Before 2000, cruisers booked their vacations a minimum of a year in advance. From May to December, folks were buying for the next year. And anyone who waited to buy in January for the current year, was considered “last minute”, even if the cruise didn’t sail till Fall.
The strange thing is, the “Early Savings Advantage” has NOT gone away ! It’s just that many folks miss the boat and don’t take advantage of them. Part of the reason is that many cruisers today are last minute folks and the other reason is because some consumers “think” they are getting an advantage with Last Minute Offers.
Folks believe this is because of what they hear other cruisers say and from all the advertisement seen. What happened to listening to your agent ?! Not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it’s strange that some cruisers today, listen more to the general public than the experts ! So many are missing the boat.
These cruise lines don’t wait till the last minute to fill their boats. And unlike what some consumers believe, these ships are sailing FULL !
The cruise lines have it calculated that they must be at a certain capacity sold by a certain date. And that’s not 2 months from sailing ! It begins at 12 months prior, 10 months prior, and even 4-6 months prior. If they are not where they want to be, that’s why you see sales. However, many consumers don’t realize, these sales are often, ONLY for select dates. The sailings that are filling are not on sale !
They see all these sales and assume the cruise lines are having a hard time filling their boats.
Also, just because you saw a sale last month, does not mean this month, you have a better advantage over last month. Most often, because so many cabins sold last month, this month, the cruise rate is higher. The consumer just doesn’t know it ! You can only know this, if you are watching the rates all the time !
Folks ask me, when should they buy ? My answer, as soon as you are thinking about going ! You as the consumer have no idea what sales you have already missed. So why miss more, by waiting more months to book !
And yes, it is true, that there are often Last Minute Offers ! But Last Minute is not 2 months prior to sailing. These cruise lines are doing tis 4-6 months from sailing. Many times, when you see a new sale, 2 months prior, you are actually paying higher than folks who bought 2-4 months before you.
The way to take advantage of sales, is to read all the different emails that come out. Though you may not have “thought” you were in the market, you should take a look at the sailings ! All of a sudden, there will be a give-away price, which will cause you to jump on it ! Missing that offer, can mean paying more, if another sale comes out.
All-In-All, I believe in buying 12 months to 15 months in advance. There are two reasons. One, better cabins. And two, you have hopefully booked at it’s lowest cost. And usually, if the rate comes down (not amenities) before final payment, the cruise line will honor. For all these months, you can watch your sailing !
ONE MORE VITAL PIECE OF INFORMATION. Cruise distribution houses, like Cruises Inc, buy space from the cruise lines 15-12 months from sailing. Though the rate may not have an advantage when buying this early, the closer the sailing comes, a cruise can SAVE LOTS OF MONEY.
The problem is, what is a consumers definition of “getting closer to sailing” ? It is NOT 2 months from sailing ! Often, the consumer has waited too late, booking 6 months from sailing ! This space goes early … The Early Birds are buying up all of Cruises Inc’s space. So if you are waiting till last minute for the cruise line offer, you may have totally MISSED THE BOAT on the added savings that YOU could have received, had you only booked early !
Great example. November 8, 2014, Norwegian Hawaii. Balcony, category BF is $ 2209 at Norwegian. Only $ 1699 at Cruises Inc. Norwegian is offering till today, receive $100 onboard credit. Cruises Inc has another $100 for folks who take advantage of the offer ! These advantages can be found in 2014, 2015, and 2016. But deadline is today, Janurary 15, 2014, for Norwegians onboard credit. If you miss this offer, Cruises Inc still has price advantages till their space is SOLD OUT !
The Early Bird does prosper !
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