Timing is everything, including when you should book a cruise as it can mean the difference between an average price and a great deal.
Cruise vacations have never been more popular because of how convenient and family-friendly this type of a trip can be, and that demand has sent prices skyrocketing.
I've booked cruises years in advance, as well as just a few days before sailing. There are advantages to both, but I've found it far more advantageous to book early than wait for a last minute deal.
Booking early is a bit of a gamble in terms of paying too much, but waiting until a few months before sailing might leave you with few appealing options.
Based on our team's hundreds of collective cruises, we've figured out that how early you should book a cruise is almost a trick question because there is no such thing as too early.
How early can you book a cruise?
Royal Caribbean will open up its bookings as early as two years or more prior to the sail date.
Typically, they release new sailings for guests to book at regular periods during the year and the advantage of booking a cruise right when sailings get announced is the fact inventory is at its highest.
Once a sailing is open for booking, you may reserve a cabin at any point all the way until the week of the sailing.
As cabins get sold, prices tend to go up.
Royal Caribbean uses a pricing algorithm to determine the price of a cruise, and there are many factors. But there's no question that prices go up as cabins are sold and inventory drops off.
Advantages of booking a cruise early
There are four key reasons to book a cruise as soon as you can.
First, you'll have the widest selection of cabins available.
Every ship comes staterooms of various configurations, from tiny inside rooms to spacious suites. The first rooms to sell out on a cruise are usually the cheapest ones and the suites. That's because there's limited availability of those rooms.
Modern cruise ships have a lot of balcony rooms, so they are the last to sell out.
By booking early, you have more choice in the cabin category, as well as the location. You can get a great room on the back of the ship or right near an elevator. Best yet, you won't have to settle for a room that has noise problems.
The second advantage of booking your cruise early will be being able to take advantage of discounts and promotions.
Royal Caribbean offers a sale all the time, but you could take advantage of an offer that will actually save money.
Whether it's a Black Friday deal or bonus instant savings around a major holiday, you can tie those offers into the perfect cabin you want.
An equally important reason to book early is for the flexibility you have with ships, itineraries, and sail dates.
There's less compromise when you can cherry pick the exact ship and date to go on when you book early. Waiting means a particular itinerary could sell out, and then you're scrambling to find something else. Inevitably in this scenario, you're option for a secondary choice.
Lastly, booking a cruise super early gives you greater piece of mind because you have more time to plan it all out.
When you have years to plan a cruise, you'll have all the time in the world to budget, pick out the perfect shore excursions, and get everything lined up for a wonderful cruise.
Plus, you can budget it all together. I love to have my travel agent make regular payments so I'm not hit with a giant final payment closer to the sail date.
When a last-minute cruise makes sense
Waiting until the final weeks before a sailing to book a cruise has its benefits and drawbacks that you should be aware of before booking anything.
Booking a cruise at the last minute is like rolling the dice, with the hope a ship, itinerary and stateroom will be available at a cost you are comfortable with. Moreover, because Royal Caribbean cruises have become more and more popular, last minute deals are fewer and fewer between.
However, you might get lucky with a significant discount. This happens when there's a cancellation or a specific sailing isn't selling that well and the cruise line wants to "encourage" sales so they lower the price.
The best last-minute deals are usually during slower times of the year, such as when school is in session or it is hurricane season.
If you are flying to a cruise, quite often any last minute cruise savings may be negated by high airfare prices.
The ideal last-minute cruiser should be someone that is very flexible and can go on a cruise with little notice.
Often I see last-minute prices that show up in the morning, but are sold out by that evening. It's the kind of booking you need to jump on immediately, and you can't be picky either.
If you're booking a cruise with just a few weeks before the sailing, there will not be many cabins to choose from. You'll need to be someone with minimal requirements for a cabin type. Likewise, where your ship is also going to be limited in choice.
There's no question a solo traveler or a couple will have an easier time with a last-minute cruise deal, compared to a family or large group.
How far in advance should I book a cruise to get the best deal?
The key to getting the best price is to book your cruise as soon as you know you want to go on the sailing and lock in the cabin you prefer.
In general, I'd recommend booking a cruise at least 9-12 months in advance to get the greatest selection of rates and sail dates. If you want to book a holiday sailing, then you need to book 12-18 months early to get a spot at a reasonable cost.
The ideal strategy for booking a Royal Caribbean cruise is if you live in a country where you can reprice your cruise up until final payment date. Residents of the United States, Canada and select other countries are able to contact Royal Caribbean if there is a price drop and take advantage of the lower price.
By booking 12, 18 or even 24 months in advance, you have the luxury of watching the price and making a price adjustment if there is a lower price offered. You can do this unlimited amount of times until the final payment date at 90 days prior to sailing.
In addition to the lower prices, booking well in-advance of a cruise assures you of the ship and stateroom you want to reserve. Suites and some of the higher in-demand cabins are the first to be reserved, and waiting to book usually results in far fewer choices. Moreover, my observation is the price for a suite on Royal Caribbean tends to only go up over time at a greater rate than standard cabins.
Is it cheaper to book a cruise through a travel agent?
The short answer is, not always, but you should always book with a travel agent.
In the 21st century, it is not difficult to reserve a cruise for your family, but travel agents provide a great deal of service and expertise that goes beyond simply placing a reservation.
A good travel agent has knowledge of all the ways they can save you money on a cruise. There are a variety of discounts offered by the cruise line that are not often apparent to someone browsing Royal Caribbean's homepage. Moreover, travel agents can have access to group pricing and special promotions only available to their agency and partners.
Beyond saving money, a good travel agent is your advocate during the entire vacation, from booking to cruise and beyond. If an issue arises, or a billing discrepancy occurs, having a travel agent is worth it every time because they are the ones dealing with the cruise line instead of you.
Most importantly, a good travel agent should cost you absolutely nothing extra to use their services. The cruise line pays the travel agent a commission for their services, and the price is the same for you whether you use an agent or not. So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using a good travel agent.
There are many wonderful travel agents that specialize in Royal Caribbean. If you have read other posts on the blog, you might be aware that I use MEI-Travel for booking all of my Royal Caribbean cruises, and I can personally attest that they are fantastic!
