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By Alexis Berger
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Everybody loves to get a good deal, but like anything else, when discounts are constant, they start to lose their significance.
In the case of cruise promotions, the stream of sales can become straight-up overwhelming to navigate. Top cruise lines regularly run concurrent discounts on different elements of booking: free third and fourth passengers per cabin, onboard credits, discounted cruising fares, free Wi-Fi and more.
What gets complicated—particularly if you are comparing different itineraries on different cruise lines—is parsing which bundle of discounts and perks will get you the best deal for the trip you intend to take. Sometimes, the biggest advertised discount won’t snag you the best savings for your specific trip.
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For instance, an advertised deal of a large percentage off the base fare might be calculated against a higher standardized rate than what passengers typically pay—kind of like MSRP for a new car. Further, some of those aforementioned perks like free Wi-Fi and drink packages may be valuable to some people, and useless to others.
Ultimately, to find the best deal for your specific trip, you’ll want to calculate your total trip cost rather than focus on individual, line-item promotions.
Here are some tips for cutting through the noise and getting the best price.
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When Is the Best Time to Book a Cruise?
Unfortunately, there’s no single trade secret on the best time to book a cruise. Rather, it depends on your priorities.
“If you have your heart set on a specific date, ship or cabin type, then booking early is likely in your best interest; the longer you wait, the more you risk missing out on your top choices,” says Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic.
But her top tip for getting the best deal is to be flexible with your travel dates—which doesn’t necessarily mean committing to off-season travel (like heading to the Caribbean during hurricane season, though doing so will likely cost less than a New Year’s Eve sail to the tropical destination).
Rather, “once you've narrowed down your top choice in ships, even comparing fares from week to week can uncover some pretty big savings, as prices can vary quite a bit from one sailing to the next," McDaniel says.
“If you have fewer preferences and are flexible with your timing, waiting until closer to the sailing can sometimes mean finding a discounted fare,” says McDaniel.
To make the most of last-minute deals, she suggests tracking specific itineraries from 90 days out, when cruise lines may adjust their rates based on overall ship capacity and cancellations from booked passengers. Just remember, with this strategy, you’ll need to remain flexible with the specific ship, available guest cabin and other details of the trip.
You can also take note of wave season, the annual promotion period for cruise deals that typically happens between January and March. During this time, most cruise lines unfurl deals on sails throughout the year, but whether those sales are steeper than other savings events remains to be seen.
However, the long promotion window means you can take a moment to consider your options rather than feel pressured to take the plunge, lest you miss out on the best deal, as is the case on other big annual discount moments, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Which Cruise Promotions Are Usually Worth Considering?
Common cruise promotions vary by line. Carnival Cruise Line frequently advertises discounted fares, reduced deposits and occasional kids-sail-free offers. Royal Caribbean is known for promotions such as kids sail free, onboard credit and bundled perks that may include Wi-Fi or beverage packages.
Norwegian Cruise Line often emphasizes package-style deals that bundle extras like specialty dining, drinks, shore excursion credits and internet access into the fare. MSC Cruises regularly promotes free or discounted third and fourth guests in a cabin, along with family-focused pricing incentives.
Princess Cruises frequently highlights fare bundles that include Wi-Fi, beverages and crew appreciation, while Celebrity Cruises often markets all-inclusive packages that combine drinks and internet access alongside standard fare discounts.
Which Cruise Discounts Should Travelers Treat With Skepticism?
One aspect of being a smart, savvy consumer is making use of good deals. But another part is knowing that if something sounds too good to be true, that’s often the case. Here are a few common discount tactics cruise lines use that certainly require you to read and understand the fine print:
- "Up to" discounts: If a promotion specifies fares are “up to 60 percent off,” that doesn’t mean all fares are actually 60 percent off. Many cabins, dates and itineraries actually qualify for a much lower discount.
- Countdown timers: Cruise companies know that creating a sense of urgency can help to eliminate consumer indecision. But if you haven’t done all the research you’d like to complete and aren’t ready to book a trip, don’t let any kind of “limited-time” language hurry you along. Many cruises have perpetual sales, meaning when one specific promotion ends, another one crops up.
- Inflated reference pricing: Just as you’re unlikely to pay the sticker price on a new car, cruise lines know that passengers don’t expect to pay the full-price reference rate for a fare. Because these standard fares, which often appear in brochures, are higher than what people normally pay, the discount percentage can look bigger and more meaningful than it actually is.
Is It Better to Book Directly or Through a Travel Agent?
If all of this deal-chasing and jargon-decoding is feeling more like stressful homework than breezy vacation prep, you may want to consider working with a travel agent, who can do some research for you.
“There are a number of perks that come from working with a travel advisor to plan a cruise—the biggest is that many of them are totally free to use,” says McDaniel. (However, you’ll want to confirm this before working with a specific agent—sometimes there could be fees.) “Because they have access to a wide range of pricing insights and deals, they're definitely able to help you navigate all of the options.”
That said, some travel agents may have special relationships with specific cruise lines, which could matter if you had a specific itinerary in mind. Further, part of the benefit of a travel advisor is access to bundled onboard benefits, which might include excursions and room upgrades.
However, if you need to make changes to your reservation, you’ll need to contact the agent and likely won’t have the ability to make the adjustments yourself directly. If you don’t care about these benefits and prefer to maintain control over every detail of your itinerary, you might be better off being your own agent.
How Can You Tell if a Cruise Deal Is Actually a Deal?
As McDaniel says, the best way to get a good cruise deal “really depends on what you're looking for.” But to avoid falling victim to confusing marketing and effectively consider the value of included benefits, follow these tips:
- Compare total trip fee
- Evaluate included perks
- Compare multiple booking channels
- Focus on bottom-line cost as opposed to discount percentages
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