When do you book your Hawaii cruise???

[riffatsea]

Just wondering how far ahead most folks book for Hawaii??

We are booked for the beginning of December 2020.

I see one other person booked for Christmas 2020.

NO one else has turned up for either of the Roll Calls for those cruises and when I look

on the Princess site very few cabins seem to have been booked as well.

I know that these days folks talk on other sites but I see quite active roll calls for December 2019

so am just wondering if we have booked much earlier than most folks??

Any thoughts???

[Retired Educator]

We just booked the October 2020 Hawaii.  Usually try to book a year in advance so we have a better choice of cabins and can budget payments...also take advantage of promotional packages like 3 for Free...

[JF - retired RRT]

We try to book all of our cruises as soon as they're released.

Almost always seem to get the "rock bottom" price. Very rarely (maybe 3 times out of 25+ booked cruises) have we gotten a price drop.

With the recent 3 for free a cruise that we're booked on for 3/21 didn't save us any $ up front (almost exactly the same price ), but we did get the OBC and gratuities which came to about $1000.

Another cruise that we booked in Sept. 2018 for Dec/Jan 2019 (B2B) went on the 3 for free the day after we booked. Changed from an OV to a balcony for almost the same price PLUS the OBC and gratuities that were on the deal.

 

Basically, the answer is...book when you're ready and cross your fingers.

 

Roll Calls? Hit or miss. Some are very active, some are moribund.

Edited September 7, 2019 by JF - retired RRT

[denmarks]

I usually book 9-12 months in advance. I like to travel with my sister and brother-in-law and there is no way to get them to book any earlier.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I usually book as soon as they're released.  Usually, the best prices are either at the last minute or the first minute they're released.

[skynight]

7 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Just wondering how far ahead most folks book for Hawaii??

We are booked for the beginning of December 2020.

I see one other person booked for Christmas 2020.

NO one else has turned up for either of the Roll Calls for those cruises and when I look

on the Princess site very few cabins seem to have been booked as well.

I know that these days folks talk on other sites but I see quite active roll calls for December 2019

so am just wondering if we have booked much earlier than most folks??

Any thoughts???

Believe you can get on Hawaii cruises fairly late.

Roll calls on most of these kind of cruises don't really get active until closer to the cruise date.

We are booked Hawaii/Mexico/Hawaii, b2b2b, end of January to early March 2021. We use the FCD's. We booked the Sip&Sail this past July. We book early to lock in the same cabin for all three cruises. We will continue to look for better pricing on these cruises, but for now we have the Sip&Sail. The current 3 for Free is a push on pricing. Fare increases were balanced out by the OBC and free grats. By balanced out I mean that it balances with our normal beverage expenses, not to the actual price of the Premier Beverage Package. Right now the 3 for Free promo is a no go.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

We book several weeks ahead of time.

[polmcs]

We booked our November 2020 Thanksgiving Cruise to HI in June to get the Sip +Sail package.

[toads45froggy]

i booked under the sip n sail for jan 2020. honeymoon kinda determined our wedding date  lol.

[Haboob]

Christmas and New Years fares tend to be higher.   Also lots of grandkids during Christmas vacations.

[vampiress]

well, i live in los angeles, so most of my cruises tend to be purchased last minute, whenever i just can't stand normality and need a break.  but i totally realize not everyone has that luxury. 

 

 

[marden1970]

Hi - we booked in July 2018 for November 2019 under the Sip & Sale.  We wanted that promotion because of the length of the cruise (15 nights) and wanted a specific stateroom.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

We booked our late Feb 2020 in May.

[jennybenny]

We also book as soon as itineraries are released.  However, our first Hawaii cruise was booked after final payment (we were on a wait list) and were happy to have made it on.  Since then all of our cruises are booked ahead of time as we tend to cruise during holidays and school breaks. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, marden1970 said:

well, i live in los angeles, so most of my cruises tend to be purchased last minute, whenever i just can't stand normality and need a break.  but i totally realize not everyone has that luxury. 

 

I LOVE living split between San Diego and Orange County. I am on email lists with Princess, NCL, HAL, Disney and RCI. I've gotten some amazing last minute deal offers and taken a few.

 

My parents were booked on 7 Day Sea of Cortez cruise out of San Diego several years ago where they paid $699 for a balcony room. 10 days before sailing I got an email for the same cabin for $399, so my DW and I took and surprised my parents.

 

(sorry, quoted the wrong quote the first time)

Edited September 8, 2019 by scottca075

[Anubi]

We booked it when friends told us they had booked it.  LOL  Seriously, it was a very early booking.  The cruise was April 2019 and we booked June 2017.  It wasn't a very active roll call.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Anubi

[mcrcruiser]

Just booked a  Feb 2021 cruise  September   5 ,2019  .Reason  we booked  so early  was best pricing with perks (3 for free ) & caribe deck  largest balcony  .This is a cruise we also recaptured a non refundable deposit from a  cruise we had to cancel  .what we learned is that Princess cruise promotions can be booked refundable & mom refundable ,at 2 different price points 

Edited September 9, 2019 by mcrcruiser

[jondfk]

My observation is that with the exception of holiday sailings SF & LA Hawai'i cruises seem to have space available until quite close to sailing.  If you're not particular about the cabin, don't want Club Class or a suite, wait for the promotion you like to come along and book then (3 for free, sip & sail, etc).  The more limited cabin categories tend to get grabbed months or a year ahead.  Holiday cruises always sell out - book as soon as you know you want one / see a cabin that suits your needs.

 

[Teeara]

On Royal Caribbean I always book the moment a cruise becomes available which means 2 years out.  We are interested in booking a Hawaii cruise in 2023 for my mother's 80th birthday.  Since it looks like Princess is also a 2 year out open for bookings set up, is there a specific time of year that Hawaii cruises open up?  I am assuming that for a 2023 it will open in 2021.  For instance, I'm doing a fall TA on RCI in November 2020.  Fall 2020 TAs opened in December 2018.  2020 Spring TAs opened in March/April 2018.  Can I assume that it is the same for Princess?  I haven't sailed on Princess since 2008, so I'm a bit rusty on the timing.  I have a specific mini suite that I want to book for our Hawaii cruise out of SF so I want to make sure I book the moment it opens. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by Teeara