When going on a cruise, it is never easy to keep prices to a reasonable level. Our Travel guides you to the finest cruise bargains and helps you save money on seat reservations.
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1. Make sure to book your trip in advance.
In recent years, many cruise lines have eliminated last-minute discounts, regardless of whether or not this results in fewer passengers on board when the ships set sail. You can save a lot of money by purchasing an early-bird ticket, which is typically made available between 12 and 18 months in advance. You will be able to select the departure dates and flights you desire, as well as the departing cabins, and you will be showered with complementary bonuses in addition to receiving an excellent price.
In the first week that it was available, we checked out the Celebrity Adriatic Discoveries trip for nine nights (over 12 months before the departure date). We were able to save up to £700 on the fare, in addition to receiving a free drinks package that included everything, valet parking, and $300 to spend on board. Which should you choose between rush bargains, early bird specials, and sales on Black Friday? When you travel, you should constantly be looking into how to get the best deal on your vacation. 2. Make use of a broker
It is common practise for specialised travel agencies to be in a position to offer a wider variety of discounts and bargains than would be available by going directly to cruise companies. Because agents acquire cabins in quantity at discounted rates, they are able to offer their customers a discount on their purchases. For instance, we were able to find an interior room on Celebrity’s Norwegian Fjords cruise for £774 per person through cruise.co.uk, when booking it directly would have cost us £819 per person. This represents a savings of £90 for each pair. But don’t just stick to one cruise agent. If you are willing to negotiate, there is always some opportunity for negotiation. The price of a balcony room on P&O’s Western Med cruise dropped from £1,219 per person to £1,203 per person after we informed Cruisedeals.co.uk that Virgin Holidays Itinerary offered the same cruise at a lower price. Agents can frequently offer sweeteners such as onboard credit or prepaid gratuities, even if they are unable to undercut the cruise line’s own fare for the same cabin category.
3. Pay for your own plane tickets.
Packages from cruise companies that include flights provide travellers peace of mind in the event that their flights are delayed or cancelled (in which case the ship will wait for you). As a result of their ability to bulk-book seats, cruise lines are frequently in a position to provide very good deals. However, depending on the circumstances, purchasing your own flights can end up being a far more cost-effective option. By booking our own flights on Etihad to arrive at the same time as the BA/Etihad combination that P&O gave us, we were able to make significant savings on the P&O cruise from Sydney to Hong Kong, amounting to a total of £787 per person. Check out the findings of our most recent survey of airlines to learn which ones provide the best service to your location. If you decide to plan your own flight, you should familiarise yourself with the cruise consumer rights that apply to you. There is a possibility that you will not be able to receive a refund on the cruise if your flight is either delayed or cancelled (unless your insurance covers it). You will be responsible for the costs associated with catching up with the cruise if you do decide to do so. Are you curious about the protections provided by cruise travel insurance? Make use of the exclusive ratings provided by Which? in order to find out which cruise travel insurance policies are the best and the worst.
4. Save on drinks on board
The combination of going on a cruise and drinking heavily can be highly damaging to your financial situation, particularly if you sail with one of the major cruise companies based in the United States. For example, a glass of wine on board a Royal Caribbean cruise will set you back at least $7.90 in addition to an 18% service charge. Do you believe that you would be able to save money by bringing your own drinks on board? Try to rethink this. This is only permitted on a handful of cruise lines (the exceptions are P&O, Disney and Royal Caribbean, but only for limited amounts). An all-inclusive drinks package may provide opportunities for cost savings; nevertheless, the amount you save is directly proportional to the number of alcoholic beverages you intend to consume. Check out our post on how to figure out if a cruise drinks package is worth it for more information on how to save money on drink packages and which cruise lines are the most expensive.
5. Make significant savings on port excursions
The majority of cruise companies charge outrageous charges for their excursions; thus, you will save money if you go on your own or book through a third party.
When we looked into the shore activities that Norwegian Trip Line (NCL) provided for its seven-day cruise across the Western Mediterranean, we found options that were almost equivalent yet cost only half as much. For instance, the walking trip of Pisa and Florence offered by NCL costs £204 per person, yet the alternative offered by Cruisingexcursions.com only costs $78 per person. If you were to choose a third-party excursion for each of the six ports that you will visit on this voyage, you would have the opportunity to save an astounding $534 per couple. You can find alternatives by reading the evaluations left by previous customers on Cruisecritic.co.uk. Companies like Cruisingexcursions.com not only ensure that they will return you to your ship in plenty of time, but they also guarantee that they will take you to the next port of call in the event that there is an unavoidable delay.
How much money could I put away?
£953pp
Total saving In August of 2017, we discovered a seven-night cruise in the Eastern Caribbean with Celebrity that would depart in August of 2018, including alcoholic beverages, airfare, and two shore excursions. The trip would also depart in August of 2018. By carrying out these processes, we were able to obtain a reduction of 34 per cent off of the starting price of 2,788 pounds per person.
Save £600pp. The cost of a room with a balcony and a view of the sea was reduced by £600 if the reservation was made early for August 2018. In addition to that, it came with a beverages package for two that was valued at $770 (about £600).
Save £310pp. We were able to find a trip with similar schedules and a shorter flight duration (TAP Portugal) for £773 per person on Skyscanner at a lower price than the included flights, which cost £1,083 per person and were provided by Swissair and Austrian Airlines.
Save £30pp. We were able to get the exact same room for £976 per person, but the room-only rate with Celebrity was £1,000 per person. We did this by haggling with the brokers.
Save £13pp. Two shore excursions booked through Celebrity cost a total of £99, although we were able to find tours of a comparable nature on Cruisingexcursions.com and Shoretrips.com for a total of £86.
