Optimal time to purchase Med Cruise for Sept 2011?

[Shep_Proudfoot]

I am familiar with the seasonal price trends of the Carribbean cruises and know when to pull the trigger on a good deal there, but I am clueless when it comes to the Med, so if anyone with Med-specific expertise can please speak up I would appreciate it.

 

I am considering a 7-12 day Med cruise in the first part of September 2011 on one of the mass market US lines like Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Royal, HoAm or NCL. Being 13 months out, the current discounts vary from decent (Carnival) to lousy (Princess), with the rest in the middle. But, overall if the Med prices at some point in the next 13 months reflect even half the discounts that the Carribbean ones typically do, the prices don't seem like they are nearly as low as they will go at some point. I know I can book and rebook if the price goes down in some circumstances, but it is so early I don't want to make a move too soon and limit choices unnecessarily-particularly since there are at least 6-8 cruises that would work and by booking I'd be committing to just one.

 

But, I also don't want to wait until the last minute for many reasons, so I am wondering has anyone watched prices on this sort of cruise and noticed if there is a number of months in advance of the sail date when cruises like this typically go on sale/drop in price. (realizing that every ship, line and season varies and there are no sure things in a situation like this). Or is it smarter to just find the one cruise that looks best, book now and monitor the price situation?

 

Thanks for your assistance.

[mowb07]

I watched the prices on 2 med cruises from January until late March 2008 for a Sept 2008 cruise before booking it in April of that yr. The price dropped about $100 - 200 per person after booking but before final payment so I was able to get the difference back. I am not sure when a good time to book a med cruise is this far in advance as I usually book cruises within 6 months of the sail date and no earlier than that. In fact that med cruise was the earliest in advance I have ever booked any vacation because I was worried about airfare and wanted to book then because I found airfare I was ok with.

 

I think it really depends on what you're comfortable with doing it terms of the airfare. You are definitely a planner since you're looking this far in advance (a good thing in my opinion and not as stressful as the way I book trips). As long as you book before final payment and monitor price reductions, you should be ok booking whenever you see a peice you're comfortable with paying. My biggest concern, like I said, would be the airfare - that is much less predictable and more susceptible to market conditions in my opinion.

 

Another thing you can do is ask this question on the cruiseline specific boards - I know you said you're considering many different lines but maybe picking the top 2 or 3 and asking this question on those boards will garner you some more feedback/input!

[cruising to paradise]

We booked our Sept 2011 Med cruise a few months back and we have already received a 200.00 PP price drop. Check out Celibrity Cruises.I just monitor the price and check for drops.

[Keith1010]

I would book now. The reality is that the lowest price cabins go first plus those within a category with the best locations. If you see the price drop followup to see if you can get the lower price. But the longer you wait you may end up going with a higher priced category than you would have booked had you booked sooner rather than later.

 

Keith

[kirkwash]

I believe it is best to book early. Last October I booked for my Sept 2010 cruise on IotS. The same cruise now costs £1000 more plus I got OBC aswell. :)

Stuart

[zoncom]

I always wait until Winter to even look at pricing. If time/ funds warrant, take a longer, like 12 N, cruise since its such a pain to get there. I love transatlantics which now do several Euro ports befoe crossing. I recently read that Med will be oversaturated w. cruise ships next season. Should be great deals for those who wait.

[Roz]

I booked an October 2011 Med cruise on the Carnival Magic back in February - 20 months in advance. I got an Early Saver rate plus it was before Carnival started charging solos double for a 1A cabin. It paid to book early.

 

Roz

[Shep_Proudfoot]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I have no idea what I am going to do yet, probably wait since it's against my nature to commit so soon, but it helps to have some different perspectives.