Is it okay to wait on the tickets?

[Lady Vidora]

Okay, we've decided on the Nov. 25th Grand from Galveston because we can drive there from Oklahoma and it's right AFTER Thanksgiving so there won't be quite as many kids. We want to wait until after Christmas to get tickets...would balcony rooms sell out before then? I don't think we need a mini-suite because we just stayed in a TINY hotel room in Brussels, and we were just fine. DH and I like each other, so I'm sure that helps:D .

Man, it's gonna be a Loooong 12 months!:rolleyes:

[geoherb]

I'd suggest going ahead and booking the cabin you want. As the cruise gets closer, you can switch to another category if you find prices going down.

[cherylandtk]

Lady, you will probably have no trouble finding a balcony almost 11 months in advance, so if you are waiting to book because of money costs, you could do that. However, the deposit is fully refundable, and last week there were many $100 deposit specials being advertised for any 2006 cruise. Check with your TA.

[alolewis]

You can always book because I belive that fares are 100% refundable up until final payment, at least I got a full refund on cancelling a cruise right before final payment was due. I looked on Princess.com but can't find anything on refunds so check prior to sending in any payment. I booked in August 2005 the Nov 4, 2005 Coral sailing and got a balconey guarantee and then paid for an upgrade to mini-suite.

[Pam in CA]

If the price goes down, your TA will get you the lower price (unless it's for new bookings only.) It's not unusual for prices to go down and you to be able to get the lower price.

[Pam in CA]

If the price goes down, your TA will get you the lower price (unless it's for new bookings only.) It's not unusual for prices to go down and you to be able to get the lower price.

[MaryPoppinz]

The time after Thanksgiving and before Christmas is slow for travel. If there's some reason you're holding off on booking a trip for next year during that time period....I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Lady Vidora]

Isn't the initial payment $100 per person? We would just like to wait until after Christmas for that. We won't pay for everything until the deadline, but we want to have it all in the savings account and paid for when we commit. We were in debt a while back (not any more!) and I just don't like unplanned expenses. That's actually why a cruise sounds so nice...we can put money into a ship account, buy excursions ahead of time and just take some spending money.

[cherylandtk]

Lady, the standard deposit is $250 pp for a week long cruise. Every few months Princess offers the TA's reduced deposits of $100 pp. These usually last about a week.