How close to sailing can I book?

[JBlock54]

We go on a cruise every November out of Ft. Lauderdale and we always book out cruise in July. This year we plan on going on Oasis again and are planning on booking airfare whenever we find a good price, but we were going to wait as long as possible to book the cruise because I know they give great last minute deals. We know we want a balcony room but other than that we are not picky as to where it is.

 

My questions are:

How close to the sailing date do they still book cabins?

 

What are they chances they would have absolutely no cabins left to book?

 

Any way to check how many cabins are left on a particular cruise?

 

Has anyone done this an had it work and do you recommend it?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Ken at the beach]

Sales of cabins stop appx 24 hours in advance of the sailing due to security procedures.

 

Many times e best deals are not this close to sailing but between 2 and 6 weeks out. As they gt close to the sailing and have only a few cabins left they tend to bump up the prices.

 

Depending on the sailing chances are pretty good that here may not be cabins available for a couple of days prior to the sailing.

 

You can do a mock booking and select a stateroom category then select change cabins. It will give you a list of up to 15 cabins available. If it shows 15 cabins then there are more, they just do not show them. You have to do this for every category. Way too much work.

[silentbob007]

While there are most definitely exceptions, I've found that many times you have to strike a balance between last-minute airfare and last-minute cruise prices. The sweet spot may be 4-6 weeks out for both ... however, it is also going to depend on when in November you are cruising ... obviously price on airfare is not going to go down if the flights fall anywhere around Thanksgiving. You probably need to be watching both prices to get a feel of where you'll jump.

[JBlock54]

Yes I have been looking at both pretty closely as well as watching how prices on cruises drop as they get closer to sailing. We are planning on November 15th cruise.

[Sadie cruiser]

Monitor those going going gone sales they have posted on the website. I booked 3 weeks out from a cruise leaving 4/13 FOS. I got a great rate on an inside for 3 people (of course would have wanted a balcony) but I took what I could get. Very excited just to get to cruise again.

 

Ever since I have been checking prices to see if they have come down and they haven't budged since I booked. So, with all said I wouldn't book later than the 3-4 week period unless of course you live in Florida and can go on a drop of a hat.

[tidygirl]

I had thought of doing this on our upcoming cruise in Apr and am now kicking myself. I got a good price on a flight to SJU so went ahead and booked the cruise now the prices have dropped about half of what I paid!

We did get upgraded from an inside to a balcony but I personally would have been happier with an inside at half the cost. Next year we may gamble and either go to SJU or Fla and go on whatever cruise to wherever as long as we get a good bargain and if we don't get any cruise I guess we'll spend the time vacationing on land! I'm all about having a good time for as cheap as possible!!!

[Trekker954]

We go on a cruise every November out of Ft. Lauderdale and we always book out cruise in July. This year we plan on going on Oasis again and are planning on booking airfare whenever we find a good price, but we were going to wait as long as possible to book the cruise because I know they give great last minute deals. We know we want a balcony room but other than that we are not picky as to where it is.

 

My questions are:

How close to the sailing date do they still book cabins?

 

What are they chances they would have absolutely no cabins left to book?

 

Any way to check how many cabins are left on a particular cruise?

 

Has anyone done this an had it work and do you recommend it?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

 

This should work fine for you, so long as its not over Thanksgiving. November isn't a high season since kids are still i school. Book your air though. Oasis is a huge ship, I think you'll find lots of price drops. I don't think I would wait until the very last minute. Oasis leaves on a Saturday. So what would be the downside if you gambled and they sold out before you booked? You spend a week in Fort Lauderdale and/or you book on another ship. (tons leave out of Port Everglades and Miami on Saturdays.

 

I gambled on my Med cruise. Booked air and (pre cruise Barcelona) hotel. Waited and waited, got a little nervous and finally picked up an inside, knowing I'd upsell once the prices dropped. They finally did and had a nice E1 for pretty cheap. And three days before the cruise they complimentary upgraded us to a JS. Niceeeeeeeee

[JBlock54]

Thanks for all the info so far!