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How far in advance do you book your cruise?
23 Answers
Just an additional note... for those thinking that last minute deals are worth waiting for, RC has stopped the practice altogether. The CEO recently mentioned doing away with the practice of last minute discounts. A story broke on April 21st. Seems it causes too much last minute scrambling for TAs and RCCI to be worth it. So the lesson is, don't wait count on last minute price drops at RCC.
About a year in advance.
I have booked a year out. However, since I retired I book anywhere from 3 months to the week before. We are always looking. When one gets really low we will jump on it.
I normally book between 2 weeks and 30 days out, you get the best deals waiting it out!!!
If I'm booking it generally 9 months to a year out. If my inlaws are then it's usually a family trip so it's anywhere from 3 months to 6 months.
I book all different times. If the cruise is a popular one that fills up quickly, I'll book a year in advance. Some I book last minute to take advantage of a very good deal. Usually it is somewhere in between. I guess I average about six months in advance.
I would go nuts with waiting for a year for a cruise. I tend to book in less then 90 days, I get the cruise bug, I hit the web sites, call a few friends and book a trip. I did book one trip 6 months out because it was a re-positioning transatlantic at a price to good to pass up. I'm lucky that I'm semi-retired and go go when ever I want.
We have done both ends of the leeway spectrum.... a couple weeks before departure up to a couple years ahead. It really depends upon whether or not you care about the itinerary or cabin type or other time-sensitive variable.
Our last minute cruise was based on a great discount, departure port, and our availability. We could have cared less about having an interior cabin because every other factor worked in our favor.
Our 2+ year out booking was based on wanting the same accessible suite for all 4 back-to-back cruises.
Another example, we are closely monitoring the release of a South Pacific in the Fall 2016. Looking at this cruise's history, it always sells out and the desirable cabins go very quickly. We have a TP monitoring it for us as well.
Our priorities determine how far in advance we book.
Happy cruising!
