When to book a Christmas Cruise?

[Bouff]

As my wife and I are now 'orphans' I fancy the idea of getting away on a cruise for the Christmas Holidays.

 

I notice there is another thread on this topic which suggests that the ships will have more children on board. That is understandable.

 

Our line of preference is HAL and they have a western Caribbean 10 day itinerary on the Maasdam departing 18th December 2009.

 

My question is how early should we book?

[paul929207]

it is never too early to book. Ships fill up for Christmas cruises because the kids are out of school. By booking early, you get a better choice of cabins. If prices go down before your final payment is due, you should be able to get the lower fare. If they go up, you are safe and not hit with the increase.

[pmfan]

It is never to early to book. Booking early gives you more cabin choices. Plus you have more time to anticipate/plan your vacation.

[Putterdude]

We booked ours for Christmas 2007 in August but I don't think we would wait that long again. We are now booking cruises 18 mos out and waiting for the price to drop; this way we have the cabin we want.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Maasdam -- 10 days -- great ship and great itinerary.

 

Christmas cruises sell out very quickly -- they have become quite popular the last number of years.

 

There will be a lot of children on board.

 

Book as soon as possible.

[sross6019]

Book ASAP. Prices are only going up and the cabins go quickly. We booked our Dec 2009 cruise 2 months ago.

[Southbound]

Bouff, DH and I are also "orphans" and have been doing HAL holiday cruises for the past several years. We love the Prinsendam for MANY reasons (one of which is very few children on board) and will be sailing her again this year. We book at least a year in advance in order to get the specific cabin we prefer and we're already also booked on her for the Dec. '09 holiday sailing. She's really in a class by herself and has a very festive atmosphere for the holidays, plus always a great itinerary at that time of year.