When to purchase cruise

[Anonymous]

First time cruiser looking at an April 2026 sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line.

Is there a general time period between now and then that the trip may be discounted?

Uncertain if there are seasonal fluctuations in pricing (booking earlier or later) for the industry. The pricing right now is about the same between the cruise line and Costco, but booking with Costco will get a few hundred dollars in gift cards. Is there any reason to skip that in favor of booking direct with the cruise line? Thinking of how it is sometimes better to pay a little more to book directly with an airline vs. saving a little to book through Travelocity as an example.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about timing, but definitely booked through Costco travel. If anything goes wrong, they will answer to you whereas the cruise line is generally pretty indifferent to your complaints after they have your money in hand.

10 years ago we went on a cruise and the cruise line screwed up in a major way before sailing. It caused us a lot of anguish and time on the phone to make it right. The cruise line's offer of compensation was a bottle of wine (WTH), whereas Costco refunded part of the cruise and gave us all kinds of onboard perks to make up for the mess up.

[Anonymous]

Generally the soon the better as prices go up. I have booked cruises on Royal Caribbean and Disney through Costco and always been happy with my big gift card post travel. I know if you book through Costco for Royal you can't participate in their bidding program for upgrades which doesn't bother me. Not sure if that applies to other lines.

[Anonymous]

If it looks like a decent price that you’re comfortable spending, book it now.

FWIW, I booked our June cruise back in December. It was a price I was comfortable paying, and it’s only gone up in price since then. I’m glad I didn’t wait for it to go cheaper!

[Anonymous]

The only caveat about Costco is if you have a very specific cruise, certain cruise line or unique itinerary they may not offer it.

We would have booked our upcoming cruise via Costco but weren't able to.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks from OP. This is so helpful.

[Anonymous]

Also, if you use Costco’s credit card, I think you get a discount. I don’t have it, but am considering it for the travel and gas savings.

[Anonymous]

There are often sales in January or sometimes within 90 days of sailing but if you want a specific cruise it’s better to buy as soon as you know.

[Anonymous]

I've booked two cruises through Costco on different lines and in both scenarios I got an official confirmation number for both the Costco booking and the individual cruise. With that confirmation number, I created an account on the cruise website and from there did everything directly with the cruise. Also, with Costco you get the Executive rewards in addition to the gift card.

[Anonymous]

Don't wait - book now. The particular cruise I was planning to book on Costco doubled in price on the Costco website while I dithered. Then it disappeared altogether from the Costco website. Fortunately, I found it on the cruise line website at the same price that Costco had originally listed it (but I lost out on the Costco shop card and 2% Executive Award).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't wait - book now. The particular cruise I was planning to book on Costco doubled in price on the Costco website while I dithered. Then it disappeared altogether from the Costco website. Fortunately, I found it on the cruise line website at the same price that Costco had originally listed it (but I lost out on the Costco shop card and 2% Executive Award).

I think Costco is alloted a certain number of bookings by the cruise line and as Costco's allotment dwindles they raise the price of the remaining bookings. Eventually Costco sells out their allotment entirely and will no longer offer that cruise on their website even if the cruise line still has spaces available on their website.

[Anonymous]

Cruises only go up, especially during popular weeks. They discount not-full cruises at the last minute only, but those are during slower unpopular times.

[Anonymous]

I would book now for April 2026. Around a year out is a good time. +1 for booking through Costco, or at least comparing prices and perks between Costco and the cruise line/travel agent.

[Anonymous]

Always book as early or as far out as possible. Since you want to sail in April, you should double check when Easter falls and when most schools will be out for Spring Break. Spring break periods are more expensive than non.

If you want the cheapest time of the year, sail either between Thanksgiving to Christmas (not on either of those days) or after New Years until mid-March (once Spring Break starts). This is the typical "shoulder" season since all the families take time off for the actual holidays and not before or after. If you're doing the Caribbean, the weather is nicer than summer since its not too hot or humid.

[Anonymous]

We booked August Alaska cruise in December through Costco travel. It was very hard to find family cabin for 4, but a lot of cabin for 2. We were luckily to finally found one. And it was easy to add flight.