Last minute bookings

[disneynan]

Has anyone had good luck with last minute bookings? I’m looking at NCL Boston - Canada for August 2023 and the prices are high! Thinking about waiting until the last month to book as I can’t imagine this is a popular cruise and schools will be in session during my travel dates. Has anyone had luck - good or bad - doing this?

[CruiserBruce]

They wouldn't sell a cruise that didn't have a reasonable chance of selling out. Just looked a few minutes ago at a HAL cruise on the same route, at the same time...the suites are sold out.

 

There are a good number of people who will swear by booking last minute...so it does work. But does it work every cruise? I doubt it. Are you picky about cabin category or location? You may not get your choice. You will have a chance of a good deal, but I am not sure I would bet on it.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, disneynan said:

Has anyone had good luck with last minute bookings? I’m looking at NCL Boston - Canada for August 2023 and the prices are high! Thinking about waiting until the last month to book as I can’t imagine this is a popular cruise and schools will be in session during my travel dates. Has anyone had luck - good or bad - doing this?

Have never waited to book. I like to choose my cabin with care: had a guarantee through booking with a mailorder travel agent, ended up under the BBKing lounge! Never again. Boston to Canada is quite popular and when I was growing up in the Northeast, school started the Wednesday after Labor Day!

[SuiteTraveler]

2 hours ago, disneynan said:

Has anyone had good luck with last minute bookings? I’m looking at NCL Boston - Canada for August 2023 and the prices are high! Thinking about waiting until the last month to book as I can’t imagine this is a popular cruise and schools will be in session during my travel dates. Has anyone had luck - good or bad - doing this?

Look around at online travel agencies and you should see better prices than on NCL's website. For example, just perusing and the Sept 1 sailing is cheaper than late August.  But, these cruises do tend to sell out, so if you wait, you may be SOL.

 

[SuiteTraveler]

Just now, SuiteTraveler said:

Look around at online travel agencies and you should see better prices than on NCL's website. For example, just perusing and the Sept 1 sailing is cheaper than late August.  But, these cruises do tend to sell out, so if you wait, you may be SOL.  

I also want to point out some of these are tender ports and they do get cancelled from time to time. I just went in late September and we missed 3 of the ports: Newport, Bar Harbor and Halifax.  2 were because of rough seas making tendering dangerous, 1 was because of the hurricane.  We didn't mind but you might.

Just now, SuiteTraveler said:

 

 

[Hlitner]

While we generally book our cruises pretty far in advance, there have been a few times where we have done last minute bookings with amazing results.  The best last minute deals are not advertised and will seldom be found on a cruise line's web site.  They are handled by some reputable cruise agencies (and sometimes consortiums) who help the cruise lines quietly unload excess inventory without causing disruption among those already booked at much higher prices.  I have to smile at the post about HAL since one of our best deals was a longer HAL cruise (primarily in the Baltic and Northern Europe) that we snagged about 10 days prior to the cruise.  We paid less than $100 per passenger day (for a veranda), also got a generous on board credit, and then I managed to snag a great business class deal on Air Canada (Toronto to Copenhagen.   Another time we grabbed a last minute Trans Atlantic repositioning cruise (plus a following 12 day) on Princess for about $60 per passenger day (balcony cabin).

 

So my long time advice is very simple.  If you have the ability to get away on short notice than we suggest you register one of your e-mails with multiple reputable high volume cruise agencies.  There is no charge for doing this, and the agencies that generally have these last minute (and other) offers will only make them known to their private e-mail list.  For obvious reasons, the cruise lines do not want the world to know about last minute sales and some agencies do a good job selling the berths without "rocking the boat."   But these deals will generally go to folks who are flexibile in terms of the cruise line, ship, itinerary, and even cabin category.  If you are one of those folks that must have a certain cabin on a certain ship for a certain date....well...good luck!    And by the way, some of these last minute deals can happen even with the most expensive luxury lines.

 

When I snagged that HAL deal (several years ago) I actually had the cruise deal up on one of my computers while I was browsing airline deals on another computer!  But in the final analysis, these kind of deals will usually go to those willing to make a quick decision.  On that HAL booking, DW was upstairs making dinner when I yelled up the steps, "we are going on a cruise next week, start packing."  In proper DW fashion she yelled back, "what kind of clothes?"  (true story). She did not even ask what cruise line, where, etc.  Just wanted to know warm weather or cool weather.

 

Hank

[disneynan]

On 10/24/2022 at 3:05 PM, crystalspin said:

Have never waited to book. I like to choose my cabin with care: had a guarantee through booking with a mailorder travel agent, ended up under the BBKing lounge! Never again. Boston to Canada is quite popular and when I was growing up in the Northeast, school started the Wednesday after Labor Day!

Thanks for your reply.  I didn’t think this would be a popular cruise because I would always choose somewhere warm and sunny, but am hearing it is popular. Going to rethink this plan……

I currently work in a MA school. I wish we started after Labor Day. This year the first day for students was August 30.

[disneynan]

On 10/24/2022 at 3:53 PM, SuiteTraveler said:

 

Thanks for the heads up about the ports. We are going for a family wedding on PEI so I don’t care about the ports. Grew up in NE and spent lots of time in Canada so only going because it is what the bridal couple has chosen. Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble with the cost.

[disneynan]

On 10/24/2022 at 5:56 PM, Hlitner said:

While we generally book our cruises pretty far in advance, there have been a few times where we have done last minute bookings with amazing results.  The best last minute deals are not advertised and will seldom be found on a cruise line's web site.  They are handled by some reputable cruise agencies (and sometimes consortiums) who help the cruise lines quietly unload excess inventory without causing disruption among those already booked at much higher prices.  I have to smile at the post about HAL since one of our best deals was a longer HAL cruise (primarily in the Baltic and Northern Europe) that we snagged about 10 days prior to the cruise.  We paid less than $100 per passenger day (for a veranda), also got a generous on board credit, and then I managed to snag a great business class deal on Air Canada (Toronto to Copenhagen.   Another time we grabbed a last minute Trans Atlantic repositioning cruise (plus a following 12 day) on Princess for about $60 per passenger day (balcony cabin).

 

So my long time advice is very simple.  If you have the ability to get away on short notice than we suggest you register one of your e-mails with multiple reputable high volume cruise agencies.  There is no charge for doing this, and the agencies that generally have these last minute (and other) offers will only make them known to their private e-mail list.  For obvious reasons, the cruise lines do not want the world to know about last minute sales and some agencies do a good job selling the berths without "rocking the boat."   But these deals will generally go to folks who are flexibile in terms of the cruise line, ship, itinerary, and even cabin category.  If you are one of those folks that must have a certain cabin on a certain ship for a certain date....well...good luck!    And by the way, some of these last minute deals can happen even with the most expensive luxury lines.

 

When I snagged that HAL deal (several years ago) I actually had the cruise deal up on one of my computers while I was browsing airline deals on another computer!  But in the final analysis, these kind of deals will usually go to those willing to make a quick decision.  On that HAL booking, DW was upstairs making dinner when I yelled up the steps, "we are going on a cruise next week, start packing."  In proper DW fashion she yelled back, "what kind of clothes?"  (true story). She did not even ask what cruise line, where, etc.  Just wanted to know warm weather or cool weather.

 

Hank

Hank, I love your story! Thanks for the advice, this is for a family wedding so I think I’m going to just have to bite the bullet and book it!

 

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, disneynan said:

Hank, I love your story! Thanks for the advice, this is for a family wedding so I think I’m going to just have to bite the bullet and book it!

 

Would absolutely book that far in advance.  Wedding already have enough stress without adding a cruise issue.  And if the wedding party wants to have cabins in the same area of the ship, booking in advance makes the most sense.

 

Hank

[MyTMo777]

We've booked more than half of our cruises less than two months before sailing. The least amount of time was 3 weeks early. We definitely got better pricing on the ones we booked short-term. When we really wanted a specific ship or itinerary, we booked it earlier (earliest was 10 months in advance). When we booked close to the sailing date, we knew what dates we had available and then looked for the best deal that fit within those dates. We didn't care what cabin categories were sold out - any cabin would do. 

 

Our dream is to be like Hank & his DW 🙂

 

[navybankerteacher]

Until I remarried, many of my cruises (at least 8 in the first five years of this century) were booked within a week of sailing.  When I had a lull in my consulting work, I’d immediately see what was available and grab what looked good - often at very low cost (important, because I was sailing alone).

[Markanddonna]

If you don't mind an inside guarantee, last minute bookings often work out.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

If you don't mind an inside guarantee, last minute bookings often work out.

I will say that in our more than dozen last minute bookings (with multiple cruise lines) we have never needed or done an inside booking/guarantee.  In fact, we have usually managed to snag very good cabin locations (our personal preference are cabins towards the bow).  Why does this happen?  When a ship has empty space most lines will offer upsells (sometimes upgrades) and it seems that many of those folks are actually moving from very good cabins to better categories.  So, at the last minute, there are often some very desirable cabins available.  It seems strange, but that it has worked out for us.   The tendency seems to be that the last minute deals are on ships with quite a few empty cabins.  If there is little unsold space the cruise lines apparently do not feel the need to push last minute deals since they might just use those cabins for their own employees, some cruise/travel agents, or special groups such as "Interline" deals (for airline and other travel professionals).  In fact, we have met quite a few airline employees on our cruises who got fantastic last minute Interline deals.

 

Hank

[Markanddonna]

22 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 If there is little unsold space the cruise lines apparently do not feel the need to push last minute deals since they might just use those cabins for their own employees, some cruise/travel agents, or special groups such as "Interline" deals (for airline and other travel professionals).  In fact, we have met quite a few airline employees on our cruises who got fantastic last minute Interline deals.

 

Hank

I've met people with interline rates that were as low as $200 for a 14 day transatlantic sailing. Of course, they had only two days to prepare, but are also likely given free/very cheap airfare, unlike us mere mortals.

 

[Hlitner]

17 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

I've met people with interline rates that were as low as $200 for a 14 day transatlantic sailing. Of course, they had only two days to prepare, but are also likely given free/very cheap airfare, unlike us mere mortals.

 

We once enjoyed a few onboard dinners with a pair of senior (one male and one female) who had snagged a last-minute deal on Celebrity.  Of course, they paid nothing for their air and very little for pre-cruise hotel.  Interline benefits are quite amazing with very inexpensive (almost free) cruises, rental cars and hotels.  What makes Interline work is that the benefits are reciprocal.   It is a big draw of the travel industry.  I talked to a Hertz station manager (who was an Ivy League) graduate who said that one of the reasons he opted to work for Hertz was that he got lots of travel benefits (including Interline access).

 

Hank

[Woody14]

On 10/24/2022 at 9:44 AM, disneynan said:

Has anyone had good luck with last minute bookings? I’m looking at NCL Boston - Canada for August 2023 and the prices are high! Thinking about waiting until the last month to book as I can’t imagine this is a popular cruise and schools will be in session during my travel dates. Has anyone had luck - good or bad - doing this?

just a note many schools in Canada don't go back until September (right after labour day)

 

did a last minute cruise this past summer, booked about 12 days out, it is a little bit of a crap shoot for pricing and cabin selection but we had the time off and were flexible in options so found something that worked.  It is often harder when you have a specific cruise date and sailing that you are wanting.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We often book at 2-3 months out, or even closer and do get some great deals.  However, it depends a lot on if we can get reasonable air (we usually use miles) and the itinerary.  This works best if you are very open to where the cruise goes, which cruise line, cabin type, etc.  

 

If you have a particular cruise that you really want due to itinerary or other factors, you would be taking a chance that it will sell out or actually go up.  Many times if you go ahead and book and prices go down you can get the new price--works best, usually, with a travel agent.  

[crystalspin]

I refare all the time with my HAL PCC and did so multiple times (sometimes more than once in a day) on my one RCI booking which I handled by myself. A travel agent is not necessary for refaring for a lower price or better perks!

 

ETA: Of course NOT on a last minute booking. After Final Payment Date, it is very rare to get an adjustment and those I hear of are for long-standing reservations when the fare plummets after FP -- sometimes people get a room upgrade or other non-money-back benefits. I personally do not look after FP!

Edited October 28, 2022 by crystalspin

[AKJonesy]

Most of my bookings are last minute, and I've had good luck.  In saying that, you have to know when it is more likely that staterooms are available.  For example, right after the new year can be a great time to book a cruise and between the two holidays in US (Thanksgiving and Christmas).  This is when we want to go on a cruise anyway to get away from our winter darkness.  Shoulder season in Alaska is a good time also; that would be the last week of September.  Funny story, I once sat in Sky Club in LAX booking a cruise for NZ for the next week.  I knew there were many staterooms available, so it wasn't much of a risk.  

 

I certainly don't recommend most people do this.  Obviously, the biggest obstacle is the flight.  I am a non revver so this doesn't affect me as it would most people.  But, if you are driving to a port, this might be an option to nab up a good cruise fare.  

[donaldsc]

There is another thing to consider when doing last minute bookings - finding an airline flight.  We are doing a Puerto Rico cruise in January 2023.  You would think that it would be easy to flight good flights and reasonable prices but it isn't.  Ignoring the ridiculous airline fares, I spent hours trying to figure out the best connections.  I should add that I am a bit of a worrier about connections and I find that allowing a 1h 10m connection in JFK to Puerto Rico or a really short connection to Athens to be unacceptable.

 

DON

[Joebucks]

There are two types of last minute bookings

1.) Hoping your cruise of choice is being given away for nearly free at the last minute

2.) Being flexible in your cruise itinerary, dates, etc. and taking random deals on a whim

 

I wouldn't waste your time trying to be in #1

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

There is another thing to consider when doing last minute bookings - finding an airline flight.  We are doing a Puerto Rico cruise in January 2023.  You would think that it would be easy to flight good flights and reasonable prices but it isn't.  Ignoring the ridiculous airline fares, I spent hours trying to figure out the best connections.  I should add that I am a bit of a worrier about connections and I find that allowing a 1h 10m connection in JFK to Puerto Rico or a really short connection to Athens to be unacceptable.

 

DON

 

Short connections at JFK involving a terminal change are crazy!  If customs/immigration is involved, it goes from crazy to nightmare status!  Lol.  

[cruiseaholic777]

Every time I have waited to book my cruise the price has gone up. Book early and if the price goes down call and get your cruise at the lower price.

[firefly333]

On 10/24/2022 at 11:44 AM, disneynan said:

Has anyone had good luck with last minute bookings? I’m looking at NCL Boston - Canada for August 2023 and the prices are high! Thinking about waiting until the last month to book as I can’t imagine this is a popular cruise and schools will be in session during my travel dates. Has anyone had luck - good or bad - doing this?

Ncl does lower the price once the extras arent added on. Of you wait, you wouldnt get included drinks or dining but they lower the price. 

 

I'm waiting on ncl prima for the add ons to fall off.