Best time to book?

[Juicermcurran]

Hello!! 

Beginning the early stages of planning, I’ve sailed only once on Carnival but loved it and have finally convinced my parents, brothers and sisters to take our families on a big Caribbean cruise vacation! 

Just wondering if there is “generally” a better time to actually book the cruise? 

We are looking at the Magic, February 2021. My (SIL is a teacher and has to go during her winter break. 😏)

Do they ever do a “kids sail free” or sales that include gratituties and/or drink packages? 

 Also, is “Early Saver” the one to book for price drops!? 

Our last Carnival was the Liberty in December 2013 and I loved following the price drops and what not. We ended up saving over 300 and got OBC! 

We will have 9 adults and 9 children under 11. 😳

 

Thanks for your help! 

[elcuchio24]

There arent really kids sail free/drink package deals on CCL. Yes, the Early Saver is where if the category rate goes down, you get the difference in OBC. The majority of CCLs seasonal promotions revolve around a lower deposit and/or a minimal amount of OBC.

[Joebucks]

It's tough to know for sure. Cruise pricing is generally around supply and demand. I would say there are two scenarios where you may save:

 

1.) Book very far in advance. The rate can sometimes be lower. You can also take advantage of any price drops in the form of OBC.

 

2.) Be flexible. Some cruises may just not fill up. Being flexible in your timing and itinerary can score you a deal.

[LuckyStar]

2 hours ago, Juicermcurran said:

Hello!! 

Beginning the early stages of planning, I’ve sailed only once on Carnival but loved it and have finally convinced my parents, brothers and sisters to take our families on a big Caribbean cruise vacation! 

Just wondering if there is “generally” a better time to actually book the cruise? 

We are looking at the Magic, February 2021. My (SIL is a teacher and has to go during her winter break. 😏)

Do they ever do a “kids sail free” or sales that include gratituties and/or drink packages? 

 Also, is “Early Saver” the one to book for price drops!? 

Our last Carnival was the Liberty in December 2013 and I loved following the price drops and what not. We ended up saving over 300 and got OBC! 

We will have 9 adults and 9 children under 11. 😳

 

Thanks for your help! 

For a big group, I would book early in case you want particular rooms and maybe together.  Later, that might not be possible.  You can always watch the fares and if they fall, call Carnival and ask for the price drop.  I know others use TA since a TA may be able to get you more OBC.  But I would do it soon. 

[Lee Cruiser]

Personally, I would book as far out as possible.  We typically cruise in April and September.  We have a cruise booked for April of 2021 already.  We try to start with the reduced deposit deals ($50-100 pp) first.  Later we may find some slightly better rates with onboard credit that require higher deposits.  If it is worth it to us we will pay the additional deposit and do the early saver claim form.  Some ships only go up and not down.  We were on the Sunshine last year.  Again, it was booked two years prior at a really great deal.  It never went down in price, only up.  It was several hundred dollars per person higher by eight months out.  With the Magic moving to FL, it will probably be pretty popular.  We have a cruise booked on it in September we have only had one price adjustment.  It has stayed pretty steady. 

[Lee Cruiser]

Sorry, I didn't answer a couple of your questions:  In the years that I have been cruising, I have never seen a kids free offer or included gratuities.  Usually just reduced deposits and/or onboard credit that can be used for drinks, shopping, etc...

Early saver is the rate to book in order to get price protection.

[Juicermcurran]

 Thank you all for your help! We are having a cruise “meeting” dinner this Sunday to finalize plans and then book accordingly! Then we will have 22 months to get excited! 😁

[KyCruiseLady]

Book as early as possible.  We cruise with a large group. It fluctuates year to year, but our 2019 group is around 40 people.  We didn't decide which cruise until around 10 months out, and it was extremely difficult to even get everyone booked.  We have finally gotten everyone on the ship, but we are all spread out in all sorts of rooms. When we saw how crazy it was, those of us confident in going on the 2020 cruise went ahead and chose our ship and booked.  The ability to get rooms we wanted was much, much better. 

[rukkian]

As early as possible, especially if you want rooms next to each.  February (especially late february) starts to be the busy time with spring breaks starting, and booking early will usually save quite a bit of money.

 

If you need lower deposits, then early saver is good, but there are a couple of gotchas - The rate is non refundable, meaning if you cancel, change names, or change dates or ship, there is typically a penalty.  The benefit is normally lower deposit (just means you pay it later), and after final payment, you can still get price adjustments as obc.  

 

If you choose not to use early saver, most of the times the full amount is refundable for any reason until final payment is due.  If you are booking a long ways out, that can be a benefit, and then if you get closer and know you are going, you can switch to early saver (unless they price has gone even higher).

 

Just depends what works better for you.  We booked 16 months out for our cruise next year, and since we several family members going, it worked out, because we ended up cancelling one person already and dropped one of the rooms to save money, and were not out anything.