Is it too late to get my Christmas cactus to bloom for the holidays?

I did not get the window last year and this time I really would like those pink flowers. I was reading a blog on abodelook about the "darkness treatment" for christmas cactus care, but it sounds kind of intense (12+ hours of total darkness?). Is that in fact effective, or can we do it more easily? I do not want to kill it by being too off with trying to oblige the blooms.