In recent weeks we have heard from several cruise lines that they are attempting to break the cycle of last-minute discounting in order to fill ships to their preferred 100% occupancy.

This is important for them because this discounting undermines their marketing assertions that booking early will benefit their guests because they are getting the best fares offered on a particular sailing.  Carnival even said that they were going to hold firm on pricing even if their ships sail at slightly lower occupancies.

Some tour operators are considering the same strategy.  The idea is still out there though for the consumers that there are some last minute deals to be had, and as evidence we have received some calls this week calling for some “deals” out there for this coming holiday weekend.  One guy called and wanted to see if we had any good packages leaving on Saturday and returning on Monday.  When I asked where he wanted to go, he said he was just looking for a good deal.  Well, he didn’t give me any guidance on budget, so I went to work on trying to find him a good adult getaway.

When I get a call like that, I have a few locations that I think appeal to adults, so I started shopping.  Las Vegas is usually my first choice, so I checked that option out using  Southwest Vacations as my tour operator.  Traveling out of Midland, the best rate I could find for those two nights was at the New York New York hotel at $2,373 for two people including air from Midland, accommodations, cancel-for-any-reason insurance, and taxes.  The negative is that the non-stop back to Midland was sold out, so he would have to make a connection back through Albuquerque making a late Midland return.

Another option in Nevada is the Reno/Lake Tahoe destination.  That cost from Midland with connections through Las Vegas both ways, staying at Harrahs at Lake Tahoe with a rental car was $3197 for two nights.

San Francisco is another good adult town, the only problem is that 2 nights is just not enough time there!!  But, I priced that option out for him and found out that during Saturday and Sunday, most of the 4-5 star properties were already sold out.  There was a room available at the Westin at Union Square and the price for 2 nights was $3,151.00.

The best bargain yesterday was another destination that I often sell, New Orleans,  so I shopped for that city.  Sure enough, using air from Love Field in Dallas there was a nice hotel in the French Quarter available for two nights at the price of $1,752 for a couple. Some good places to dine in that city, especially if you like Cajun food.

On all those examples, had reservations been made back in January, they could have saved more than half those amounts, which gives a good indication about the importance of booking early, especially for holiday periods.   For your vacation getaway at any time, allow the experienced and professional travel agents at The Travel Factory help with your plans.  Call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040; let us save you time and money