last minute cruise, pros and cons

[jks9103]

What are the pros and cons of booking a last minute cruise? The price is a pro of course. I'm guessing for a con, some of the most popular excersions can be sold out?

[nadalina]

The con for me is that even though the cruise, itself, might be a great bargain, most of the time the airline ticket is not, and, in fact, completely negates the savings on the cruise. Unfortunately, I live in a city that is not within close driving distance to cruise ports, other than Mobile, and that port, to the best of my knowledge, only offers the Carnival Holiday. I would love to be able to take advantage of some of the great last-minute cruise deals but the airfare usually makes it impossible to consider.

[paul929207]

Pros are mainly price and flexibility - You are deciding just before the cruise to do it.

 

Cons - cabin selection, shore excursions selection, cruise selection. For each of these the "best" are taken and you are left with what no one else wanted.

 

I don't know how far you are from a port. If you have to fly to meet the ship, you may wipe out the savings.

[RetireeWannabee]

The con for me is that even though the cruise, itself, might be a great bargain, most of the time the airline ticket is not, and, in fact, completely negates the savings on the cruise. Unfortunately, I live in a city that is not within close driving distance to cruise ports, other than Mobile, and that port, to the best of my knowledge, only offers the Carnival Holiday. I would love to be able to take advantage of some of the great last-minute cruise deals but the airfare usually makes it impossible to consider.

Yep, no can do from Indiana.

[LHT28]

The flight would be a con you may not be able to get a seat

If we booked a week in advance we could drive to Florida in 3 days, no problem if no snow storms on the route.

[clackey]

Cons - cabin selection, shore excursions selection, cruise selection. For each of these the "best" are taken and you are left with what no one else wanted.

 

.

This is my main criteria. I am reluctant to go if I can't control my cabin location. As for excursions, I can always wing it on my own.

[UtterCaro]

Flights and cabin selection are the major drawbacks for me, but I love last-minute cruising. There's something about not having time to make a countdown clock that I find irresistible. :)

 

Caro

[Liz54]

I would certainly do last minute if I could, but geography rules that out for me too! However, I do love the anticipation of the cruise and checking in on CC etc. for about a year in advance!

[McDebbie]

I would miss the anticipation and planning also. Our Sky cruise was rerouted the day before sailing and I felt like a fish out of water not knowing where the "best" places were to eat and shop and sun. :D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

it could work it is just a lot of work

[GORDONCHICK]

Cabin selection would be the problem for us, and we found out the hard way a couple of years ago. We always book insides, but had always been mid-ship. We booked five weeks out - very late for us and the only cabin available was the furthest forward cabin. We were awakened every port day very early with either ropes or anchor noise. Never again if the cabin is completely forward!

[Cruising Mom1]

Our last cruise, just our daughter and I went and we booked only a few weeks out and it was delightful! No, we didn't have the ideal cabin, the ship was smaller, and we got a bit seasick due to choppy water, but for the 2 of us, it was a short 5-day cruise and we enjoyed every second of it - especially being waited on! For the price, we couldn't have beat it!

[cruiserbryce]

sometimes great rates are available. Becasue many lines offer such reasonable fares from the beginning there are a lot of ships that sail close to full and dont need to offer last minute rates. If you can get one that's great...but you may be limited on Excursions, cabin selection, dining times and specialty reaturant availability

[SeaDawg]

With a little research and a lot of flexibility, it's easy to scare up a cruise bargain these days. But there are plenty of potential pitfalls. Here are some things to keep in mind.

 

Tips on Last-Minute Cruises

[JanineM]

The latest we have booked was 18-days out - peak week of spring break 3 years ago. We wound up with a lovely balcony just slightly aft of mid-ship on the 8th deck ... fabulous location!

 

We didn't get a fantastic bargain, but the price was still pretty good - especially when you realize that the economy was in great shape then and ships were jam packed.

 

They also weren't pre-booking specialty restaurants and things like that then. We're not into excursions, which is good because they generally all picked over.

 

We normally book less than 60 days before sailing and have actually never had a bad cabin! So it is possible to pay less and get a decent location ... but you have to be flexible on ship and itinerary. It helps if you live within driving distance of a port, too!

[navybankerteacher]

Cabin selection would be the problem for us, and we found out the hard way a couple of years ago. We always book insides, but had always been mid-ship. We booked five weeks out - very late for us and the only cabin available was the furthest forward cabin. We were awakened every port day very early with either ropes or anchor noise. Never again if the cabin is completely forward!

 

On HAL ships the theatre is located forward of passenger cabins - even the most forward cabin is far removed from anchor chain or mooring line noises.

 

I was on Norwegian Sea - New York to Bermuda in 2003 - furthest forward inside cabin - the anchor chain locker must have been just inches away from my bed, when they dropped anchor at St.George the vibrations shook the whole room - noise was deafening.

[Essiesmom]

Booked B2B on Carnival Splendor 8 days out and got great cabin. Never do ship excursions on Carnival. booked Sensation four days out with 1A gty cabin. No complaints. EM

[sassy73]

On HAL ships the theatre is located forward of passenger cabins - even the most forward cabin is far removed from anchor chain or mooring line noises.

 

I was on Norwegian Sea - New York to Bermuda in 2003 - furthest forward inside cabin - the anchor chain locker must have been just inches away from my bed, when they dropped anchor at St.George the vibrations shook the whole room - noise was deafening.

 

OT,but that is good to know. I'm booked currently on the most forward cabin on the Westerdam, but it seemed the theater would buffer some of those types of noises.

Back on topic. I need an wheelchair accessible cabin, so couldn't really spontaneously decide to do a last minute cruise (and I do live in a pier city, though not the one I will be travelling to for my cruise in August, lol.) Anyway, if I was not disabled, with my personality, I could see myself doing this. I have a very adventourous spirit, and LOVE travelling. I have never been on a cruise before, but think I will definitely enjoy it. Accept where I absolutely can't be, Im pretty spontaneous, and up for new, unknown experiences whether they turn out to be "perfect" or not.

[mypleasure]

Flights are my major problem. If I want to fly with my miles then the choice becomes very restrictive. I spent 4 hours today trying to match flights from London to Miami with a cruise I wanted. I know I could have paid the £1000 British Airways were asking to fly the 2 of us on my specified dates or tried for a cheaper airline but I had plenty of miles and a free companion ticket so I was desperate to book that way. I ended up with a few days to spare either side of the cruise in Miami. Booking last minte flights leaves me wide open to paying whatever the airlines want and it is usually as much as the cruise itself.

 

Another major con is cabin selection. I am particularly partial to two specific cabins on a specific class of ship. You need to get in early to get those and I was lucky today that I got my cabin on the cruise I wanted and manged to get the air albeit not the exact dates I wanted. Need miami hotels now and I am done.

[DLewisPugs]

They also weren't pre-booking specialty restaurants and things like that then.

 

 

I didn't realize you could pre-book specialty restaurants. We are on the NCL Jewel. How do you pre book a month before setting sail? Can you pre-book other things too, other than tours?

[Aunty Pat]

Pre-booking specialty restaurants depends on the cruise line. Holland America does it but you either have to call the ship services desk or if you want to do it online it is under the “order gifts” tab. Be prepared with your credit card. You will be paying for it when you book it.

Aunty Pat

 

Barefoot Windjammer - Phantom ‘81

K&D German Rhine Line ‘84

NCL - Norway ’85, Pride of America ’05, Southward ’87, Star ’97 & ‘05, Starward ’92, Sun ’02 & Windward ’93

RCC - Song of America ‘89

American Hawaiian - Independence ‘98

HAL - Volendam ’99, Noordam ’06, Oosterdam ’07 & ‘09, Statendam ’02 & ‘08, Prinsendam ’03 & ’06, & Zuiderdam ’04, ’06 & ‘07

Carnival - Spirit ‘05

Celebrity – Summit ‘05

Cruise West - Yorktown Clipper ‘06

Princess - Golden Princess ‘07

A & K - East Queen ‘07

Cunard - QM2 ’08

Pending Cruises:

HAL – Westerdam, September 6, 2009

Oceania – Insignia, June 17, 2010