The Big Question: When is the best time to book a river or ocean cruise?

The cruise industry - in Australia and beyond - is well and truly on its way to pre-pandemic levels, with consumer interest recording a serious upswing.

According to a recent survey by Cruise Lines International Association Australasia, 80 per cent of the respondents who have cruised before are likely to cruise again - a statistic just short of the 82 per cent reported in December 2019.

In fact, 63 per cent of the respondents who have never been on a river or ocean journey before said they are "likely" to book a cruise in the next two years.

Craig Bowen, managing director of travel agent Cruise Traveller, a small-ship cruise specialist, says the demand is exceeding supply.

"To help with the problem of supply, we're seeing cruise lines releasing future itineraries and journeys a lot earlier than normal," Bowen tells Explore.

It seems everyone wants a piece of the at-sea magic. So when is the best time to book a cruise? "The current trend is unquestionably the earlier the better. And that is simply based on just the incredible demand post-lockdowns. For smaller ships, that's even more relevant because they sell out faster," Bowen says.

Robin West of Seabourn Cruise Line agrees. "The sooner you book the cruise the more opportunity you'll have of securing what you want - the dates, the destination as well as the cabin," West says.

And booking early doesn't mean you can't bag some bargains. Cruise lines - particularly luxury companies such as Silversea - offer the best price points when their journeys first go on sale to reward loyal customers.

The best bargains, however, only come around closer to the cruise departure dates, says Daniel Finch, managing director of online travel agency Expedia Australia. "Between three and six months in advance is the best time to get the best pricing," Finch says. "In the budget market, P&O often has good last-minute deals on Expedia, while in the luxury market Cunard has good last-minute deals."

But waiting for a last-minute deal comes with a huge caveat: you have to be incredibly flexible with dates, destination and cabins, says Sarah Latimore of APT travel group.

"If you have people that are flexible with their travel arrangements, there are certainly last-minute deals available for them," Latimore says. "But the later you leave, the less availability there will be, so you do have to be fairly flexible."