Eyeonhevn Posted December 25, 2022 Report Share Posted December 25, 2022 We are cruising in April and already know we want to cruise in 2024 to Alaska. Do we wait and book during our cruise for best price or is that an illusion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted December 25, 2022 Report Share Posted December 25, 2022 Book early for the best price We book as early as we can, and in doing so, have never seen the price on the cruises we book 2+ years out drop. We book non-refundable deposits. Refundable is an option, but for us, the difference between non-refundable and refundable deposits has been big enough that non-refundable made financial sense…for us. Your mileage may vary. Our furthest out cruise is on Adventure for March 2025. Sweety 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted December 25, 2022 Report Share Posted December 25, 2022 Book now. I booked three cruises with hubby’s help. teddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted December 25, 2022 Report Share Posted December 25, 2022 15 minutes ago, teddy said: Book early for the best price We book as early as we can, and in doing so, have never seen the price on the cruises we book 2+ years out drop. We book non-refundable deposits. Refundable is an option, but for us, the difference between non-refundable and refundable deposits has been big enough that non-refundable made financial sense…for us. Your mileage may vary. Our furthest out cruise is on Adventure for March 2025. We are on Adventure April 2025 for school break. teddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted December 25, 2022 Report Share Posted December 25, 2022 Another example: We booked our October 2023 Italian cruise on Explorer the morning the itinerary was released. The price has never been lower than when we booked it. I just priced it out, and it would cost us $1600 more if we booked today. Sweety 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK2793 Posted December 26, 2022 Report Share Posted December 26, 2022 The only thing booking onboard does for you is it gets you a cheaper deposit. Waiting until April to book though, will probably make your overall cruise cost much more expensive ……… you are correct, all the “sales” and “discounts” are illusions ……. The best way to save money on cruises is to book them as early as possible. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temeculaguy Posted December 26, 2022 Report Share Posted December 26, 2022 While I agree the prices are usually better in booking early, we have benefited from increased OBC when booking while onboard in the next cruise office, recently to the tune of $600. But it is a delicate balance, depending on itinerary and ship and how far out. Also watch the sale for when you are cruising, so you know when to go to next cruise, if you walk up between sales, it is a hindrance. The best deal I ever got was onboard, booking 18 months out, same deal I could have gotten months early plus a $600 credit, so i always board with a few future options already priced and planned out, then check with next cruise to see what they are offering. Sometimes there's a huge benefit, sometimes it is minuscule. The time there was minimal benefit bu.t I did it anyway was a family cruise where I had no flexibility as I had to book a specific cruise on a certain date for a monumental birthday celebration for a family member. Where it worked best onboard was when I was flexible. That is how I paid the same amount for a 7 day cruise vs a 12 day, same ship, same room and got 600 OBC on the 12 day, not just same class but the same room, same floor. So yes, in certain situations, I like next cruise. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted December 26, 2022 Report Share Posted December 26, 2022 If you know you want the cruise….book it! If the price drops before final payment, you can call and re-price for the lower price. As already posted, the benefit of booking onboard is the lower deposit and an OBC depending on cruise and stateroom category. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same price as listed on the website. But, sometimes I’m just are in the right place at the right time. I was onboard when I saw the Jewel round trip cruise to Greenland from NJ and I jumped on it. It quickly rose in price due to demand and now it’s virtually sold out. So I booked a great bucket-list cruise at a great price and got some OBC. teddy and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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