The need to book so far in advance........

[jayscore]

It seems you have to book at least a year in advance to snag the more popular cabins.

I used to be able to nail my favorite cabins six to nine months ahead.

(Mind you, I'm an "aft rat" or aft snob as it were.) Still, it seems folks are booking way more in advance than they used to.

I assume this is the trend now?:confused:

[lmf24lmf]

This may be a silly question, but I am curious about which cabins are the more popular ones?

Thanks

[shof515]

i book a year in advance or more because the prices is cheaper

[cruizinisthebest]

On every ship we book, there are very specific cabins that I want. Combine that with my sister who will only sail in balconies. We like to be near one another if at all possible. Working out cabin choices can be tricky. We also like having a solid year to pay for a cruise. For those reasons, we book as early as possible.

 

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[OCruisers]

We book early to get the cabin location we want. :D

[rkacruiser]

I think it is a matter of what your priorities may be as to when one books.

 

If cabin category and/or location is of prime importance, then an earlier than later booking is a good idea. Pricing is often--not always--better the earlier that one books. (Just make certain that if the price drops, one can take advantage of that without a cancellation and then re-booking. When one cancels, the cabin goes back into inventory and someone else may snag it before you are able to do so.) If the cruise itinerary is one that is not often sailed by that ship or cruise line, then an early booking is advisable, if one really wants to sail on that cruise.

[Nein2]

Book early, book often. Take advantage of the $50 deposits. Cancel before 75 days on ones you no wnat.

[aricczona]

I finally snagged a "Grand scenic ocean view" room. I took advantage of the $50 deposit sale, and booked over a year and a half out to get it. I have always had a balcony, but the layout of this room intrigued me. They are like the unicorn of cabins. I started to doubt their existence since they are so rarely available. :')

[SNJCruisers]

I finally snagged a "Grand scenic ocean view" room.

Congrats....Saw pics of those cabins and they look fantastic. If I'm not mistaken there's only 4 of them per ship and only available in less than half of the fleet.

 

 

 

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[jayscore]

All the replies are totally valid, and I agree with them!

I guess I'm surprised how soon aft wraps, etc are selling compared to past cruises I have booked.

Thanks for the replies! ;)

[coevan]

we have never booked more than 6 months out and always get the cabin we want. I completely disagree that booking a year + in advance is the best pricing. We never book airlines more than 3 months out, never a problem. One thing I do not understand is the $50 deposit. Why does this mean anything to anyone? On our recent B2B on the Magic, we booked early October and got the same spa cabin for both legs.

[Jamericannn]

I book early for the price and so I can get every price drop that comes up

[Alaskan Joe]

I am eye balling a 14 day Alaskan cruise Aug '18. I figured an AFT balcony, seems like it would be a cool view through the inside passage way. I was also looking at a mock booking and as faith has it my childhood address is available. My childhood address was 7442 lake shore drive, one of the AFT balcony rooms available still is cabin # 7442:confused: it faith I tell ya.:halo: I was waiting until June to decide if I want to book or not, but after reading this thread I may reconsider:confused:.

[SNJCruisers]

I think it all comes down to the type of cabin you want and what the supply and demand is for that particular type of cabin. For instance, the new Havana interior cabins that are available on the Vista and Horizon are very popular on some itineraries. The 8 day southern itinerary is sold out for Jan thru April of 2018. There are only 14 available for each sailing combined with the fact that the 8 day southern is only available once a month makes it popular and thus the need to book it far in advance.

 

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[Live to Dream]

I booked 2 years in advance.

 

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[nhsails]

Another view, many of us cruise multiple lines, believe more common with them than Carnival to book as soon as dates open. We have 4 on books right now, 3 different lines and out as far as Holiday 2019 all booked when became available. Good pricing, good perks and cabins I want.

[Cafedumonde]

We find prices go up. Usually. So we book early.

[SNJCruisers]

Have 4 booked in the pipeline for the first time ever, with one 18 months out and two 24 months out, including 8 day southern Caribbean on Horizon in Feb of 2019.

 

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[BenjiRodney]

Once I've decided on a date and ship I go ahead and book. I've got four booked between July 2017 and Oct 2018 so far.

[cruizergal70]

Booking early also helps to plan vacation days at work. Depending on what's happening in life, a person may need to purchase extra days.

[sfaaa]

So long as you don't book ES, booking early means you have all the flexibilities under your control up to final payment.

[cruizinisthebest]

Congrats....Saw pics of those cabins and they look fantastic. If I'm not mistaken there's only 4 of them per ship and only available in less than half of the fleet.

 

 

 

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2 on the 6 ships that have them. The smaller ones in between the two grand scenics are just scenic oceanviews. Still nice but smaller with one of those big windows. We had one on the Freedom and was able to upgrade from our inside about 2 months out. Most people didn't realize Freedom was getting them after the drydock in 2014. That's how we got it so close to sail date. They are indeed hard to get. I tried to book one for December 2018 and both were gone!

 

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[Budget Queen]

I don't care where my cabin is, so I pretty much always late book. I find no benefit for the "$50" deposit and would never consider that for a reason to book. It does not take me a year to pay for a cruise. :) Late booked cruises, are pay in full.

 

I am an opportunity cruiser and do have a priority for the itinerary and don't care what line. There are significant late booking deals to be had.

 

Clearly something for everyone.

[IPlayWithString]

It seems you have to book at least a year in advance to snag the more popular cabins.

I used to be able to nail my favorite cabins six to nine months ahead.

(Mind you, I'm an "aft rat" or aft snob as it were.) Still, it seems folks are booking way more in advance than they used to.

I assume this is the trend now?:confused:

 

Maybe it is with some people...def not with us. We can only sail at certain times of year (mostly during the summer) and we never book more than two or three months in advance when we do end up booking a cruise. We're not overly picky about our cabin type or where it is...we're just glad to be on the danged boat. :)

 

And I'm probably the only person on this board who does not know or care what the different number/letter combos mean where cabin categories are concerned.

[easyboy]

I have preferred cabins so I book well in advance. I then regularly monitor price drops/new deals for re-fare.