travel tips

Planning a cruise is not as difficult as planning to Disney World, where I regularly encounter my clients’ six-page spreadsheets, make multiple dining changes, and spend a couple of hours just picking out fastpasses. While it’s not as simple as just showing up for your cruise, cruising, truthfully, is easy. That’s what makes it so great. Booking your cruise, however, can be a little bit tricky. Here are some pointers to make the process a little less confusing.

5. Book as early as possible.

The biggest reason to book your cruise as early as you can is that you’ll pay less. Cruise lines all raise prices based on availability–as room categories fill up, the price of the remaining rooms under that category increases. It’s simple supply and demand.

In addition to saving money, booking early allows you to get your first pick of dining times. If you have young children, an early dining time is usually ideal. Finally, booking early allows you to pick your cabin, so you have more deck and location choices. While deck choices are a personal opinion, most guests like mid-ship, so those will fill up first.

4.  Don’t pay for insurance until you’re final payment is due.

You can cancel your cruise for any reason prior to your final payment date and get a full refund, no question asked (exceptions for concierge), but if you have insurance added, you won’t get that money back. Since you can add insurance any time before final payment, just wait until then and then add it. But don’t forget–otherwise you’re probably out of luck.Read More »The Top Five Secrets of Booking a Disney Cruise.