How should I book

[Crusin-Suzan]

We want to book a cruise 11/1/24.  We have a cruise this year 1/26!   Should I book it now or book while on our next cruise with benefits while booking onboard!   We are 4* if that makes any difference !   

Edited November 24, 2023 by Crusin-Suzan

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Right now through Sunday is the Black Friday Sale that includes Pre paid Crew Incentive, waiting till late January has pro and cons. First you will not get the Pre paid Crew Incentive, or at least very unlikely, 2, if there is a stateroom you want it may not be available if you wait. 3. pricing could easily go up. Wait and booking on board is definitely more money ship board credit wise. The gamble is what could change before you can book it.

[POA1]

Calculate the value of the gratuities on your desired cruise. It's either $16 pp/day or $17.50 pp/day for a suite. Then, figure out how much OBC you would get from booking on board.

 

All of the points made by a@LAFFNVEGAS

apply as well.

[zgscl]

5 hours ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

We want to book a cruise 11/1/24.  We have a cruise this year 1/26!   Should I book it now or book while on our next cruise with benefits while booking onboard!   We are 4* if that makes any difference !   

Tough one but I would be inclined to book now. Prices go up in general and a lot can happen in 2 months both in terms of promotions and availability. The general advice I follow and give people is to book the second you know what you want to do and then aggressively monitor for price drops. 

What cruise length and cabin type are you looking at booking? Is it something likely to sell out?

 

Not sure what the current OBC offer is for booking a specific cruise. The FCD obc is not really a lot and I mostly do that so I can apply them to bookings so I don’t have to do deposits and refunds over and over when I change my booking. As I recall I’ve gotten far more credit when booking a specific cruise

 

I should also add I’m not nearly patient enough to wait 2.5 months to book a cruise I know I want. The anxiety would be far more than I can handle 

Edited November 24, 2023 by zgscl

[Mary229]

The benefits of booking onboard are not that great, they lowered the OBC last year. I would think prepaid gratuities are more valuable.  Once onboard in January buy a stack of $100 deposits to use in these situations. They are refundable. 

[MikeD4134]

I would Book it now, then check a couple of weeks before, you sale this January and see what the promotions and benefits for booking on board are like.  If the deal is better, cancel the 1st booking and rebook on the ship.

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, MikeD4134 said:

I would Book it now, then check a couple of weeks before, you sale this January and see what the promotions and benefits for booking on board are like.  If the deal is better, cancel the 1st booking and rebook on the ship.

You are actually not technically able to do this. If you have ever been booked on the sailing previously the future cruise consultant cannot sell it to you without approval from someone in Seattle. One of the consultants was telling me a lot of people talk to their agent who quotes it and it creates a record in the booking system, and then when the passenger comes to the desk they are not able to process it without jumping through hoops. They indicated if it was never deposited they can usually get around it but if it had a deposit they will not typically approve. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I would book it know