Shortest time between booking and cruising.

[bob brown]

For me it depends. I might book over a year ahead if I just have to be on a particular cabin on a particular ship doing a particular itinerary.

On the other hand, I have booked just under two weeks before departure to score a 'fire-sale' last minute bargain on a cruise I wasn't even planning on going.

It helps to have flexible vacation time (or be retired), and to live close by a port.

 

One advantage of last minute booking, is a much lesser need to buy travel insurance.

[TheHappyWanderer]

One year, pre-9/11 crackdowns, we were in Florida and our plans fell through at the last moment. So as long as we were already on vacation and had already flown in from the west coast we called around to see who had what available, and set sail the next day.

[tamsocal]

~5 days advance notice for us & our 3 kids, Gma, Gpa. Longest- ~9months out. ~2 times with 2 weeks notice

[Tailskid]

One Day. We were in Miami looking to visit the Bahamas for a couple of days but Whwn we looked at air fares ($350 pp) and hotel accomodation (210 per night) = total of nearly $1200 for two people for two nights it was getting a bit out of our budget. Then we spotted a "special" in a travel agent's window ...a four day cruise to the Bahamas (on Carnival) with two days (one over-night on board) in Nassau for $199 pp. It turned out to be one of the best short vacations we have ever had! In fact looking back over the years the best times have always been those that were not pre-planned. Go for it and good luck.

Tailskid

[TV Dad]

My shortest booking was 20 days out. That was this past summer when I had to help arrange a family cruise for 12. It took a while to get everyone to agree on dates.

Longest is for a cruise next June. I booked 11 months out!

Now, I'm looking for a cruise to whet my appetite for next summer!

[Johanna7]

My dh spotted a 3 day cruise out of Port Canaveral. We booked it, no problem. Drove to the port 3 days prior, ended up making great time and after spending one night in the north part of SC, got to Daytona Shores the 2nd day and ended up staying 2 nights as it is a short drive from there to the port.

 

We loved our 2 night stay at Daytona Shores and the weather was perfect. We loved the 3 day cruise, Nassau and Coco Cay. It was a real deal too. Parked at the port, $45 for the 3 nights. Took 1 overnight and 2 days of driving to get home.

 

We are in Toronto, Canada.

[scopewest]

My retirement goal is to move within driving distance of a port so we can take advantage of last minute cruise deals. There's no way we can do this now what with travel time and work schedules :(

 

But I can dream.

[serendipity1499]

<SNIP>

 

Again, see Betty's answer (Hi betty ;) ) And YES I will give myself that kick in the seat to get going :cool:

 

Hi Reuel...How are you?

 

Betty,

 

At some ports there is (shockingly) no entrance/gate control whatsoever !

Miami comes to mind.

And even in FLL where there is ID control, you can just say you are driving in to pick up a passenger, which I often do, so this is not just a ruse.

 

Thanks again for doing my research for me :D

 

r.

 

It's amazing that in some ports the gate is manned all day while in others no problem..Yes you should just go & stand by just to see if you can get on...We need a little more time, but as long as we know about a week ahead, we're able to swing it as long as our Pup has a Baby Sitter..

R. Have a good weekend..

 

OP ..To answer your your Question..We've booked as much as a year in advance & many times much closer..This year we booked in May for Bermuda in Aug..We also have a booking for the Noordam in Nov. & another one next April on Oceania..

In 2008 we were confirmed a week before departure.. Our Friends were booked on the Maasdam, Nov. 21, & had asked us to go with them....We said No, only because we had been on a HAL Alaska land/cruise tour that August..Figured we should stay home for a while.. However, on Sept. 6, two weeks after Alaska, I ended up in the hospital & had a serious operation..Spent a week in the Hospital with a long recovery time..

Oct 29 over coffee with our Friends, they kept talking about their cruise...We kept saying NO, but on our way home think DH felt sorry for me & said lets see if we can get a cabin...Wasn't sure if the Dr. would release me, but called him & he said sure, be careful & get a good rest!....That's all I needed to hear, called our TA, but the cruise was waitlisted..:( We waitlisted ourselves & never dreamed we would get on..;)

Around the 11th HAL offered us an OV-AFT cabin at a much higher price than our Friends had paid, & we refused it..However on 11/14 HAL again offered us a better OV closer to mid-ship, at a price slightly more than our Friends paid, so we accepted it..I started to pack that day..LOL

Cheers.....:)Betty

[geocruiser]

The shortest time for me was three days. This was a about 10 years ago or so.

 

Maria

[TraelorMex]

6 days for us. Could not catch a flight so had to drive. Probably wont do that again but was kinda fun :|

[Lizzie1213]

I have always wanted to take a last minute cruise. My question is what is the shortest time frame you have allowed between booking and cruising? What was it like taking a last minute cruise as opposed to booking one months in advance?

 

Oh, about a week or so for a Carribean cruise. We live in S. Florida so air travel is not an issue. I just arranged for someone to care for our dogs, packed and went. It was fine.

[shantihhh]

Half the reason I moved to Ft Lauderdale was to be able to just jump on a ship.

I've researched, and booking the day of sailing IS possible. :)

The cut off time is 90 minutes before sailing, since that is when the manifest is closed.

And I'm only 20 minutes from Port Everglades with only one stoplight.

The problem is that I have yet to do it. :(

However I do live with one bag half packed and ready to go. :rolleyes:

r.

 

So so you save on these last minute cruises are they cheaper?

[harryjr]

Our first cruise ever in March of 2003 was on the Zaandam out of Port Canaveral. We booked on a Tuesday and sailed out on Saturday. It was just before the beginning of the Iraq war and prices plummeted so they could fill the ships. When I think about it now, it was really amazing that we could get it together in such a short period of time.