Cruises - When to book a TATL repo cruise?

My partner and I are thinking of visiting her relatives in Europe later this year and one means of getting back is by ship (doesn't help that my FF miles cost some $300 in fuel surcharges and taxes each way) and I'd value 50k miles at $1k+ (for BC of course).

Been looking at some TATL repositioning cruises, some priced more attractively than others. If this cruise is totally optional, would the best time to consider the cruise be around the 60-75 day pay-up-by date?

Looks like the folks at cruisecritic seem a bit touchy about their favorite cruise lines selling off unsold inventory cheap after the pay-up deadlines have passed so I'm not asking this question there.

My partner and I are thinking of visiting her relatives in Europe later this year and one means of getting back is by ship (doesn't help that my FF miles cost some $300 in fuel surcharges and taxes each way) and I'd value 50k miles at $1k+ (for BC of course).

Been looking at some TATL repositioning cruises, some priced more attractively than others. If this cruise is totally optional, would the best time to consider the cruise be around the 60-75 day pay-up-by date?

Looks like the folks at cruisecritic seem a bit touchy about their favorite cruise lines selling off unsold inventory cheap after the pay-up deadlines have passed so I'm not asking this question there.

Why book a repo cruise when Cunard has some good prices this year on the QM2? Better to do the trip on a true liner, rather than a cruise ship.

Why book a repo cruise when Cunard has some good prices this year on the QM2? Better to do the trip on a true liner, rather than a cruise ship.

Actually, that's one line that has angered some of the Cunard fans on CC. Rather have something longer for the price.

I wouldn't consider the QM2 or any passenger ship that uses propulsion pods a proper ship. Give m good ol' fashioned stern-mounted propellors.

I think if you aren't picky on route or ship then shortly after final payment is due is a good time to book.

If you have a preference on route, ship, or cruiseline, then I would suggest booking earlier than that. For example, my favorite route (makes a stop in Iceland) usually sells out fairly shortly after bookings open, and then only becomes available if people cancel - and then at premium prices. But for most of the southern route transatlantics, you can usually get a good relatively last minute deal (I've been tempted by some myself) and there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of those deals.

we did a cph-nyc on holland america which was quite nice.....lots of new places for us.....

however, the good deals are the nonstop [almost] ones where you can get $100 or less pp per day....

we did fll-agp [spain] on seabourn end of march....13 days w/2 short port calls, but a bit north of $250 pp p/day, but w/very few extra costs...

vacations to go has a cruise finder that will show whats available w/rates from various ports/areas during the month[s] that fit for you....

ps....i would start looking now....

We are considering a Holland America cruise as it's dirt cheap (about $85 p.p.p.d. inc taxes & fees & gratuities for the cheapest verandah - $0.10 less than the cheapest outside window cabin. Inside can be had for $69 p.p.p.d. with $50 cruise credit p.p. for either.)

There are (slightly) cheaper RCCL and Celebrity cruises but they nickel 'n dime too much.

Is this likely to go down or is it pretty much rock bottom? I was tempted to wait a few more months but this HAL one seems good.

There is a Seabourn but it dumps you in the Dutch Antilles and getting off there won't be that cheap. There's also a "cheap" Crystal cruise (~ $200 p.p.p.d.) but I am not sure about going on a big band-ballroom dance theme cruise.

We are considering a Holland America cruise as it's dirt cheap (about $85 p.p.p.d. inc taxes & fees & gratuities for the cheapest verandah - $0.10 less than the cheapest outside window cabin. Inside can be had for $69 p.p.p.d. with $50 cruise credit p.p. for either.)

There are (slightly) cheaper RCCL and Celebrity cruises but they nickel 'n dime too much.

Is this likely to go down or is it pretty much rock bottom? I was tempted to wait a few more months but this HAL one seems good.

There is a Seabourn but it dumps you in the Dutch Antilles and getting off there won't be that cheap. There's also a "cheap" Crystal cruise (~ $200 p.p.p.d.) but I am not sure about going on a big band-ballroom dance theme cruise.

call ha, act like you want to book w/them, put on hold for whatever they will allow, casually ask what cabins are open.....if they all are. you might want to wait. if only a few, book em dano....

did this once, they were less than half taken....called ta service we were using & ended up saving ~20% after ta dealing & my ta rebate...ended up at $68 pp, but this was about 7 yrs ago on a 28 day ride....

Looks like the folks at cruisecritic seem a bit touchy about their favorite cruise lines selling off unsold inventory cheap after the pay-up deadlines have passed so I'm not asking this question there.

Interesting, I'd have thought from my experience there that most people there would know that's pretty standard practice if the ship isn't sold out by final payment date. It's a risk you take, you either reserve ahead of time and maybe pay more, or you wait, and you *may* get a cheaper price, but you also may not get on the ship at all. It's pretty well known that for the most part, cruise lines won't honor any cheaper rates after you've made final payment.

Personally, for the question asked, I'd probably say for the most part, waiting till you're closer is worth it for a TATL, but it can really depend on the route and the ship. The Star Princess TATL that happened right before I got on for my Rio to Valparaiso cruise had plenty of open cabins, and I'm pretty sure there were some awfully good prices for it. The first TATL for the new Royal Princess that's coming up, well, good luck getting a cabin on that, and that's *next* year.

You can generally get a pretty decent idea of how many cabins are still available on a cruise by going in through Travelocity, and getting to where you can select a cabin. It's definitely not a perfect method, but if you're still seeing wide open selection available, there's a good chance there's lots of space available. If there's lots of space available, I'm guessing that in the 45-60 days out you're going to see some pretty good flash sales. If it's looking like not many cabins remaining, then it's less likely there's going to be sales. For most TATL, I'm guessing the odds are better that there will be some last minute sales, they're just frequently not sold out on these trips.

You can generally get a pretty decent idea of how many cabins are still available on a cruise by going in through Travelocity, and getting to where you can select a cabin. It's definitely not a perfect method, but if you're still seeing wide open selection available, there's a good chance there's lots of space available.

Is this inventory of cabins everything that is currently available or does it exclude blocks of cabins made available to other agencies?

We'd be going for a guaranteed grade but no specific cabin.

One consideration for us is using our miles to get to Europe (in BC of course). We have considerable leeway in dates but at this point in time, we'd have to travel to a gateway.

Just as an FYI, the spring repo sailings to Europe are always less expensive than the fall sailings coming back.

To be very specific, most lines have final payment dates of 75 days before departure and the real deals start at 60 days out. Most of the deals will be for a guaranteed cabin, but you are already aware of that.

Is this inventory of cabins everything that is currently available or does it exclude blocks of cabins made available to other agencies?


I'd have to guess that if an agency has actual cabins blocked out, they wouldn't show up, but I don't know if that's how it works, or if an agency gets a block of X number of Y cabin category, but the actual rooms aren't blocked out. I've just seen in my past experience that when there's still a fair amount of room left, lots of cabins show as available, but when you get a ship that's pretty booked, you'll see the choices get pretty slim on Travelocity. It's not a perfect system, but can give an idea.

My partner and I are thinking of visiting her relatives in Europe later this year and one means of getting back is by ship (doesn't help that my FF miles cost some $300 in fuel surcharges and taxes each way) and I'd value 50k miles at $1k+ (for BC of course).

Been looking at some TATL repositioning cruises, some priced more attractively than others. If this cruise is totally optional, would the best time to consider the cruise be around the 60-75 day pay-up-by date?

Looks like the folks at cruisecritic seem a bit touchy about their favorite cruise lines selling off unsold inventory cheap after the pay-up deadlines have passed so I'm not asking this question there.

I would book a little earlier, in fact we're already booked on a TA, and already grabbed a couple of LH C seats out of YVR. Most lines will allow you to do grab the price reduction, prior to final payment, which is 70-90ish days out (depends on cruise line).

I would book a little earlier, in fact we're already booked on a TA, and already grabbed a couple of LH C seats out of YVR. Most lines will allow you to do grab the price reduction, prior to final payment, which is 70-90ish days out (depends on cruise line).

I bookd one last week but have to rebook as the line is now offering a $500/cabin air credit which will cover most if not all of the air fare from Florida.

Rule of thumb is book really early or close to sailing for best deals. Both have risks. We just booked a 23 night for May '14. It is the "return" portion of one we are doing in the opposite direction this September. Makes more efficient use of FF miles too.