{"id":54450,"date":"2023-07-21T10:39:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T14:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=54450"},"modified":"2023-07-21T10:45:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T14:45:25","slug":"survey-results-last-minute-river-cruises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2023\/07\/survey-results-last-minute-river-cruises\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey Results: Last-Minute River Cruises"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"54450\" class=\"elementor elementor-54450\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ed64e2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"1ed64e2\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c59a9cb e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c59a9cb\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6e928d4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6e928d4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 08-05-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"872\" height=\"772\" src=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whendoyoubook.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-54452\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whendoyoubook.webp 872w, https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whendoyoubook-640x567.webp 640w, https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whendoyoubook-280x248.webp 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Could you see yourself booking a last-minute river cruise in Europe?<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c34f045 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c34f045\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a0a44cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a0a44cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"818\" height=\"774\" src=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/liketoplan.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-54451\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/liketoplan.webp 818w, https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/liketoplan-640x606.webp 640w, https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/liketoplan-280x265.webp 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 818px) 100vw, 818px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Are you generally someone who likes to plan your river cruise a year or more in advance?<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19113d8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"19113d8\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-49bae4c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"49bae4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 08-05-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Last week\u2019s survey about booking trends revealed that only 16 percent of you could not see yourself booking a last-minute river cruise in Europe. Who said we couldn\u2019t be spontaneous? Show us a deal, and we&#8217;re on board.<\/p><p>Your comments and our commentary.<\/p><p><i>\u201cWe have a giant dog and have to book her lodging well ahead to ensure there is space for her, hence we usually book one year in advance.\u201d <\/i><\/p><p>We are left wondering: Just how large is this dog?<\/p><p>Some like to book in advance to get the best rates on flights. The airlines typically open flights 330 days before departure.<\/p><p><i>\u201cWe are available for last minute but most likely book last minute North America or Caribbean where we don\u2019t have to worry about flights.\u201d <\/i><\/p><p>Yes. Getting good value on transatlantic flights can be trying &#8211; and sometime impossible. Be sure to check out my strategies in <a href=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2023\/03\/saving-a-fortune-on-business-class-air-other-tips-for-new-adventures\/\">Saving A Fortune On Business Class Air &amp; Other Tips For New Adventures<\/a><\/p><p><i>\u201cWe are a retired couple. We usually plan a year in advance. That said, since we are retired we also watch for last-minute bargains. Sorry that doesn&#8217;t help you.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p><p>You are correct. It doesn&#8217;t help us but it certainly helps you save when you do find those last-minute bargains.<\/p><p>The not-yet retired have their challenges:<em> \u201cScheduling 2+ weeks of vacation time from work is key. Planning far enough ahead allows advanced notice.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>Others prefer knowing what they&#8217;re getting into. <em>\u201cWell in advance. Get the cabin you want, not the leftovers. Plus, higher airfare would negate any cruise savings. As well, with close-in flights, you may have limited seat selection.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>It&#8217;s possible to find good seats and airfares, though. In the post <a href=\"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2023\/03\/saving-a-fortune-on-business-class-air-other-tips-for-new-adventures\/\">at the link above<\/a>, you&#8217;ll read where I booked my business class air tickets to Europe just weeks before my barge trips in France.<\/p><p>Some like to have it both ways. <em>\u201cSometimes I can find good deals on last-minute bookings. I also like to plan ahead to have something in the distance to look forward to.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>Others are betting on fire sales, the longer they wait. <em>\u201cBetter prices once the cruise line knows the bookings are slow for particular cruises.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>And at least one person tells us that they prefer the nearly instant gratification of booking close in. <em>\u201cNo waiting when you book last minute!\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and who commented. There were many more than we could publish, but we read each and every one of your comments.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week\u2019s survey about booking trends revealed that only 16 percent of you could not see yourself booking a last-minute river cruise in Europe. Who said we couldn\u2019t be spontaneous? Show us a deal, and we&#8217;re on board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[737],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54450"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54456,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54450\/revisions\/54456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}