Can you really get cheap cruises right before...

[luvinlife]

On our cruise last May we met someone who said that they only paid $200 for their cruises by waiting until less than 7 days before departure date. Does anyone know if this is true or not? And if it is true, how do you do it?

[VUCruiser]

We did to Bermuda this past October. We knew we were going to be on vacation, did not have any final plans, kept an eye on various cruise prices, and booked a 7 day to Bermuda oceanview room on the Norwegian Majesty from Boston for less than $400 each (total with tax). Granted this was not $200 but still a tremendous deal for travel, food, and "hotel" in Bermuda. We booked the Wednesday before the Sunday departure. Since all the security implementations, that may be as close as you can book to departure.

Fantasy 1991
Song of America 1997
Norway 2000
Maasdam 2001
Rhapsody of the Seas 2003
Norwegian Majesty 2003

[luvinlife]

Thanks VUCruiser for your info.

[waterbound]

We took the kids on a 5 day cruise last February and booked about 3 weeks before if I remember correctly and for 7 of us we pd $2100.. so it cost $300 a piece.. Not too shabby!!!!

Pride- 07/06/02
Jubilee- 02/22/03
Conquest- 10/19/03

4/15-- Holiday--Surprise cruise for my boyfriend!
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;4;15;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]

5/15-- M&M at Rawlings All American Grille
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;5;15;18;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
03/13/2005- Conquest with the kids[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2005;3;13;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
[img]http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/baby21.gif[/img] [img]http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/beerchug.gif[/img]

[DFritz]

I believe a ships passenger manifest must be turned in a minimum of three days prior to sailing.

As to cheap cruises: you can get some great buys in the last 60 days before sailing.
We always book more than a year in advance or less than 60 days and we've never paid more than $499 for a cruise and generally only pay about $300 per person for an inside stateroom. Of course, you can't always be particular about the cabins that are available and I think the more flexible you are regarding time of travel, destination, ship or cruise line and cabin the better chances you will have of getting a cheap cruise.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[orgirl]

We kept an eye on prices and found that there was a window about 3 months before a departure date that the prices dropped down substantially on many cabins, and then went back up the closer the date got. We got a 5-day western Caribbean for $270pp including port charges and taxes. We found $260pp for the same cabin online and then went to our travel agent and for the extra $10 had someone to fall back on in case we ran into a problem.

NOTE: If you are looking to score upgrades or shipboard credits, you are taking the wrong route!!

Celebration 9/13/03--NBA Bachelorette Cruise--AWESOME!!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere--Where's my cosmopolitan???

[luvinlife]

Thank everyone for your input. No, we aren't trying to do upgrades just looking for cheaper prices. Who all did you use to get such good prices?

[tinsel57]

I booked 7 day RCI Rhapsody balcony cabin, selected the cabin, not a guarantee back in October of 2004 for 2005. Since then I've been able to take advantage of one upgrade and two price decreases, the last with the help of a travel agent as she was able to do what I was not and I pound these boards all the time.

I also just booked a cruise for Sept 2005 and again, I thought I did real well hunting for the lowest fare and then took my findings to the TA and I'll be darned if she beat it - only by a few dollars, but beat it all the same.

IF you are intererested email me privately and I am happy to refer [email]tinsel57@hotmail.com[/email]

She's also booking my 2006 cruise as well....

tinsel57

[DFritz]

luvinlife- we check everywhere for our cruises but almost always end up booking direct with the cruise line. You can also try sites like Vacationstogo and icruise. It takes an investment of hours worth of work but it has always paid off for us.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[orgirl]

luvinlife: We found ours on [url="http://www.bestpricecruises.com"]www.bestpricecruises.com[/url] and found similar on [url="http://www.cruise.com"]www.cruise.com[/url] -- if you are feeling a little randy, try [url="http://www.skyauction.com,"]www.skyauction.com,[/url] and try your luck at bidding. Note on that, bestprice and cruise.com showed the price with port charges and taxes. Skyauction is for cruise only, not taxes or charges, and if you are looking to bid, READ THE FINE PRINT, they add a surcharge per person that can get pricey! Good luck!

~Steph~

Celebration 9/13/03--NBA Bachelorette Cruise--AWESOME!!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere--Where's my cosmopolitan???

[fodorspeter]

If I book a cruise with either NCL or RCCL, here is what I do.

NCL - book the cheapest inside cabin you can find. 60 days before the cruise, start calling the reaccomodation desk for that ship and inquire about purchasing an upgrade. Don't accept their first offer, keep bartering lower. We didn't start with an inside (new strategy) but we had booked a balcony and got a penthouse suite for an extra $500 total.

RCCL - again, book a cabin you'll be ok with and then on embarkation, check in as usual but then go to the pier coordinator desk and ask about purchasing upgrades. Again, we purchased a suite from an outside for $400 total for the four of us.

Peter

[momofmeg]

Last year we booked about 3 months before departure and thought we received a great deal. We were on Inspiration-it left on Dec. 14 out of Tampa and we paid $490 a person for an outside cabin on the empress deck.

When we booked-RCCL Nordic Empress for Dec.15 was considerably higher. Well about 10 days before we left- Nordic Empress dropped to $350 a person outside cabin and a suite for $600 a person. If we had known we would have waited before booking but you never know.

We were considering Miracle this year and decided to wait before booking until after we did our 3 day mini cruise on her. Well now we wished we had booked earlier. Back in Feb. you could get a balcony cabin on her for $675 a person(this was in the Nov. Dec. period excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years cruises)-now it is over $700 a person for an inside cabin. I don't believe there will be any last minute deals on her this fall. We will probally take Splendor but we haven't booked yet.

Carnival Tropicale 10/15/98
Sovereign of the Seas 11/22/99
Carnival Fascination 09/23/00
HAL Statendam 05/20/01
Sovereign of the Seas 11/08/01
Pacific Princess 09/29/02
Carnival Inspiration 12/14/03
Carnival Miracle 04/09/04

[cruisinpaige]

[quote name='luvinlife']Thanks VUCruiser for your info.[/quote]

Luvinlife, just wondering when dresses are coming.

[bububr]

I always book a year or more in advance.

This past year on a X 3 night to the Pacific Northwest I had booked and Inside room for $565. pp....about 3 months before the departure I had noticed that the price had dropped and for the SAME cost I could upgrade to Concierge Class with a balcony. I did and it was wonderful.

On this past cruise X 2 day I had booked Concierge Class and the price later dropped by $30.00....I was able to get that credited back to my card.

Our next cruise X 10 night out of San Diego , I booked Concierge Class for $1530.00pp Just today the cabin next to mine was going for $2080.00pp with less than 2 months before the cruise.

Also our Alaska cruise we have booked for later this year has gone up $400.00 pp for the same class.

I think you can get good deals if you book early as well as if you book late, but I don't think its something you should rely on or plan your vacation around.:cool:

Dave:eek: