Time of year to get Best cruise prices and perks

[nicky6425]

Considering Australia cruise November 2019....any idea when the best time to book for best sales and perks?

[royalcruz]

I usually get the best deals in October.

 

[jelayne]

I don’t think there is a particular time of year that is better.  Personally we have found booking as soon as the sailings to where we want to go are released gets us the best price.  Since we are in the US if the prices go down we can get our price adjusted as long as it is before final payment.   

 

We currently have 4 bookings, two that we booked as soon as they were released.

On 1 the price has increased 200% for our category and is sold out and the 2nd the price is up 220% and that cruise is after final payment.  

 

On the other 2 booking both we made well after  booking was available.  One that was booked 8 months pre sailing the price has gone up by about 25% and on the other that was booked 16 month out the priced dropped by about 15% and we had our price adjusted. 

[Luvcrusn]

We find the best sales by the large TAs are the best time to book. These have generally taken place during WAVE season which tend to be January to March.

[dutchclogs]

Not sure if I understand why this would be so but I've been told that the best time to book a cruise is between Christmas and New Year.  I was also told the cheapest time to take a cruise is just before Christmas which I think is a given though this does not answer OP's question.

[4774Papa]

We have been to Australia twice and done cruises from there as well.  On our first trip in 2013, we booked early and prices dropped twice, but I called and received the lower prices.  That was on Celebrity Solstice.   On the second trip, we found a better price for our Transpacific cruise to Seattle with Royal Caribbean.

 

 

[2Long2NxtCrz]

I've never tried booking a cruise during Black Friday, but maybe that would be enough of a sale that cruises farther out would be well discounted.

 

I think you just have to keep shopping, in all honesty.  If you live next to a port or have convenient access to one, I suspect you can get last minute deals at a great price.  We don't, so that's not an option.

 

But no matter what, it's truly hard to tell how the prices are going to go and when is the best time.  For example, our 14-night Asian cruise in Feb 2020 in a C2 has gone up considerably since I originally booked it directly with Celebrity in May of this year. (That was around $6000 with one perk.)  Then there was a sale from my TA in August and I saved $300 and got an additional $375 OBC, same C2 (which due to being "select" I get for the C3 price) by booking with them and cancelling the booking on Celebrity (they wouldn't match what my TA did).  But now that same booking is over $7000, which is about a 23% increase in two months.

 

Good luck!

[Carried_Away]

My experience for what it’s worth:

I’m taking a cruise to the southern Caribbean on the Silhouette next month. I started looking at this itinerary in late November or early December last year. At the time, Celebrity was promoting what it called its biggest sale of the year, including two perks. I booked a C2 in January under a new promotion, still with two perks but at a fare $100 per person more than I had seen when I started looking at the cruise. I checked prices almost daily until final payment and never saw a better deal. The fare actually increased by several hundred dollars per person, so I’m happy I booked when I did. 

Edited October 30, 2018 by Carried_Away

[justcrusn]

There are two different goals here.

For the best price, book after final payment.

For the best perks and choice of cabin book early.

At Least in the USA if prices drop, you can adjust, however you get the current offer including perks, maybe better, maybe not.

Book when you find an offer you like, watch carefully until final payment, upgrade after that if so inclined.

 

if you’re looking at cost only, wait for the “tiuesday specials” after final payment, prices are usually deeply discounted, but NO PERKS, and you get the leftover cabins.

[PelicanLvr]

Last year on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) I saw a huge sale at one of the big volume Cruise websites.  Keep a lookout for that next month!  

[Lastdance]

I look at many factors, but usually book when the cruises first appear and put my cabin on hold.  After that it is comparing prices when first released to those of a big box agency, along with where the cruise is and the airfare especially in Europe.  Sometimes I transfer to a TA(you have 60 days) for additional perks like OBC etc.  In addition, I always check frequently for price drops, usually every day if possible, depending on time constraints.  I always have a price log and I use the "fishy site."  It has a great graph showing price fluctuations and I have even received price drop information.  Cruise Crictic and roll calls are great for this too.  However, sometimes getting away on vacation is more important than saving a couple hundred dollars...I purchased an S1 suite on Edge for its April TA for 10,400 total for two people and the price has only doubled plus a few more hundred.  Furthermore, I purchased my business class airfare very early for just over 1,000 per person for both of us one-way(Southampton to Reno).  Now the prices on air and the cruise are rediculous...always remember supply and demand, along with sales, but always check as sales are not always sales!  Do your homework!

Edited October 31, 2018 by Lastdance

[Michidoeme]

For our next week australia new zealand cruise, the lowest prices for veranda, aqua were shown end April/May this year. These were a bit lower than when we booked in Summer 2017.  And even gave 2 instead of 1 perk.  Unfortunately I waited too long for asking rebooking or repricing and prices went up again.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Michidoeme