Lessons learned about last-minute booking

From time to time, RTC'ers have discussed how to get on a cruise at
the last minute. We've done a lot of late bookings, but never cut it
so close as we did last month--we booked on Friday and sailed on
Sunday!

Here's a recap of our experience and the lessons we learned in case it
helps any of you who are struck by cruise fever and gotta get outta
here NOW!

Our family of five Texans decided Dec. 15 we wanted to cruise
Christmas/Hanukkah week, meaning we'd have to board a ship Dec. 19 or
20. Our wonderful TA put a lot of time and effort into trying to get
us 3 cabins on any mass market ship leaving from a domestic, southern
port (FL, Gulf Coast or CA--this limitation was based on flights best-
suited to us in terms of cost, duration and risk of suffering the
impact of winter storm systems). Almost every ship was sold out--we
passed on the few available cabins offered at a price so high over the
usual holiday premium as to be outrageous. When the lines closed real
time online booking to TAs at roughly 3 days out, we temporarily gave
up, but then went mad and started calling the lines ourselves...in
spurts, day and night, continuing to late Friday afternoon, when we
got on the Conquest's Sunday sailing. (Yeah, we're nuts, but the whole
thing evolved into a game of sorts. We kept playing as much to see how
it would turn out as we did to try to land a holiday getaway.)

It was fascinating to get a peek at the way cruise lines handle
inventory in the final days. Princess alone takes a wait list--very
civilized. The rest sell cabins as they pop up when there's a last-
minute cancellation, and there's no such animal as a hold. So if you
call at 10:00, the agent might say, "there's not a cabin on any ship,"
but if you call back at 10:01, the response could be, "here's a cabin,
do you want it before it disappears from my screen?" All lines shut
down the process roughly 24 hours before a ship sails (and one said
they offer unsold cabins to employees at ? cost).

Our challenges were the need for 3 cabins ideally, 2 in a pinch;
flight availability at a reasonable cost; and avoiding gouging. RCI
led the pack on price, asking $6,000 for a balcony for 2 on a "usual"
Caribbean 7-nighter. Princess and Carnival pricing was more in line
with what a temporarily insane person would pay to cruise a holiday
week! Celebrity, NCL and HAL never really had much open up. (We didn't
check Disney solely because their prices are always higher.) When we
went to bed Thursday night, we assumed we weren't going, as the flight
situation had become untenable from a cost standpoint (fares doubled).
Princess called Friday morning to say we'd cleared a ship, but by
then, even if we'd be willing to pay the piper, flights were flat
unavailable to get all five of us to a port in time. Late Friday, a
Carnival rep called and offered 2 cabins on the Conquest from our
drive-to port. She was the sole cruise line agent out of a jillion to
keep track of our quest and initiate a call when cabins opened up
(which we found breathtakingly incomprehensible from a sales
standpoint). She did give my husband 30 minutes to track me down (I
was Christmas shopping), and we agreed, it was a no-brainer, even
though we'd not been enamored with the Conquest the first time we
sailed her and we'd never sailed with 2 cabins for our party of five.

Lessons for those interested in last-minute bookings: (1) you can book
up to 24 hours before sail time; (2) there's no Homeland Security bar
to getting on a ship at the very last minute; (3) Princess' wait list
is definitely a way to go, and don't be deterred by your standby
number--our "no, thanks" gave number 15 a shot; and (4) if you don't
have to fly, you will almost certainly get on a ship, even during a
peak week like Christmas/Hanukkah. It goes without saying, you cannot
be picky about line, ship, cabin or itinerary.

Happy cruising, whether you book early or late!

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

D Ball wrote:

Lessons for those interested in last-minute bookings: (1) you can book
up to 24 hours before sail time; (2) there's no Homeland Security bar
to getting on a ship at the very last minute; (3) Princess' wait list
is definitely a way to go, and don't be deterred by your standby
number--our "no, thanks" gave number 15 a shot; and (4) if you don't
have to fly, you will almost certainly get on a ship, even during a
peak week like Christmas/Hanukkah. It goes without saying, you cannot
be picky about line, ship, cabin or itinerary.

Diana, this is a very interesting and informative post!! I am glad you
and your family were able to get a last minute cruise and I hope you
enjoyed it(will read your other posts later on).

We usually book way ahead, but once we move to Florida, this tells me
that we can do some last minutes cruising when the mood strikes.

sue

We usually book way ahead, but once we move to Florida, this tells me
that we can do some last minutes cruising when the mood strikes.

sue

Sue, you were on my mind when I wrote that! What's your target year
for making the move?

Best,

Diana

D Ball wrote:
We usually book way ahead, but once we move to Florida, this tells me
that we can do some last minutes cruising when the mood strikes.

sue

Sue, you were on my mind when I wrote that! What's your target year
for making the move?

Two years and 9 months and we will be moving, that would be Oct. 2011.
Not that I am watching the time untill Kevin retires.LOL

I put this post in Kevin's inbox and I know he will also find it helpful.

sue

On 1/15/2009 10:55 AM, D Ball wrote:
From time to time, RTC'ers have discussed how to get on a cruise at
the last minute. We've done a lot of late bookings, but never cut it
so close as we did last month--we booked on Friday and sailed on
Sunday!

Interesting story, Diana. Can I ask whether you ended up getting
a decent price on the Carnival cruise, or did you pay the usual
holiday week prices? Also similarly for the Princess cruise you
were offered. Just curious to see if you were actually able to
get a last minute deal or if they were able to get regular high
prices because of the timing/demand.

Bill

Interesting story, Diana. Can I ask whether you ended up getting
a decent price on the Carnival cruise, or did you pay the usual
holiday week prices? Also similarly for the Princess cruise you
were offered. Just curious to see if you were actually able to
get a last minute deal or if they were able to get regular high
prices because of the timing/demand.

Bill

Hi, Bill, great to hear from you. Hope you and your family are well!

Good question. Nobody offered a deal. We paid the usual holiday
sticker for a balcony (I'd say $3400-4000 is average--my husband's not
here, or I could tell you to the penny). Carnival and Princess always
stayed within the norm; RCI/Celebrity didn't, but crazy people were
obviously paying whatever they asked!

For precisely the reasoning you suggest, we did not expect to get a
traveler's "last-minute deal" on a holiday sailing in a strong cruise
year like 2008. All ships were fully/nearly committed at the rates set
when things were rosier, creating a supply/demand scenario that
allowed the lines to easily collect the usual premium from those like
us, who were just watching and waiting to snap up the rare opening.

Fast forward to holidays 2009--you gotta know there'll be some deals.
In past, less rosy years, we've seen holiday cruise pricing drop below
premium after final payment, and even lower at the last-minute.
(Naturally, those would be the years we actually planned our holiday
early like "normal" people do, LOL.) This year, depending on how
sluggish holiday bookings are, the drop could occur earlier than final
payment, thus setting a lower bar for "the usual holiday premium." An
experienced cruiser like you can predict the ships that'll turn up
with "real deals"--they'll be older, e.g., RCI's Vision class or
Princess' Sun class, and sail in a competitive market like Miami or
FLL. By contrast, in Galveston and other ports where there are only a
few ships to serve a geographical market, I'd be surprised to see
holiday cruise deals, no matter how rough 2009 gets.

Best,

Diana

Sometimes you can get some good deals booking early and sometimes
booking late. You're limited to the type of room, if you are looking for
one in particular.


--
kcrenshaw
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com

On 1/15/2009 1:43 PM Sue Mullen scrawled with a big red tube of lipstick:


D Ball wrote:
We usually book way ahead, but once we move to Florida, this tells me
that we can do some last minutes cruising when the mood strikes.

sue

Sue, you were on my mind when I wrote that! What's your target year
for making the move?

Two years and 9 months and we will be moving, that would be Oct. 2011.
Not that I am watching the time untill Kevin retires.LOL

I put this post in Kevin's inbox and I know he will also find it helpful.

sue
Wow! You've got the exact date of the move locked in. Personally, I'd
wait until hurricane season is over. There's always some retiree who has
had enough of paying the high cost of hurricane insurance. They're tired
of wondering when a near miss might become a direct hit. Usually, such
folks are ready to sell for a much lower price then they'd sell at other
times.

Did you know that Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen are the new Ft. Myers,
FL? Lots of retired ex-patriots are living in twice the luxury they'd
have back in some of the retirement havens in Florida. There's a whole
section that I think is called Playa Sol that's nothing but luxury
villas. Puerto Morelos has villas that come with their own
housekeeper/cook and grounds keeper. They aren't as costly as you might
think. Something to think about.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest friend, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

In article ,
Brian K wrote:


Wow! You've got the exact date of the move locked in. Personally, I'd
wait until hurricane season is over. There's always some retiree who has
had enough of paying the high cost of hurricane insurance. They're tired
of wondering when a near miss might become a direct hit. Usually, such
folks are ready to sell for a much lower price then they'd sell at other
times.


Allstate pulled entirely out of the property & casualty biz in FL
yesterday, so paying for hurricane insurance may not be a problem.. there
may not be much to buy.
\

In article
,
Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article ,
Brian K wrote:


Wow! You've got the exact date of the move locked in. Personally, I'd
wait until hurricane season is over. There's always some retiree who has
had enough of paying the high cost of hurricane insurance. They're tired
of wondering when a near miss might become a direct hit. Usually, such
folks are ready to sell for a much lower price then they'd sell at other
times.


Allstate pulled entirely out of the property & casualty biz in FL
yesterday, so paying for hurricane insurance may not be a problem.. there
may not be much to buy.
\

It was STATE FARM, not Allstate that pulled out. Mea culpa