To book early or to wait?

[mistyPA]

Hello -

 

We are Platinum on this next cruise, which will be nice, however, we haven't cruised Princess in 5 years and are wondering if we should book early or wait to see if the prices drop. We were hoping that anyone who has frequented Princess will be able to shed some light on this topic?

 

We are planning to do a 10 day cruise in April on the Royal? We generally travel one cruise per year. The past 5 years we have opted to try the new ships offered by other cruise lines. We waited on the other cruises but that was because we weren't sure this far in advance what/where we wanted to travel. The other cruises were great but we missed that small ship feel. We like cruising new ships so we have traveled on Caribbean, Crown and Emerald and though these aren't as large as the ones we traveled they were competitively large when we traveled them and at no time did the ships feel as large as they were. Can anyone shed light as to the feel of the Royal Princess when compared to the other larger ships?

 

Thanks for any and all help.

[paul929207]

We book early. We usually do b2b or longer, so this lets us get the same cabin. We watch for price cuts. Any before final payment give us a reduction.

[Jules59]

Same here.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We book as early as possible to make sure we get the cabin we want. Then we look often at the prices and contact our TA when the price drops.

 

 

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[Pam in CA]

I book as early as possible and just about always pay less than if I'd booked later.

[OCruisers]

I book as early as possible and just about always pay less than if I'd booked later.

 

We've found the same to be true. Also, we get the cabin location we want.

LuLu

[geoherb]

If you are looking at one particular cruise, I recommend booking when the price is right for you. Then keep watching for price reductions--in all categories that would be acceptable. But if your dates are flexible, it can pay to wait until after the final payment date. I'm still watching a cruise in August on the Caribbean Princess (along with a couple of other cruises). Our dates are fixed, but we don't have our hearts set on this particular cruise. It would be nice if we can go, but we'll do something that week regardless. In the past couple of weeks, the price has come down. I'm emailing my TA again tomorrow to see what the price will be through him.

[Ethel5]

I book as early as possible to get launch fares. They almost always go higher later on.

[Astro Flyer]

I also book as early as possible for a cruise we definitely want & watch for price reductions. Otherwise we wait for last-minute bookings and recently Princess eZAir was our best option for flights. We're retired so can wait for deals like last April on the Royal Princess where we could've sailed a 14 day TA cruise to Europe for $1500 per person (inside) or $2200 per person (balcony) including round-trip airfare from LAX.

Edited June 14, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[JustinPlusLauren]

Yes, we book fairly early as well and then get the price reduction applied if the price goes down!

[PunkiC]

We book when we see a balcony deal that appeals to us. We have done 14 days to Hawaii and back for $1,500, a 15-day crossing from San Juan to Southampton for about $1,300.

 

In August we are doing Cunard round-trip Southampton to Russia for $1,700 plus a bunch of OBC just because we couldn't resist the price. The same goes for our QE2 Med trip in November.

 

I am watching now for a really cheap balcony on a last-minute Alaska cruise to help cure my withdrawal symptoms. :p

[custompcsys]

Sometimes you make out by waiting, sometimes you don't. For my CB cruise on 8/16 (its now after final payment) booking my cabin now would cost $1,000 more for the both of us than what we paid and no OBC. They only cabins they have "on sale" are forward cabins.

 

I agree with the other posters - book early, get the cabin location you want, then watch for price drops until final payment. This way you get the best of both worlds :)

[Colo Cruiser]

I am watching now for a really cheap balcony on a last-minute Alaska cruise to help cure my withdrawal symptoms. :p

 

 

Don't wait too long :eek:, those Alaska standby deals that came out last week for the summer are the lowest I have ever seen, and many available dates too.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We usually book fairly late--often about 2-3 months out--and think we get some great deals. We are quite flexible as to the date of the cruise and even where we are cruising. We have some dates in mind and are often watching several cruise intineraries that we are interested in. Because of family circumstances (elderly parents) we find it very hard to book far ahead.

 

If the price dips to what we think is a bargain, we book. It also has to work with airfare; we mostly use FF miles, so we have to be able to get seats.

 

Flexibility is the key. Although my husband is still working, it is in our own business with a son to take charge while we are gone. We also aren't too particular as to cabin (although we always get at least balconies), and will book guarantees. We mostly only cruise in winter, or maybe a spring TA.

 

An example of a deal: we had wanted to cruise to Hawaii. I watched Princess prices for months; about two months out I saw a balcony going for $1299 per person, ( and it was a coveted Caribe balcony) hundreds less than any time before. After quickly checking to see if we could get flights with FF miles--fairly easy for LA--we booked and had a great cruise, in Feb. of last year.

 

Within a week or less, and later, the same cabins went up to over $4000 dollars pp!

[kruisey]

Travel solo I am an ancient widowed senior;):D

In the past always booked well in advance but all changed this year I received a Special I could not resist only 6 months off cruise.Princess seems to have these 'Specials at times for new bookings.

When I did book early I rarely got any drop in price maybe this was due to having a solo cabin.

Anyway I am more than a happy puppy with this latest price.One doesn't get the same choice of cabin but as folks cancel one can always change for I keep a look out on the web.

My latest gimmick i have changed to 'Guarantee' just so things don't get too monotonous.Oh I have bought a packet of excellent ear plugs just in case;):D

[PunkiC]

That is a great price for Hawaii, Nebr.cruiser. I thought he had a good deal at $1,500--well it was a good deal, yours is just better. :p

 

Yes, Colo Cruiser, they have had some great deals to Alaska. Right now you can get an inside cabin for only $299 for a week, but it is an inside cabin and we don't do insides. We don't even do Ocean Views. We did once when we went on a very expensive New Year's cruise with friends and we hated it. We really love our balconies. Another problem with the really cheap Alaska cruises is that they are either Northbound or Southbound between Whittier and Vancouver and that would entail a flight either to or from Alaska.

 

We have been to Alaska many, many times, as DH was a commercial fisherman during high school and college and it was part of my sales territory when I still worked. In addition we have taken five cruises to Alaska, but would be happy to go again if we can find a last minute round trip cruise out of either Seattle or Vancouver. That way we can easily talk our Alaska virgin friends into joining us.

[denmarks]

You can always get a price drop if it occurs later as long as you have not made a no deposit refund purchase during a sale.

 

I received a triple upgrade from inside to balcony worth $1000. There is now a sale where I had the choice of saving $160 and going back to inside or leave things alone. I stayed with the $1000 upgrade over the $160 savings.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We book ASAP ...

[dorisis]

We book ASAP ...

 

We usually do it that way but we have found a TA who tracks price changes and gets it lowered when possible. For the most part early booking works best for us.

[Nebr.cruiser]

That is a great price for Hawaii, Nebr.cruiser. I thought he had a good deal at $1,500--well it was a good deal, yours is just better. :p

 

Yes, Colo Cruiser, they have had some great deals to Alaska. Right now you can get an inside cabin for only $299 for a week, but it is an inside cabin and we don't do insides. We don't even do Ocean Views. We did once when we went on a very expensive New Year's cruise with friends and we hated it. We really love our balconies. Another problem with the really cheap Alaska cruises is that they are either Northbound or Southbound between Whittier and Vancouver and that would entail a flight either to or from Alaska.

 

We have been to Alaska many, many times, as DH was a commercial fisherman during high school and college and it was part of my sales territory when I still worked. In addition we have taken five cruises to Alaska, but would be happy to go again if we can find a last minute round trip cruise out of either Seattle or Vancouver. That way we can easily talk our Alaska virgin friends into joining us.

 

Yeah, I jumped right on it when I saw that price--cheapest before that had been running around $1499. That price lasted only a couple of days.

 

I also saw the cheap Alaska cruises; we've cruised there once and would like to go again, especially if it included a land portion, but when I checked airfare (I think the one we were interested in left from Anchorage) it wasn't worth it. Also, summer on our lake is like a vacation (except, tell that to my husband who is rebuilding our enormous deck at the moment). Also, with a building business it is hard to be gone in summer.

 

I'm not sure I could stand having cruises booked many months or years in advance--too long to wait!

[Calgon1]

Book early to get the cabin you want. Prices will usually drop twice in the year before your cruise (once is the annual/semi-annual sale, and a second one specifically for your cruise).

 

If you have a good TA (CLIA Elite), they will constantly monitor prices on client's bookings. Make sure he/she knows your preference(s) for application of the reduction(s). i.e. - Upgrade, OBC or straight reduction . . .

[Putterdude]

We always book early, often 12 to 18 months out, as we require an accessible cabin. If the price drops then we get the advantage of it, if it goes up then we are protected. If you are prepared to see if there is a last minute sale on cabins after final and are prepared to accept what ever is available then you may save some money but you could be disappointed as well.

[mistyPA]

Thanks to all for their responses. I think we are going to go ahead and book the cabins. There are some great OBC with Costco right now - $200+. And for the military in our group - DLC is offering $310 OBC. Even if price drops it will have to be significant and we can take advantage of price drops.

[LewesBeach]

Hello -

 

. . . we missed that small ship feel. We like cruising new ships so we have traveled on Caribbean, Crown and Emerald and though these aren't as large as the ones we traveled they were competitively large when we traveled them and at no time did the ships feel as large as they were. Can anyone shed light as to the feel of the Royal Princess when compared to the other larger ships?

 

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Not to ignite the infamous Royal controversy again, but you asked. Just my humble opinion: the Royal does not have a "small ship" feel. The atrium is positively gigantic compared to those other Princess ships you have sailed, with a huge dance floor, & bars, restaurants, lounges, etc overlooking it. There are fewer intimate indoor venues and no promenade deck. But, its gorgeous, and new, and has some great features, and many people loved it. See it for yourself, any cruise is great!

Berni

[elliair]

We've been looking for a cruise and finally settle on an Oct. 25 sailing to Mexico on the Star. This same cruise a month ago was higher and they just lowered the price. I am glad I waited, but still, there's no guarantees for a cruise to drop in price.