How To Get Great Deals On Cruises

How To Get Great Deals On Cruises – If you are planning a cruise on a budget, then you should look for a cheap cruise. No one wants to pay more for a cruise vacation than they have to, and luckily there are some simple tips you can use to find the best cruise deals.

The cost of a cruise can be a deterrent for many travelers, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are flexible in your cruise planning process, you can find cheap deals that will save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

How To Get Great Deals On Cruises

Finding a “cheap” cruise doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing a quality vacation, either. Cruise deals are determined by a combination of factors—time of year, demand, and port of departure—which means a good deal doesn’t mean a bad cruise.

Where To Find Great Cruise Deals And Save Money

The most important factor when looking for the best cruise deals is flexibility. The more flexible you are when planning your cruise, the better your chances of getting a great deal on your vacation.

More often than not, the best cruise deals are revealed when sailing after one or two years. In most cases, if you’re looking for the best deals, we recommend booking as soon as possible rather than waiting until the last minute.

Most cruise itineraries are announced about two years in advance. As itineraries open for bookings, you can often find great deals, especially if you’re hoping to book a balcony or suite. Also, if you’re looking for a rare cruise cabin like the cow-themed Ben & Jerry’s Sweet, it’s important to book early, not only to find a cruise deal, but also before the cabin sells out.

Booking a cruise at the last minute may seem counterintuitive to our advice on booking a cruise early. And while we usually recommend booking early rather than later, you can often get a cheap cruise by booking last minute.

Norwegian Cruise Deals (2023 / 2024)

If the cruise line still has a significant number of empty cabins in the months leading up to sailing, Royal Caribbean may lower the price to increase demand. Most often, this happens after the last payment date for a particular sailing has passed – 75 to 90 days before the cruise.

To find a last minute cruise deal on Royal Caribbean, search the cruise website and filter the results to see the lowest price first. You can also use a website like VacationsToGo.com, which has a 90-day ticker that shows the best and cheapest cruise deals departing in the next three months.

Alaska cruises have a reputation for being more expensive than other itineraries. After all, it’s not uncommon to spend more than $2,000 on an interior cabin during the state’s peak summer season.

Despite this, we have seen a pricing trend over the past two years on select Alaska routes. One-way Alaska itineraries usually offer fantastic cruise deals, often as low as $550 per person including taxes and fees.

Cabin Upgrades On Cruises And The Best Ways To Get Them

One-way Alaska cruises travel from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska and vice versa. These 7-day itineraries allow guests to visit more Alaska ports as well as spend time in interior Alaska before or after the cruise. While providing a great itinerary, one-way cruises are less popular than round-trips due to the inconvenience of starting and ending at different ports.

If Royal Caribbean experiences low demand in the months leading up to a departure, prices for these shipments will drop dramatically. Keeping an eye out for one-way Alaska cruise deals 3-6 months before your cruise is a surefire way to find a last-minute cruise deal.

I book every cruise with a travel agent, whether it’s a short weekend cruise to the Bahamas or a two-week trip to Greenland. This has saved me hundreds of dollars over the past few years, and that’s not to mention the additional services and resources my travel agent provides before, during, and after the cruise.

Whenever I book a cruise, I first email my travel agent to get a quote; the price I get is often cheaper than what I can find on the Royal Caribbean website. Depending on the travel agency you work with, they may offer group rates on select itineraries, which can save you money on your cruise tickets.

How To Save On Priceline Cruises

Also, I almost always get additional onboard credit through my travel agent. With credit on board, I can enjoy my cruise even more, whether I’m using it to order dinner at a signature restaurant or order an extra cocktail on the pool deck.

However, in addition to potential savings, there are other benefits to using travel agents. Travel agents are available to answer any questions you may have about your Royal Caribbean cruise, and they will also be on hand to help with any issues you may have prior to departure.

If your schedule is flexible, you should book your cruise during the shoulder or off-season rather than the peak season.

Peak season varies by destination, but usually coincides with the school holidays. Summer, holiday weekends and school holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break tend to have the highest demand for cruises.

Get In Quick For The Best Deals On The Newest Cruise Ships

So if you can cruise outside of these peak times, you can almost always find cheaper cruise deals. For example, sailing to Alaska in early September can be hundreds of dollars cheaper than in mid-July.

Similarly, booking a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season is usually much more affordable than during Thanksgiving. While there is a small chance that a hurricane will affect your cruise, most itineraries will go smoothly with no route changes or cancellations.

While not everyone can take advantage of off-peak sailings, especially if they have children still in school, it can lead to great cruise deals for those with more flexibility.

Royal Caribbean sells its newest and biggest cruise ships more than its older ships, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid smaller cruise ships. When you search for cruises on older ships, you are almost guaranteed to find cheap cruise deals.

Cruises From Southampton

Royal Caribbean’s oldest ships—Vision, Radiance, and Voyager-class ships—often have some of the lowest prices. Despite their smaller size, many cruisers appreciate the more relaxed atmosphere of these ships and the unique ports on their itineraries.

Related: I Sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Newest and Oldest Cruise Ships: Here’s What It’s Like to Cruise on Each

If you’re hoping for the combination of a bargain and a “new” vessel, look into cruising on a reinforced cruise ship. As part of Royal Caribbean’s Royal Amplified program, the cruise line has undergone significant renovations on some of its older ships. In the process, they added features like water slides, new dining options, and updated pool decks.

Despite the addition of new features, cruise fares are still smart on booster ships—some of the best values ​​on a cruise vacation can be found on booster ships like Mariner of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, and Navigator of the Seas.

A Guide To Scoring Norwegian Cruise Deals

Flexibility is the key to finding the best cruise deals; if you are flexible in choosing the port of departure, you will have a better chance of finding a cheap deal.

Instead of cruising from Miami, look into sailing from Tampa or Port Canaveral. Or, if you live in the Northeast, check for cheap deals from Cape Liberty, Boston, or Baltimore. You may be surprised to find a cheap cruise that departs from a less common cruise port.

Don’t forget the more distant ports of departure as well. As someone who lives on the west coast of the United States, I am often shocked at the cost of domestic flights to South Florida from my home airport. In fact, it often costs almost the same to fly to Barcelona, ​​Spain as it does to Miami!

Although it takes longer to get to Europe than Florida, finding a wider range of departure ports means opening up the opportunity for cheaper deals.

The Best Luxe Cruise Deals For 2021 & 2022

Just as it’s important to be flexible with your cruise ship and departure port, you also need to be flexible with your cruise itinerary to find the best deals.

If you’re set on visiting a specific port — whether it’s Bermuda or Santorini — you’ll be more limited in your cruise options. More restrictions mean you’ll have fewer options, which means you’ll miss out on some of the best cruise deals.

If you’re looking for the absolute cheapest and best cruise fares, keep the destinations available. All Royal Caribbean cruise ports have something to offer, from Australia’s coral reefs to Perfect Day’s private island at CocoCay.

The more flexible you are in choosing the route, the more chances you will have a favorable offer.

Costa Cruises (2023 / 2024)

Booking a guaranteed stateroom on Royal Caribbean means you can save money on cruise tickets with the caveat that you won’t be able to choose your exact stateroom location.

When you book a guaranteed stateroom, you give Royal Caribbean the right to choose where your room will be placed on the ship. For example, if you book a guaranteed balcony cabin, you will be assigned (at least) a balcony room, but it can be anywhere on the ship, from deck 7 forward to deck 12 aft.

Advantage of the reservation guarantee

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