would you book a 2017 cruise now or wait to book onboard

[Laurba99]

I have a spring break cruise booked for

2016 but based on the price (holy cow so high) I thought I would jump the gun and hold one for 2017. I hate

to miss the price it's at now. assuming I

hold it what happens if I want to book on board ( heard much more onboard credit and you can even

combine with your travel

agencies on board credit!)

If the room category is still available would I be able

to do it on board? I am

guessing if the price is higher I'd have to start

over and risk paying more?

[Clarea]

I'd book the cruise now, and if the price has not changed when you are onboard, then cancel and rebook.

[Laurba99]

ok :) sort of realized when posting this was an obvious question. I

just always wanted to book onboard but I guess it also has to make

financial sense!

[Desert Cruizers]

Prices are better if you book early and you can select your cabin of choice if this is important.

[BillOh]

I'd book the cruise now, and if the price has not changed when you are onboard, then cancel and rebook.

 

I can't fault this advice. I recently ran into the same situation. I normally book my next cruise on board. I did so on Freedom this spring, reserving my up coming Oasis trip then. It was my intention sometime this fall to begin considering what our 2017 cruise would be. A couple of people knew what I was considering and pointed out to me great deals on Adventure that were coming up and she was sailing to 3 new islands (to us) the week we normally cruise. When I looked the far was a couple hundred dollars less for a JS than I expected to pay for the D1 balcony that I would have reserved, so we jumped on it. It doesn't hurt to look and know about what prices "should be" and watch for talk of great pricing.

Edited September 14, 2015 by BillOh

[George C]

I'd book the cruise now, and if the price has not changed when you are onboard, then cancel and rebook.

 

that is what I would do

[molly361]

I'd book the cruise now, and if the price has not changed when you are onboard, then cancel and rebook.

 

That's what I would do as well!! And what I have done

[JTBCruiser]

We always book early and end up with the best prices and in one case, we were able to get a lower price before final payment was due through our TA. :cool:

[dorisis]

The cruises we book early are the cruises that seem to increase in price. It also gives us a better choice of cabins since we now need an accessible cabin and they go quickly.

[Alwaysmoet]

We always book early and end up with the best prices and in one case, we were able to get a lower price before final payment was due through our TA. :cool:

I am new to cruising. How do you know when you have booked the best price available?

[Clarea]

I am new to cruising. How do you know when you have booked the best price available?

You have to keep checking Royal's website periodically to see if the price has gone down. There's no way to know if a price you see one day will be lower later.

[marci22]

I am new to cruising. How do you know when you have booked the best price available?

 

You can also sign up for various price alert services. There is one here on this site and others can be found by googling "monitor cruise prices".

 

They will notify you according to your selections (price up, price down, category gone, category back). Sometimes they miss a price drop but overall it helps if you want to watch prices.

[Alwaysmoet]

Thank you all very much for your tips, and I shall follow your recommendations.

[Cruisin'4Us]

Could a random cruise be booked onboard, then (when the cruise is over) cancel and have the funds transferred to another existing reservation? Not sure about the "ins and outs" of the 'new' Next Cruise policy...

Edited September 14, 2015 by Cruisin'4Us

[Clarea]

Could a random cruise be booked onboard' date=' then (when the cruise is over) cancel and have the funds transferred to another existing reservation? Not sure about the "ins and outs" of the 'new' Next Cruise policy...[/quote']

Yes, but you don't want to cancel, you would just change the ship and/or sail date.

[Cruisin'4Us]

Thanks Bob. :)

 

Rob

 

P.S. To OP, yes we would. There is a 2017 booking in our signature!

Edited September 14, 2015 by Cruisin'4Us

[Amtrack Springfield]

We booked the Harmony for February, 2017 and the price has gone up $400 PP.

[mcatmcat]

#2 answer

 

But of course the down payment will be huge compared to booking onboard or waiting for the wow sale

[Virtopia]

When I see a good price, I book it. Since I mainly sail solo, I can't afford to let a good price go by. The cruise I booked for next September has gone up about $500 since I booked and I was going to wait until my upcoming cruise to book it ... so glad I didn't.

[Summerknight]

We booked our 2017 cruise the day it became available. The price has gone up since then.

[TheInnocentAge]

I have a spring break cruise booked for

2016 but based on the price (holy cow so high) I thought I would jump the gun and hold one for 2017. I hate

to miss the price it's at now. assuming I

hold it what happens if I want to book on board ( heard much more onboard credit and you can even

combine with your travel

agencies on board credit!)

If the room category is still available would I be able

to do it on board? I am

guessing if the price is higher I'd have to start

over and risk paying more?

 

Add me to the list of those who recommend that you book as early as possible. Three months ago I booked a Feb 2017 cruise, and the price has already risen by over $1300.

[nbsjcruiser]

Its been our experience that booking as early as possible almost always is the right choice. We book at least a year out and sometimes 2. We've booked a Princess 7 Day eastern for Nov 2016 and a 10 day southern on Princess for March 2017. The prices are just too good to pass up right now. Same thing with our upcoming cruises on the Navigator - the 8 day was booked a long time ago when prices were about 50% what they are now.

[sasha96]

Could a random cruise be booked onboard' date=' then (when the cruise is over) cancel and have the funds transferred to another existing reservation? Not sure about the "ins and outs" of the 'new' Next Cruise policy...[/quote']

 

Probably when you sail in April the itineraries and prices will be out for the next year. You may get a good deal on the next cruise after that.

[marci22]

This question gets asked a lot (onboard vs now).

 

If you can cancel without penalty, I would always book now and see what happens once you are onboard. If the price is same or lower when you sail, book onboard and cancel your other booking when you get home.

 

If the deposit is a meaningful amount to you, you may want to book onboard so that you don't have to come up with a big deposit initially. But you risk an increase in the fare price.

[StayCool]

How far in advance do they release the itineraries? TIA