On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 07:08:36 -0400, "RichC"
wrote:

A few years back the cruise lines tried to get people into the mode of early
booking by promising bigger discounts & advertising that if you wait till
the last few weeks the price will much more. I idea never caught on & most
of the seasoned cruisers still waited until the last minute to book the best
deals.

Hi Everyone,

In today's market place, if you care about the ship, itinerary,
pricing and/or cabin or any combination, you had best book as early as
possible. The ships are filling up much sooner than at any time since
9/11. The cruise lines are using their yield management to raise
prices as the ships are filling. I would estimate that about 50% of
my clients are not getting the ships, dates and cabin category that
they desire when they try to book less than 5-months in advance. This
is not to say that we can not find them a cabin or a ship but it is
not their first choice. Those that survey pricing know that it is up
10-20% from a year ago. This is not to say that there are not some
last minute sales but they are definitely fewer and farther between
than last year. A word to the wise... ;+)

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com