ang73 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 I know it's pretty common knowledge among cruisers. But to anyone new to cruising or just to confirm for those who've heard it before...book early to get the best price!! We booked within days of Royal Caribbean releasing our October 2016 cruise. So well over a year out from our cruise. Our travel agent has checked EVERY sale that has come out since and not one has been able to give us a better deal than our original booking. Even with higher percentages off, and even with OBC added, we still have a better deal. So while of course I'm still hoping there's that one magical sale that will save us some money before final payment....I'm really glad we booked as early as we did since prices seem to only go up from there! Happy Cruising :) packercruising, Cruising With JT, Matt and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewmommy Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 I totally agree. We booked for June 2017 right when the itineraries came out. Another plus about booking early is cabin selection. We have a large group that requires many quad cabins and we're able to secure most of the Boardwalk balcony cabins on one deck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toodle68 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 I was looking at some cruises in 2017 and the only available cabins were on deck two.. I find it hard to believe that 3 different cruises were all booked that far out and wondered if they only release other decks later.. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ang73 Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Yes, that's right! Another reason we booked early is because we had scoped out a specific room we wanted on Freedom last time we cruised. We were able to get that specific room by booking early! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising With JT Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Totally agree! We booked our cruise to Alaska in July 2016 way back in January 2015, and just now booked a cruise in September 2017 in May of 2016 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Agreed.... we booked November 2016 and April 2017 while on board adventure in April 2015. And we just booked November 2017 and April 2018 last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 You are correct if you need to plan far into advance. I have found that close to the final payment date the deals can be better. Or just after the final payment date. Most of the cruises I have book have been after the final payment date and the price has been better that at release. But in order to make this work you need to be flexible with times and travel. Most people have fixed vacations so these late bookings would not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Totally agree as well. That's why I have five booked through 2018. For us in North Anerica, those no risk. The only disadvantage is coughing up the deposit. MikeK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Thanks for sharing! I think it is a great example of why we preach the booking early mantra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsyrob Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Totally agree as well. That's why I have five booked through 2018. For us in North Anerica, those no risk. The only disadvantage is coughing up the deposit. I want to book Oasis in mid May 2018 for a family getaway for my sons graduation from college. What is the earliest i can do that? The website only shows dates in 2018 through April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 The first couple of cruises we did were last minute bookings and the prices were great. Since then though (and especially with Royals new "no discounts after final pymt", I have been booking on schedule release date and very rarely seeing price drops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 I think the rest of 2018 will be in the spring 2017 schedule release ? DocLC and wsyrob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsyrob Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 I think the rest of 2018 will be in the spring 2017 schedule release ? I hope not. I was hoping to book that cruise while on Majesty in July to take advantage of the OBC offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerel Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 A wise man once said..."Book early, book often." bcarney, FloatMe and ang73 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 I hope not. I was hoping to book that cruise while on Majesty in July to take advantage of the OBC offer. Book another cruise of the same length in 2018 that's available and then transfer when your sailing becomes available. wsyrob and scouv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsyrob Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Book another cruise of the same length in 2018 that's available and then transfer when your sailing becomes available. Thanks. That is a good idea. Are there any fees associated with changing to a later date and would I need to use any OBC I get by booking on the July sailing so as not to lose it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Thanks. That is a good idea. Are there any fees associated with changing to a later date and would I need to use any OBC I get by booking on the July sailing so as not to lose it? No fees. Just realize that the deposit amount is not refundable if you take the OBC on your current cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Also be aware that you could (and probably would) lose any other "booking incentives" that apply to the original onboard booking if those incentives are no long being offered at the time that you move your booking to another date. When you move a booking you will only get the booking incentives/promos that are in effect at the time that you rebook...so if you were offered any special OBC, drinks or internet or dining discount packages as part of your original booking and that promo has ended by the time you switch to a new sail date, you would not longer qualify for them. Of course, there might be some NEW promo that's going on that is even better than the one you originally booked under ! They are always making these changes so you never know what they're going to be offering ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich T Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Book Early; Reprice Often! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 A few words should be used with caution; always, anytime, never, everyone..... because even if 1,000,000 agree it only takes 1 to prove the statement wrong. For most passengers booking early results in a better deal, but booking late or last minute can in some cases provide a much lower price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 A few words should be used with caution; always, anytime, never, everyone..... because even if 1,000,000 agree it only takes 1 to prove the statement wrong. For most passengers booking early results in a better deal, but booking late or last minute can in some cases provide a much lower price. You are not wrong, but speaking in generalizations, booking early tends to net a better deal on a more consistent basis. No question there are still last minute deals, but I would never recommend relying on that, especially if there is a particular sailing or stateroom category you are interested in. Xobertlab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 I agree with you Matt, if you need to travel at a set time, to a set place, ship, and room..... book early as it opens and check for price drops. But if you can travel on short notice and are open to ports and ships, last minute works great. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toodle68 Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 We are planning to cruise Oct 2017. We have another cruise coming up in Jan 2017 and wondered if booking early beats booking during the Jan cruise? I read the discussion on booking the next cruise on board and it seems like the benefits are not as great as they used to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 On board booking benefits are not all that significant (except for reduced deposit). Are you booking under US rules or another countries? If US why not book now and then cancel and book onboard if the onboard deal is better when the time comes ? Cruises typically increase in price over time ... for example my Nov 2016 cruise was booked in Mar 2015, as of today it is 50% higher than when I booked it ... no sale they can offer gets anywhere close to that price .... maybe after final payment if they do a discount deal (Which they say they don't do anymore) it will get back down to being close but I haven't seen it on my last couple. My Nov 2017 cruise is only up $150 so far from when I booked it in Apr 2016, but that's already more than any booking bonus OBC offer .... although I am hopeful a sale might give me a savings on this between now and taking it, I doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 Speaking of price increases, I was stunned when I went to check the price (Grand Suite) of my Navigator 2016 Christmas + New Year's cruise. The original base per person cost of this cruise (cruise only) was $5454. Today's per person cost is $10,505. That's nearly a 100 increase ! Holy cow ! Now, I paid less than $5454 PP with my Club Royale discount (It came out to $3071 PP) and anyone purchasing today would get the 60% off second person price, which comes to $7353.50 PP but that's still a huge price increase. Booking early was definitely the right thing to do here ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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