When to Book Your Cruise

When you book your cruise greatly influences how much you pay for your cruise. Cruise ships are huge—they hold thousands of passengers. The cruise lines want every ship to be full and that is naturally easier for them to do during the summer months or during holidays when families typically take their vacation. There are also peak times for cruise destinations due to the weather. Here is a quick summary:

Bermuda
Prime season: June to August
Caribbean
Prime season: June to August, February through April
Canada & New England
Prime season: September and October
Eastern & Western Mediterranean
Prime season: May to August
Hawaii
Prime season: March to April, June to August
Northern Europe
Prime season: June to August
Mexican Riviera
Prime season: January to April, June to August
Southern Mediterranean
Prime season: May to September

If your plans are a bit flexible, you can also usually score a better deal on your cruise as it gets closer to the cruise date. Even during prime cruise season in the summer, you can end up saving hundreds of dollars by waiting about a month before the cruise. The cruise lines want a full house so prices tend to start fluctuating a month out based on how many rooms they still need to fill. Alcohol sales and other extras can actually make or break the profitability of a specific cruise so the cruise lines will drop prices as needed just to get people onboard, hoping that they spend extra money during the cruise.

I find it pretty easy to monitor prices for an upcoming cruise by signing up for VacationsToGo 90 Day Ticker (all you need is a throwaway email to get access). It lists all cruises in the next 90 days broken down by cruise destination and shows the lowest price available. As one of the largest cruise travel agents, you'll be hard pressed to find another travel agent that can beat their deals either. Visit our page on Should I Use a Travel Agent for more info on using travel agents.