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.

 

[keishashadow]

He's not picky about the destination, the room, or the ship, although we do have a ranked preference for these.

We did a ‘bonus cruise’ on RCCL last year

Look @ sailings out of TPA on whatever smaller/older ship will be sailing. We did 7 nights the GoS. Nice itinerary, got to see Key West & Bimini.

We have never sailed anything with them smaller than the Indy. Our new fav is the Utopia. It was somewhat jarring as to the difference. Not bad, just different.

A big plus was the price the end of May for the two of us (with an OBC too, booked directly thru RCCL approx 4 months out) was less than we had spent the 2nd week of December for a four night on Utopia.

 

[Frozen2014]

You can chance last minute booking but just keep in mind that a lot of ships sell out these days as you get closer. Or your stateroom selection may be slim. If you aren't picky with room location, you can consider a guarantee. We've gotten pretty good deals booking this way (one on Jewel and one on Anthem). Or book something as refundable now and watch the prices up to final payment.