Cruising standby?

[bogforce]

Anyone ever booked there cruise the day of at the port? Wonder if you could get a really good deal? If you lived close to the departure port you could just show up on departure days. Not sure if you could do this.

[keyguide]

That has been a thing of the past for years.Don't go down there on the day of a cruise.Pre 9/11 a desk was set up in the terminal to sell unsold rooms...no more.

[chasetf]

Manifests need to be submitted 72 hrs before sailing. The other thing working against it is cruise lines have become efficient filling their ships. Those great deals (when they are available) are now to be had a few months before sailing. ;)

[paul929207]

With security today, you cannot get a cruise on an hours notice. They will sail with 100 empty cabins and not accept walkups. You must book 72 hours in advance.

[bogforce]

Thanks. What about discounts 72 hours before sailing? Would they sell unsold cabins cheap just to fill them?

[SoFetch]

a girl on another community i'm in (weddings) mentioned cruising standby fairly recently, but one of her relatives was a captain for NCL, so i guess that's a special case.

[cruiserbryce]

its not always last minute that offers great deals...in October we booked a cruise for April on RC's Monarch of the seas...a 4 nighter for $169pp

[teedee]

I have family in south Florida that used to take advantage of the savings by just showing up at the pier. Of course sometimes they couldn't find anything. Once they went to try and get on a ship I was sailing on and got on for a fraction of what I paid. That was a long time ago though, as the previous posters mentioned they can't do it anymore. They do get last minute specials - but they have to book a week or two out.

 

Terri

[chasetf]

Thanks. What about discounts 72 hours before sailing? Would they sell unsold cabins cheap just to fill them?

Those are the flash sales they have usually a couple months prior. You can book like a week prior, but usually they discount deep enough earlier on they get the ship filled.

 

So if shopping for price, my advice is look for those flash sales or last minute offers. Sign up with the cruise lines you are interested in and get on their email list. We sail Princess a lot and I get maybe forty flash offers a year from them.

[bogforce]

So anyone out there booked there cruise 72 hours before sailing?