When you want a great deal on a cruise, you need to remember that timing is key. In order to save money on your cruise, you need to plan early and to avoid buying your ticket during periods of high ticket sales. Tickets are usually more expensive during times of the year when more people are buying them. Many cruise ships offer discounts to early customers, and your best bet is to shop around for such deals as early as you can, or late when the ship is almost ready to anchor away. So, what is the best time of the year to book a cruise?
It is difficult to pinpoint the optimal time of the year to book a cruise because many different cruise ships sail to many different destinations throughout the year. Cruise ship companies make different discount offers at different times during the year, although the best offers are typically rolled out at times when there is low booking.
Different players in the cruise ship industry design their own unique discount offers, and the timing of these offers varies from company to company. However, the entire cruise ship industry tends to offer substantial discounts between January and March, and also in the month of October. The first three months of the year are referred to as the Wave Season and many cruise lines create discount promotions during this period. October is referred to as Plan a Cruise Month, and it also a great time to get a good cruise deal.
Wave Season (January to March)
Starting from early January and ending in late March, wave season is a good time to book a cruise for a number of reasons. For starters, wave season comes early in the year, just after the excitement of the holiday season has died off. Early planners and perennial travelers tend to take this time to make travel arrangements for the rest of the year, and maybe even for the next year. Most cruise lines come up with attractive and aggressive deals at this time of the year in an attempt to net more travelers. During this period, cruise liners are more concerned with meeting a baseline occupancy rate than they are with making bigger profits. For this reason, they offer huge discounts on the fares, and they throw in lots of perks.
There are many advantages to booking a cruise during wave season. Since you are among the first people to book cabins on the ship, you get to choose the best cabins in your price range. Many cruise liners also tend to throw in special dining packages, unlimited drinks, onboard credits, and planned excursions at every shore on the ship’s itinerary. Travelers who take advantage of wave season are definitely the early birds that catch the worms.
Plan a Cruise Month (October)
October is internationally recognized as plan a cruise month’. This means most cruise liners create attractive discount programs and offers during the month. October is, therefore, a great time to shop around for a discount, especially if you plan to travel during the holiday season. The high competition between cruise liners during the plan-a-cruise month is a good thing for travelers because cruise ships reduce their prices in an attempt to outdo each other when it comes to getting customers.
Early Booking
The majority of cruise lines allow you to reserve your tickets 18 to 24 months before the date of the actual cruise. Early-birds are offered massive discounts, some of which are as low as half of what the usual price. Apart from the cost, there are other perks that come with early booking. Some cruise lines may insist on having two passengers per cabin, but early customers are exempted from this rule.
It is advisable to try and find the best early-bird deal during Wave Season or Plan a Cruise Month. The exact timing of great early booking deals may vary according to the cruise liner or the cruising destination, but the early-bird principle applies in all cases.
Far-off and Exotic Destinations
You should remember that the farther off or the more exotic the destination, the early you should book the cruise. If you intend to cruise to a far off place like Australia, you should remember that vessels that cruise to such places tend to fill up more quickly and that you need to book your ticket as early as possible. Destinations such as Alaska may be inaccessible by sea during the winter, so there is a narrow period between May and September when you can travel there. For such destination, it may be wise to book your cabin at least six months before the cruise.
Last-Minute Booking
You can get great deals through late booking or boarding time booking. Many cruise ships tend to lower their prices once they have reached a given occupancy quota and they still have more cabins to fill. You can take advantage of such offers by booking your cruise during the last couple of months before the ship sets off. During this period, the vast majority of the people who want to take the cruise would have already booked their cabins, and the cruise liner would have already met its occupancy goals, so the prices will be reduced. The only disadvantage of last-minute booking is that your choice of cabins is quite limited. However, if your biggest objective is to save some money, last-minute booking could be the way to go.
Some cruise ships also allow for boarding-time booking, and they offer big discounts because they would rather reduce their prices than sail off with empty cabins. Additionally, cabins may be offered at a reduced price in case there are any cancellations. You can get great last-minute bargains by searching for cabins that are available because of last-minute cancellations. Last-minute cruise ship deals are available all year round, and you are likely to find them during whichever month you wish to travel.
While you are more likely to find great deals during the Wave Season or the Plan a Cruise Month, you should not limit your research to these times of the year. You may be lucky enough to stumble upon a great cruise deal during the time of the year when you least expect to find one.