When is the best cruising value?

[deanejc]

Was wondering, what month or time of the year is the best cruise value (when you can get better deals)? When is the worst time? And how many months prior do you need to book to get your best value (any time of year?)

[Marian]

September brings terrific prices but there's a risk of a hurricane disrupting your cruise. It's pretty hot then in the Caribbean. Right after the holidays is a good time for bargains. You also can get bargains at the last minute. I generally buy my cruise about four to six months in advance and I can pick a good cabin. I watch the prices on the internet and when I see a good one, I grab it.

[farmerjohn]

You can often get good deals on Caribbean cruises in October & November. However, some years the hurricain season lasts extra long and their is a risk of poor weather.

We personally like to travel in the last week of November and the first week of December. This is a slow time for travel generally and we have always had decent weather during this time frame. The first two weeks of January are another time when you can get decent rates.

You can pretty much tell when the slower times are by looking at the cruise lines' rate charts.

We have booked as much as 6 months in advance and as little as 1 month in advance. Seems to be hit and miss on when you will get the best pricing. One advantage of booking early is that if you stick with the same cruise line you may get some pretty good upgrades.

Hope this helps.

[deanejc]

So booking now for an early February cruise is probably higher and have all the good rooms taken????? Maybe I should wait and book now for next year or for last week in November!!!!!

[Marian]

Go in February, then book another cruise for November. I'm kind of kidding, but not totally. I just looked and there are lots of good interior cabins at reasonable prices.

[Sandy]

Deane, my experience has been that the least expensive times are the two weeks before Christmas, and the first couple of weeks in September. However, sometimes prices fool you, and cruises you wouldn't expect to be inexpensive, are just that.

My advice has always been to book early, and make sure your travel agent keeps tabs on what's happening to prices on your sailing. If the price of your cabin category goes down, the cruise line will almost always refund to you the difference, or upgrade your cabin category. But you have to watch it; if the price goes down, the cruise line won't call you or your travel agent to tell you about it.

Cruise lines encourage people to book as early as possible, and therefore refund or upgrade. It used to be that people would wait until the last minute to book, and this wreaked havoc on cruise lines' inventory control. So now they say that the best prices are for the earliest bookers, and if they have to drop prices at some point, you won't lose out. And of course, the earlier you book, the better the cabin selection.

The more expensive times to cruise are high-demand weeks, such as holiday times, spring break, and mid-June to late August. Also, itineraries that have short seasons, such as Alaska and Bermuda, can be pricier than all year 'round itineraries.

Sandy