When you book your cruise early, it entitles you to a range of benefits that you simply wouldn’t get if you waited until the last minute! When it comes to booking holidays, it seems there are two kinds of people. Those who love to plan ahead and those who love to wait out until the very last minute. When you’re booking flights or hotel accommodations, these can often fluctuate in price as demand to fill seats and rooms increases the nearer the dates loom. However, with cruising, it’s quite the opposite.
Get the Cheapest Prices
When new itineraries are released, it’s likely that they are showing the best cruise deals and lowest prices for that sailing. Nowadays with rising prices, the cost of holidays are likely to go up a lot from when they are first announced. But when you book a cruise early, you lock in your lower price, meaning you don’t have to worry about those potentially steep increases in costs. It also gives you flexibility to choose off-peak periods to travel, with more people opting for May and September for their holidays you’re able to secure your dates of travel with ease.
Beat the Demand for School Holidays
For those wanting to get away with the kids during the school holidays, it’s common knowledge you need to book ahead to secure your top choice. As school holidays are limited to specific weeks in the year, these are in huge demand for family getaways. Plus, increased demand for cruising means that many family cabins for summer 2023 are booked already! Planning in advance can help secure your family cruise before prices rise and choice of dates and destinations are low.
Spread the Cost for Longer
If you’re booking your cruise as soon as possible, there’s much more time for you to pay off the full fare, spreading the cost for longer and giving you time to save up.
Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises offer low deposits from £50pp meaning that not only can you secure your booking for less, but you can save up to pay the balance in full before you go.
Have Something to Look Forward to
Booking well in advance also means you have plenty of time to get excited about your cruise. Booking with a mere month or two to go doesn’t build much anticipation or time to update your holiday wardrobe! And everyone loves having something to look forward to, right?
More Planning Time
When you book ahead you get plenty of time to research the ports that you’ll be visiting, allowing you to plan what you want to see and do. Having an advance idea of what’s available in each port allows you to figure out which attractions you’ll enjoy the most, helping you to create the perfect schedule for your ultimate holiday experience.
Make the Most of the Ship
Booking ahead doesn’t just help with planning your in-port trips in advance. You can also research your chosen ship. This allows you to plan and prioritise which on-board activities you want to enjoy, which specialty restaurants you want to dine in, and even make advance reservations. This way you can ensure you won’t miss out on the ship’s best amenities and hidden gems. And luckily for you, you can research cruise ships through our website
Get the First Choice of Shore Excursions
If your plans involve a number of shore excursions or trips during your time in port, these are ideal to book early too. Wait until the last minute and you could risk missing out entirely. Shore excursions through most cruise lines can typically be booked pre-cruise, so you can plan out your day-to-day itineraries before you even step on-board!
Get the First Choice of Cabins
With booking late, you may not be able to get your desired stateroom type. Staterooms like family suites and other luxury accommodations book up quickly. And if you book super late you might even miss out on accommodations like balcony cabins or outside cabins. So, if you dream of waking up in the morning to blissful sea views, book ahead and secure your cabin of choice.
Choose the Best Dining Time for You
If your ship of choice has set dining times, booking early guarantees that you can choose the dining time that’s right for you. Whether you want to eat early to ensure you don’t miss out on evening entertainment or eat late to give yourself plenty of time to explore ports, booking in advance makes sure that your mealtimes fit with your ideal holiday schedule.
Get Exclusive Perks
Booking early also comes with its own perks from the cruise lines themselves. Many offer discounts and incentives for early bookers such as free excursions, on-board spend, reduced flights or even hotel stays. It definitely pays to be organised!
Get Special Requirements Taken Care Of
If you have any special requirements as a cruiser, booking ahead is a must. Whether that’s securing neighboring cabins for a large group holiday, or a single cabin for a solo cruiser.
Accessible cabins on ships also book up quickly, so if you or someone in your party has accessibility needs, we advise booking a cruise early to ensure the right kind of cabin will be available for you.
Enjoy Special Sailings
If you’re looking to take a more unique sailing, such as a theme cruise, world cruise, or a ship’s maiden voyage, bear in mind that these do book up faster than most. So, if you want to travel the globe, enjoy a holiday based around a specific interest, or be one of the first passengers on a brand-new ship- book well in advance!
Visit Unique Destinations
Destinations such as Alaska, Canada and New England, or regions of Asia aren’t visited year-round and instead offer prime months to visit for the weather and wildlife, amongst other things. Where destinations such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are pretty much year-round cruise regions, others are only visited for a few months of the year, meaning the few voyages that are available book up fast. If you’re keen to set sail to these lesser-visited regions, it’s always best to book ahead to ensure you get a place.
You Can Relax
When you have plenty of time to plan, pack and prepare, you stress so much less! Who wants to deal with a last minute rush, after all?
So, if you’re a cruiser who likes to get the lowest possible costs, plan your activities in advance, and get the first pick of cabins and excursions- booking early is the way to go!
If you’re considering a cruise for next year or even the year after, don’t hesitate to take a look at our latest sailings for 2023 and 2024 to see what’s on offer and where you can sail.
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