How To Get Discount Cruise Deals?

Discover the best cruise deals by booking early, bundling perks, and asking for price drops. Compare cruise lines, destinations, and seasons using Cruise Critics Deal Score and last-minute offers. See more cruise deals during offseason and explore floating resorts.

How can I get a better cruise rate?

Here are seven things to consider before booking your next cruise:Book early if you have special needs or a large party. … Your travel agent might be able to track price changes. … Wait to book for last-minute deals. … Don’t assume an interior stateroom is the best deal. … Book shore excursions from outside vendors.

So you’re ready to book a cruise to enjoy some time on the water and exploring port cities. But when is the best time to book a cruise? What if prices drop after you’ve already paid for your trip? Are the onboard drinks and Wi-Fi packages really worth it?

Christopher Festerman, a senior travel professional for CruisesOnly, has some advice on how to find the best cruise deals. Here are seven things to consider before booking your next cruise:

1. Book early if you have special needs or a large party.

What month is cheapest to go on a cruise?

What is the cheapest time to book a cruise? Prospective cruisers can usually find “a lot of good deals at the beginning of the year” during wave season, Goldberg-Glazer said. That period typically lasts from January until March. However, the optimal time to book may depend on when you plan to sail.

What’s the cheapest way to go on a cruise?

“Early bookings usually get you the best price because cruise lines want to start filling up cabins, while late bookings — like the month before the cruise sets sail — can be heavily discounted because the cruise lines don’t want to sail with empty cabins.

• Smart Travels
• Travel Tips & Advice
• 10 ways to cruise on a budget: how to get the best deal on a cruise

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Do travel agents get better discounts on cruises?

Is it Cheaper to Book Directly with Cruise line?. Travel agents often have significant buying power, which can result in better prices, especially when booking multiple cabins for a cruise. Travel agents also enjoy early access to special offers and may secure deals like low deposits. You can expect complimentary perks and freebies when booking through them. Moreover, travel agents sometimes have access to specific cabin types that might appear sold out if you book directly with the cruise line. You can also inform the agent about any cabin preferences or features you want to avoid, such as cabins with interconnecting doors or certain floors.

Furthermore, travel agents keep you informed about any itinerary or flight changes after your booking. In case you encounter issues, the agent will liaise with the cruise line on your behalf, saving you from long customer service hold times, which can be especially helpful with cruise lines that may not prioritize customer service. Lastly, travel agents provide impartial advice, ensuring that you book a cruise suitable for your needs, rather than just what the cruise line wants to sell you.

If you are used to booking your vacations yourself you may be reluctant to use a travel agent, or you might not even know of any travel agents you could use, cruise lines often work with travel agencies and will be able to recommend a suitable agent for you to work with.

Can you negotiate cruise prices?

Unfortunately, most cruise lines do not offer free cancellations or changes to take advantage of price drops after you book. Passengers can always negotiate with a booking site or cruise line, but they aren’t obligated to refund the difference. Instead, they may offer you onboard credit, complimentary excursions or credit toward another cruise booking.

Can travel agents get better cruise prices?

GET A CHEAPER CABIN RATE Fret not, it’s not a scam. Preferred travel agents are sometimes given access to exclusive, non-advertised rates by cruise ships which allow them to offer discounted cabin rates to their customers.

How to get insane cruise deals?

• Cruise Sheet (This site is the #1 site for finding a cheap cruise!!!!)
• Vacations to Go
• Cruise Deals

These websites do a detailed job of scouring the web for cheap cruise deals. Vacations to Go is more of a travel agent/operator and thus often has better deals since they can negotiate with the cruise lines directly, but keep in mind that they add a lot of fees. Cruise Sheet is simply a website aggregator that crawls the web and then displays cheap last-minute fares. This is my favorite cruise site, as it seems to find all the deals and makes finding a cheap cruise easy.

In terms of timing, don’t book early. As Doug states, “the only benefit to booking early is to secure the room you want.” If you want a specific cabin, book early. Otherwise, wait until the last minute. As I said in the beginning, cruise companies don’t want to sail empty ships and so do heavy last-minute discounting —be sure to sign up for cruise company newsletters to stay informed!

Finally, if you book a cruise and the price drops, contact the cruise or your travel agent. They will often give you the difference as an onboard credit.

As Chris from Chris Cruises states, “There are so many ships now, prices are at an all-time low.” Now is a great time to go on a cruise.

Three Things to Remember When Booking A Cheap Cruise. 1. Smaller is cheaper – Smaller boats tend to be less expensive since they offer fewer amenities and attractions.

2. Cruise in the off season – Traveling off season (Caribbean during the hurricane season, Alaska in September) will get you markedly cheaper fares.

3. Take a repositioning cruise— Repositioning cruises are when cruise lines move ships from one part of the world to the next in anticipation of the upcoming season. These “cruises” are a great way to cross an ocean or sail down a continent’s coast on the cheap and can be found on any cruise booking website.

What about your flight? Don’t book your flight with the cruise —book it separately. Check out this guide to finding a cheap flight to lower that cost.

Do cruises get cheaper closer to time?

Cruise prices are usually the cheapest furthest from the sailing date when first launched or 60-90 days before the cruise sets sail.

The prices of some cruises will decrease last minute – but this doesn’t always happen.

Booking a cruise within the last 60/90 days may not always be the best way to get a bargain. If you leave it this late you run the risk of the cruise line only having a few cabins left and the prices increasing.

In order to book a cruise for the cheapest price you have two options:

• In general, the price when the cruise itineraries are first released is the cheapest that they’ll be.
• There are exceptions with last-minute deals but for the most part, cruises are cheaper when the itineraries have just been released.
• If you look to book a new ship that is not yet built you can get incredibly cheap cruises.

Do cruise prices drop closer to departure date?

Do Cruises Get Cheaper Closer To The Sailing Date?. Cruise prices do not get cheaper closer to the sailing date in all cases.

Cruise prices are usually the cheapest furthest from the sailing date when first launched or 60-90 days before the cruise sets sail.

The prices of some cruises will decrease last minute – but this doesn’t always happen.

Booking a cruise within the last 60/90 days may not always be the best way to get a bargain. If you leave it this late you run the risk of the cruise line only having a few cabins left and the prices increasing.

In order to book a cruise for the cheapest price you have two options:

Where is the best place to look for cheap cruises?

If you’re looking for some of the best cruise deals, booking through Expedia.com makes it easy since you can sort your cruise search results by price and have access to special deals. One Key members can earn OneKeyCash on all eligible bookings and get instant discounts with Member Prices.

Do cruise prices get lower closer to the date?

Cruise prices are usually the cheapest furthest from the sailing date when first launched or 60-90 days before the cruise sets sail.

The prices of some cruises will decrease last minute – but this doesn’t always happen.

Booking a cruise within the last 60/90 days may not always be the best way to get a bargain. If you leave it this late you run the risk of the cruise line only having a few cabins left and the prices increasing.

In order to book a cruise for the cheapest price you have two options:

• In general, the price when the cruise itineraries are first released is the cheapest that they’ll be.
• There are exceptions with last-minute deals but for the most part, cruises are cheaper when the itineraries have just been released.
• If you look to book a new ship that is not yet built you can get incredibly cheap cruises.

What day do cruise prices drop?

Beyond holiday periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Labor Day when there may be some flash sales, January and February are particularly good times to book a cruise, as the first two months of the year are considered “wave season” in the cruising industry. It’s when companies are looking to base load their ships for the year.

“Wave season is when cruise lines announce incredible promotions in an effort to sell as much unsold space for the year as possible,” explains Jeremy Hall, a travel advisor at Cruise Vacations International.

Those promotions could include free stateroom upgrades, highly reduced cruise fares, discounts on deposits, free sailings for children, complimentary airfare, and discounted beverage packages, among other offers.