First timers - when to book?

[ldaury]

Hi Everyone.

 

I am new to the boards. My husband and I are looking to take a cruise in March. We are both in graduate school, so there is only one week in March that we would be able to go on a cruise. We are in our mid to late twenties and are used to taking an all-inclusive vacations in the Carribean. We thought that a cruise would be a nice twist to a vacation.

 

I started pricing out trips for the week that we can go in March. How far, or close, would be the best time to book to get the best deal for a cruise? Do prices get cheaper the closer to the date or is it more expensive. We do not care about the room type, but are looking at a Western Carribean that visits Central America (Belize, Rotan), so we are probably looking at a Carnival or NCL ship.

 

Any advice?

[fann1sh]

Normally,I'd recommend you wait until around 90 days before departure to find a deal. This is when "final payments" are due on cruises. It becomes clear then how fully booked the ships are. Prices can be lowest, because cruise lines will put cabins on sale in order to sail full.

 

However.....you want to sail in March, which is peak time for the Caribbean, plus you have very little flexibility. It isn't unknown for some ships to sell out before final payment, leaving you you at home. Add to that the fact you need to book air from New Jersey, and if you wait too long, you'll pay a premium for that.

 

If it was me (who's no gambler) I'd go to farecast.com for a prediction of when to buy air to get the best price. I'd plan on sailing from Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which will give you the widest possible choice of ships for your week, and do a search of exactly how many/which ships leave on dates that work. I'd put a deposit down on one of those ships, to make sure I've got a cabin somewhere, while continuing to search the net for deals. If farecast.com told me it was time to pull the trigger on plane tickets before final payment time, I'd probably lock in something, after checking to see I still had the best deal.

 

I'd also plan on flying in the night before the cruise. I've been following a thread on the Holland America boards by Alaskabound77 who's flight was cancelled, substitute flight was late, missed half her cruise, and trip interruption insurance only covered a small portion.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=843888

 

There are a lot of hotels in the FLL/MIA area whose shuttle will pick you up for free from the airport, and also take you to the port free the next day. Saving on transfers goes a long way to paying for the hotel room.

 

P.S. - Welcome to CruiseCritic!

[fann1sh]

Sorry for the double post - but I realized something in the above may not be clear. Deposits are fully refundable until final payment date, but after that, there are hefty penalties.

 

When I refer to "locking in", I just mean committing to a sailing. Up until final payment, if you find a sale on your sailing, you can request a refund of the difference/on board credit, or cancel and rebook (although your travel agent may have cancellation fees).

 

There may be sales after final payment date, but for new bookings only. You will not be able to take advantage of those if you're already booked...but, in peak season, during school March Break for children, the price is just as likely to go UP a as DOWN after final payment. Sometimes the best price for these sailings is as early as possible (like, right now).

[Lionesss]

IDaury

Welcome aboard.

I have learned so much from these boards over the last year, and I know you will too!

Remember everyone has their own opinion and view and you will have to decide what meets your needs.

We opted to book our August 2008 cruise, last year in October. Why? We knew what we wanted and the suite we wanted.

Now I am sure we could have saved money waiting awhile, but, we only take one vacation a year, and we wanted to get what we wanted.

If you have the chance to wait, it is better, you will save money if your schedule is flexible.

Safe travels ahead,

Have fun booking what you WANT

And selectively listen to the boards and ask questions.

Good luck

Later

[silentbob007]

If you see a cruise you like, go ahead and book it. As you obviously know, that is the peak of sprint break season, so airfare and cabins get tighter and tigher the closer you wait.

 

One thing to keep in mind though (I can only speak about Carnival from experience) ... if they drop the price of the cruise and you book directly through the cruiseline, you can call and get the price difference refunded. If you book through a TA, the TA has to make the call and thus must be willing to do so.

[clackey]

If you see a cruise you like, go ahead and book it. As you obviously know, that is the peak of sprint break season, so airfare and cabins get tighter and tigher the closer you wait.

 

I'm with Bob on this one. When I see a cruise I want at a price that I can live with, I book it. If they have a price drop, no big deal. I believe that it is more important to book early enough to get the cabin location that I want than to take a chance at being under the Disco Lounge.

 

Sometimes you can get good deals for last minute bookings, but they are usually TBA cabins so you have no choice of location. These are usually in the bow or stern of the ship where the motion is more noticable.

 

Other things to consider are the ports of departure and the destinations. With the storms that we have had some of the destination ports are damaged and may or may not be up and running when you want to sail. Plus, there is no telling when Galveston will be up and running.

[arlodog]

We have sailed over spring break for the last 3 years. I have always waited until Dec or mid Jan to book my room and have always been able to find a deal; however we are not picky about the room that we get. We usually book inside rooms and find that we can get them for under $100pp per night. Last year was the first time that we ever had to fly to FLL for our cruise and airfare was terrible! Go figure that spring break in Florida would be high! We finally flew in 2 days early and stayed an extra day to make the airfare for 4 of us affordable. Hotel on priceline made it even better! Hope this info helps!

[Cooper333]

We just booked our October 2009 cruise. The price is so good I will be shocked if it goes lower. I say book now and then plan, plan, plan! Have fun!:D

[Keith1010]

We sail frequently, and my wife and I always book as early as possible. The earlier you book the better the choice of cabins and our experience is that the cabins that go first are those with the lowest prices and also the highest price followed by cabins within each category that have the better locations on the ship. After we book we monitor prices and should they come down we ask our TA to followup to get the price reduction.

 

I highly recommend booking your March cruise sooner rather than later.

 

Gool luck with this and please let us know if you have other questions.

 

Keith

[silentbob007]

From my spring break cruising experience, I'd be much more concerned about airfare than cruisefare.

 

I usually don't like spending more than $200 R/T on flights because for me, Indianapolis is a very cheap gateway. However, on spring break, I usually count myself lucky if I get airfare in the $250-$400 R/T range ... and that was before all of the extra fees, gas surcharges, etc.