Go with Black Friday sale or wait and watch?

[OxBaker]

First time poster and potential first time cruiser.

 

My wife and I are ~50 and have never really cruised due to her past sea sickness. But she decided now to give it another try and is willing to do 7-10 days in Feb 2023 to the Caribbean. We came across the ads for the "75% off" black friday sale for Celebrity and were considering it until we checked these forums and saw many people saying that the overall pricing during this sale is actually higher than before the sale. We weren't checking before so really don't have a good feel for what is a good price.

 

So I guess my question to you more experienced cruisers is should we just book something this weekend that seems to be a good price vs other similar cruises around that Feb timeframe, or is the better strategy to just wait and keep checking the pricing on sites after the weekend? What are the chances of getting a better deal for a Feb Caribbean cruise than during these sales? We'll need to book it in the next month in order to reserve the time off work so last minute deals don't work.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide! We're also trying to decide how to handle excursions with our lack of experience but this site seems to have a lot of good info on that too.

[LHT28]

Check the cruise lines  website  to see their prices  then  compare with the online  agents

 If you wait too long you may be out of luck  but then again you do not want to rush into booking something you will regret

Look for the itinerary  for the time you can go  & in your budget

 

Everyone is wanting to cruise  now 

[zqvol]

Find a price that you are happy with and then make a decision. Prices and add on perks can change at any time.

[Mike981]

There is also a forum dedicated to all things Celebrity. I remember seeing posts from people who actually keep spread sheets on pricing.

[KP@Sea]

Try looking on the Celebrity board. There might be more specific answers to your questions! 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/16-celebrity-cruises/

Once booked, enjoy planning.. it’s part of the fun! 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Winky7650

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, OxBaker said:

...So I guess my question to you more experienced cruisers is should we just book something this weekend that seems to be a good price vs other similar cruises around that Feb timeframe, or is the better strategy to just wait and keep checking the pricing on sites after the weekend? What are the chances of getting a better deal for a Feb Caribbean cruise than during these sales? We'll need to book it in the next month in order to reserve the time off work so last minute deals don't work.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

February '23 is getting close! If you can find a stateroom that suits you (I know, that's another question hard to answer without experience, but the Celebrity board referenced above may help), at a price you can live with, I would book.

 

You will be within or very close to "Final Payment Date", which means your entire payment will be due on booking, or very soon.

 

Once you have booked, you can explore shore excursions VS doing it yourself, on this board:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

[OxBaker]

Thanks for the tips! We ended up taking a chance and booking a cruise with Celebrity after looking over options.

[slidergirl]

Anyone find a good deal for a solo cruiser???  I'm getting a tad aggravated that there are all these "2nd cruises free/75% off" deals yet I'd still have to pay full single supplement.  Looking for something in the Med to tie with a land trip.  

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Anyone find a good deal for a solo cruiser???  I'm getting a tad aggravated that there are all these "2nd cruises free/75% off" deals yet I'd still have to pay full single supplement.  Looking for something in the Med to tie with a land trip.  

 

I will suggest what I do for everyone else - find a good responsive TA and dump the problem in their lap.

 

DON

[slidergirl]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I will suggest what I do for everyone else - find a good responsive TA and dump the problem in their lap.

 

DON

No such thing within 50 miles...  Never had to use one before, either.

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, slidergirl said:

No such thing within 50 miles...  Never had to use one before, either.

 

They don't have to be close.  My TA is in Ohio and I live in Nevada.  Calls and computers make all things possible.  

 

DON

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, slidergirl said:

No such thing within 50 miles...  Never had to use one before, either.

sometimes  TA's have  access to deals that may not be advertised online 

You can always shop around   & if you do not find something you like  you are not obligated to use the TA

 

 My TA is  in California  I am in Canada

it works  fine for me

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

sometimes  TA's have  access to deals that may not be advertised online 

You can always shop around   & if you do not find something you like  you are not obligated to use the TA

 

 My TA is  in California  I am in Canada

it works  fine for me

Well, kinda hard to find some random TA when they can't be advertised here, is't it... 

[navybankerteacher]

55 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

Well, kinda hard to find some random TA when they can't be advertised here, is't it... 

Are you in contact with any who shared your recent Provence/River cruise? Or with folks from other unusual trips?  People who travel “out of the ordinary”  frequently have input from specializing agents.

Edited November 28, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[slidergirl]

13 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Are you in contact with any who shared your recent Provence/River cruise? Or with folks from other unusual trips?  People who travel “out of the ordinary”  frequently have input from specializing agents.

 

13 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Are you in contact with any who shared your recent Provence/River cruise? Or with folks from other unusual trips?  People who travel “out of the ordinary”  frequently have input from specializing agents.

My Provence canal cruise was a group cruise with the trip offered by a company which does ADVENTURE trips for WOMEN.  Not a TA. I use them when they offer a trip to somewhere I want to go, but don't want to do solo (Kenya safari, Egypt/Jordan, hiking in Italy, beach camping in Baja).   I did the other 3 weeks of my vacation myself. My AW trips have been the only time I didn't do it all myself.   I know, I know I'm a difficult woman 😉

[OxBaker]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I ended up booking a trip on Carnival on Cyber Monday since they added an additional $50 on-board credit. Not sure it was the best deal but seemed pretty good compared to other cruise lines and sites I checked out.