Earlybird specials

Howdy All,

From Perth, land down under?

Looking at river or Mediterranean cruises as part of European holiday 2019 for 40th thanks. Think trains, planes and automobiles :-) with a cruise or 2!! If I can get good prices would be nice to do one sea and one river to break up driving and trains.

I'm flexible and open to suggestions, but Greek Islands (from to same port if possible, e.g. Rome or Venice) and Rhine River would be great.

How do I snag earlybird specials? How far ahead of a holiday should I book for best deal?

Subscribe to cruise providers? Specials advertised?

Word of mouth?

Pure luck?

Get a good agent? or will they cost me more?

Sooo many questions :o

Any help appreciated.

Travel agents don't charge you anything. Subscribe to any cruise line you're interested in, so you get notice of specials. I am not familiar with a cruise that goes to the Greek Islands and the Rhine.

No one can tell you the best time to book to get the cheapest price, but if you want to cruise over the holidays, you're going to pay more than booking for other times of the year.

Start tracking prices of itineraries which interest you as much in advance as possible - then when you have developed a rough idea of relative costs start buying when prices seem right. It is virtually impossible to be sure of getting the lowest prices across the board, so do not do too much second-guessing: you will only make yourself unhappy.

Travel agents don't charge you anything. Subscribe to any cruise line you're interested in, so you get notice of specials. I am not familiar with a cruise that goes to the Greek Islands and the Rhine.

 

No one can tell you the best time to book to get the cheapest price, but if you want to cruise over the holidays, you're going to pay more than booking for other times of the year.

Hahaha neither am I? Will be separate cruises along the way. Noted about holiday period and I'll start annoying a travel agent.. anyone in Perth recommend a good one for Europe? or anyone recommend a good agent over there?

Planning lob into Barcelona, drive across to Rome/Venice, lots of stops. Cruise from there to somewhere and return. Continue drive, maybe train as well for variety at some point. When I hit Germany, Rhine River cruise, then continue drive to France. Finish off with UK, Wales, Scotland.

It's a big one as we've never been to Europe.. giving myself 3-4 month or more. Missus is originally from UK, but that was 1970 when her family emigrated to Oz and she hasn't been back since. I'm not that old, but figure while I'm over there... so in a way I'm looking to extend my $$$'s and stay longer, but at the same time I will not mind spending as well for a few special things.

Sorry kids, dad is spending your inheritance :D

p.s. sorry for long post.. just trying to get across what I would like to do for suggestions from ppl

p.s. p.s. apologies also for other travel plans.. forgetting this site is about cruises.. never mind.. somebody might come up with other cruises based on my itinerary.. like I said, I'm very flexible at this stage.

Start tracking prices of itineraries which interest you as much in advance as possible - then when you have developed a rough idea of relative costs start buying when prices seem right. It is virtually impossible to be sure of getting the lowest prices across the board, so do not do too much second-guessing: you will only make yourself unhappy.

Cheers this is also the sort of information I'm after. Noted about second guessing as well.. I want to be sane when we go :') I have booked complete holidays online before, but when we went to Vietnam I found a really good agent over there, used her twice now.. all I had to do was book my return airfares.. brilliant.

btw we're going on our very first cruise end of Nov out of Singapore for 10 days to get a taste.. I'm sure we'll love it, also going with good friends, who did all the finding and got us good early prices. Neighbors (note US spelling) did the Rhine River and raved about it.. not a cheap one but!! about $8k + each, but with everything included, which is what got me thinking..

There is a river cruising board here at CC. Browsing there might give you some ideas about your river cruise. Try to decide what ports/cities you would like to visit, then go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com, plug those in on the Ports of Call list, and see who is calling there, and their itineraries. If you can't find a cruise that visits enough Greek islands, consider traveling among the islands using the plethora of cruise ferries, and fast ferries. Not all cruise lines have their itineraries for 2019 out yet, but look at 2018 to get an idea of what might be available the next year. EM

Noted about holiday period and I'll start annoying a travel agent.. anyone in Perth recommend a good one for Europe? or anyone recommend a good agent over there?

We cannot name travel agents/agencies vis CC rules. Google is your friend. Or maybe you have friends or friends of friends who have been to Europe who can provide a starting point. Meanwhile, CC has a River Cruising Forum

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=191

and one for Europe ports of call

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

where you will find sub-forums for most of the (cruise-accessible) areas you might be interested in.