For All Experienced Cruisers

[citronella]

I have only taken 2 cruises previously - last was maybe 2012.

 

I’m currently booked with Celebrity - booked directly with them end December 2018 for a cruise this June.

 

I was looking at a cruise for June 2020 as I now realize people book really far out. Is it worthwhile ( from a pricing perspective ) to book now or is it mostly to put a hold on desirable cabins ? 

[ScubesDad]

We book as early as possible, often when the cruise is first released.  There is no down side as far as price is concerned. If the price goes up you are happy.  if the price goes down you call and get the new lower price. Since you are Canadian you have the option of watching the price and responding accordingly.  Be careful of the nonrefundable deposit option as there is a penalty to make changes.  If your plans change you can always cancel prior to final payment without penalty

[jelayne]

For cruises which require long flights (Australia, Asia, Europe) we try and book as soon as the itineraries are released, and have found the best pricing early.  

 

If you are flexible you can so sometimes grab a great price on a Caribbean or Alaska Cruise about 30-45 days out.  

 

Personally we never book to put a “hold” on a cabin.  We book cruises we intends to take and select the a cabin we like and then watch pricing to see if the price drops.

[tallnthensome]

Book as early as you can, even years in advance. The Silhouette cruise we have booked for April 2020 is now $2000 more than when we booked it. I haven't see any cruise I have taken in years come down in cost and I always book 2 years in advance. 

[George C]

We book early you get cabin or suite that you want if price goes up you are locked in , if price goes down you can call and get new price as long as its not passed final payment. 

[citronella]

Thanks for the replies. 

 

Jelayne, guess I didn’t explain correctly when I said “hold”. I put down a deposit today and picked out a cabin - shocked at how many are already booked but happy i called now as there was only 2 cabins left in the category we wanted. Not interested in Alaska or Caribbean. Our first cruise was Caribbean and while it was enjoyable I don’t think I would do another. We’ll probably never be big cruisers.

 

Tallnthensome, too bad about not seeing price drops. This is a Med cruise on the Edge and considerably more expensive than Med cruise we took with Princess.

 

ScubesDad,  did a refundable deposit. Have never booked anything so far in advance ! I understand that it is my responsibility to call if there is a price drop. We didn’t bother to do airfare till March for our upcoming cruise and we really left it too late. Live and learn.

[Pier290]

We book about 9 months out and every cruise we've taken on Celebrity has gone up but also down in price....u need to be diligent to check for price drops cuz u can miss them as sometimes they don't last more than a day....😎🌴

[citronella]

I am hoping this goes down in price. Itinerary is great though for us. 

[grandgeezer]

I only book when the cruise price is in the window of what I think it’s worth to us. Earliest has been eleven months and latest has been six weeks. I have never seen a major price reduction, and never regretted not going because it didn’t fall within my price parameters. Stayed home once for less than $100 p.p. We’ve done almost fifty cruises, but only two in the past three years, but we have one this October.

[citronella]

Exactly.........why would anyone tie up $1000 for nearly a year unless it was worth it to them ?

[Marelaine]

Just so you know, sometimes some of the cabins aren't sold, buy they are blocked out for double occupancies. For instance, we booked early for a May 2020 cruise. All the triple/quad  occupancy cabins were not available to us, since we are only booking for two. There was a quad that I wanted, so I called my Celebrity Vacation Planner and he was able to override and give me the cabin that I wanted. I'm always suspicious when I see a cruise that is nearly sold out more than a year in advance. 

[citronella]

What does it mean “blocked for double occupancies” ?

 

[bkbarrym]

13 minutes ago, citronella said:

What does it mean “blocked for double occupancies” ?

 

I assume cabins that can take 3 or 4 guests. Try doing a mock booking instead for 3 passengers. You will probably see a lot more open cabins. I noticed this when I tried it for my upcoming cruise. Ship had a lot more open cabins than I thought.

 

[citronella]

We are only looking for double occupancy. I did a mock booking first and it showed only 2 SV available - I then called Celebrity who told me the same thing. All the verandahs on Deck 7 were grayed out - I was surprised they were all booked. Or is it a marketing ploy ?

[George C]

We had our suite on rccl drop over 500 a person last year , just keep checking the prices 

[citronella]

Ok, thanks - will be diligent about checking.

[bkbarrym]

2 minutes ago, citronella said:

We are only looking for double occupancy. I did a mock booking first and it showed only 2 SV available - I then called Celebrity who told me the same thing. All the verandahs on Deck 7 were grayed out - I was surprised they were all booked. Or is it a marketing ploy ?

Not that many SV on the Edge so they were likely scooped up quickly by those looking for a real balcony.

[citronella]

Yes - I think the Infinite Verandahs are horrible.

[citronella]

But, having said that, it looked like all the cabins on that deck were booked.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

If your cruise is paid in full Celebrity will NOT give you any refund or give you OBC additional if the price goes down. many times with Celebrity if the price goes down the perks go away. Yes. Book as soon as you can. Do not pay the last payment early.

[gold1953]

1 minute ago, twodaywonder said:

If your cruise is paid in full Celebrity will NOT give you any refund or give you OBC additional if the price goes down. many times with Celebrity if the price goes down the perks go away. Yes. Book as soon as you can. Do not pay the last payment early.

Celebrity will give you a refund if you pay early. It is not a contract until final payment day

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Not if it is  non refundable. A refundable cruise is usually more expensive. one I am booked for another cruise on board. When I get home I have my cruise consultant change it to nonrefundable and save a lot. I did say do not pay the last payment early. meaning final.

[jdacombe]

I booked a cruise in November for the Norwegian Fjords at the end of August, I paid £3,400 for a C3 Concieege Class stateroom, this was for 3 adults and included the pre-paid gratuities and Classic drinks packages.

[deliver42]

I've paid final payment before final payment was due and got refared to the lower fare with a non refundable deposit. Did not lose any perks.

[Marelaine]

On 5/5/2019 at 4:20 PM, citronella said:

What does it mean “blocked for double occupancies” ?

 

 

Somethines the cabins that can sleep 3 or 4 show as not available (blocked) if you are booking online for 2. A week or so later, they may open all the cabins again, I assume, once they've met a sales quota. And sometime after that, they might block them again.

Do a dummy booking for 4 and you'll see if those cabins are available.  The 3 and 4 occupancy cabins are marked with a black square or triangle. The reason I wanted the 4 occupancy cabin is that the bed is near the bathroom in those cabins. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Marelaine