I did debate how much to put in for the pretend room cost :). I too prefer priceline, but there are many threads here about getting your upgrades as a diamond, hotel points, best luxury hotels -- plenty of FT readers are paying to choose their exact hotel, and that means paying some vairant of sticker price...

Anyway, the point about singles cruising is that the line isn't charging singles double. They're refusing to charge half price for the cabin when occupancy is one not two.

Sementics, maybe, but you can be sure they think about it - I've gotten some great last minute cruise deals ($1100 pp for an aft suite in NCL in the Western Med for 7 days 3 days before sailing) because the line was desperate to fill the room. I'm sure the lines think about how much revenue they could get selling a two (or three) person cabin to one person at a 50, 40, 30% discount off the two person full price versus discounting the cabin and getting two passengers who then pay for shore excursions, etc. As long as people like me will pay two fares at the last minute, I bet they're disinclined to discount too much to a single. With me, they made up the discount in the shore excursions and such we bought, and they make the discount up better because there are 2 of us buying.

Is it rare that cruise lines are desperate to fill rooms?

Who knows. Reps have said on TV programs thay they dont want to sail with a single cabin empty. How deeply they'll discount at the last minute to fill? I dont know, and I'm sure the lines dont want us to know. For my Western Med cruise where I booked a deeply discounted suite Thursday AM for a Sunday sailing, it sailed full. So there must be some people out there flexible enough to jump on last minute deals when the price is right.

If you really wanted, you could watch prices on a sailing a few months in the future for each category and plot price day by day until the sailing. Comparing a cruise 3 months from now to one next week wouldn't work prefectly because there is different demand for any region month to month by weather and such. It would be interesting to see when the price starts to rise as demand is felt to exceed supply, and then falls as those last minute cabins need to get filled. I'm sure it helped that my best discount cruise was shoulder season.

Last minute deep discounts also vary by line. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity do it, but primarily through their Happy Hour fares. If they lower rates in general otherwise, they're subject to already-booked passengers requesting cabin credits which it is their policy to provide, even up to sailing dates.

Lines like Carnival and NCL are more likely to keep discounting as they are reticent to pass along post-final-payment lowered fares to their already-booked passengers. HAL and Princess do discount to a certain extent, via their FLASH fares for new bookings, but overall not at the extent Carnival and NCL do.

Actually, lines are beginning to decide to sail with a few empty cabins. While cabins are perishable commodities, and when they sail empty they lose revenue just like hotels, unlike hotels they have a greater issue with previously-booked cabins and refunds. Royal Caribbean brands, for example, have publicly stated via their last quarterly shareholder conference call, that they will not be as aggressively discounting as they believe that lessens their overall profitability long term, notwithstanding the additional onboard revenue generated. I've seen that in practice the last couple months in fewer fare reductions for my clients. Part of that is increasing demand and time of year, but I also think it's the policy in play.

I second Cruisecritic to get info on specific lines. I spend a lot of time there before we book. Like here, read read read. Cruisecompete is great to get an idea of price. And either book early for best cabin choice and often good price with guarantees for rate drops OR wait until near last minute and get a great price but maybe not optimal cabin choice/location.

Think really hard what's important to you - some things to consider:

Ports of call you'd like to see? Who all stops there? Excursions important?
Your port of departure? Who else sails from there?
What time of year you will be going matters too (mid-hurricane season is cheaper, but can be risky).
Big shiny new ship, or smaller more intimate ship for your first cruise?
What's your budget, of course.
Prefer a balcony, suite, inside, oceanview - what matters?
How important is it your fellow passengers (fitting in with a certain age for example?) Some lines cater to different demographics.
Food quality, cabin size (Carnival's tend to be bigger), cabin location (not under the galley or next to elevators), even number of formal nights can make a difference.
Lower deck, typically less rocking. Mid ship also better than fore or aft if you have motion sickness.

Our first cruise we booked a nice little four day to get our feet wet. If we liked it, it was a nice little taste for next time. If we didn't we weren't married to the ship for a whole week. We loved it have been on four so far, love the different stops with one unpacking. Balconies rock, nothing starts a day like slipping on your robe and drinking coffee on your private balcony overlooking the ocean.

Hope that's not overwhelming. Have fun!

My room preference:

I like to book a room near the fitness center. I know going in that I will eat way too much, so I need every incentive I can get to at least work out afterward. It helps provide me motivation when the facility is right there (even though I could probably use the long walk to get there). That works for me anyway, but to each their own.

Room Type
 

I am looking at going on my first cruise in August and wanted to see what FTers feel about a cabin type: inside, window or balcony. Your thoughts will be appreciated. :D

It's very much a personal choice. Many people choose an inside cabin for the price. However, I'm just not comfortable without natural light to help me wake up.

For a first cruise, I recommend at least an oceanview cabin. They give you natural light, are a good size, and give you a combination of value and quality. Of course, if your budget allows, a balcony is wonderful, and often very little more than an oceanview. How much you'll use your balcony depends on your personal style (would you enjoy sitting on your balcony reading or having breakfast, for example, or would you rather go to a more public area) and the itinerary.

You need to weigh cost, value to you, and itinerary to make the choice for you.

Also, where are you cruising? The answer could be different if we are talking about Alaska vs. the Med. vs Bermuda...

I am going to the Caribbean, so it will be warm weather.

If that's the case, then BurBunny's info is right on. My personal preference is a balcony, but I'll take whatever cabin I can get that fits my budget at that moment.

I don't think I could get behind priceline during cruise booking. The chances of getting some sort of a problem is a risk I'm not willing to take when dropping some seriuos coinage.

Priceline doesn't let you name your own price -- you pick the ship, the sailing, and the exact cabin you want. THey just ogger
1) A better search engine which makes browsing cabins easier
2) Sometimes better benefits like a free hotel room for 1 or 2 nights wiht the booking

What problem are you going to have with them thats different from orbitz, travelocity, expedia, or any other agency? If you're not booking through a travel agent, I see no risk. You get a confirmation from them that you can take to the cruise company website to be sure they got your reservation.

Try it, if only for the seraching ability -- I sometimes do end up booking elsewhere, but the searcher is nice.

Don't just rely on online agencies, either. Call the few brick and mortar agencies that are still around and see what they offer. Some agencies of both types also offer onboard booking credits as well. Plus, you should also not completely negate the line itself. I recently discovered that a cruise I am planning in October is cheaper when booked directly through Holland America than any online agency.

Also, I have read that there aren't as many "deep" discounts this year as there were last. Cruise lines are seeing more bookings now that the economy is starting to improve. Of course, you can always count on really cheap cruises on lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian who tend to go after the mass market crowds. Less so on Holland, Celebrity, Azmara, etc. that tend to attract more affluent people.

Use cruise.com to look at different cruises as they have all the major lines.