Early Saver or Wait?

[Smithinc49]

I'm pretty confident of the Ship I want to sail out of Baltimore this summer. I was wondering, should I get the Early Saver package now? Or, should I wait until like a couple weeks out.

 

I'm very flexible with which week to take and my goal is to get the lowest price possible for any balcony. Should I just sign up for Early Saver?

 

I have cruised Carnival before, any discounts available other than Early Saver I might be able to utilize?

[comett]

Take the earlier saver now. We waited a little bit and the price went up. If the price does go down you can have it adjusted or if after final payment get an onboard credit.

Just remember earlier savers can not be cancelled.

[cmjb4ever]

I would also do the Early Saver now. If the price goes down, you'll get compensated for it.

[steveNcindy]

I'm pretty confident of the Ship I want to sail out of Baltimore this summer. I was wondering, should I get the Early Saver package now? Or, should I wait until like a couple weeks out.

 

I'm very flexible with which week to take and my goal is to get the lowest price possible for any balcony. Should I just sign up for Early Saver?

 

I have cruised Carnival before, any discounts available other than Early Saver I might be able to utilize?

 

Are you aware of all the limitations and conditions of Early Saver? If you are and are comfortable with them then book it, if not, I would spend some time researching that first before deciding.

[nbsjcruiser]

I'm pretty confident of the Ship I want to sail out of Baltimore this summer. I was wondering, should I get the Early Saver package now? Or, should I wait until like a couple weeks out.

 

I'm very flexible with which week to take and my goal is to get the lowest price possible for any balcony. Should I just sign up for Early Saver?

 

I have cruised Carnival before, any discounts available other than Early Saver I might be able to utilize?

 

Hard to say really. If you're sure of the ship and time, book it now with ESR. You know your price can only go down. We booked ESR for our upcoming Valor cruise in March. We booked it 10 months ago. We'll be getting on the ship with a $200 OBC. Had we waited, our price today would be $400 more expensive. If I was sure of the ship and date, I'd book it.

[vkramer]

The prices out of Baltimore really dont come down all that much. It is better to book with a promotion like ES. I booked a few months ago for my cruise in 10 days out of Baltimore. I booked a Balcony Guarantee at an Ocean View Guarantee price. Since that time, I could not even touch that price (even for an inside). It was $549 per person and the insides have been going for $600 or more for awhile.

 

I would book it if you are extremely confident of the itinerary and the ship.

 

Vicki

[MamaParrotHead]

I'm a big fan of Early Saver. It always will be the lowest available rate, no matter what you're eligible for (military, senior, past guest, etc.).

[firefly333]

My experience is if you wait and dont care which date, there is usually a cheaper date on the pack n go or senior or something.

 

For instance Im paying $279, PT (porthole), for Jan 23rd. Price has only gone up, ES no price drops.

 

If I had waited, last weekend was $229 IS guarantee, or $269 OV guarantee. I could have gotten a full OV for $10 pp less, but of course once you are locked into a date, you cant switch dates. YOUR DATE ONLY HAS TO DROP. Just my experience.

 

If you are flexible wait. End of August last year there were some real bargains, not even published. My PVP sent me quite a few as low as $319 for Conquest 7 day.

[islandwoman]

I have cruised Carnival before, any discounts available other than Early Saver I might be able to utilize?

Past Guest rates; sometimes discounts based on state of residence; 55+ rates if you're old enough. Make sure your registration on carnival.com knows you're a past guest and that the appropriate box is checked when you search.

[chasinraynbowz]

I'm a big fan of Early Saver. It always will be the lowest available rate, no matter what you're eligible for (military, senior, past guest, etc.).

 

 

Actually, this is not necessarily true. I booked ES on our last cruise and kept an eye on things. At one point, the military rate was cheaper and I was able to get an OBC (we are eligible for MR).

 

To the OP, like Mama, I am a big fan of ES also. If you know for sure when you are going, there is not reason not to book it. Just know the restrictions, get insurance and you will be fine!

[firefly333]

I'm a big fan of Early Saver. It always will be the lowest available rate, no matter what you're eligible for (military, senior, past guest, etc.).

 

Thats not to say a last minute rate like pack n go wouldnt be even cheaper for a guarantee though.

 

... or that military wouldnt be cheaper on some cruises. Or the triple play was sometimes cheaper last year by the time you added in the OBC, bottom line rate, some got OBC from that. No recent sales have been any good, but last year there were times other rates were cheaper.

[travelntreats]

question also is WILL THERE BE BALCONY'S AVAILABLE if you wait too long ?

[firefly333]

question also is WILL THERE BE BALCONY'S AVAILABLE if you wait too long ?

 

We still got balconys on Ecstasy. OVs been sold out for weeks ... go figure. Im still scratching my head over the run on OVs. Im thinking there is a group booking the way the prices headed up so fast.

[9876]

I think the real question to ask is how disappointed would you be if the summer prices did not come down and you were locked out of a cruise because it is more than you want to spend? If the answer is that you would be disappointed then book early saver now. If it is not that big of a deal then wait and see. Good luck!