Opinions . Booking a Xmas Cruise 2024

[Zanny]

Hi. All,

Just wondering your thoughts about Booking a Xmas cruise on Royal Princess for 2024.

 

Is it too early to book now?

Would prices likely to go up or down.

Would appreciate  any help.

Regards Zanny

[OzKiwiJJ]

Book now, then you'll have better choices of cabin. Monitor the prices and if they go down before final payment phone Princess and get them to refare it.  

 

BTW choose the option to pick your own cabin. It looks like it costs more but all they've done is remove the lowest cabin category from the selection so, for example, you only see BA to BE categories not BA to BF categories for balcony cabins.

[SinbadThePorter]

Keep an eye on the prices over Black Friday and also Christmas. The cruise lines often have specials pop up.

[arxcards]

I am not sure there is a right or wrong here. The Christmas cruise on Royal Princess is 25% dearer than the preceding cruise which is similar. Lots have been waiting for Royal to arrive, as season after season has been cancelled.

 

This cruise has been available for 5 months. When launched, there was a launch discount & bonus OBC. That may have been the best deal available, as the price will only come down if there is way less demand than expected. That said, there is lots more cabins available than I expected.

 

My general guide for Christmas & New Year cruises is to book them in ASAP after deciding what you want. Just had a look, and there is no rush. For now, I would go with Sinbad's comment, as Click Frenzy/Black Friday/Cyber Monday might throw-up something nice. I suspect it could be just $99 deposits or extra OBC instead of a price drop though. One of the key categories to assess demand is Reserve Collection mini-suites - when these disappear, a cruise is selling well. That is far from happening.

 

The price of everything is going up, so I personally don't expect prices to come down much unless they become desperate to sell and that will be most likely a year from now after final payment is due. Holiday cruises will fill up first though, so there is more likely to be a deal on the 7th December cruise.

[ceeceeDee]

Not Princess, but we booked a 2024 Christmas cruise about three months ago. Then last month there was a price drop. We cancelled and immediately re-booked (same room) for a saving of just under $1,100. Lost $200 of the original $400 OBC, but totally worth it.

So, I would say book now and then watch the prices.

Edited September 28, 2023 by ceeceeDee