Book early or late???

[Dreamgirl1957]

Hi, has anyone on here ever done a fairly precise comparison to check real cost of booking early compared to late, taking into consideration free all inc on early bookings and adding it at a fee later etc etc…

Other factors like decent cabins still available etc

Would just like to know before I book for June 2104 ( Aegean) in April when prices are released, am I throwing away good money by jumping in early for the free all inc etc :confused:

As an ex TA a few of you will think I should know but to be honest there was never the time to look at things like that on a regular basis and booking late is not always a win win situation.

We were so focused on getting in the bookings we always had to suggest booking asap or we would have been in trouble :eek: and in the past this was often a good deal, I think things are changing especially now with P&O’s late deals but are Thomsons really cheap as a late deal ? (especially the Aegean itinerarys)

 

I just thought I bet several people on here have kept a really close eye on their own booking and can put me out of my misery! ;)

I have re-priced my booking now and then but not kept any notes as i should have ( we booked this next one as soon as prices were released so it was 18 months in advance to get free all inc etc) , I have seen it go up and down but seems to have balanced out on the whole when you now have to pay for all inc.

Cant really rely on my booking to get a good idea as we don’t go till Oct on this one and as I might book the next in April mine won’t have gone down as low as it might towards the sail date if that makes sense. :)

[Jim The Scot]

Hi Dreamgirl

 

Must say I`m guilty of checking our prices from time to time.Were early bookers,normally a few weeks/month or so after we come back.The reason for booking early is so we get our preferred departure airport(limited up this way) preferred deck and cabin and of course itinerary.The price of ours has fluctuated quite a bit from £250 more to about £100 less now.

 

Tend to find no matter what you pay there will be someone happy to tell you they got a better deal.

 

Last year we met fellow cruisers that paid less than us and some who had paid more who had booked much later than us.

 

Best bet is, if happy with the price you get dont check prices after and turn your deaf ear to the fellow cruisers who like to boast about the much better deal they got than you ;)

[sodafountain]

Booked our Stay & Cruise for 11th October 2013 on 25th October 2012, when the AI cost us £138 (£69 each), staying at Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel first (AI) then off on the cruise, with our upgrades (Deck 3/4 Outside Plus, choose seats, extra luggage), including an infant, total on that day was £2560.01.

 

If i book the same holiday today, the AI has gone up to £198 (so £99 each), but the total cost of the holiday, including all the same extras has only gone up by £5.99 to £2566.00.

 

Therefore as the AI has gone up, the cost of the holiday has come down, so still about the same price. I have chesked it a few times over the last few months, and it has always been around this price.

 

At the end of the day, i work hard, and when the price is right for a holiday i want, i will pay it, i know prices change (can even be down to fluctuation in the exchange rate - as the Euro goes up or down, so do the prices paid by Thomson to the hotel's etc), but if i am happy with the price i pay, i book, if i am not happy, i don't and look for something else.

 

Also tend to ignore those that say they got this or that, do i care, no, i got the holdiay i wanted and paid the price i was happy with (and chances are they are exaggerating or making it up to sound good).

[geomagot]

it really is a stab in dark imo dreamgirl...I have had some bargains and I have paid over the odds too

 

personally i believe Thoms pricing structure is a 'dark art':(

 

imo if you only need 2 berths, can fly from a main hub and are flexible on dates & itineraries (outside the school holidays) you are in a good position to grab a bargain but you do have to determinedly track the prices and sometimes hold your nerve too

[Cappers]

I do that..I watch things for weeks on a daily basis,,even hourly basis sometimes time permitting! When we had a little hovel in Spain (when I worked full time) I was always watching flight prices! Sadly the days of cheap flights are long gone. I would watch and wait and then when I was happy with a price and really desperate to clear off I would just book it. I've decided there is just no logic to any of it!

[Dreamgirl1957]

Thanks everyone, i really struggle to wait, usually like to book as soon as i can or i do panic thinking i won’t get exactly what i want but it is just niggling at me and want to get a good deal.

 

I think it’s looking like either book early or up to approx six months before and its pretty stable, either free all inc or cheaper cruise etc but balances’ out , may be better deal to wait till bitter end but i just don’t think I’m made of strong enough stuff ha-ha!

Think I will be ready in April to get it booked after all , thanks though to you all for actually putting my mind at rest on it.

 

Jim-the-scot, I know what you mean, there is always some know it all who likes to tell you how cheap they got their cruise, drives us mad too.

Mind you in 2011 we had the last laugh , I had gone on what was called a staff late, I worked for Thomsons and long story but you put in your request a week before you want to travel and if your lucky you get a holiday but not always what you want but cheap etc I was very very lucky indeed :

I picked three cruies , all thoms , you find out few hours before flight if you are going ( basically right at last min when they know can’t sell that last cabin) we got last cabin on the Spirit and it was my first choice too , got flight ( perfect & local too) and week on Spirit ( Adriatic~~fab !!) for £110 each !!!

Best bit was due to a tech prob they had to miss out Split, gave us an extra night in Venice instead which was great then said everyone would get cash comp too!!!

We thought we would not (of course, can’t be greedy) so didn’t expect it. They gave each passenger inc children £150 !! either cash or off OBA and we were told we would get it too, I double checked but they said def yes.

How great was that and although I hadn’t told any passengers about my staff deal ( not right to do so really) and also would never have mentioned the comp money there was one couple who just would not shut up about their great deal so I had to tell them, ooops,

My daughter always goes with RCI and they get just as fed up the tales of bargains ( she always books early) so her husband just makes up a price (always much cheaper then anyone’s) then he sits back and watches their faces, love a joke !!

[Dreamgirl1957]

Just checked my current booking, at the min its exactly £400 (£200pp) cheaper than when i booked (Booked April 12 for Oct 13) :(

No suprise i know , just hope it doesnt keep going down ! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Cymro1953]

Also I think it depends on the popularity of the itinerary too. We did Adriatic Explorer mid September and after booking I kept an eye on the price to see if it would drop. It only came down about £20 right up to the week before we went.

 

 

Berwyn

[mtt]

I once checked a cruise we booked quite early and two weeks brfore it was £200 mor expensive in total, we always book early for a good cabin and free or good offer on ai

[Dreamgirl1957]

:D Hi Berwyn and mtt,

Yes i shouldnt worry really, its a lottery when you book no one has a crystal ball , med medley isnt as pop tho as adriatic so i should have expected it to go down.

After my mega good deal in 2011 on the Spirit i cant grumble can i Berwyn! :D

I will stop looking and just carry on dithering between Aegean cruse & stay or Caribbean for 2014 :confused::confused::confused:

[Cymro1953]

:D Hi Berwyn and mtt,

Yes i shouldnt worry really, its a lottery when you book no one has a crystal ball , med medley isnt as pop tho as adriatic so i should have expected it to go down.

After my mega good deal in 2011 on the Spirit i cant grumble can i Berwyn! :D

I will stop looking and just carry on dithering between Aegean cruse & stay or Caribbean for 2014 :confused::confused::confused:

 

:D ,

After having gone back to a hotel holiday in Spain last year so we could see Granada and the Alhambra, we wouldn't bother with a cruise and stay. We'd rather have 2 weeks on the ship.

 

 

Berwyn

[Julessmiles]

:D ,

After having gone back to a hotel holiday in Spain last year so we could see Granada and the Alhambra, we wouldn't bother with a cruise and stay. We'd rather have 2 weeks on the ship.

 

 

Berwyn

 

I agree Dreamgirl, if you're going to do Adriatic, add a 2nd week to it; we did Adriatic & Pearls of Aegean, was beautiful

 

X

[geomagot]

Just checked my current booking, at the min its exactly £400 (£200pp) cheaper than when i booked (Booked April 12 for Oct 13)

No suprise i know , just hope it doesnt keep going down !

 

if its any consolation....my current booking has also gone down £400 from when I booked...blx...I mean oh bother!:o

 

and just when it i thought it couldn’t get any worse.....dd's have just asked for yet another trip to the Hollister store this weekend!:eek::(

[Dreamgirl1957]

I agree Dreamgirl, if you're going to do Adriatic, add a 2nd week to it; we did Adriatic & Pearls of Aegean, was beautiful

 

X

 

Hi Jules, weve done Adriatic couple of years ago on the Spirit, loved it and would do it again but poss in a few years.

Like the mix of cruise & stay mostly for the cost lol.

If we could we def would do 2 weeks cruise but we've also got a static caravan we go to for weekends etc and what with the ground rent etc and elec/gas bills for it thats the cost of another holiday really so our yearly crusie needs to be kept at a sensible price for now :(

Never looked at Island escape before but after reading about it on here would def try it ( if it says in the fleet !!!) but only prob is its only west med etc, we def want to do Greece next year if we decide caribbean is too expensive for now :( which i think it will be.

2 weeks all inc on the IE is such a good deal even with a decent cabin upgrade :D:D

[Dreamgirl1957]

:D ,

After having gone back to a hotel holiday in Spain last year so we could see Granada and the Alhambra, we wouldn't bother with a cruise and stay. We'd rather have 2 weeks on the ship.

 

 

Berwyn

 

You lucky thing Berwyn, just saying to Jules its a bit dear for us as a rule as weve got a static caravan too so all gets a bit expensive :eek:

My hubby works on a farm and i am now self employed, got to go steady lol ;)

 

When the prices come out for 14 will def price up both options and have a good think, poss not go for such a dear cabin as we have done this time and might see if can afford the two weeks. Had 12 nights this year which was lovely, i agree a week on the ship isnt long enough :(

 

If Majesty is in Greece again next year and we do decide to book it will def book early tho, been paying attention...deck 4 outside PLUS isnt it ?? ;);)

[Julessmiles]

Hi Jules, weve done Adriatic couple of years ago on the Spirit, loved it and would do it again but poss in a few years.

Like the mix of cruise & stay mostly for the cost lol.

If we could we def would do 2 weeks cruise but we've also got a static caravan we go to for weekends etc and what with the ground rent etc and elec/gas bills for it thats the cost of another holiday really so our yearly crusie needs to be kept at a sensible price for now :(

Never looked at Island escape before but after reading about it on here would def try it ( if it says in the fleet !!!) but only prob is its only west med etc, we def want to do Greece next year if we decide caribbean is too expensive for now :( which i think it will be.

2 weeks all inc on the IE is such a good deal even with a decent cabin upgrade :D:D

 

Sorry, Dreamgirl, I misread & thought you meant Adriatic not Aegean lol! I didn't realise that the prices were so much different for cruise & stay, I must admit - we have never looked at that option, prob because we have our 2 teens with us & although we manage fine in a cabin, I'm not sure I would want to share a hotel room for a week, sounds silly, I know but it's a different type of holiday!!!! The cruise holidays are ideal for people with teens as they often meet up with other teens in the day or evenings & we know that they are safe within the confines of the ship lol!

 

 

Lucky you, having your caravan as a retreat - we like to do lots of weekend breaks & usually another UK holiday & a week in France so I'm not sure while we still have the kids at home, how long we can justify spending so much on cruises every year BUT, I have learnt lots of lessons in life, you only live once, you never know what's around the corner & working in a nursing home, I see so many people having to sell their houses & give up all their hard earned money to pay for it which makes me really sad when some people get it for nothing :( so sometimes you have to do what you can when you can lol!!

[Dreamgirl1957]

Crikey your def right there Jules, if we knew what was coming....:eek::eek:

I will def price up 2 weeks and see what they come out at , hopefully they are now looking at 2014 prices at "Thoms Towers " as geo calls it (love that!) and thinking they should keep them as low as possible !!

We'll see but i think im expecting a bit much ! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Julessmiles]

Crikey your def right there Jules, if we knew what was coming....:eek::eek:

I will def price up 2 weeks and see what they come out at , hopefully they are now looking at 2014 prices at "Thoms Towers " as geo calls it (love that!) and thinking they should keep them as low as possible !!

We'll see but i think im expecting a bit much ! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

They will be doing it as we speak no doubt; there's only 2 months to go until "launch" !!! Can't wait to see where they will be going, what ships will be going where etc etc........

[Julessmiles]

if its any consolation....my current booking has also gone down £400 from when I booked...blx...I mean oh bother!:o

 

and just when it i thought it couldn’t get any worse.....dd's have just asked for yet another trip to the Hollister store this weekend!:eek::(

 

Send them out to work lol! My daughter has got herself a Saturday & holiday job & whilst obviously we still buy clothes etc for her, she really enjoys going shopping with her friends & really does appreciate working for it, earning it & spending her own money now ( and she always saves half of what she earns too, her choice, and what a good choice too!) She is so pleased when she comes back from her shopping trips to show us what she's bought and she's got a good eye for a bargain now too - got some really lovely stuff from Hollister last weekend at an excellent price!!

[Cymro1953]

You lucky thing Berwyn, just saying to Jules its a bit dear for us as a rule as weve got a static caravan too so all gets a bit expensive :eek:

My hubby works on a farm and i am now self employed, got to go steady lol ;)

 

When the prices come out for 14 will def price up both options and have a good think, poss not go for such a dear cabin as we have done this time and might see if can afford the two weeks. Had 12 nights this year which was lovely, i agree a week on the ship isnt long enough :(

 

If Majesty is in Greece again next year and we do decide to book it will def book early tho, been paying attention...deck 4 outside PLUS isnt it ?? ;);)

 

We were naughty last year. Only one holiday this year on the cruise. You definitely need a PLUS cabin if on Majesty. Either inside or outside. We had an inside this time for 1st time and it was fine. Deck 4 forward of the central lifts was fine. I just looked at Adriatic Explorer for mid Sept this year and it's about the same price as last year when we went.

 

 

Berwyn

[Dreamgirl1957]

Will be waiting with baited breath for the launch Jules and Berwyn, will start now eeking out the gruel to save a bit :D:D

Just off to our caravan now till Sun night so will give everyone on here a bit of peace for the weekend as the signal there is dreadful! :rolleyes:

[carrs]

I booked our party of 4 holiday through an online holiday TA and paid what i considered a fair price, including the AI on board for free and 3 nights AI in majorca after cruise..this I booked in Sept 2012, just been on both the TA site and Thomson site and same holiday is over £200 per couple more expensive now, so its a chance game.. if you want to wait and chance your arm 2 or 3 weeks before cruise you might get better deal.

 

carrs:rolleyes:

[Dreamgirl1957]

I booked our party of 4 holiday through an online holiday TA and paid what i considered a fair price, including the AI on board for free and 3 nights AI in majorca after cruise..this I booked in Sept 2012, just been on both the TA site and Thomson site and same holiday is over £200 per couple more expensive now, so its a chance game.. if you want to wait and chance your arm 2 or 3 weeks before cruise you might get better deal.

 

carrs:rolleyes:

 

Hi carrs. :)

yes its pot luck really .

I'm an ex TA so I shopped round till I got quite a lot off the Thomson internet price ( knowing how much commission is made I couldn't have got any more disc, poor agent! !! ) so we were happy with the deal and all in all not too worried as we are quite happy with what we paid. :)

Best not to look again I think but I bet I will!

 

I always usually book really early to get what we want so it's my choice I was just winging I'm afraid :(

 

Been asking on here what everyone else thinks from past deals booking early or late but think i'll still be booking early again i just worry all the decent cabins will have gone if i wait , I'm just impatient :)

 

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[Cymro1953]

Hi carrs. :)

yes its pot luck really .

I'm an ex TA so I shopped round till I got quite a lot off the Thomson internet price ( knowing how much commission is made I couldn't have got any more disc, poor agent! !! ) so we were happy with the deal and all in all not too worried as we are quite happy with what we paid. :)

Best not to look again I think but I bet I will!

 

I always usually book really early to get what we want so it's my choice I was just winging I'm afraid :(

 

Been asking on here what everyone else thinks from past deals booking early or late but think i'll still be booking early again i just worry all the decent cabins will have gone if i wait , I'm just impatient :)

 

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Oh Vicki, you're just like me. Can't help peeping and checking prices after booking. Like you we like booking early so we can get what we want.

But I think it balances out. If you book early and get "free A.I." it's balanced by later cheaper prices but paying full for A.I.

 

Berwyn

[whistlerbc]

My experience has found that if there are just 2 of you and you can go anytime then last minute offers a bargain. My next cruise is a family one so dictated around the school holidays and because of this I booked early to ensure the airport, dates, deck and cabin type that we wanted. I was happy with the price I was offered and I have kept an eye on the price over the months. Our cruise has never been cheaper at any point with its nearest cost £400 more than we paid. Having checked in the last few days there are no cabins now available to accomodate the required number. So really glad I booked early. I think school holidays definately do keep the prices higher due to demand.

 

I once booked Destiny within 5 weeks of travel, got the airport etc that we wanted and did pay half the price of most onboard however that was for 2 people and we could travel on whichever date suited.