Booking early pays off.........again!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I was debating on whether I should book our Vision cruise for April 2008 as soon as the itineraries came out or wait until our Monarch cruise this April to get the $100 OBC. I opted to book on the day the itinerary was released because I wanted a certain AFT cabin. Today I checked the prices and our cabin (2 of us in a JS) went up almost $300, and it's still 20 months before the cruise!

 

So I am $200 ahead and I got the cabin I wanted. Life is good!:D

[shipknotshore]

Good for you!!!!! It's always nice to have that on board credit, but waiting to book while you're on a cruise could end up costing you much more than that OBC, as you've stated. Getting the cabin of your choice by booking early is always a good thing too.

Now you can just sit back and count the money you're saving for the next 20 months!!! :p Life is good, indeed.

[cruisinfanatic]

I was debating on whether I should book our Vision cruise for April 2008 as soon as the itineraries came out or wait until our Monarch cruise this April to get the $100 OBC. I opted to book on the day the itinerary was released because I wanted a certain AFT cabin. Today I checked the prices and our cabin (2 of us in a JS) went up almost $300, and it's still 20 months before the cruise!

 

So I am $200 ahead and I got the cabin I wanted. Life is good!:D

You booked early and got that coveted aft cabin, but guess what. If you wanted to take a chance and book a happy hr special a month before, you may have grabbed a JS cabin at hundreds less than you are paying now. It's all a crap shoot, especially that time of yr.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

You booked early and got that coveted aft cabin, but guess what. If you wanted to take a chance and book a happy hr special a month before, you may have grabbed a JS cabin at hundreds less than you are paying now. It's all a crap shoot, especially that time of yr.

It's worth it to me to get that corner aft. We spend a lot of time on our balcony. I'd rather pay more than to take a chance. Most of the time RCCL will honor price drops, even after final payment. However, I have not been on a cruise yet that the price has gone down - only up! No happy hour specials for me.......:rolleyes: I also don't have the option of only giving a 30 day vacation notice to my work, so I have to plan ahead.

 

I checked our Monarch cruise for this April at the same time. While the price has remained the same as what we payed, there is only one JS left as of today! I did reserve that cruise while on the Jewel, so I do get my $50 OBC there. I would have probably done better if I booked earlier there, too.

 

Now, on the next Monarch cruise in December I grabbed a $229 senior discount for an ocean view on Deck 7 two weeks ago. No JS were available at this late date, and they are the only balconies on the Monarch. I figure it will be cold in December in LA anyway, since my Phoenix blood is pretty thin. That was my first ever cruise "impulse purchase". I told my hubby that it is his birthday gift to me...........:)

[Murphy]

We booked our upcoming Freedom cruise during the C & A member "pre-view" booking when we could book before the bookings opened to the general public. We have a corner aft balcony. I checked prices for our sailing yesterday and did the happy dance as I told my husband our exact category is now $900 more than what we paid! Yippee and WooHoo! We tend to book early, but have also grabbed a last minute deal. Here's to saving money how ever we all do it!

[aashby]

Was this "C&A Preview Booking" a one time special for Freedom or is it offered all the time? I have never seem that on the web site.

 

Allen

[CruisinDawn]

We booked our upcoming Freedom cruise during the C & A member "pre-view" booking when we could book before the bookings opened to the general public. We have a corner aft balcony. I checked prices for our sailing yesterday and did the happy dance as I told my husband our exact category is now $900 more than what we paid! Yippee and WooHoo! We tend to book early, but have also grabbed a last minute deal. Here's to saving money how ever we all do it!

 

An inside on the Freedom is now more then what we all paid for our balconies!! :D Don't look at my JS, snafu on Royal's part and they upgraded us. Paid for a D1 originally.

 

Sunny Az Girl: Saw your name and knew this had to be my cruise too. Wow, I have not been checking it as we have been so wrapped up in the Freedom. I did notice my Enchantment cruise had gone up but figured the 08 would stay consistant for a while. I have a neighbor that wants to go the same week as us and I keep telling her she needs to pick a cruise and put her deposit down now but she won't listen. Maybe she will now. Thanks for the info.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[CruisinDawn]

Was this "C&A Preview Booking" a one time special for Freedom or is it offered all the time? I have never seem that on the web site.

 

Allen

 

Booking for the Freedom opened 2/28/05 to C&A, earlier if you happened to be on a ship like we were that week. General Public opened a few weeks later but don't rememeber the exact date since I was C&A and already booked. Think this was a first for Royal Caribbean.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[truffles2]

We booked our Panama Canal cruise for next April last April and it has gone up $1500.00:eek:

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sunny Az Girl: Saw your name and knew this had to be my cruise too. Wow, I have not been checking it as we have been so wrapped up in the Freedom. I did notice my Enchantment cruise had gone up but figured the 08 would stay consistant for a while. I have a neighbor that wants to go the same week as us and I keep telling her she needs to pick a cruise and put her deposit down now but she won't listen. Maybe she will now. Thanks for the info.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

Hi, Dawna! I thought of you when I saw the price increase & knew you would be happy about it too, since we both booked about the same time & have the same category. I have a coworker that may consider this cruise, too. I told him that he'd better move fast to avoid any more increases.

 

I know you must be excited about the Freedom cruise coming up and that you are busy with coordinating so many things for it. I'm looking forward to hearing all about the Freedom when you get back.:D

[critterchick]

I think booking early is always the way to go. If you are picky about your cabin (we're corner aft addicts, too), then you get your cabin. If the price goes down, you usually can get the fare difference. We booked our Ultimate Alaska cruise on Radiance the first week it was available. Had we waited to book onboard on our next cruise, we would have been unhappy campers as all JS & up were sold out.

[winncove]

Plz tell me how you know the day the cruises are opened! I spend half my waking hrs here but have never seen that answered. TIA.

[shirleygr]

I booked our Explorer August '07 cruise within a month or so of the release. At this point, all the balcony cabins are sold out and js have gone up over $500 pp. My husband often gives me a hard time about booking so early, but not after this one. NCL just released for February '08 and I booked that one right away. He didn't say a word. :)

[jules815]

I just did my first online check for a price "drop".

 

Price has gone up! I have two interiors booked for what they want for one, and our location is even better. *does happy dance*

[crusinmama06]

My GS on FOS has gone up $2,000 since I booked it. Very happy we booked early. :)

[critterchick]

Plz tell me how you know the day the cruises are opened! I spend half my waking hrs here but have never seen that answered. TIA.

 

People in the know post when bookings will be open to the general public. RCI doesn't always follow the schedule exactly, but I just start checking until I see something come up. Another great thing about Cruise Critic!:D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Plz tell me how you know the day the cruises are opened! I spend half my waking hrs here but have never seen that answered. TIA.

I just started checking the RCCL site every day beginning in May. There is usually a buzz around CC about that time. As soon as I saw the itinerary I called and booked. Since it was the last cruise on the new itinerary it was waaaay far out, almost 2 years! The agent at RCCL thaought I was crazy. Mabe I am...........:rolleyes:

 

After seeing how much some of the other cruises have gone up, it makes my $300 look like chicken feed. I'm still excited, though. Also, something tells me that in the next 20 months there will be more increases to come.:eek:

 

Critterchick, I saw your review of the Monarch. Since it's the ship we'll be on for our next 2 cruises I read it with interest. Great review!:D

[winncove]

I got mail from online TA end of May re:Hawaii. 2 wks later it showed up every place as Sold Out! I did finally find a balcony & only $200 more so guess it was meant to be. Does RCCL actually have a pg. that says New Iteneraries Released or do you just search each ship?? Don't see how I missed that, if so. TIA

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I just kept checking the Vision to see the sail dates. As stated before these boards are usually pretty good about letting us know when itineraries are released - a lot of people keep checking and then post when they see the new dates. Carribbean & Mexico are traditionally released in early to mid May. Different areas are released at different times. (Alaska, Europe, etc.) I don't remember for sure, but ai think I got an e-mail from RCI saying that the itineraries were out. Make sure to sign up for the newsletter on the C&A section of their website.

 

I am interested to know when the Alaska "08 itineraries will be out. Also the repo for the Vision to Vancouver. Anyone have any idea of the approximate time?:)

 

These boards are a great resource!:D

[jd10367]

We always book early. This year we booked a Med cruise on Voyager for 2007. My parents decided they wanted to go on the cruise with us. They booked 1 week after we did and the balcony cabin right next to ours was $100/pp more. It is now $400/pp more then we paid. The cruise is almost sold out for balconies (maybe 10 left) and we are a year away.

[Annefran]

I booked our AOS April 8, 2007 cruise this past May. I checked yesterday and our balcony 7th deck has been increased $350 per person. Plus when I booked, I got an OBC of $260! Can't beat that.

 

Already looking at FOS for March or April of 2008. I'll be a Diamond member after this next cruise, so I will get the balcony discount perk, woo hoo! Just not sure whether I want to book on our cruise next year for 2008 or wait and go through the site we always use.

 

Any thoughts on which would be better to book?

[Annefran]

I booked our AOS April 8, 2007 cruise this past May. I checked yesterday and our balcony 7th deck has been increased $350 per person. Plus when I booked, I got an OBC of $260! Can't beat that.

 

Already looking at FOS for March or April of 2008. I'll be a Diamond member after this next cruise, so I will get the balcony discount perk, woo hoo! Just not sure whether I want to book on our cruise next year for 2008 or wait and go through the site we always use.

 

Any thoughts on which would be better to book?

[Gingee]

We booked our Alaska cruise last July and went in early June. It went up $1500 for the two of us. I wish I knew what I wanted to do in 2008 or I would book now. Too many uncertain things to book now for 2008.