How "last minute" is "last minute"?

[Chardo]

I live in South Florida, and could theoretically hop on a cruise anytime.  No flight or hotel needed.  Have passport--will travel, so to speak.  Are there truly "last minute" cabins made available, or are the so called last minute deals weeks or months before sailing?

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Chardo said:

or are the so called last minute deals weeks or months before sailing?

 

Moreso this. I'm in the same situation but with PC. Keep an eye on the GGG sale.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf

 

There used to be better deals more frequently but some good deals have been popping up in recent months. We booked one about 4 weeks out and sailed at the end of October and my friend got a very good deal on a Wonder cruise in December a few weeks ago.

[neverbeenhere]

Search with Royal for Miami and Fort Lauderdale, usually cruises available within a week. "Deals" are in the eye of the person booking.

[cruiseguy1016]

You can't just walk up to the pier and book a same-day cruise like you used to be able to do. The manifest has to be submitted, I think, 48 hours before sail away. Check for prices 3 days ahead and see what kind of deals you can find.

[Ret MP]

Several sites that I've seen this morning say a final manifest must be submitted 60 minutes before departure, this is just one:

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Ret MP

[Biker19]

16 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

Check for prices 30 days ahead and see what kind of deals you can find.

Fixed. There may be cabins left 3 days out but they are very unlikely to be "deals".

Edited November 9, 2023 by Biker19

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Several sites that I've seen this morning say a final manifest must be submitted 60 minutes before departure, this is just one:

 

The manifest is actually closed "around" 24 hours prior to sailing.  After that there is no way of booking a cruise

[Ret MP]

7 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The manifest is actually closed "around" 24 hours prior to sailing.  After that there is no way of booking a cruise

That may be.  I was responding to those who assert that the official, by rule/law/regulation/whatever, was anywhere between 6 days, 5 days, 24 hours, 48 hours, etc etc etc.  I can't help what individual cruise lines do, how proficient they are, and so on.  

 

Makes me wonder though because the final manifest doesn't have to be submitted until 60 minutes prior to departure, if the sailing is far from being sold out/not close to capacity, will RCCL or any other cruise line keep sales open until the last minute?  

 

I see right now, RCCL is still selling bookings on the Indipendence for a sailing tomorrow out of Miami.  Yes, that is outside the 24 hours you mention.  But, the only sold-out type of cabin is the suites.  If I'm not busy in the morning, I'll check to see if it is still available.  No, I'm not trying to prove you wrong you are probably right, the do cut off bookings "around" 24 hours out.  I'm just very curious and you did use the word "around".  So, it is flexible at face value.

 

 

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, Ret MP said:

That may be.  I was responding to those who assert that the official, by rule/law/regulation/whatever, was anywhere between 6 days, 5 days, 24 hours, 48 hours, etc etc etc.  I can't help what individual cruise lines do, how proficient they are, and so on.  

 

Makes me wonder though because the final manifest doesn't have to be submitted until 60 minutes prior to departure, if the sailing is far from being sold out/not close to capacity, will RCCL or any other cruise line keep sales open until the last minute?  

 

I see right now, RCCL is still selling bookings on the Indipendence for a sailing tomorrow out of Miami.  Yes, that is outside the 24 hours you mention.  But, the only sold-out type of cabin is the suites.  If I'm not busy in the morning, I'll check to see if it is still available.  No, I'm not trying to prove you wrong you are probably right, the do cut off bookings "around" 24 hours out.  I'm just very curious and you did use the word "around".  So, it is flexible at face value.

 

 

Oh well, just checked again after I hit submit and it's gone.  

[Ourusualbeach]

23 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

That may be.  I was responding to those who assert that the official, by rule/law/regulation/whatever, was anywhere between 6 days, 5 days, 24 hours, 48 hours, etc etc etc.  I can't help what individual cruise lines do, how proficient they are, and so on.  

 

Makes me wonder though because the final manifest doesn't have to be submitted until 60 minutes prior to departure, if the sailing is far from being sold out/not close to capacity, will RCCL or any other cruise line keep sales open until the last minute?  

 

I see right now, RCCL is still selling bookings on the Indipendence for a sailing tomorrow out of Miami.  Yes, that is outside the 24 hours you mention.  But, the only sold-out type of cabin is the suites.  If I'm not busy in the morning, I'll check to see if it is still available.  No, I'm not trying to prove you wrong you are probably right, the do cut off bookings "around" 24 hours out.  I'm just very curious and you did use the word "around".  So, it is flexible at face value.

 

 

Quoting what you "dig up" on the internet is just as bad as people posting wrong days like the 6 days etc.. if Royal is not following that.  That is also the final manifest after passengers have to be checked in.  I believe that they also must submit a preliminary manifest, nonetheless, they close their sailings for bookings around the 24 hour mark (plus minus a couple hours.  It can also be closed earlier of there are no cabins available which is why I never tell anyone that needs to make changes to the 24 hour mark.  Best to go with 48 to 72 to be safe.

[Ret MP]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Quoting what you "dig up" on the internet is just as bad as people posting wrong days like the 6 days etc.. if Royal is not following that.  That is also the final manifest after passengers have to be checked in.  I believe that they also must submit a preliminary manifest, nonetheless, they close their sailings for bookings around the 24 hour mark (plus minus a couple hours.  It can also be closed earlier of there are no cabins available which is why I never tell anyone that needs to make changes to the 24 hour mark.  Best to go with 48 to 72 to be safe.

If the word "you" was meant for me exclusively, and just for clarification, I didn't just dig it up on the Internet, I don't trust only one or two sites unless it is from the "horse's mouth".  EVERY source I looked at, which was about 5 or 6 authoritative sites (I believe) says that it is a 60-minute requirement.

[HaveWeMetYet]

19 hours ago, Chardo said:

I live in South Florida, and could theoretically hop on a cruise anytime.  No flight or hotel needed.  Have passport--will travel, so to speak.  Are there truly "last minute" cabins made available, or are the so called last minute deals weeks or months before sailing?

Deep discounts for cruises within 30 days of sailing seem to be a thing of the past. The best I have seen are in the 45–90-day range before sailing. If there are any, they are probably going to be offered by online travel agencies and mostly inside cabins.

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

Deep discounts for cruises within 30 days of sailing seem to be a thing of the past. The best I have seen are in the 45–90-day range before sailing. If there are any, they are probably going to be offered by online travel agencies and mostly inside cabins.

 

Try the weekly GGG sale.

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

If there are any, they are probably going to be offered by online travel agencies and mostly inside cabins.

It would be very rare for any TA to offer a sailing for any less than RCI itself. 

[OCSC Mike]

33 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It would be very rare for any TA to offer a sailing for any less than RCI itself. 

 

Huh? You mean a last minute sailing?

 

They offer sailings for far less than RCI all the time. That's the point of group rates.

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Huh? You mean a last minute sailing?

 

They offer sailings for far less than RCI all the time. That's the point of group rates.

Very unlikely you'll get group rates inside final payment (which was what that poster was talking about as is most of this thread). 

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Huh? You mean a last minute sailing?

 

They offer sailings for far less than RCI all the time. That's the point of group rates.

Group Rates disappear prior to final.  After final there is no difference other than what perks a TA may add

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Biker19 said:

Very unlikely you'll get group rates inside final payment (which was what that poster was talking about as is most of this thread). 

yep, only ever saw that during the startup when they extended the group rates inside of final.  Nowadays Royal is pulling them back months or even a year early if there have been no sales in the group.

[OCSC Mike]

10 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Very unlikely you'll get group rates inside final payment (which was what that poster was talking about as is most of this thread). 

So yes, you meant for a last minute sailing like I asked. 👍

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Group Rates disappear prior to final.  After final there is no difference other than what perks a TA may add

 

You know I know that. 😉