Thoughts on last-minute cruise deals?

[guy_incognito]

One of our kids graduates next spring and wants to take a cruise, but not on Disney (that's all we've ever done).

He wants to do R-C, which is fine, but this is an additional trip I don't want to break the bank over.
He's not picky about the destination, the room, or the ship, although we do have a ranked preference for these.

If we want to do this in May-June, do you think there will still be a lot of "last minute" deals available? I don't want to bank on it and nothing be available.

 

[CapnCrunch]

It really depends on the specific dates, ship and itinerary. If it's one of the Icon class ships or a popular itinerary (like a Southern Caribbean), then I'd say it's likely the price only goes up.

If you're open to using a travel agent, I'd recommend seeing if they have any group space available for a particular date/ship/itinerary of interest. They'll often have access to group rates that can be lower than publicly available, offer some OBC and a refundable deposit in case you change your mind.

 

[guy_incognito]

Thanks, Capn.

Nah, he doesn't care about class of ship or even the room. He just wants to go. The last minute deals seem to be very sharply priced and worth a gamble to me. It's first world problem because we already have other trips planned. If it doesn't happen on our first choice, we can kick the can down the road.

We did reach out to a travel agent that someone recommended, but it was quickly evident they prefer to sell expensive trips vs helping to find a cheap cruise. (I get it) This is not an indictment of travel agents, I get what board we are on and might use one for another trip.

 

[Lewisc]

Years ago peope claimed to get deals on the dock.

Deals will sometimes appear shortly before or after final payment date. You'll have to pay in full at booking.

There are some online TAs which have lists of deals on last minute cruises, a month or so before.

Edited to add Google last minute cruise deals.

I'm seeing $243 for a 3 night Carnival cruise 10/31.