When should you book a cruise: early bird vs last minute
What is the best time to book a cruise? It depends on what type of cruiser you are. We tell you everything you need to know.
How long before departure should you book your cruise for the best deal? Cruisers tend to fall in the early-bird or the last-minute category.
For every tale of a great Wave Season deal for a sailing departing the following year, you’ll hear a story about a superb last-second discount. So, which approach is best?
It depends. The deciding factors are what you expect from a cruise and how flexible you are when booking holidays. But first, it helps to understand how travel companies, including cruise lines, use discounts to stimulate demand.
Strategic vs tactical discounting
You can divide special offers and deals into strategic and tactical discounting.
Strategic discounting
When a cruise line launches a Black Friday or a Wave Season sale, this is strategic discounting.
These sales usually apply to all cabin types on all cruises over the next 12-18 months. This is part of a strategic plan to fill a base of cabins across the fleet.
When the sale ends, the cruise line will revert to the regular fares and rely on natural demand to fill the remaining cabins.
Tactical discounting
Like airlines, cruise lines use yield management to price their products based on how many cabins are filled and how long is left to fill them.
If the sell rate is strong, they may consider increasing prices. But if they’ve not sold enough cabins, they may lower prices. That's tactical discounting.
In some extreme cases, when a cruise line struggles with certain sailings, you can see huge discounts – and prices way below anything advertised during Wave Season or Black Friday.
You are more likely to find tactical offers for cruises in the off or shoulder season and to lesser-known destinations. But these discounts will only apply to a handful of sailings, and you can never predict which.
The case for booking early
At this point, you may think that tactical discounting is the best way to save money. But that’s not always the case. Relying on last-minute price drops is leaving everything to chance.
The later you book, the less likely you are to find the cruise, cabin or date you want. Families are a prime example of cruisers who should not wait until the last minute to book.
Why? First, school holiday sailings are always in high demand. And the cabins catering best to families go first.
Family-friendly cabins on peak-season sailings for popular destinations are unlikely to need tactical discounting.
If you’re a family or anybody with specific requirements like travel dates or cabins, we recommend booking early when the Black Friday or Wave Season sales are on.
Plus, there are other reasons to book early. The annual sales are not solely focused on price and can include valuable add-ons like free or discounted:
- Cabin upgrades
- Onboard credit
- Drinks, WiFi or speciality dining packages
- Flights
Finally, booking early means you can often pay with a deposit followed by monthly instalments, making the financial outlay easier to manage.
The case for booking last minute
Flexible cruisers with few set requirements can save money by booking late. Solo travellers, couples without children and empty nesters can all fit into that category, depending on their circumstances.
If you fancy a Med cruise sometime in spring, are not attached to any cruise line and don’t have strong opinions about the cabin you stay in, you might be able to find a sensational deal.
As more cruise ships set sail, some sailings will likely be undersold, requiring prices to drop.
And the faster the departure date approaches, the higher the discount. That's because cabins, like hotel rooms, are considered perishable inventory. Once a cruise ship departs, the chance to monetise the ones remaining empty has gone with it.
Cruise lines often favour filling a cabin, even at a low price, rather than letting it go empty. Not only do they get some revenue with the cruise fare, but more guests on the ship means more money spent on drinks, spas, speciality restaurants and other onboard facilities.
What cruises are better booked early or late
As we mentioned, how well-sold a cruise is will determine this. But generally speaking, smaller ships are least likely to rely on tactical discounts, as they have fewer cabins to sell.
Smaller ships also mean more chatter among passengers. High-end ultra-luxury cruise lines and river operators are less likely to offer deep discounts to avoid upsetting loyal customers who may have paid higher fares.
For lines with more capacity, finding last-minute offers is more likely. But you won’t be able to predict which sailings will be discounted and when. And monitoring the market takes time and dedication.
Word of caution for first-time cruisers
If you’ve never been on a cruise, booking a cheap last-minute deal might be tempting. Even if you don’t enjoy the experience, you won’t have spent too much money.
We would advise caution. By being solely price-driven, the risk is not spending too much on your cruise but booking the wrong one.
We recommend researching several cruise lines and talking to a travel agent before deciding what ships and itineraries you fancy. Spending £2,000 on the perfect cruise will seem cheap compared to £1,000 on one you regret.
Overall, for peace of mind, the best approach is to set a budget, decide what itinerary and cruise style is right for you and book something you’ll love, whether it departs in a week or a year.
