When to book?? Last minute or now?

[boowaaccaa]

:confused:

 

I am looking at an early October cruise--should I book now or is it likely that the price will go down jsut prior to the cruise date? What about just showing up at the port on cruise date and getting a deal--has anybody done this??

[98Charlie]

Number one, you can no longer show up at the pier and hop on. That changed with 9-11.

 

If you book now and the price does go down, you may be able to get a price reduction. Some specials are listed for new bookings only. Check with your TA about how they handle price reductions.

 

In some cases you won't be able to get a reduction but may get an upgrade.

 

Another reason to book early are if you have only a specific time when you can take vacation.

 

If you book early and find another cruise that you would prefer, you can bail out of the first before the final payment date. There may be a non-refundable charge from your TA for this so ask before you book if that becomes part of your plan.

 

If you have a lot of flexibility in your schedule and itinerary desires, it may be best to watch a number of cruises that you are interested in and take advantage of any real bargain that shows up.

 

Charlie

[Host Walt]

Further to 98Charlie's advice, if you use a "brick and mortar" travel agent (a live person with whom you deal with personally, not a website), and if you are flexible, last minute deals happen all the time that are announced only to TA's because the deal may be just one or two cabins opened up by a late cancellation. By letting the TA know you are interested in such deals, you may get some great prices that way.

 

The reason these deals are not publicized on the web is that there are too few cabins and the possible flood of requests makes for a lot of non-productive effort. By offering the deals through live agents, the agents can filter out the non-serious contacts and can reward their loyal customer base.

 

We had an opportunity to take a Seine River barge cruise that way where there was a single cabin that became available about 10 days before sailing, and we were successful getting upgradeable coach seats on United two days before sailing returning 4 days after. 5 days in Paris was a nice bonus.

 

The cabin price was 40% of brochure rate and about 75% of the lowest booking price, according to our agent.

 

The keys are flexibility and quick decision making.