Why Book A Cruise Early?

[drcpa]

I've always been an early adopter.

Under that famous "early bird and worm" theory, I always felt the first person to enroll, sign-up, purchase, get in line, and adopt was the person who received the most benefits and most advantages.

That is until I purchased my first cruise.

I now realize that the smart play--in a weak economy, with a luxury product, on a vessel that holds thousands of people--is to wait, wait, wait.

Over time, I've seen my cruise offer cabin discounts, onboard credits, and now credits for future cruises. It's been suggested that comped tips, upgrades, and additional discounts/benefits can't be far behind.

But.......these sweeteners are only for those folks who sign up late in the game.

Suckers like me who purchased early are out in the cold.

This has been a great education on how to deal with cruise lines and agents in the future.

[Peteymil]

I book the cruise early to get exactly what I want, the itinerary and the specific cabin (like an aft on the m-class). Then, if the price goes down, I just call and get my refund. I have never had a problem on Celebrity getting my price adjusted, and I usually find reductions at least 2 to 3 times during the course of time.

[GORDONCHICK]

Cabin selection is the best reason to book early. If you're a balcony person, they tend to sell out fast, especially those in great locations.

[drcpa]

Much thanks...and while I understand I would get any price decrease it appears we do not get the special offers....credits, tips, upgrades, future considerations, etc. That's only for people who book between X and Y (meaning after I booked and later in the cycle).

[travelntreats]

Much thanks...and while I understand I would get any price decrease it appears we do not get the special offers....credits, tips, upgrades, future considerations, etc. That's only for people who book between X and Y (meaning after I booked and later in the cycle).

This depends on the agency you book with regarding those little special """perks""" you feel you are missing.

 

Best bet is to find the stateroom you like at a price you feel is fair and then start looking for TA's out there who could possibly lower your cruise fare and provide some perks... once that is complete, just transfer the booking to them BEFORE FINAL PAYMENT. And before you do any transfers to an agency.... get their promises in writing first !

[AJD]

If you have not reached final payment date and you see that exceptional offer, you just cancel and rebook. I have several cruises booked and I, like many others, watch the price all the time and have managed to get significant price reductions. I have not yet seen offers that were such that canceling and re booking was worthwhile. Since I don't live near a port and have to fly; waiting for the real deals close to sailing is too risky for me.

[Solstice23]

We always book early, and we have always been able to price adjust up until days before sailing with Celebrity. We secure good airfare, can book our vacation time with our work, and the location we like for our sky suite, / or balcony room

[rob1863]

Hey, Toronto 25,

 

Are you saying that you have been able to get price adjustments after the fiinal payment date? We are booked on the Infinity, 09/25/09-10/11/09 from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. Original price for our balcony cabin was 2599 per person. Went down to 2399 in December and down to 2149 about a week ago. We booked within a day or two of it being available. Called TA and apparently since we haven't made final payment there was no problem getting the lower prices. Would like to be able to get a lower rate on this cruise since I think that it is probable that there are going to be a large number of cabins available. Don't know why but it seems like Panama Canal cruises aren't all that popular and cabins are going to be dumped for a fraction of what they were originally selling for.

 

Rob

[travelntreats]

You should be able to keep getting those lower fares up till a couple days before sailing """IF""" the new fares you are seeing do not have the clause "For new bookings only" or """IF""" your TA is willing to lower the fare and thus reduce his or her commission.

 

I know that if our clients find a lower fare and we can adjust it, we are more than happy to make them <<<smile>>> !

[rob1863]

Thanks for the info,

 

Not going to beat our TA over the head on this one, but would like to get the lowest available price if possible. TA commissions are OK with me and I wouldn't expect a TA to take a "hit" just because someone demanded a lower price. But, don't really see why anyone who books a year after us should get a lower price for the same category. Of course, after final payments are due it seems like there are lots of "deals" out there, and why shouldn't they be available to everyone, including those who booked early?

 

rob

[SusaninCali]

We put our deposit down last week for a CC cabin on the 10/3 Summit Medit. sailing. On X's webiste, yesterday the prices went up around $320 pp. Are we going to get socked with the higher rate?

 

And isn't it strange that in this economy that X is raising prices ? (on this itin anyway).

[Denny01]

The OP (and following posts) are manly right. Yes, we who purchase early can get the discounted SR rates, IF it's not for new bookings. But we don't get the special discounts of OBC, future booking discounts and so on. So it depends on type of 'discount' being offered, and the OP's point is right especially considering the current economy. We are looking at at Canada/New England cruise for next year, but are holding off to see what happens.

 

Also, I would watch out canceling a reservation, and rebooking to get a better New Booking discount - I read on one thread that Celebrity keeps watch on this and will not allow you to rebook at the new rate. Meaning you may well loose that SR you got by booking early AND not get the good deal of a new booking. I'd check on that before trying it. Of course calling Celebrity and asking this question seems a bit off.

 

By the way, the rate I got for my TA over five months ago is still $200pp less then what it is being offered at right now. I'll be watching it to see how that plays out.

 

Denny

[Denny01]

We put our deposit down last week for a CC cabin on the 10/3 Summit Medit. sailing. On X's webiste, yesterday the prices went up around $320 pp. Are we going to get socked with the higher rate?

 

And isn't it strange that in this economy that X is raising prices ? (on this itin anyway).

 

It only works one way - you get the good deal if the SR rate goes down and make happy-noises when the rate goes up and you paid less. That is what use to occur a lot in the past, but not much now.

 

Denny

[rocknrobin]

We always plan well in advance to ensure that we get the accomodations that we want. We booked our Feb 2010 cruise this past December; our CC cabin has increased $1000 pp since then and that category (in fact, all veranda cabins) are sold out. We lucked out booking early.

[travelntreats]

We put our deposit down last week for a CC cabin on the 10/3 Summit Medit. sailing. On X's webiste, yesterday the prices went up around $320 pp. Are we going to get socked with the higher rate?

 

And isn't it strange that in this economy that X is raising prices ? (on this itin anyway).

Cruise rates can fluxuate daily, weekly and YES, even hourly ! The wise cruise traveller will monitor those rates when possible. If the rates go HIGHER than what you paid.... no worries because your fare is locked in and cannot INCREASE, unless for some odd reason gov't fee's, port charges, taxes or fuel supplement need to be applied or adjusted. If they go lower... contact your TA or whomever you booked with and see if adjustments can be made to your booking EVEN AFTER FINAL PAYMENT ! ;)

[travelntreats]

The OP (and following posts) are manly right. Yes, we who purchase early can get the discounted SR rates,SR. rates are NOT always available on all sailings and USUALLY are not offered when booking early i.e. 1 year in advance, but often will pop up and if applicable to that passenger CAN BE ADJUSTED normally. IF it's not for new bookings. But we don't get the special discounts of OBC this is NOT a discount it is a """perk""" that sometimes the cruiseline will offer and TA's will offer as an incentive to obtain your booking, but many times ARE NOT COMBINEABLE with other discounts you may be eligible for. , future booking discounts and so on. So it depends on type of 'discount' being offered, and the OP's point is right especially considering the current economy. We are looking at at Canada/New England cruise for next year, but are holding off to see what happens. To each his or her own, but if I see a ship and sailing date and stateroom I want.... I will book that cruise (if within the price guidelines I personally am willing to pay) and then will watch those rates.

 

Also, I would watch out canceling a reservation, and rebooking to get a better New Booking discount - I read on one thread that Celebrity keeps watch on this and will not allow you to rebook at the new rate.Not true at all....I have done it for clients on many occassions. Meaning you may well loose that SR you got by booking early AND not get the good deal of a new booking. I'd check on that before trying it. Of course calling Celebrity and asking this question seems a bit off.

 

By the way, the rate I got for my TA over five months ago is still $200pp less then what it is being offered at right now. I'll be watching it to see how that plays out.Good game plan.....

 

Denny

Happy Cruising !

[Denny01]

Thanks travelntreats - especially on correcting me referencing a bad post on not canceling and rebooking a better rate. Good to keep in mind if a deal worth it comes along.

 

As to waiting on a Canadian cruise, we'd love to make it during the Fall leaf-turning (early Oct?) so waiting may not be very bright. Anyway I love to plan well ahead and start reading up and just thinking about it. I'd hate to not have a cruise in my pocket after our Nov cruise. I mean, its a bit funny to be posting when I don't have a cruise planned.

 

Denny

[ccletzgo]

The OP (and following posts) are manly right. Yes, we who purchase early can get the discounted SR rates, IF it's not for new bookings. But we don't get the special discounts of OBC, future booking discounts and so on. So it depends on type of 'discount' being offered, and the OP's point is right especially considering the current economy. We are looking at at Canada/New England cruise for next year, but are holding off to see what happens.

 

Also, I would watch out canceling a reservation, and rebooking to get a better New Booking discount - I read on one thread that Celebrity keeps watch on this and will not allow you to rebook at the new rate. Meaning you may well loose that SR you got by booking early AND not get the good deal of a new booking. I'd check on that before trying it. Of course calling Celebrity and asking this question seems a bit off.

 

By the way, the rate I got for my TA over five months ago is still $200pp less then what it is being offered at right now. I'll be watching it to see how that plays out.

 

Denny

 

never had a problem canceling and rebooking..sometimes within mins..:D

If its before final payment, why not?

[Putterdude]

We book up to 18 mos out to get our choice of cabins. If the price drops then we expect our TA to get it for us.

[Solstice23]

Celebritys new email add states....if the price drops they will adjust!

[candr]

We have been able to take advantage of price drops with one exception - when we also booked air with Celebrity as part of the package. The cruise price had gone down quite a bit, but the air fare quoted by Celebrity had gone up so the total cost was slightly more. Celebrity would not let us take advantage of the lower cabin price unless we agreed to pay the higher air. I'm not saying this is unfair - just pointing it out.

[Denny01]

Yes, our last cruise, we had a great deal on Celebrity Air flights to Buenos Aires and from Santiago. The room rate dropped, but couldn't get it. It was still cheaper to stay with original reservations because of air pricing. Even on-own tickets couldn't match Celebrity Air for that specific time/itinerary.

That's why I just dropped the one-way to Rome for our E. Med/TA B2B - got airfare priced a bit better, and was from home airport instead of a major connection (Atlanta), and it was non-stop (from Atlanta). Now I can watch room pricing, but my TA ticket is cheaper then what they are advertising for now.

Glad to hear you can cancel and rebook if a better 'new booking' or 'perk' becomes available.

Denny

[San Diego Ellie]

Many of the big drops are after final payment and for "new bookings only". Having been the victim of this and paying a HUGE amount (over a thousand dollars) more than I would have if I had waited until about 60 days prior to the cruise, I have learned my lesson. On Celebrity, I now book last minute. Things may change once the economy gets better, but at present, this is the way to go.

[clivep]

I usually book within the 60 day period and am not seeing many discounts at the moment on cruises in Europe. We have now booked a cruise in April that I had a $300 Capain's Club voucher for but have been informed "the discount is not applicable to your booking as it was made with a special discount offer". I also am not getting any OBC or inclusive gratuities so the net result is that I am probably no better off than anyone booking early.

[usha]

I usually book within the 60 day period and am not seeing many discounts at the moment on cruises in Europe. We have now booked a cruise in April that I had a $300 Capain's Club voucher for but have been informed "the discount is not applicable to your booking as it was made with a special discount offer". I also am not getting any OBC or inclusive gratuities so the net result is that I am probably no better off than anyone booking early.

The large print giveth, and small print taketh away.:(