How Late Is Too Late?

When is it too late to book your cruise? A lot of my clients can go on a cruise at the drop of a hat and if you are in this situation there are probably some guidelines you should think about. Over the last few months I have been checking a certain cruise for one of my clients, each time we have checked the price had gone down slightly. Then this week when we checked it was sold out. So how do you avoid this from happening and still be confident you have a good price?



Without the benefit of hindsight there are a few things we can look at. Firstly you need to know what a good (realistic) price is. In the past 4 years I have I have only seen a cruise go under £50 per person, per night on a handful of occasions. So if the cruise you are looking at works out at £50pp pn, then book it. The same applies to balcony cabins, a good price for a balcony cabin is £100 pp pn, although it is double the price of the leading grade, £1400  for a 14 night cruise in a balcony, is still a very good fare. Unfortunatly for you single travellers the above it is going to be a little more. £80-£100 per night is a good fare for a solo traveller.

Next we need to check the availability. How many cabins are available and how much time is left before the sail date? If there are two weeks to go and the cruise has 100 cabins, then you are going to get a very good fare. On the flip side if it is three months before sail date and there is only two cabins left, If you like the price book it, because it probably wont be there in the morning.

It is very unlikely you can call two days before a ship departs, with the hope of getting a cheap deal. It is entirely possible that this can happen, but more often and not the cruises are completely sold out. This option would only be suitable for people who are not desperately wanting to get away and would not mind equally if they were to stay at home of go on holiday!

The same rules always apply for peak sailings however. Any 4 berth cabins in the summer holidays, any unique itineraries, any Christmas sailings and finally any sailings where you have to go on a certain date, due to a Wedding etc. ALWAYS book early as you possibly can, to avoid disappointment. You may pay slightly more but at least you will get what you want!

If you want any more advice, or have any questions please let me know!