantages...I don't think there are many penalties for cancelling early?

 

I do realize that promos come and go...can't people cancel their early booking if they see a better rate or promo?

 

Booking early plus constant monitoring seems to provide the best of all worlds?

 

Advice?

[ghstudio]

Depends on the cruise. Some cruises just go up in price over time...book early....eg south america, iceland. If you are going to a more common crusing area like Caribbean or Southern Europe, you may find that waiting brings some lower prices or additional perks because competition and the economy play a bigger part in the price.

 

Celebrity has no penalty for cancelling prior to final payment, but some TA's do have a cancellation fee.

 

Getting the "best" fare is more of an art than a science....take your best shot and sometimes you win.

[soxfan2013]

Sorry for my typo in the headline, but if there's no penalty for cancelling before final payment (which I think is pretty close to departure), what is a single disadvantage of booking early?

Edited November 7, 2015 by soxfan2013

[Calebo]

We booked early because of room and location, and really glad that we did. As Canadians the price of cruising has gone up a lot. Our price has almost doubled. We also booked early as there are a group of us, 8 cabins all together.

[ghstudio]

Prices go up and the best cabins are already booked by others

[AlexDouglass]

Between my and the husband's work schedules, we can't often book anything too far ahead. As a result, I've gotten rather good at juggling one or two ideas we're thinking of at any given time and keeping an eye out for prices. We book our upcoming Reflection week just 10 days ago (leaving next week) and got a fare I'm very pleased with. We did the same with our last longer trip, a Queen Mary 2 TA with a few days in London first (and that was nearly a miracle - I couldn't believe I found as good a hotel room as we did just a few weeks before Christmas on no notice at all). It's all a question of being able to jump when the opportunity arises.

[Cruizen Susan]

Here's an example of our experience with booking early. One and a half years early, to be exact. Sometimes, 2 years out.

 

I booked the Equinox for a 10-night Caribbean. The promo included the drink package, $500 onboard credit, and free gratuities. The total with tax, etc. was $4100. for an Aqua (A1) cabin. The same sailing and cabin is now priced at $7300.

 

We have done very well on very RARE occasion, with last minute cruises too, but they are the exception. Also, we have IMHO the very best location on the ship, from booking early.

 

Hope that helps.

[james'mommy]

We usually travel over spring break so I know the ship is going to be full so we book 2 years in advance. DH likes aft cabins since there are so few they really need to be booked early. Right now I have 2 ships booked for spring break 2017. Royal has a better itinerary but X has better food and perks. There are 5 of us sailing and no one can decide which to choose. We'll probably wait until final payment to make a decision.

[Hlitner]

There is no rule that works all the time. However, for those with flexibility and willing to shop around the "amazing" deals are usually with last minute (inside the final payment period) bookings. We are talking spectacular deals. The reality is that for those wanting to book a specific ship, cruise line and date...you are often going to pay a premium.

 

If you do book early, make sure to monitor the prices and promos for your cruise...and do it on a weekly basis (usually best done on Tues or Wed) for price changes.

 

Hank

Edited November 7, 2015 by Hlitner

[greydog]

Have experience with 26 X cruises, close watcher of price practices ( but book mostly off-shoulder season trips - bang for the buck. ;))

 

I book onboard for the extra perks often a year out to get best cabin selection. I then may switch once or twice later on to diff cruises as my schedule becomes firm - the booking benefits transfer but will adjust OBC if your #days on new sailing changes.

 

I start with OV usually and then check prices frequently as time passes, taking advantage of price drops to upgrade to higher level cabins (before and after final payment).

 

Early booking for Millenium in May saved me $400 pp over price increase 3 months later plus I got a preferred 3112-3144 Cat 6 OV choice by booking early.

 

Summary: big proponent of onboard and early booking AND close monitoring of later price changes. HAPPY CRUISING