Has anyone booked a cruise at the last minute (several weeks before sailing) for a last minute deal? We have our flight to Florida taken care of in April (kids Spring break) and thought we might take a cruise if the price is right. I would love to hear from anyone who has experience or advice on doing this. Also, does Celebrity cruise line have many teens on board over Spring break? (Never been on Celebrity, but would like to try it, but maybe not with teens?) Thank you in advance for any help. Mary

I late book all the time, with late booking being 30-60 days before sailing. Have snagged some great deals- but there are significant limits on triple/quad cabins - if that is what is needed? Most rock bottom deals are on double occup. Check out several online sites and see what the availablity is for your week. Then consider posting your dates on cruisemates bargain finder and see what comes up.

Celebrity does not have tons of kids on it...geared more for single or older crowd..not teens/college kids..

Suggest if you are looking for a cruise the kids will like, head to Royal Caribbean...

Thank you, Budget Queen and Andy, for your help. The teens are 18 and 16, so they will have their own room. We've enjoyed Royal Caribbean in the past. I did see some good rates on Princess. How does Princess compare to RC for teen activities and food quality? Thank you again for all information. Mary

I booked the Grand Princess for about $399 pp at the last minute for last April (about 3-4 weeks before sailing).

I had some friends going and decided to join them at the last minute.

Personally - I have never seen many kids or teens on Celebrity and the few I have seen looked very bored. If I had kids, I wouldn't bring them on Celebrity.

That's all I saw was kids on Celebrity cruise to Bermuda. They were all having a great time.

Mary,
I've been on 3 Princess and 2 RCI cruises and found the food quality on Princess to be better overall. Don't know anything about teen activities, but I do know that Princess sets a limit on the number of children on each cruise by age group.

Thank you for your responses, I really appreciate it. Here I am trying to lose the holiday weight gain, and I am worried which cruise has better food! Oh well, now you know where my priorities are. I did put in an "ad" on the cruisemates bargain site and will see what comes up. Will let you know what I end up with. Thanks again, mary

We just booked a last minute with HAL-7days-balcony-$1500 for 2 incl. insurance, too.

The only drawback to last minute is not being able to get early dining (if you want that), we cannot and will eat in the alternate dining spots this trip, or on the balcony.

My 16 year old son, then 14, had a wonderful time on spring break on the Celebrity's Galaxy. He enjoyed that cruise even more than he did his Voyager of the Seas Cruise on Royal Carribean. We all thought the food was better as well. Our spring break cruise right now is planned for April 18th on Celebrity's Millineum. Last year we went on the Explorer of the Seas. Prior to sailing there were excellent deals to be found and we were able to take advantage of the significant price drop. Our TA refunded the difference. I book inside guarantee category and usually get up graded a few letters unless we need a triple, as is the case this year, and so then book a specific cabin. The trouble with waiting for excellent deals before booking is the that airfare is in often short supply from the northeast in April. As far as Celebrity is concerned, they have an excellent kids and teen program and during school vacation there will be no shortage of both.

Maryann,
As soon as you can, go find the area where they have a table set up for dining changes, etc. & ask to change to late dining . Most of the time they can accomodate you.