When To Book Gulf South Cruises For The Best Deals

(KMDL-FM) Fans of cruise vacations here in the Gulf South, we have some good news for you. Because so many of you have embraced the cruising lifestyle, we are now getting even more and more ships and cruise itineraries to choose from if we book passage out of NOLA, Galveston, or Mobile, Alabama.

The Time of Year You Book Your Cruise Matters Almost as Much As the Destination

A cruise ship docked at a pier with another ship in the background — Photo by Edward Lawrence on Unsplash

As more and more people are looking into cruise vacations, it is important to understand some of the strategies that savvy cruisers use to save money not only on their booking but once on board. As far as booking strategies go, we have identified five "weeks"; some of the time periods are longer than one week, during which cruise lines typically offer the best rates and have the most flexibility when it comes to stateroom choices.

Oddly enough, weather or climate conditions only figure into one of these booking slots, and it just happens to be one of the most popular times to book a cruise in the Gulf South. If you haven't figured it out, we are talking about hurricanes and tropical weather systems. But the good news about being on a cruise is that the ship will just sail around or away from the bad weather.

The Surprising Factor That Doesn't Seem to Cause Price Fluctuations

Another factor that doesn't really seem to factor into cost, and the lower costs in the weeks we are about to describe, is the destination. You'll find a lot of these cruise timeline scenarios are right at the edge of a "seasonal window". Which is why you get the price break.

Think of how hotel prices in Florida tend to drop the week after Labor Day; the same can be said for cruise cabins. When people don't have time to cruise, the cruise lines make time to incentivize those of us who do have time to board a ship, which is why the following weeks offer some of the best cruise fares and itineraries you could hope to find.

You can also find a lot of repositioning cruises around many of these same times of the year. If you're really looking to save money and see ports you wouldn't see on most cruises, try to find one of those.

Alright, let's save you some money on your next vacation.

Planning a Cruise? These are the 5 Best and Cheapest Weeks To Book Every Year

Like every travel plan, you can find a good time to go and a better time to go. In the world of cruising, especially out of Gulf Coast ports such as New Orleans or Galveston, timing is everything. It can mean not only better weather, but cheaper fares. Since we can't control the weather, let's look at how we can save you money on your next cruise. You'll save instantly if you book passage during one of the time frames we've described below. The cruise is still great; the crowds are just smaller, and so is the bill. Here are the 5 Best and Cheapest Weeks to book a Cruise every year.