There is the belief that if you wait long enough to book a cruise you can reserve a stateroom at a deep discount. This is not necessarily true – it may go up. Most of the cruise lines do offer a discount on average five weeks before the departure date but is dependent upon the number of unsold cabins. There aren’t that many unsold cabins these days especially on the newer larger ships because so many people see the benefits of cruising. You can visit several ports without having to pack and re-pack your things and is all-inclusive in regards to dining. Holland America Line offers the highest discount of up to 59 percent. Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruise Line will discount the fare 55 percent. You may guess that Disney does not reduce their fares, and If they do it is at most 24 percent. Carnival Cruise Line, the largest of the ocean sailing ships, doesn’t either.
So, it is a crap-shoot if you wait until the last minute to book that cruise you want to go hoping to get that deep discount.