Booking a last minute deal while on a cruise to extend it?

[IdahoBroker]

I am always on the hunt for a great deal but they are getting harder to find these days on cruises. I use VacationsToGo and other sites looking for last minute deals but sometimes the airfare premium offsets the cruise savings.

I wonder if while you are on a cruise, if it is possible to just book a repeat and not even get off if the deal is good enough?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by IdahoBroker

I am always on the hunt for a great deal but they are getting harder to find these days on cruises. I use VacationsToGo and other sites looking for last minute deals but sometimes the airfare premium offsets the cruise savings.

I wonder if while you are on a cruise, if it is possible to just book a repeat and not even get off if the deal is good enough?

Personally, I have not found it difficult to find deals on cruises as long as you are willing to cruise in the "shoulder" season on the older ships.

There are several strategies that we have used to reduce the impact of airfare. First, we have booked two or more cruises at one time. For example, booking a 8 day Celebrity cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, ending in San Juan. Then we spent a week in Puerto Rico and boarded a Southern Caribbean cruise on Norwegian.

Or we booked an Inside Passage trip to Alaska on Celebrity. On VTG, we found a low fare for a 14 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America. Then we head off to Hawaii on a third cruise. That way, we pay for two OW flights, one long trip to the airport as opposed to taking the cruises separately.

If there is a particular cruise that we think we want to take, we book the airfares on Southwest to get to the cruise port ASAP. If at some point, we can't get the cruise rates we want or the itinerary, we cancel the flights and bank the money we paid Southwest until we travel again. Obviously, you have to keep track of where you have deposits and make sure that you cancel a day in advance of the flight which Southwest lets you do without penalty.

Have you looked that the Stand-by fares on Holland America where you can get a cabin for $49pp per night?
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us...tandby-program

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Personally, with the economy tanking as it is, I am not booking anything more than 60-90 days out. You are going to see cruise fares drop fairly substantially in 2025 as these cruise lines try to fill the ships.

For example, last month, I was writing an article and noted that the cheapest inside cabin fare on the RCCL Icon of the Seas was $2,950 for a 7-day Caribbean cruise out of Miami on December 7th. I looked at that fare for the same cruise on VTG on Wednesday and the lowest fare dropped to $1850.

People will tell me that Carnival Corporation is touting that they have historical bookings in 2025. At the same time, they are allowing consumers to secure a cruise booking for $25 pp on Carnival and last week, on Holland America for $1 pp. It is not too hard to get bookings when there is so little put down. I knew people who were booking several cruises so they could decide which one to take.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Personally, I have not found it difficult to find deals on cruises as long as you are willing to cruise in the "shoulder" season on the older ships.

There are several strategies that we have used to reduce the impact of airfare. First, we have booked two or more cruises at one time. For example, booking a 8 day Celebrity cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, ending in San Juan. Then we spent a week in Puerto Rico and boarded a Southern Caribbean cruise on Norwegian.

Or we booked an Inside Passage trip to Alaska on Celebrity. On VTG, we found a low fare for a 14 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America. Then we head off to Hawaii on a third cruise. That way, we pay for two OW flights, one long trip to the airport as opposed to taking the cruises separately. By repeat, I think the OP is referring to staying on the same ship. While theoretically possible, I would think it would be challenging to do. Even if possible, you’d likely have to give up your cabin, depart the ship, and check back in. I’ve looked into booking back-to-back cruises in Asia. While doable, it’s also challenging, and often requires several overnights in a hotel prior to the second cruise”s departure.

If there is a particular cruise that we think we want to take, we book the airfares on Southwest to get to the cruise port ASAP. If at some point, we can't get the cruise rates we want or the itinerary, we cancel the flights and bank the money we paid Southwest until we travel again. Obviously, you have to keep track of where you have deposits and make sure that you cancel a day in advance of the flight which Southwest lets you do without penalty.

Have you looked that the Stand-by fares on Holland America where you can get a cabin for $49pp per night?
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us...tandby-program

========

Personally, with the economy tanking as it is, I am not booking anything more than 60-90 days out. You are going to see cruise fares drop fairly substantially in 2025 as these cruise lines try to fill the ships.

For example, last month, I was writing an article and noted that the cheapest inside cabin fare on the RCCL Icon of the Seas was $2,950 for a 7-day Caribbean cruise out of Miami on December 7th. I looked at that fare for the same cruise on VTG on Wednesday and the lowest fare dropped to $1850.

People will tell me that Carnival Corporation is touting that they have historical bookings in 2025. At the same time, they are allowing consumers to secure a cruise booking for $25 pp on Carnival and last week, on Holland America for $1 pp. It is not too hard to get bookings when there is so little put down. I knew people who were booking several cruises so they could decide which one to take.

Not sure cruise fares are going to drop in 2025. Just read the other day that cruise demand is way up, which does not bode well for lower prices. We booked a couple of cruises for 2025 last year that now have substantially higher prices per person. In our experience, booking early has always resulted in lower fares, although in some cases, I’m sure last minute bookings could result in lower fares. I’m seeing higher prices at Celebrity, Oceania, Silversea, and Seabourn. Thanks for the Holland America link. This would definitely be a go for us except we don’t want an inside cabin. While theoretically possible to book a return on your current ship while on board, I would think it would be challenging just in terms of logistics as you would have to depart the ship, check in again, and be assigned another cabin. Even booking back-to-back cruises on different lines can be challenging as the arrival date of the first ship and departure date of the second may lag by a few days. I tried to do this for 2 Asian cruises and ran into this problem.