Booking early

[yorky]

I always used to think you got great deals booking early on the cruise lines but maybe I was just wrong. We want to book a Caribbean cruise in December next year and are more than happy to pay the deposit now. However next to the equivalent cruise this December it’s way dearer. No deals and because of that it’s around £600 more for the two of us with no included drinks package. Going through an agent the advice from Celebrity was phone back in November/December.

[SetU2]

Cruise that fill easily are often best booked early both for price and cabin selection. Markets like the Caribbean often have reduced prices. Peak times like spring break you might not see reductions though.

 

 

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[Denny01]

I gave up a while ago trying for good deals on shorter notice cruising. Maybe we are booking more popular cruises, or popular ships (our Edge cruise in March 2019 is pretty well booked and going up in price).

 

So we book well in advance. And I’ll keep an eye on any reductions up to final payment then I never check again. Don’t want to know if it went down. Doesn’t matter to me anymore.

 

As for you, if you’re coming over from Scotland to catch a Caribbean cruise I’d think you’d need to book relatively early to get flights and hotels, and consider additional sightseeing.

 

Den

[Luvcrusn]

I always used to think you got great deals booking early on the cruise lines but maybe I was just wrong. We want to book a Caribbean cruise in December next year and are more than happy to pay the deposit now. However next to the equivalent cruise this December it’s way dearer. No deals and because of that it’s around £600 more for the two of us with no included drinks package. Going through an agent the advice from Celebrity was phone back in November/December.

We generally cruise the Caribbean in early December and I was just looking at the same time period. The prices we saw were comparable to this year's prices, however they include 1 less perk. This year, X is offering 2 perks and my large online TA is offering a third. Next year, Celebrity's offering 1 and the TA is offering 1 additional. I have also seen several price reductions on this year's December cruise. Although I've been able to get the price reductions applied, I know in UK you have different rules. The advantage of booking early to us is the ability to choose our desired stateroom. The prime ones are often not available when booking last minute.

[NantahalaCruiser]

Just compared US prices for Silhouette early December 12N cruises for refundable cheapest balcony:

 

2018: $1949 with 2 perks

2019: $1999 with 1 perk

 

Effective difference = $50 plus $174 (gratuity perk) = $224

 

If your cruise is similar, then using a US TA would probably make sense to book now and check prices and perks again in Oct/Nov this year.

[Elaine0138]

The UK prices are way higher for next year and no perks offered just yet.We used to book when cruises came out but recently we now book only abou 6 months or less now by then there is usually some offers on.

[laslomas]

I have usually booked quite soon after release date but have not done so recently as there are no perks offered but the prices are as high as you expect when OBC or drinks are included. The only 'perk' offered at the moment is the early booking guarantee:

 

"

Book a new 2019-2020 cruise by 15 March 2018, and should you find the price or offer is more favourable between now and 31 December 2018, you can rebook the exact same cruise and stateroom with no loss of deposit. T&Cs apply."

 

That is not much of an incentive. I know there is the option to book through a US agent, and have done in the past, but prefer to book locally. I wonder why it has changed as there definitely used to be great offers when cruises were first released.