Cheapest time to Cruise?

[mirandainwonderlanda92]

Trying to Figure when the cheapest time Of year normally is to cruise on a fantasy cruise to either the eastern Carribean or the Bahamas I would be traveling solo and looking for like a 7 day cruise.

 

[T & R]

For us it's hurricane season Sept/Oct. If you pick up a 7 night Fantasy cruise from that time and move it to summer, it's almost twice the price in the summer. Try to avoid summer, holidays and spring break season Mar/Apr.

 

[disneygeek401]

For us it's hurricane season Sept/Oct. If you pick up a 7 night Fantasy cruise from that time and move it to summer, it's almost twice the price in the summer. Try to avoid summer, holidays and spring break season Mar/Apr.

Agree. Plus kids are in school at that time, but some parents may pull them out because it is HOTHS and those cruises can be popular. Just be careful since Sept/Oct is prime hurricane season. The cruise *could* get canceled or miss a port, switch days, etc, but DCL will do everything in their power to avoid the storm and keep everyone onboard safe. That is the only con to sailing in the September/October time frame.

But, as long as you avoid summer (kids out of school), spring break season, and major holidays then the non peak prices will be cheaper.

For example, for Fall 2021 I can book a Fantasy cruise that departs on 12/26 for $13,000 cheapest. If I try and book a cruise on the Fantasy for 12/12, that will be only $6000 since it isn't over a major holiday.

And make sure to book on opening day depending on when you want to go. If next fall was something you were thinking of, jump on it ASAP as prices will only go up.

 

[JM23457]

Trying to Figure when the cheapest time Of year normally is to cruise on a fantasy cruise to either the eastern Carribean or the Bahamas I would be traveling solo and looking for like a 7 day cruise.

Least expensive: September & October (peak hurricane season, so have good travel insurance for all parts of the trip, including flights & hotel) and January & February

Most expensive: Christmas/New Years, midsummer, spring break, Thanksgiving

Sometimes a few months to weeks before the cruise, you can get a last minute GT rate on the cruise, which can be less than the opening day rate. There's no guarantee that a cruise will have a GT rate, though.

 

[T & R]

We actually gained a day due to Hurricane season, so sometimes it can work in your favor. We had a 7 night on the Fantasy and it turned into an 8 night due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Never even noticed the hurricane because while it was hitting Florida we just did a 2nd stop in Cozumel. I always wondered if DCL changes the Castaway Cay club to number of nights cruised instead of number of cruises, will we get credit for that additional night.

 

[jtntx34]

Right now if you go to the website and plug in your parameters, the cheapest cruises are January-February and next cheapest is early March. The fall dates of September/October actually come in higher. Those are all 2021 sail dates.

I have found some good pricing for cruises in early December, but those were not 7 day cruises.

Personally, I would not book hurricane season but would wait for early 2022 booking dates and snag one of those January/February dates.

 

[T & R]

If it's only a few bucks between Jan/Feb and Sept/Oct and you're a Castaway Cay fan, I'd recommend Sept/Oct. The water at CC is actually 10 degrees warmer in Sept than in Jan/Feb. May not seem like much but I've been a few times and the water was crazy cold, that 10 degrees warmer water makes a big difference. Just saying.

 

[JM23457]

Right now if you go to the website and plug in your parameters, the cheapest cruises are January-February and next cheapest is early March. The fall dates of September/October actually come in higher. Those are all 2021 sail dates.

I have found some good pricing for cruises in early December, but those were not 7 day cruises.

Personally, I would not book hurricane season but would wait for early 2022 booking dates and snag one of those January/February dates.

2021s Jan/Feb/early March are the cheapest because of Covid & lots of people bailing on this winter's cruises. They're probably GT rates.

That said, mid-Jan through Feb typically is a cheaper time to sail. Winter is our favorite time to cruise. We get away from cold weather at home. Water at CC is chilly, but you adjust to it very quickly after immersing yourself. Have had no issue swimming in it, climbing out to slide on Pelican Plunge & going back in, etc. Also the least chance of sea lice in winter.

 

[jtntx34]

2021s Jan/Feb are the cheapest because of Covid & lots of people bailing on this winter's cruises. They're probably GT rates.

While this is probably true for this year, I do watch pricing fairly regularly, and January does tend to be a little less expensive. I know people who love to cruise and always pick late January to save money and get out of gloomy weather into some sun. The chill of the water is a factor, but many people who have higher cold tolerance report that they do not notice the chill of the water that time of year. It really depends on where you are from and also how sunny it is when you visit. I was in Castaway Cay last December. It was a bright beautiful day, and it actually felt hot in the afternoon. I didn’t get in the water, so I cannot say how cold it was, but there were a ton of people out there having a blast.

 

[monkeydawn]

Food for thought in case you are from somewhere that is impacted by hurricanes and considering traveling during hurricane season. I did it once was super stressful because there was a hurricane that was threatening both where I lived and possibly where we were going. Plus another TS formed towards the end of my trip that looked to possibly impact my home. All storms missed my home and cruise route but, like I said, it was stressful. Much more so that a land trip in the US or evacuating, mainly because communication isnt as reliable and options to get home quickly are more complicated from a cruise.

This aspect of cruising in the fall hadnt occurred to me until storm #1 looked to be headed towards my home.

 

[disneygeek401]

OP, if you live in FL there are FL resident rates, but these are often last minute rates and there is no way of identifying what cruise they will offer the discount on, what room type, deck, ship, etc.

 

[KVH]

In general, I can confirm January is pretty much the least expensive time, at least from a total price point.


This is based on the posted values on the corporate site. May include some GT-type values too. If you start to compare cost per night it looks a little different:


Technically, when you factor in price increases, it's possible the Nov-Dec can be fairly economical too. At least that was the case with this fall before they started cancelling everything.

 

[sethschroeder]

Start of September and start of December seems to be like good times to find cheap cruises from what I have come across.

 

[xQuizx]

We like to go right after Thanksgiving. The prices are lower and if you travel the Friday afterwards, flights are cheap.

Plus it's the Merrytime cruise.

Cheers!

 

[Mitura]

We always go the week after Thanksgiving. We travel Black Friday get on the Fantasy on Sat and we drive back to PA the next Saturday. The Monday after Thanksgiving is a holiday for our school district. So the kids have to take 4 days off of school vs. 3 days if its Thanksgiving week (plus the previous Friday to drive down).

We have done both Thanksgiving week and the week after and its about 40% cheaper for us.

 

[Snowwhyt]

We always go the week after Thanksgiving. We travel Black Friday get on the Fantasy on Sat and we drive back to PA the next Saturday. The Monday after Thanksgiving is a holiday for our school district. So the kids have to take 4 days off of school vs. 3 days if its Thanksgiving week (plus the previous Friday to drive down).

We have done both Thanksgiving week and the week after and its about 40% cheaper for us.

I LOVE the Black Friday Sale!!!!!

 

[ScooterScott44]

For us it seems to depend on how large of a window you search can influence price. So doing a little searching over a couple weeks timeframe can find the best deal.

When searching remember DCL tries to balance the Seasonal demand (and increase individual sailing cost) with the Star Wars, Halloween and Christmas special sailings. Other calendar events can influence pricing. Spring breaks, presidents week are a few examples but others happen throughout the year.

We find that three spots typically have the lowest prices but it changes based on some of the things above. Usually there is a week or two with low prices In late January for wintertime cruises. We have also found great deals in early May for spring cruises and those have actually been the lowest. The exact week in spring with the best deals can be hard to find. With the holidays and spring breaks a little searching can go a long way. With the fall/winter cruises, the hurricane season of Sept/Oct is usually low but one of the weeks right after thanksgiving is usually the lowest. The actual week can depend on the holidays but usually the second full lweek in December.

 

[JM_97]

What about early to mid May? Before schools traditionally let out for summer

 

[over50visits]

2021s Jan/Feb/early March are the cheapest because of Covid & lots of people bailing on this winter's cruises. They're probably GT rates.

That said, mid-Jan through Feb typically is a cheaper time to sail. Winter is our favorite time to cruise. We get away from cold weather at home. Water at CC is chilly, but you adjust to it very quickly after immersing yourself. Have had no issue swimming in it, climbing out to slide on Pelican Plunge & going back in, etc. Also the least chance of sea lice in winter.

Absolutely agree. We prefer January/February cruises, for a lot of reasons. We won’t cruise during hurricane season (Sep/Oct) after Disney’s choices during Sandy. I won’t subject my family to that. The water at CC has been cool sometimes in January, but nothing that stopped us from sunning and swimming. Somehow the ship‘s atmosphere is a bit calmer, and all of the ports are fully open and delightful.

 

[JM23457]

What about early to mid May? Before schools traditionally let out for summer

That will be cheaper than holiday season & summer. Not as cheap as mid-January through February or peak hurricane season (September through mid-October).