Ways to Save Money

Getting the Best Cruise for Your Dollar

By selecting the right agent, you have the greatest chance of getting the best deal. But having a basic knowledge of how and why cruises are discounted will benefit you in the end. Since your vacation experience can vary greatly depending on the ship and its ports of call, it's best to pick your vessel and itinerary first, and then try to get the best price. Remember, it's only a good deal if the cruise you book, no matter what the price, meets your expectations.

Each cruise has a brochure list price. But like the sticker price on a new car, nobody actually pays this amount. These days, if you asked any 10 cruise passengers on any given ship what they paid, they would give you 10 different answers. Discounts from cruise lines and agencies can range from 5% on a single fare to 50% on the second fare in a cabin.

Approach deep discounts with skepticism. Fewer than a dozen cabins may be offered at the discounted price, they may be inside cabins, and the fare may not include air transportation or transfers between the airport and the ship.

Deals and Discounts

Seasonal Discounts. Cruise-brochure prices are typically divided into three categories based on the popularity of sailing dates and weather: high season, shoulder season, and low season. (Some lines divide their Alaska sailings into five seasons.) Obviously, prices will be higher for a Caribbean sailing in December than for the same sailing in August. Before you take advantage of a low-season rate, think about the pros and cons of off-season travel. It may be hotter (or colder) than you'd prefer -- but it also may be less crowded.

Off-season sailings always cost less, but even within the off-season, prices for different departure dates can differ considerably. Two of the major cruise lines, for instance, price their seven-day cruises in six different "seasons." The difference from the highest "high season" to the lowest "low season" can be considerable. Again, this is for the same ship on the same itinerary.

For some destinations, it may be harder to get a seasonal deal. For places like the Amazon, there is only one cruise season and it's short; the rest of the year, it's is too hot or too rainy to cruise. Some lines have departures for Canada and New England only from August through October; there may be only two or three fall foliage cruises a year. If you want to cruise Antarctica, you can do so only during the austral summer, which coincides with the North American winter. Departures typically begin in December and run through February.

Early-Bird Specials. More than ever, it's important to book early. This is especially true for the newest ships and for cabins with private verandas -- both sell out quickly. If you wait to book, you'll probably pay more even if you don't get shut out from the ship or cabin of your choice. That's because almost all cruise lines provide a discount for passengers who book and put down a deposit far in advance; an additional discount may be provided if payment is made in full at the time of booking. These discounts, given to passengers who book at least six months before departure, range from 10% to 50% off the brochure rate. (Brochures are usually issued a year or more in advance of sailing dates.) Cruises to some of the more exotic destinations, such as Southeast Asia, are sometimes sold on a two-for-the-price-of-one basis from the outset. Most early-booking discounts in the Caribbean include round-trip airfare.

As the sailing date approaches, the price of a cruise tends to go up. Not only that, but as the ship fills, the best cabins are no longer available and you'll be less likely to get the meal seating of your choice. So it certainly pays to book early.

Last-Minute Savings. If a particular cruise is not selling well, a cruise line may pick certain large cruise-only travel agencies to unload unsold cabins. Keep in mind that your choice of cabin and meal seating is limited for such last-minute deals. On older ships -- those built before the 1980s -- special deals may be limited to smaller cabins in undesirable areas of the ship. Last-minute deals may be available only to people living in certain cities. For example, people in Vancouver may get a break on a cruise to Alaska. People in Miami may get a deal on a cruise to the Bahamas. Or people who live in Kansas City may get a discount on a cruise to the Caribbean -- because the cruise line booked too many plane tickets. Typically, these specials are unadvertised, but they may be listed in the agencies' newsletters and on their cruise telephone hot lines or Web sites.

Mixed Bag. Besides the major discounts mentioned above, agencies and cruise lines might attract passengers with price promotions such as "Sail for 12 Days and Pay for Only 10," "Free Hotel Stay with Your Cruise," and "Two Sail for the Price of One." Read the fine print before you book. The offer may be a bargain -- or just slick advertising. How can you tell? Compare the advertised price to the standard early-booking discount, and check if the promotion includes airfare. Free or discounted air on cruise-only prices are common for Caribbean sailings. Also check on senior-citizen discounts and "cruise dollars" accrued on participating credit cards. Cruise lines that target families sometimes take on a third or fourth cabin passenger for free. Some of the best cruise prices are available on repositioning cruises, when, for example, ships move from their summer cruising ground to their winter cruising ground and vice versa (between Alaska or Europe and the Caribbean, for example).

Upgrades. There are two types of cabin upgrades: One is guaranteed; the other is not. The first kind of upgrade is a promotional offer by the cruise line. For example, you may be offered a two-category upgrade if you book by a certain date. In this case, the cabin assignment that you receive with your documents prior to sailing should reflect your better accommodations. The second kind of upgrade is dispensed on board at the discretion of the cruise line. Like airlines, cruise lines overbook at their cheapest price in order to attract as many passengers as possible. When the number of bookings at these low rates exceeds the number of cabins available, some people are given better accommodations. How does the cruise line decide? Sometimes, those passengers who booked early get priority for upgrades. Other times, passengers who booked through top-selling travel agencies are at the top of the upgrade list -- just two more reasons to book early and book with a cruise-only agency that does a lot of business with your line.