How far out do you book your cruise to get the best rate?

[martinfamily5]

Good morning, We are planning to take our first cruise as a 20th wedding anniversary celebration with our 3 teenage girls. We know we want to go in July of 2017. How far out do you book to get the best rate and do you use a travel agent or do it yourself? Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There is no magic time. If you are picky about your room type, level or location you buy early. Waiting too long may result in higher airfares eating up some or all of your savings. As you are a year old, you are not "too early".

 

Bear in mind, most cruise lines will give you a newer lower fare if one arrives, prior to final payment. After final payment, no fare adjustment is likely, although some cruise might compensate you in other ways for a price change. They aren't required to.

 

So, I would not wait to book your cruise, when you find one that suits your needs.

 

What I just described applies to most locations in the world, but a few locations have differing laws which may affect these behaviors.

 

As it is your first cruise, I would recommend getting a travel agent.

Edited July 29, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[Clarea]

Good morning, We are planning to take our first cruise as a 20th wedding anniversary celebration with our 3 teenage girls. We know we want to go in July of 2017. How far out do you book to get the best rate and do you use a travel agent or do it yourself? Thanks!

We book as soon as the itineraries become available and we use an excellent travel agent.

[teecee60]

Many people will tell you they got "GREAT deals" and "BIG discounts" but they almost NEVER give any numbers so you are left guessing. :rolleyes:

 

I'm rather A-typical... but usually book my cruises in the last 6 weeks prior to departure. :eek:

 

Just prior to final payment date, many people who have put deposits on cabins, back out at the last minute, and the cruise lines get stuck with now-empty cabins that they THOUGHT were sold. THAT is when you can grab some absolutely unbelievable deals. ;)

 

I got a 15 night transatlantic on Celebrity Reflection for only $449pp with $250 shareholder OBC booking only 10 days before departure.

 

I got a 23 night transpacific on Celebrity Century for only $799pp with $250 shareholder OBC booking 6 weeks before departure. :D

 

I got a 7 night Hawaiian Islands cruise on NCL Pride of America for only $249pp booking about 10 weeks prior to departure.

 

I got an 8 night Pacific Coast cruise on RCCL Explorer OTS for $374pp with $175 OBC booking 10 weeks prior to departure.

 

With an incredibly gorgeous, MULTI million dollar ship to explore, I am only in my cabin to sleep and shower, so I usually only book inside cabins, but I have done a couple of ocean views. The views from the top of the ship are wider and much more impressive than from a tiny balcony and are completely free. ;)

 

You can get VERY reasonable airfares through RCCL's "AIR2SEA" right up to the last few weeks prior to departure. My flight from middle-of-nowhere/hard-to-connect-to Fargo, ND to Rome was only $508 just 8 days before flying out! I just booked Tucson to Seattle for only $251 round trip for the Pacific Coast cruise in September. My flight from LAX to Sydney was only $605 from AIR2SEA!

 

If you "MUST" cruise on ONE particular ship, on ONE particular date, in ONE particular cabin, you are going to pay a premium price. If you have even SOME flexibility on those things, you will save HUGE amounts of money and be able to cruise much more often. I'd be skeptical of any claims without hard numbers. :o

Edited July 29, 2016 by teecee60

[CruiserBruce]

Great info teecee60, but you might note the OP is a group of 5, which almost guarantees 2 cabins...in different locations? Last minute airfares for 5 are challenging...difficult to get 5 seats near each other.

Edited July 29, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[navybankerteacher]

If there is an itinerary and/or ship you are interested in, you should start a year or so in advance to get an idea of pricing - and if a flight to the port is involved, you should monitor both in tandem. When you see prices you can live with for accommodations you want, you should book both - and significant cruise fare reductions prior to final payment will most likely be passed on to you. While it is true that there MIGHT be great bargains available a week or so before sailing, the odds are that there won't be much choice - and the higher air fares can wipe out a lot of cruise fare savings.

[Keith1010]

I believe in booking early realizing that lower price and higher price rooms tend to go first as to rooms within categories that are more desirable in terms of location. if price goes down we try to get the lower price and if price goes up we are protected by having booked early.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We book anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 years out.

It is not about the rate for us but about the cabin we want.

[griffy116]

We have already booked a cruise for June 2017. We book early because there are...FIVE of us and we want two cabins next to each other and we want to fly together. Sometimes flights for five can be tricky. Celebrity came out with an offer of ALL FOUR PERKS, something I don't think they will offer booking last minute. We are constricted on the time of year we can vacation (peak season) so we Free internet, free gratuities, free drink package and $300 OBC and on an OV room. I've never seen that offered before, especially for an OV room. It was a price we could live with because the perks mean we aren't spending this money when factored in. We got our two cabins at the location we wanted. If, by some chance, the price drops below and we add back in the cost of the perks (because we would have to cancel and re-book) we can always contact our TA, but we are satisfied this won't happen.

[calliopecruiser]

Good morning, We are planning to take our first cruise as a 20th wedding anniversary celebration with our 3 teenage girls. We know we want to go in July of 2017. How far out do you book to get the best rate and do you use a travel agent or do it yourself? Thanks!

 

If you need to fly to the cruise port, I would NOT recommend waiting to book -- you might find you get a better deal on the cruise, but have trouble finding (or finding an acceptable price on) the flights you need.

 

And, personally, the anticipation is part of the fun.....I want to know I'm going on a cruise, not waiting and wondering if the price will drop.

 

I already have a cruise booked in the summer of 2018! My cruise for the spring of 2017 has been booked for over 6 months.

[mjkacmom]

We like to book as far in advance with our family of 7, to get cabins close to each other. If prices drop before final payment, just cancel and rebook. July is a busy travel season.

Edited August 1, 2016 by mjkacmom

[Flatbush Flyer]

OP: depending on the cruise line and desirability of the particular itinerary, best cabins in summer 2017 per your needs and preferences may already be gone.

 

That said, there is no formula for "best time of the year. This past spring, I booked two 2017 and one 2018 longer cruises (23-38 days). Both 2017 cruises just had significant price drops (TA got us the adjustments) while the 2018 one had a monster price jump.

[nztraveller]

We found over the years that the later you book the more bang for your buck.Never had a bad cabin yet (fingers crossed) and had plenty of up-grades.

However having said that, if you are stringing together a couple of cruises(different lines) back to back and traveling across the world to get to them ,then adding in places to visit after the cruises, then you have no option but to book reasonably early to make sure the connections all work.

Cannot have your cake and eat it too :) .This the position we are in later this year ,so booked earlier than we would other wise

Edited August 2, 2016 by nztraveller

[Sandy_Peter]

I'm glad I found this post. I actually had the exact question in mind. I have slots booked for a cruise in 2017 already!

[mrs and mrs]

Could be 2 years to 2 months.

 

IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT.COME ON DOWN.:)

[GUT2407]

Book when I see a price I can live with.

 

If it's a line that refare so for price drops watch like a hawk.

 

If it's not, never look again.

[mrs and mrs]

Book when I see a price I can live with.

 

If it's a line that refare so for price drops watch like a hawk.

 

If it's not, never look again.

 

Not often I beat ya to a thread gutster,getting old,or slow day mate.:):eek:

[GUT2407]

Not often I beat ya to a thread gutster,getting old,or slow day mate.:):eek:

 

1. rottin b's keep wanting me to work. Mrs Gut's the worst, she's also banned me from booking any more cruises, for now anyway, rottin woman.

 

2. Just enrolled in another Uni course, so got something else to keep me occupied for a little while.

[Algebralovr]

I book early, choose the rooms I want, then hope for price drops. I don't get a lot of price drops, but often see others pay more than I did.

 

What booking early does do is give me the ability to make payments on the cruise rather than pay for it all at once. That way, I can pay as I go and enjoy the vacation I want without breaking the bank.

 

With a family of five, look into a family veranda suite that has separate sleeping for the kids and parents such as is offered on Celebrity Equinox if you are looking in the Caribbean in summer 2017. You'll need to call to book or have a travel agent book and it cannot be booked online because it is only for a family of five.

 

You may also want to book two rooms to give you two bathrooms. The family verandah I reference above only has one bathroom. You can usually book two rooms that are adjacent or across the hall from one another, and put the kids in one and the parents in the other. You cannot do this online, however. That way, mom and dad get the drink package if desired and you don't have to deal with switching once on board. A good agent knows this.

[maldenmusic]

We have booked anywhere from 14 months out to 10 days. I then watch for price drops. WE can drive to our ports so air fare isn't an issue.

[j0el]

For special occasions we may book a year ahead, and we watch and if last minute deals come up we may drop everything to cruise, but for me six months still gives a good selection and decent air fares, and we look for drops or upgrades. I have no complaints over prices or cabin choice.

[Cuizer2]

Good morning, We are planning to take our first cruise as a 20th wedding anniversary celebration with our 3 teenage girls. We know we want to go in July of 2017. How far out do you book to get the best rate and do you use a travel agent or do it yourself? Thanks!

 

As far out as possible. I've booked at least three cruises more than two years out. The most resent one is more than twenty months from sailing and is close to selling out. This is not the first time I have seen this happen.

 

If you book early you can always rebook at the lower rate if the price goes down. If you wait and the price goes up, you cannot ask for the old lower rate. Booking early gets you the best choice of cabins. Wait, and if it is a popular cruise, you might find that the ship is sold out.

[shadow8800]

Book as soon as you find your itinerary and price you are willing to pay...you can always watch to see if prices fall later on...better to book early as others have said