how far in advance do you book?

[blueeyes1227]

I was just curious how early in advance do you book your trip on NCL or do you book closer to the sailing date? Do you see better deals early or later? :)

[Medtech2]

Well, we took advantage of the sale earlier this year and ended up booking for an April 2012 cruise. Since then prices have gone up, and with fuel prices and commodities prices expected to go up, I don't see the fare coming down....

[Why Knot Me]

We book anywhere from 8 weeks to a year in advance. It just depends on price and when we can get away.

[peg013]

We're booked for Oct 2011, Apr 2012 and Dec 2012......so I'd say almost as soon as the itineraries are available. Lots of time to watch for reductions or be glad we're already booked when the rates go up!

[monicajay]

Booked already for March 2012. Crossing my fingers I have picked the right date for our school holiday, they haven't even published that yet. If not, I'll have to re-book and rates are already higher.

 

No flexibility as a teacher so we usually book right away for the next break. As soon as they confirm the dates I'll book some air too.

[Got Tequila?]

I was just curious how early in advance do you book your trip on NCL or do you book closer to the sailing date? Do you see better deals early or later? :)

 

We have 7-8 cruises booked, for as far out as 2013. We like to book early and take advantage of any price reductions up until final payment time. By booking early we get the best selection of cabins, and plenty of time to chat on the roll calls here at Cruise Critic until cruise time. :)

[angelsonefive]

Booked already for March 2012. Crossing my fingers I have picked the right date for our school holiday, they haven't even published that yet. If not, I'll have to re-book and rates are already higher.

 

No flexibility as a teacher so we usually book right away for the next break. As soon as they confirm the dates I'll book some air too.

I see sick time coming up... "I'm sorry, I have to call in sick.....my eyes are bothering me and I just can't see coming in".:eek::eek::eek:;)

[STARFISH*4]

when i booked our PC cruise 6 months out i thought that was a long time, but now i have booked one out 19 months...so far that is the longest!

 

we have been very FORTUNATE that no matter when we have booked a cruise-we have gotten the BEST price we feel--dont usually book a cruise unless i am HAPPY with "THAT" price anyway!!

...on the PC cruise we actually got a FREE upgrade from inside to OV which we were THRILLED with!!!

[Havin'fun]

We booked our Jan 2012 Hawaii trip in Feb of 2010. Since then the cost has gone up about $500 per person. We figure if the inital cost is zero or refundable - why not!

[Ms belp]

We book as soon as we see something we like. We like to book the cabins we know and love.

[canpass]

We book as soon as we something we like. We usually have an on board credit for a future cruise so we use that. We are now booked for March 2013. The nice thing about cruising is you have up until final payment to change your mind. My cruise has already gone up $400.00 and I would not have a mini suite. If the price happens to go down I just rebook at the new rate.

[mitsugirly]

We have always booked 6 months to a year in advance. I watch prices closely and it seems like they always go up instead of down for a good deal. Although this time it is 5 1/2 months out. I'm slackin'. :D

[BahamaMama247]

we usually set sail in Early June (sometimes late May). Always book the next cruise right when we come back. So, 1 year out :)

[cruis247g]

Typically, we book more than six months in advance.

[4774Papa]

I was just curious how early in advance do you book your trip on NCL or do you book closer to the sailing date? Do you see better deals early or later? :)

 

We generally book 8-12 months in advance. We like going to Europe and those cruises almost always fill up and are not discounted. Prices generally go up.

Book early and you generally get to pick your cabin.

Also, every time we cruise on NCL we buy the $250 special (get $100 back in onboard credit) which you can use as a deposit on another cruise.

This way NCL doesn't have your large deposit for all those months.

[Fishbait17]

Circumstances only allow us to book 2-4 months in advance at most, but we generally do it about 6-8 weeks prior. Sometimes we get great deals, sometimes not.

 

Robin

[*Luv2Cruz*]

We usually book one when we return from one!:D This time when I saw the repo, we booked almost a year and a half out because the price was great, we got an excellent obc with an aarp kicker, we luv the 14 day itinerary, and can't wait for NOLA!:cool:;):D:)

[mattie00]

We book as soon as we see a price we like on our selected cruise. This year the price of our mid-ship balcony cabin has increased by $1700 for 2 from our booking approximately 3 weeks ago for a June 2012 Baltic cruise! Another reason for booking early is so we get the cabin category we want. As you are able to cancel at any time before final payment and receive 100% of your deposit back, I don't see any risk in booking over a year in advance.

[Carnac767]

A lot depends upon where you live and how flexible you can be. We book cruises in Europe very far out to make sure we get the cabin we want and to give us time to coordinate the logistics of geting to and from Europe. If you live near a port (NY, Miami, Seattle, etc) you can take advantage of last second deals. So there's no real right or wrong answer. When you book well in advance, you're getting the location you want and you can still take advantage of any reduction in price right up until you have to make final payment. If you're able to leave at a moment's notice and it's easy to get to the port, you can take advantage of some great deals. It used to be conventional wisdom to never book early. There's one professional travel snob who appears frequently on one of the morning talk shows who is adamant about never booking early. If I'd followed his advice I would have spent about $3000 more on cruises than I already have.

[davesgirl51]

Booked out till February 2013 ... :D

[jaja]

We usually book a year or more ahead! Love having something to look forward to;)