Waiting until the last minute?

[that.girl]

I, like a few other posters here, am a poor college student going on a cruise with a couple of other poor college students. We're planning on going on Carnival's Imagination on June 14th. For the four day cruise, it's $349 per person. This sounds like a good deal to me, but after you add fees, taxes, etc., it's over $400 per person. My mom keeps telling me to not book until the week of the cruise, as it'll be much cheaper. However, I am very reluctant to do this. I don't want to risk missing out on going. I'm worried that the cruise will either be booked, since it's right in the middle of summer, or that prices will sky rocket like last minute airfare does. Can anyone advise? Thanks!

[mylo&otis]

I would personally go ahead and book it, and watch for discounts. I don't know if there will be any, though - that's a busy time.

 

Also, with three people in the room, you should get at least some discount on that third passenger - a quick look says it would be about $1125 for the three of you. It might be a little less, even, because I'm seeing $359 a person pre-taxes, and it sounds like you found somewhere for $349.

 

Anyways, sorry that's not definitive at all. Hope you have a great time - if you watch your alcohol intake and read the tips here, cruising can be an awesome cheap vacation

[Donna - dsw]

As stated summer is a busy time and expesive.

 

I would find a price you are happy with and go ahead and book.

[falcon5travels]

I have never gotten a better deal by waiting til the last minute, usually paid more and gotten less. Good Luck! :)

[geoherb]

If you have your heart set on a particular cruise, go ahead and book it if the price sounds fair. I am usually looking at several possible cruises and can afford to wait.

 

The only time my DH can take a cruise in the winter is during his Christmas break. That's one of the most expensive times to take a cruise. Yet we've managed to go the past three years by waiting until as late as November to book.

 

But each of those times I was watching prices on more than one cruise. I was gambling that at least one would go down. But if you only have one cruise you're watching, the risk is greater that the price will go up, especially during peak season.

 

The final payment date has already passed for this cruise. Right after that date is when some of the best bargains appear. Since I am usually tracking more than one cruise at a time, I see prices fluctuate a lot--but a lot of times they don't get any lower but in fact go up the closer you get to the cruise date. I can almost guarantee that nothing will be left if you wait until the week before. Six to eight weeks before is considered "last-minute" for cruises.

[pbxtech]

Best to book in advance. Summer is hurricane season so you may want to get the trip insurance We never had a cruise cancelled due to hurricanes, but they did change departure ports on us. And that was a real hassle

[C-Ked]

Definitely book now! Like a previous poster has said, the final payment date for this cruise has already passed, and now is the time for the best bargain rates. If, by chance, the rates go down after you've booked the cruise, you can always try to get that rate reduction applied to your fares -- I'm not entirely sure how this works after you make final payment, but it's always worth asking your TA about.