When to Book Star of the Seas Based on Price Data

The month you sail Star of the Seas matters more than any booking trick or promo code Royal Caribbean runs. That's the single biggest finding from 40,560 tracked fares across 123 sailings spanning every month of the year.

A September balcony costs $247/night. A June balcony costs $321/night. Same ship, same cabin category — $1,036 difference for two guests over 7 nights. That gap is wider than the upgrade from inside to balcony in most months.

For the broader overview including cabin type breakdowns and deal frequency, see our Star of the Seas pricing guide. This guide goes deeper on timing.

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The Month-by-Month Pricing Map

Most cruise pricing guides group sailings into broad seasons. We have enough data to go month by month. The differences within seasons are significant.

Median per-person, per-night rates. "vs. Sept" column shows additional cost for two guests on a 7-night sailing. Based on 40,560 price snapshots.

Three patterns stand out.

September is cheapest by a meaningful margin. It's not just "fall is cheap" — September specifically undercuts October by $10/night and November by $20/night for balcony. That granularity matters when you're budgeting.

June and April are the most expensive months on Star. Not March. This differs from Icon of the Seas, where March dominates. Port Canaveral's spring break demand extends later into spring, and early summer from the Orlando market pushes June pricing to the top.

August is the quiet value play. At $266/night for balcony, August sits $48-55/night below June and July. Families returning to school prep create a soft pocket that most pricing guides miss when they lump June-August together.

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The Booking Window Matters More for Some Months

How far out you book has a different impact depending on when you sail.

Fall Sailings (Sep-Nov)

Fall standard cabins barely move. The 0-60 day median for fall balcony is $249/night — $9/night less than booking early. Fall is the one season where booking timing doesn't matter much for inside and balcony.

Fall suites are a different story. The 0-60 day median jumps to $710/night — 46% above the 180+ day price. This is likely driven by a small number of close-in bookings for popular sailings. If you want a fall suite, book early anyway.

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Spring Sailings (Apr-May)

Spring punishes mid-range bookers the hardest. The 61-120 day window is the most expensive for balcony at $325/night — $61/night above the 180+ day price. The slight dip at 0-60 days ($302) reflects leftover inventory in less desirable cabin locations.

Suites climb steadily. From $610 at 180+ days to $839 at 0-60 days — a $229/night increase that adds $3,206 to a 7-night sailing for two.

Book spring sailings as early as possible.

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Summer Sailings (Jun-Aug)

Summer data skews toward far-out bookings because most summer 2026 sailings haven't reached their close-in windows yet. What we can see: the 121-180 day window already runs $38/night above 180+ days for balcony — a steeper early-window penalty than spring.

Book summer sailings 180+ days out.

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Winter Sailings (Jan-Mar)

Winter shows the flattest booking curve for standard cabins. Inside and balcony prices vary by just $11-32/night across all windows. The 180+ day price is cheapest but the penalty for waiting is modest.

Winter suites are volatile. They jump from $449 at 180+ days to $751 at 121-180 days — a 67% spike — then settle back to $681-756 in later windows. If you're booking a winter suite, the 180+ day window is critical.

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Holiday Sailings (Dec)

Holiday pricing diverges sharply by cabin type. Inside cabins actually get $10/night cheaper at 0-60 days. Balcony jumps $37/night. And suites spike to $1,107/night — more than double the 180+ day price.

For standard cabins, holiday booking timing is a coin flip. For suites, book early or pay a massive premium.

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Which Months See the Most Price Movement?

Not all months are created equal when it comes to price volatility.

Summer and early fall pricing barely moves. Volatility under 9% means prices stay close to the median — you can book with confidence that the price won't move much. (Volatility here measures how widely prices spread around the average. A 6% number means prices stay tight. A 38% number means they swing all over the place.)

December is the wildcard. At 38.4% volatility, December pricing swings more than any other month by a wide margin. That's driven by the split between early-December and peak-holiday sailings — two very different markets priced in the same calendar month.

February is the most actively traded month. With 28 total anomalies (11 drops, 17 spikes), February sees more price movement than any other month. Spikes outnumber drops — waiting for a dip during February is a bet against the data.

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The Spring Break Question

Port Canaveral is 45 minutes from Orlando — making Star of the Seas the default spring break cruise for Florida theme park families. That demand shows up clearly in the data.

April balcony pricing by booking window:

April suites hit $797/night at 61-120 days. That's $11,158 for two guests, 7 nights — for the fare alone. Add taxes, gratuities, and a drink package and you're approaching $14,000.

If April is your only option, treat the 180+ day window as a deadline. If you have any flexibility, May drops back to $281/night for balcony and $570/night for suites — $39/night and $227/night less respectively. Same ship, same season, dramatically different pricing.

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What "Good Price" Means for Each Month

The seasonal P25 thresholds from our room prices guide are useful, but here's the month-level version. If you're at or below these numbers, you're paying less than 75% of observed fares for that specific month.

How to use this table: Check the price you're quoted against the P25 for your departure month. At or below = book with confidence. Above the median from the monthly pricing map = likely overpaying. For cabin-type-specific thresholds by season, see our Star of the Seas room prices guide.

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Bottom Line

The best time to book Star of the Seas depends on two things: what month you're sailing and how far out you're booking.

If you have date flexibility, September through November is where the value lives. September balcony at $247/night saves $1,036 per trip compared to June. August at $266/night is the summer month that doesn't price like summer.

If your dates are fixed, book 180+ days out for spring and summer. Fall and winter give you more flexibility on timing. And if you're considering suites, the early-booking advantage is enormous — holiday suites more than double between the 180+ day window and last-minute booking.

Cruise Radar scores every fare 0-100 based on 2.6M+ price snapshots, then shows you the score right on the booking page — so you'll know instantly whether the price you're seeing is worth booking for your specific month.

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Methodology

This analysis draws from 40,560 price snapshots across 123 unique sailings tracked October 2025 through February 2026. All figures are 7-night sailings from Port Canaveral. Monthly medians use all fares for sailings departing in that calendar month. Booking window analysis compares observation date to departure date. For our full data collection and scoring methodology, see how it works.

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Pricing data by All Aboard Analytics. Updated February 2026.