Book early? Book later?

[IslandLife17]

As pretty much a new cruiser, I have no idea when the best time to book the cruise is. We are planning the week of February break, so it's usually a busy time for most vacation options.

 

I've seen some pretty good deals, and it seems as though room choices are already limited. At the same time, I'm still in research mode and not ready to commit. Also, we have to fly in to Florida. In laws winter there and the plan is to head out of NY a couple of days early and then head to the cruise. Southwest (our preferred carrier) doesn't even come out with their February schedule until late June/early July for February. And if flights are ridiculous, we probably wouldn't go. Driving would take two days and we don't have that kind of time, especially on the way back.

 

At the same time, I'd hate to miss out on a good deal. Kind of feeling like if we can get a great deal on a cruise, then the airfare will work itself out.

 

What to do?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We like to book cruises early. That way we can choose the cabin we want.

Go for it.

You can cancel your cruise up until final payment and get your deposit back.

[paul929207]

We also like to book early. That way, we lock in a maximum price. If the fare goes down, I call our TA and get the lower fare. If it goes up, I just smile since the increase does not affect me

[Essiesmom]

I would book now if you see a deal that works for you. then, when airfares come out, you have some flexibility as to when to fly as you are stopping with relatives...If the best air doesn't quite fit with the cruise, you can cancel before final payment without penalty (unless you used a travel agent/agency that imposes a fee) and book a different time. EM

[thinfool]

Book your cruise now, or soon. You can be refared if there is a price drop before your final payment.

 

If your airfare is a bust, you can still cancel the cruise before final payment.**

 

**Note that some cruise fares come with cancellation penalties from either the cruiseline or a Travel Agent even if you cancel before final payment.

 

In essence, you give to get.

 

Example1: Carnival offers 'Early Saver' rates up to 5 months before sail date for 7 day cruises. You get their best rate as well as price drops up to 2 days before sail date. However, if you cancel, you lose $50 of your deposit and the balance of your deposit is 'escrowed' or held on account to be used on a future sailing within 2 years.

 

Example2: Princess has recently started great sales, of which some have non-refundable deposits.

 

My point is...do your homework so that you will know how to navigate your situation successfully.

 

Lastly, spend a little time here on CC looking at the forum on Trip Insurance.

[trish1c]

It depends.

 

If you have to go a specific busy week, earlier may be better so you don't get closed out of the week / cabin you want.

 

If you can be flexible you can book later.

 

We have done both. I usually book later. Last cruise I booked the earliest ever then got very annoyed when the cruise line started to run these awesome specials that I was closed out of. Because of those specials we booked a year out this time. So far I'm happy with my choice because the price for our cabin went up $50.

 

The real downside to booking later is you might not be able to get reasonable airfare.

 

In 2010-11, I was watching 2 cruises. One skyrocketed & practically tripled by the time I was ready to book. The other plummeted but when I could finally make everything work to get away the airfare per person was more than the cost of the cabin. :eek:

[RikkuCat]

If you have to go a certain week, you want a certain cabin, or you see a good deal, it makes sense to book now - especially since you want to travel during school vacation week and cabins are already selling out. In general, however, if your travel dates are flexible, you don't have your heart set on a certain cruise, and/or don't want a particular cabin, there's no need to book now if you're still considering options. In your case, since it sounds like you have to travel that particular week, I'd go ahead and book. The other factor is airfare, which usually doesn't go in any direction except up. Given that you need to fly and you're concerned about the cost, book it as far in advance as possible and lock it in. It doesn't sound like you're waiting for anything, other than perhaps for a better deal to come along. If you're happy with the price now, book it - you can always get your fare adjusted, rebook, or cancel before final payment, as others have mentioned.

 

That said, we don't book early - but our situation is different. We can travel pretty much anytime, but we don't like to book too early because something ALWAYS comes up: a work trip, big project, family event, whatever. (Sure, we could cancel or change our plans prior to final payment, but that's a hassle that we don't need - it's easier to book later.) We usually have a pretty good idea what our schedules will look like about 4-5 months out and can start looking at dates and talking about possible destinations. I like to book land vacations a little earlier than cruises, since there are more moving pieces - but for a cruise, I am comfortable booking 2-3 months out. We usually seem to book right around final payment date - I think the earliest we've ever booked a cruise was a week or two before final payment and the latest was about 30 days out. This works for us because we're pretty flexible in travel dates, departure ports, cabin choice (we won't book a lower cabin than a balcony, but don't care where we are on the ship), and we always use points for airfare (which have no blackout dates).

 

Is this is cheapest way to go? Probably not - but we've always been happy with the prices we've paid. If I was trying to minimize the price that we paid so we could take more cruises, I'd probably do more research on the best time to book to save money - but that's a moot point because we don't have time to take any more vacations than we normally do. We're happy with what we end up paying and that's the bottom line.

Edited April 14, 2015 by RikkuCat

[BlueRiband]

...At the same time, I'd hate to miss out on a good deal. Kind of feeling like if we can get a great deal on a cruise, then the airfare will work itself out...

 

Another member gave 5 criteria that must all be true if one is to wait out booking in hope of a great deal:

1. lowest price is your primary goal over any other consideration,

2. you are not tied to just one sailing date,

3. you can accept a category guarantee,

4. you are willing to accept that the price might to up or the ship can sell out before you make up your mind, and

5. airfare is not an issue.

 

In many cases the savings on a late booking are cancelled out by higher airfares. And the later you book the more money the cruise line will want up front with very late bookings requiring full and immediate payment.

Edited April 14, 2015 by BlueRiband

[Host Walt]

Good question. The answer depends on the cruise line and whether you have a travel agent (real person, not a website address).

 

We always book early when we are reasonably sure of our sailing dates and suitability of an itinerary.

 

Our next cruise is a TA on Princess this fall. When we decided to take a TransAtlantic, and had recommendations from friends who had done the cruise, we called Princess and booked the cruise, then let our TA knaow so she could transfer the record over to her account.

 

The ship sails on 10/3/15 but we made the decision in early July 2014. We said we would take a guarantee but were assigned a stateroom and got a few goodies (a small OBC, for example) and a good price.

 

Since then we've been watching the Princess website. In early January we found that all space was sold out except full suites and inside staterooms.

 

Yes, once the deadline for payment arrives space will probably open up, but this way we know we're good to go.

 

That's why we usually book as early as possible.

[Steviewonder1]

We book early to get the PH Suite that we want. Yes, we are "Spoiled Rotten" but we always have a great time in our Suite. Next thing is to book the airfare and use as many points as we can including buying some to make the next level!