Does booking my vacation early benefit me or the travel companies?
Over and over you see travel companies saying “Book Now” or “Don’t wait any longer, book that vacation today.” Do you wonder, “Is this just to get me locked into a vacation? Is it just to get my money?” My answer to the question, “Should I book my trip now?” is YES. There IS a benefit to you, the traveler, to booking that trip earlier rather than later and not just the travel company. So, read on to discover the benefits of booking your vacation early.
Can’t I take a last minute trip??
Please don’t get the idea from this blog post that you shouldn’t book those last-minute, spur-of-the-moment trips or even 6-9 months ahead (this is my usual booking window). Last-minute trip planning can be super exciting and fun. Instead, I just want to show you the benefits of a little planning ahead, like a year or more.
Planning during the Pandemic
I am writing this in the midst of the Pandemic. We aren’t able to travel right now and for many that can be really hard. When this all started, we had just come back from vacation. So, we weren’t planning on going anywhere for a while, but, I still have the feeling of being trapped simply because I can’t travel. SO, since we cannot go, I feel that planning for a vacation is really important. Having something to look forward to brings hope in difficult times.
But, traveling costs money which might be in short supply right now! Continue reading and I will address this as one of the benefits of booking your trip early.
At the end of this post there will be a FaceBook live that I did a few months ago about the benefits of booking your vacation early.
Benefits of Booking Early
Definition of booking early–Booking a trip a year or more ahead of time. Now, many companies are booking well into 2021 with some going even into 2022.
Best Selection when Booking Early
Cruises
Stateroom Selection–As you know there are only so many staterooms on a cruise ship. And then, there are only so many staterooms in a certain category or the location you want. If you want connecting cabins, cabins right across the hall from each other, or some of the few larger cabins that sleep 5 or 6 then booking early will help get the perfect stateroom. Want one of the few suites or one of DCL’s Deluxe Family Oceanview split layout staterooms? Booking early is imperative! Especially if you want the one and only, super amazing, super awesome (and super expensive) Royal Caribbean Ultimate Family Suite which is booked up at least a year out.
River Cruise ships are small (100 staterooms or less) and definitely have a limited selection. Some boats have only 1 or 2 single rooms, a handful of the economical window, french balcony or lower balcony staterooms.
For those needing an accessible room booking early gives you the best selection as these are usually limited in number.
Cost–Often Cruise lines offer their best prices when they first release their cruise dates about 15-18 months out. This is especially true of Disney Cruise Line. The cost will then go up for a while and only go down a few months before with a Guaranteed fare so you cannot pick your own cabin (and that is often to the same fare as the time of release).
Dining–The main seating time in the main dining room is always the first to go. We booked our cruise 9 months ahead. Our family was able to get a main seating reservation only because we had children but the whole rest of our party was relegated to the second seating. We had to wait and wait and wait to see if our party could eat all together.
Excursions–There are some excursions and activities that are limited to a certain number of people. Once the numbers are filled you are out of luck. Cabanas on private islands are one example. Booking early is essential to securing a cabana for the day. Another is the water park on Royal Caribbean’s Coco Cay. The capacity of the waterparks is significantly lower than the capacity of the ship. If that is a must-do for you then early booking is important.
Resorts
Most Resorts aren’t in as much danger of booking up like cruises except at busy traveling times such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring Break. Popular smaller resorts might get booked up during the summer. So, there are some resorts that benefit form early booking.
Disney World–Disney World definitely is a place that benefits from booking your vacation early. Value and Moderate resorts are some of the first to fill up all year round but especially during the busy seasons. Getting a 5th sleeper at Disney’s Caribbean Beach or Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside becomes incredibly challenging if you wait too long. These rooms are the least expensive way for a family of 5 to stay on Walt Disney World property and as such, they are in great demand.
Dining reservations at Disney World–Advance Dining Reservations can be made 6 month ahead. In order to get the time you want to some of the most popular restaurants (Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Le Cellier) need to be reserved at the 6 month mark.
Guided Tours
You cannot go on any tour, any time of year. Guided tours are scheduled at specific times and they are limited both in the number of travelers and the number of expeditions. Sometimes there might be only one trip to a country. Getting to go where you want, when you want is a big reason to book a tour early.
Ability to Budget Your Vacation
The ability to accurately budget for you vacation is another one of the benefits of booking your vacation early. Once you plan and book your vacation you know exactly how much it will cost. Some companies allow you to pay a deposit and then make the final payment at a certain point before you depart. This gives you the opportunity to make yourself a monthly budget in order to have the vacation paid off before you go. You can ask your travel advisor to set up a payment schedule for you to help you stay on track.
Companies that work well for budgeting:
- Disney Parks–$200 deposit and final payment due 30 days ahead
- Disney Cruise Line–20% deposit and final payment 3 or 4 months ahead depending on length of cruise
- Adventures by Disney–10% and final payment due 4 months ahead
- Royal Caribbean Cruise Line–$250/per person deposit and final payment 3 months prior (does depend on length of cruise above for 6+ days)
- Norwegian Cruise Line–Same as Royal Caribbean
- AmaWaterways–$400/person deposit and final payment 3 months ahead
- National Geographic Journeys by G Adventures–$500 or $750 (some $2000) deposit depending on length of journey and final payment due 3 months ahead
This list certainly is not exhaustive. There are quite a few other companies that have the same deposit and final payment options. So there are lots of vacations you can plan early and be able to budget easily. Yippee!
Groups Get Choices You Want
If you are coordinating a group (or your travel advisor is–so much easier for you) a huge benefit to booking your vacation early is to get the features you want–rooms together, cruise dining times, excursions, dinner reservations, etc. We traveled with family for a reunion cruise and because we booked 15 months ahead we were all able to have main seating dining and we had a better selection choosing staterooms closer together. Groups usually take up quite a bit of room and it is best to book when there is a lot of selection available. One group of 10 couples on a river cruise ship could take up 10% of the staterooms. One extended family could fill an entire guided tour so if you want your choice of dates you have to book early.
Something to Look Forward To
I actually think that this is an important reason to book early. Studies show that it is good for your psyche if you have something good on the horizon. For me, when I don’t have a specific planned I feel a little at loose ends. Even if that vacation is a year or more away I feel better. Also, if you know for sure you are going on a trip it sometimes makes it easier to scrimp and save.
If you have any more suggestions you have experienced about the benefits of booking your vacation early just comment below!
Happy travels to you…Until we meet again!
Links you might be interested in reading:
- 5 Reasons to Book Your 2020 Disney World Vacation NOW (still applies to booking for 2021)
- It’s Tulip Time! Explore the Netherlands and Belgium–Start planning for Tulip Time next year
- Planning a Family Reunion? Consider a cruise!–Planning ahead is very beneficial when planning a group trip.
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