How early do you like to be?

It seems that cruise lines release their sailings earlier and earlier each year. But do you really need to plan this far in advance?

Well cruise lines certainly think so and in some cases, you really do need to plan years in advance! It still amazes me at how quickly certain sailings sell out. You’ve really got to have your finger on the pulse to stay one step ahead to ensure you don’t miss out on that eagerly awaited cruise.

Loyalty is key when it comes to beating everyone else and securing that perfect cabin. All cruise lines give their most loyal cruise passengers the option to book before everyone else and book they do! I recently had customers who wanted to book as soon as the cruise was released, with pre-sale for top tier loyalty members bookable for 48 hours before they went on general sale. I had to watch as the cabins disappeared and hoped that when I logged on at 8am on general release day,  I could secure the last cabin in the category that the customer wanted. It was nail biting but I did it!

So what else besides the cabin on the cruise you want? What else is going to convince you to book early? Well most cruise lines will offer a discount on bookings that are made during this early booking period. A fair few years ago this was always met with some trepidation as cruise lines used to slash their prices if cabins still remained close to the sailing date. Over the past few years this has definitely changed. Booking early now really does benefit the customer financially too.

Obviously there are some of us that can’t plan so far in advance due to many differing reasons, so booking late is the only option. This doesn’t mean you will pay much more than everyone else, it’s more likely to mean that you won’t get the option to choose your cabin and have to book on a guarantee basis. The cabin you will be allocated by the cruise line will be of a minimum grade, but could be higher. You will be informed of this closer to the time.

So the question is do you book early and do you have any other reasons why you do so? Or do you like waiting and if so why?

Comment away and I look forward to reading your reasons.

Thank you

James