5 Night Cruise in January 2025 book now or wait???

[toontoy]

I have a couple cruises that I am thinking about in January and February of 2025. They are both 5 night cruises. The final payment deadline is approaching. They have Florida resident specials and Canadian rates but no regular specials. what do you think the odds are about a special? I am trying to decide if it's worth booking, waiting for a deal, or booking a different trip. the difference is a few thousand so to me its worth debating. My wife just says lets go on RCCL again. we have been on 7 Disney cruises but sadly never taken our kids on any, Our last Disney cruise was back in 2014 almost 10 years ago. We have taken them on a couple of RCCL cruises and beach vacations. Just am not sure about pulling the trigger on these. One has the Marvel Day at sea which would be fun but not sure if it's worth the extra premium? How often do the VGT and IGT rates come up?

 

[DCLMP]

At this point in the game I'd wait and see. I doubt the prices will go up at this point.

It's hard to say it they will offer GT rates. Sometimes they offer Florida and Military and no GT rates....you just never know. They also offer TA, CM discounts and Interline and leave out the general public. I have no idea how they decide that and what their algorithm is. I would look to see how many staterooms are left. That is usually what I do to get an idea.

I don't think Marvel is worth a premium unless your are all really crazy about Marvel and think it's worth it. It's mostly standing in line to have your picture taken with character's. If that's your thing it might be worth it.

 

[unrequited23]

Sometimes the *GT rates aren't listed on the "Special Offers" page, but are shown on the page for a specific cruise once you start looking at stateroom categories. If you have specific cruises in mind I would check both places. For the time of year that you are looking, I've seen more discounts out of Galveston vs FL ports.

We've done two MDAS cruises. The first was specifically because it was Marvel, the second was because it was the week we could cruise due to the school schedule and it went to Castaway. If your family is up on the newer Marvel stuff--Sam Wilson as Captain America and Ms. Marvel--and your kids are in 5th grade or younger a MDAS cruise could be worth a slight upcharge.

 

[Mommb]

If you don’t care about getting specific onboard activities and excursions and an early port arrival time, you can wait a few weeks and see if special rates become available. If they don’t, you can decide whether to pay “full price” a month or so before the cruise.

I would check whether there are still lots of rooms available — if the ship or category sells out, there won’t be IGT/OGT/VGT rates.

 

[cvjw]

We are in the same boat. We will take a couple of cruises on the fantasy in January or February - just waiting on the VGT rates to drop.

We have sailed the fantasy in January the last 2 years. Almost all of the sailings in January and February went VGT. I expect the same this year, it just may be a while before the guarantee rates drop.

 

[MomOTwins]

Unless you are sailing over the holiday weekends that month (MLK in Jan and Presidents/Valentines in Feb) odds are pretty good for discounts.

 

[auntlynne]

From what you wrote, I’d say wait until Paid in Full Date passes to see if discounts are available. At this point, significant increases in price should be over.

Unless you really want to gamble with a few thousand dollars.

Cruising is very popular now. You could find nothing you want for that time.

If you can wait to decide on which, if any, cruise you want, I recommend wait at this point.

If your kids are happy with Royal, I see no reason to get them hooked on expensive Disney vacations. That’s assuming you haven’t gotten hooked on the more expensive new Royal ships.

 

[OpieDoodle]

At this point I doubt there will be any significant price increases. So unless there's a super specific room you want then I'd wait. I'm on a the Fantasy Jan 24 and I know PIF date is just around the corner!

I guess the only downside is your booking window for excursions and such. Waiting may mean some things get booked up

 

[holula]

I have two cruises I’m eyeing. Neither of them fall over a holiday and both are MDAS.

One has very few inside and oceanview rooms available and I don’t think will go *GT as it seems fairly full. The other has lots of availability and I am playing a waiting game with it, although the price now isn’t terrible.

It might be worth just pretending to book and seeing how many rooms are available.