Can you get a better deal on a cruise if you book it early or if you do it last minute? Any advice?

I'm a first time cruiser. Any advice is great!

Early is always better. But I have found that you can get great deals by going directly to the cruise line web sites and looking for their specials. Most will have their specials prominently displayed on their home page but I have found that Royal Caribbean and Carnival have the best web sites for this.

You will always get the best price if you book very early and early means 9 to 12 months or more in advance. All of the cruise lines offer early booking specials. You can book on most any cruise line web site by paying a deposit of $250 to $350 per person, depending upon the length of the cruise, and then pay the balance no later than 60 to 75 days before the cruise (depending upon the cruise line).

Another factor to consider is to be flexible on your date of travel. Consider going when there is a special. Many times identical cruise itineraries can very in price by hundreds depending upon the date.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean have the easiest web sites for finding specials. RC has a link to theirs highlighted in Red.

i think the earlier the better...i'm leaving for my cruise this weekend and i booked in dec.... the rate for the room that i have now is more than $150.00 if i was to book today!!! plus if u book early you can research all the stuff u want to do and the places u will be going!!! check out cruisecritic.com!!! it helped me so much with planning my first cruise!!!
HAPPY CRUISIN!!!

I'm not a fan of last minute - you might get left out of your dream vacation.

Go ahead and book but do your homework. I like:

www.vacationstogo.com

www.skyauction.com