Booking a LAST MINUTE Cruise For the First Time: Calling All Experts!

[CrazyKoi]

Ahoy!

Thanks so much for reading my post! There are so many seasoned cruise experts here and I am so thankful to be gleaning from your knowledge.

 

My husband and I are looking to sail in early February on the NCL Sky. We wanted to book the cheapest possible inside room because the whole ship is open bar and we really don't spend any time in our cabin. We have a particular date in mind and have to book our airfare in about a week to take advantage of a free flight voucher that we have.

 

When we booked our honeymoon a year ago, a particular travel agency promised us $200 off of the next cruise that we book through them. Unfortunately, getting them to communicate with me has been like pulling teeth from an unsedated saber tooth tiger. Its been so frustrating.

 

As I am watching cruise fares now for NCL, I see that the same ship and same itinerary is significantly cheaper for cruises leaving in the next two weeks (same ship, same itinerary, $200 per person lower for sailings next week). With this said, I am contemplating booking our airfare now and just waiting until closer to our sail date and booking our cruise cabin on my own. My rationale is that we are flying in to Fort Lauderdale, so really we can hop on a sailing from one of many ports and many cruise lines with a last minute cruise fare (we don't mind driving).

 

My questions are:

Do you think that this is a foolish approach? Typically I am a person who likes to plan way ahead, so this "wait and see" approach feels foreign to me. The articles that I have read regarding last minute fares have encouraged booking early rather than late, however, most of these have been written BY travel agencies. In your experience, do last minute fares still save money like I understand that they used to?

 

I'm trying to follow the advice that I read on another thread about avoiding peak period sailings. I am guessing that part of the reason that the last minute cruise fare that I am seeing for the next two weeks (August 29, etc) may be low, in part, is because people are heading back to school and back to work. Can the same be said of early February sailings (No longer winter break for colleges, holidays are over, etc).

 

Knowing that I am going to purchase airfare no matter what, if you were me, what would you do? Book now or wait for a last minute fare?

 

Thank you so much for reading my post and for any recommendations that you might be able to offer!

 

P.S.- Are there any cruise fare predictors out there based on data from past years? Every time that I look, I pull up a broken link. :eek:

[Sauer-kraut]

If you are purchasing flights anyways, you can always do a land vacation if you don't get on a cruise. I have booked on a Wed for a Sunday departure, it was pretty darn cheap!

 

Also you have to be flexible as to what cabin type you want/get, things might get snapped up. The best time to look is just after final payment is due and cabins are released. If you can roll with the flow and be flexible on ports I think you don't really have to worry. You can always go to a big online cruise discounter and put the dates in and region and you can see all sailings departing on your dates.

[atomax]

We booked our Panama Canal repo cruise two weeks + 1 day before departure; the fare was super cheap ($50 per night). Had to time it so that we could get a decent airfare to Miami (or FLL). I saw the price on the website, and by some odd coincidence, our PCC called me the next day to see if I wanted to book something. When I told him what I wanted, he told me that the fare he had was $50pp cheaper than the website, so we went ahead and booked the cruise. A day later (of course), the price dropped *another* $50pp. I contacted him, and he was only able to get us $25 in OBC. However, airfare subsequently went up $50pp, so it was a wash. A week later, the price was back up to what I saw originally (maybe even slightly more).

 

Bear in mind, Labor Day is coming up, so that could have a negative impact (i.e., increase) on airfare, so make your decision soon.

 

Bear in mind 2: Hurricane season is upon us (at least, I think it is), so that's another reason why cruise prices are so cheap now.

[grandmarnnurse]

I have never booked a cruise last minute, but from everything I've read, only the smaller, older ships drop their rates before sailing, as their cabins do not always get filled, and they want a full ship to sail (more money spent on ship). The larger, newer ships with more of the new amenities fill up fast, and any remaining cabins the rate goes up, and they still sail full.

As for airfares, avoid Presidents week in mid February. Fares always are higher that week, as we found out, having chosen to cruise 2 years in a row that week because it was the only time the hubby could take off work (drove school bus, and no school that week) Many families choose that week to vacation, as kids are off school.

I was interested in the Sky, also, due to its all inclusive rate. Please post a review after your cruise for us all. Have fun!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Jeremiah1212]

If you are truly flexible on cruise lines and cabin choices, it could work. Even though February is outside of peak 'holiday' time, it's still a very busy time for people escaping cold winter weather. Keep in mind you may not qualify for certain perks booking last minute or low fare cabins.

 

I've never shopped for a fall cruise, but with school being back in session and hurricane season upon us, I would image there are more last minute discounts available now as opposed to what will be available in the winter. As mentioned previously, you may have better luck with a large travel agent that's looking to dump their unsold inventory than with the cruise line directly.

 

If you book your air and then end up having to stay a night or two in a hotel, you may negate any savings from the cruise fare too. Something to keep in mind. Hotels in South Florida in the winter are not cheap.

[MICHLEV1974]

I have cruised and booked last minute for February--not fun. I live in Rhode Island and sometimes the weather is so tricky getting out of the northeast to go to Florida.

 

I purchased my airfare months in advance--similar to what you are attempting. I then booked the cruise 2 weeks prior to sailing date because I kept watching the fare go lower and lower...as soon as I saw the fare drop on the popular websites for discounted last minute cruises, I called NCL and booked directly with NCL. Since it is too close to the sailing date, I could not purchase trip interruption insurance, so we had to be at the mercy of possible snow.

 

I like to plan things well in advance, as you mentioned. As a back up, I booked a land vaca in Florida at a hotel that you didn't have to prepay. When I saw the weather was clear, I called the hotel and cancelled my reservation with no penalties and boarded the cruise :)

 

Weather is not your friend in early Feb...but the prices are nice and low...

 

Are you going on the SKY? have fun!

[RosieRoo]

If you are truly flexible on cruise lines and cabin choices, it could work. Even though February is outside of peak 'holiday' time, it's still a very busy time for people escaping cold winter weather. Keep in mind you may not qualify for certain perks booking last minute or low fare cabins.

 

I've never shopped for a fall cruise, but with school being back in session and hurricane season upon us, I would image there are more last minute discounts available now as opposed to what will be available in the winter. As mentioned previously, you may have better luck with a large travel agent that's looking to dump their unsold inventory than with the cruise line directly.

 

If you book your air and then end up having to stay a night or two in a hotel, you may negate any savings from the cruise fare too. Something to keep in mind. Hotels in South Florida in the winter are not cheap.

 

Jeremiah1212 is correct, I just booked a last minute cruise on Escape and although the price was good, it did not come with any of the current promos. Usually those cheap last minute deals don't. I can also attest to the fact that hotels in Florida are not cheap in February. That is peak season here.

 

Having lived up north for most of my life, I agree with MICHLEV1974, getting to Florida in February can be tricky. Not only is it usually the snowiest month, but because of school vacation and the fact that everyone wants to get out of the snow, flights can be expensive.

 

The possibility of it working for you is certainly there. I think it'd just be too stressful for me. Whatever you decide, enjoy your vacation.

 

BTW When I moved to Florida I thought there'd be all these great last minute deals I could take advantage of since I didn't have to fly anymore. The reality is there aren't that many great last minute deals even for those of us who live here unless you're extremely flexible with dates, cabin choice, etc.

Edited August 24, 2016 by RosieRoo

[DevCruise]

My suggestion if you're looking to book airfare now. Check all the cruise lines for the week you're planning to be there and see what all ships are going to be in port and adjust your dates so that there are at least a couple ships in port to choose from. Then if your first choice itinerary doesn't go on sale, maybe one of the other ones will.

 

And like some of the others have said, have a land based backup plan just in case. Unless you're booking something like Southwest that would allow you to keep the money paid as a future credit and you'd be ok with that.

[SeaShark]

Ahoy!

Thanks so much for reading my post! There are so many seasoned cruise experts here and I am so thankful to be gleaning from your knowledge.

 

My husband and I are looking to sail in early February on the NCL Sky. We wanted to book the cheapest possible inside room because the whole ship is open bar and we really don't spend any time in our cabin. We have a particular date in mind and have to book our airfare in about a week to take advantage of a free flight voucher that we have.

 

When we booked our honeymoon a year ago, a particular travel agency promised us $200 off of the next cruise that we book through them. Unfortunately, getting them to communicate with me has been like pulling teeth from an unsedated saber tooth tiger. Its been so frustrating.

 

As I am watching cruise fares now for NCL, I see that the same ship and same itinerary is significantly cheaper for cruises leaving in the next two weeks (same ship, same itinerary, $200 per person lower for sailings next week). With this said, I am contemplating booking our airfare now and just waiting until closer to our sail date and booking our cruise cabin on my own. My rationale is that we are flying in to Fort Lauderdale, so really we can hop on a sailing from one of many ports and many cruise lines with a last minute cruise fare (we don't mind driving).

 

My questions are:

Do you think that this is a foolish approach? Typically I am a person who likes to plan way ahead, so this "wait and see" approach feels foreign to me. The articles that I have read regarding last minute fares have encouraged booking early rather than late, however, most of these have been written BY travel agencies. In your experience, do last minute fares still save money like I understand that they used to?

 

I'm trying to follow the advice that I read on another thread about avoiding peak period sailings. I am guessing that part of the reason that the last minute cruise fare that I am seeing for the next two weeks (August 29, etc) may be low, in part, is because people are heading back to school and back to work. Can the same be said of early February sailings (No longer winter break for colleges, holidays are over, etc).

 

Knowing that I am going to purchase airfare no matter what, if you were me, what would you do? Book now or wait for a last minute fare?

 

Thank you so much for reading my post and for any recommendations that you might be able to offer!

 

P.S.- Are there any cruise fare predictors out there based on data from past years? Every time that I look, I pull up a broken link. :eek:

 

OK...here is an "out-of-the-box" option.

 

Right now, there is someone on eBay selling a cruise certificate (not a Cruise Reward/CruiseNext Certificate) that entitles the bearer to an inside cabin for 2 adults on any sailing on the Norwegian Sky. The certificate has to be used before next July, and the cruise must be booked through a specific travel agency. The seller is asking $450 for the certificate...which could just be the savings you are looking for.

 

The seller has a pic on the listing showing the Terms & Conditions. It might be worth checking out if you want to sail on the Sky. I would take a look and then call the travel agency and ask a few questions on the deal before making a decision.