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If you, like me, are searching for cruises over the next year or two and seeing a trend that we have not seen for a long time, that is, prices keep going up and up and up. In fact I have been checking the price for three cruises I have booked over the next year or so and for all of them the price is now higher than when I booked them.
Just why are we seeing this? Clearly, cruising is back with a vengeance in 2024 and we are seeing “soaring demand” across the board. With so much interest in cruising, there is also only so much cruise lines can do to add capacity. Notice what the NCL CEO shared in this short clip on CNBC:
So, what are the most expensive and least expensive cruises right now? What I am seeing, and what has been a trend for a long time, is all the cruise lines newest ships are selling out and demanding the highest prices. Everyone, it seems, wants to be the first one on the newest and best ship in the fleet. If this is you – expect to pay a lot more. What else?
Holiday cruises almost always cost a ton more because, as we have already talked about, there are too few ships with too many folks who have the holiday time off and want to get onboard. If you can possibly work to sail weeks before a major holiday, you will not only find much better prices but also a lot fewer people onboard your ship.
Then how does one go about getting the best deals beyond picking non-holiday times? Consider older and smaller ships. You can still visit simply amazing ports, and even though the ship may be a few years older, some have been refurbished recently (be sure to check before you book), and it may feel like a brand new ship. Either way, the food will likely be amazing even on an older ship, as well as entertainment and more. Another perk of smaller ships is suites may be nicer and prices so much less than new ships if special treatment is your thing. What else?
Consider routes that others do not want to take for amazing deals. My wife and I simply LOVE transatlantic repositioning cruises from Europe that end in Florida or other warm-weather destinations because the route they take from Europe is southerly, so in November or December, you get a nice way to ease into winter. I avoid those that end in New York, but if you want really cheap, that may be the way to go (just know it will be a cold cruise). One more.
Last minute deals. Every single TV interview I have ever seen talks about getting the best deal if you book more than a year out. Normally that is sound advice but if you can wait to book just a few weeks out you may get a simply amazing deal. If you want to try this I would book refundable air tickets (either cash or points – as long as refundable) as well as hotels way in advance so that if the price on the cruise hits your low cost mark you can jump on it and already have the rest of the bits in place.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Freedom Flex®
- (All information about the Chase Freedom Flex® card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It has not been reviewed by the card issuer.)
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Beyond all of the above is my endless simple advice and that this works no matter what the price – save up points like Chase Ultimate Rewards® points from the card above and and use them, via the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, to pay for your cruise so it has zero impact on your budget! – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I am a frequent cruiser myself. I am a Quadruple Pinnacle on Royal Caribbean. I have seen almost every corner of the world that RCCL goes to. Plus, I am a 2M miler. Therefore, cruise destination is not that important for me. What is important for me is STATUS because status equal benefits or perks. Lots of folks ask me, then which is the best cruise line. Well, it depends…but one thing that I can tell you… Like all the major airlines, they all have their pluses and minuses. I love it when I hear angry passengers tell the Delta gate agents that “I will not fly this airline anymore! OK.. then you have 2 other choices — United or AA. I realize that there are other airlines but really when one boils down to it, there aren’t really that many choices. If this guy tells every gate agent the same whenever there is a problem; then sooner or later he will run out of choices! Same for cruise lines.
Back to cruises, it really doesn’t matter which cruise line. Pick one — anyone… because they all have their pluses and minuses. Once you find the one that you like, stick with it; and that is how you build status! Then, how do one finds the best deal? Here is my formula:
$pp/nt=(*Avg CruiseFare pp+Taxes/Fees-Tangible Benefits Ex: OBC) divided by # of nts
This formula stands for Price per person per night equals to Cruise fare per person plus port charges/taxes per person minus any tangible benefits divided by the number of nights.
Tangible benefits is defined as anything that is of value to you. For example: On Board Credit that you receive regardless where that OBC is from. Or, a complimentary dinner for 2, assuming dining at a specialty restaurant is of value to you. If it is not, then the value is 0. Or, a discount on spa treatment, assuming you will use this discount. In general, cruise lines don’t want to discount the cruise fare. They rather give you OBC or Free stuff because discounts translates to less hard dollar revenue; so they would rather give you a $75 OBC rather then a $50 cash discount because the $75 OBC means that you have to spend it on the ship buying stuff or services; and those stuff and services does not really cost them $75. (EX: a can of beer on RCL will cost you $7+18% tips, but it costs RCL only $0.25).
Have you ever noticed that cruise lines DOES NOT show the price per person per night on their website? Or, 2 identical cruises having identical itineraries have different taxes/port fees? This is how they manipulate their prices because tax/fee is a gray area that no one can decipher.
I have been using the above formula for many years. My definition of a good deal is any cruise that is $65 per person per night or less, based on the least expensive room. Naturally, if you are the kind that absolutely wants to have a suite or balcony room, then you will have to up this number to cater to your comfort level. There are times I will pay more than $65 for various reasons… for example: a family cruise or the ship goes to some places that I REALLY want to go…etc. Nevertheless, this approach gives me a clear comparison in the “Total Cost Of Acquisition” when I shop for any cruise.
With this formula, you can also combine back-to-back cruises (For example (2) 7-nts cruises) and find out the total cost per person per night of a long (14-days) itinerary. Hope that helps!