When to book a fall Pacific Coast repositioning cruise

[lecc]

We are interested in a fall 2019 repositioning cruise down the Pacific Coast from Vancouver to Los Angeles. We are newbies to this and haven't followed the prices from previous years. Any advice about when we should book to get the best deal?

Thanks!

[martincath]

Either last minute (unsold rooms will tend to start being discounted once the 'full payment' window is reached - different lines may have different thresholds for when folks can no longer get refunds on existing bookings - and provided that rooms still go unsold deals as a very general trend get cheaper and cheaper) or as soon as you find a price you're happy with. If you have a flexible schedule and you're in Vancouver (or close enough that travel there is easy and cheap) you can afford to wait and wait if you're not picky about which line, which room category etc. Wait TOO long though, and if it's a cruise that sells out you are hooped - and if it's one that LOOKS like it will sell out, the discounts never get that great!

 

But NB: that even a cruise so cheap that it would be more expensive to stay home and buy groceries still has the cost on the other end of getting home again, and a hotel if you want to stay on in LA a while... we've passed on some insanely cheap fares because when we checked for air home it was way too pricey. So if you are playing the waiting game, be sure that you also keep on top of airfare, hotel rates regularly and double-check those when you find a cruise 'deal' that seems like it will work for you.

 

TL;DR - if there was any way to reliably do what you want to because there was a very consistent pattern, the lines would change their methodology as soon as pax cottoned on to it and all started booking the cheapest prices. It might not be quite as opaque as airfare, but the only certainty is no matter how cheap a deal you got somebody else will have gotten a better one, so just booking when you're happy with what your total vacation cost is will make your life much, much simpler 😉

Edited May 16, 2019 by martincath

[Philatelyisforme]

If you have the patience the wait to last minute.   I booked less than a week out on Princess a couple years ago and I got 5 days for $199.   Granted I live in Vancouver that makes it easier.    Good luck!