Booking a Cruise Vacation During the Holidays

The cruise lines may be taking a cue from the retail industry this year. Sometime back in October, the decorations, cute Santa figurines and dangerously fragile ornaments started showing up on retail shelves everywhere. With the U.S. housing market in the tank and gas prices skirting up as the dollar slides down, nervous retailers were in a hurry to get you feeling that holiday cheer.

All signs are that the cruise lines are eager to throw open the gates on their busiest sales period too. Every year, beginning in January, cruise lines and travel agents stir up a booking frenzy with deals and discounts, upgrades and on-board credits. Typically, this wave of bookings continues its momentum through March. And those first three months of the year are as important to the cruise lines as holiday shopping is for retailers--it's the season when nearly half of all cruise inventory for the year is sold.

This year, travel agents are getting the nod to be ready to get things started as early as mid-December. Some of the major cruise lines are already running pre-"wave season" promotions. The early start might be related to the travel industry's eagerness to satisfy the growing demand for cruise inventory. Or it might be caused by some nervousness about the impending launch of eight new ships in 2008. Either way, cruise travelers probably don't need to wait until January to find a good cruise fare.

If you are planning on taking a cruise in 2008, here are some tips to help you get that cruise booked and feel good about it too:

Set a value on fun

The thing about cruise fares is that they aren't easy to predict. Some cruise lines sell off last-minute inventory at rock-bottom prices (sometimes), while others (usually) avoid discounting excess availability. The point is, timing your cruise booking to get the lowest possible price could backfire. Cruises and cabin classes sell out. If you wait too long, you could end up with a week off work and nowhere to go.

A better strategy is to decide what the cruise experience is worth to you ahead of time. Call it a budget if you want, but it's the amount you're willing to pay to guarantee yourself the cabin and itinerary you want. If you can find them for that price, book it and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Don't bother obsessing about whether you could've saved more.

Be flexible if you can

If you can have some flexibility with dates, you'll have a better chance of getting a deal on the itinerary you want. The basic rules of travel apply: Winter, spring and summer break fares will be more. But the weeks immediately following these holiday periods are likely to be as cheap as they get. Right now, you can book some seven-day cruises in early January for less than half of what they cost in December.

Talk to a cruise specialist (or become one yourself)

A good travel agent will know which cruise operators are offering the best deals. If you don't have an agent, find one. Or if you prefer the point-and-click style of travel buying, visit the websites of major cruise operators and sign up for their newsletters. Once you hand over your email address, you can bet they'll keep you posted on the various promotions.

Don't put too much value on the free upgrade

Free cabin upgrades are a gamble. If you book an ocean view cabin, you'll get upgraded to another ocean view room on a higher level. But if you don't receive your cabin assignment until you check in, you could end up in the noisiest, least desirable place on the ship. If you aren't a gambler, don't take chances with your cabin. You're better off locking in the room you want when you book.

Know your personality and act accordingly

If everything on your vacation has to be absolutely, 100 percent perfect, book your cruise vacation now. You'll have your choice of itineraries, cabin locations and dinner times. That doesn't guarantee you perfection, but at least it's a start. If you are more adventurous and tend to have a good time anywhere, you can hold out a little longer to see if a better price shows up. You might end up in an inside room, but hey, how much time do you really spend in there anyway?