When To Book. If you are choosy about your cabin, if you are sailing during a peak season, if it is a unique itinerary, or if you are very constrained with vacation time, it is best to book early - and early is up to a year in advance. Deposits for bookings are generally refundable up until final payment time, so there is no risk to booking in advance. Since the deposits are refundable, any promotion or discount that is offered prior to final payment is available to you up until that time. Some lines offer price protection guarantees, that honour promotional fares offered in the market right up until sailing - but they won't go out of their way to tell you. You have to find out and request a refund. Booking late will mean less choice in cabin selection, and sometimes results in higher pricing. Cruise lines measure their bookings on each sailing based on statistical models, and offer price incentives for limited periods of time throughout the year to bring their expected bookings to target levels. As such, there is no method to the madness of cruise pricing - it changes frequently and substantially. If you see something you like, you should book it, especially if the deposit is refundable anyway. Tomorrow the same sailing may be more money, the cabin category may sell out, or those last few mid-ship cabins will be sold.
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