Top Four Ways to Save Money on a Cruise

I absolutely love cruises.  Whether it’s just chasing the sun on a weeklong budget cruise, a two-week elegant transatlantic cruise, or a European river cruise, I’m happy when I’m on a boat.  Especially when the food is all-inclusive.  The reason I don’t take many cruises though is because cruises tend to be more expensive than other forms of travel.  This is especially true for me since I don’t live in a port city, (even if I use my own flight hacking guide!).  So in order for me to still take some cruises, I have gotten pretty good at saving as much money on cruises.

Here are my top tips for saving money on cruises:

1.  Book as far in advance or as late as possible

That sentence sounds odd, but you read it correctly.  You have two options that are about equal here in how much money you can save, and they are at polar opposites of this spectrum.  The first option is to book 18-24 months in advance.  I know that sounds crazy, but in reality, booking a vacation this far advance isn’t that hard to do.  Most of you married people already know your anniversary is the same date every year.  To try and combat the number of people who book last-minute cruises, cruise lines have begun rewarding travelers with huge savings for putting down deposits on cruises.  Most will also honor any future sale prices that are lower than the rate you paid.  So there really isn’t too much of a risk.

On the opposite side of this, you can also wait until the very last minute to book.  This can be tricky for those of us who also need to book flights as part of a cruise trip, but for those who live close to a port city, last minute cruises are sometimes your best option for a cheap cruise.

2. Cruise during fringe seasons

Just like any vacation option or destination, there is a high(peak) season, a low season, and fringe seasons.  Fringe season, also called shoulder season, are the names we give the couple of weeks between a high season and a low season where prices tend to be lower, but the experience tends to feel more like high season.  In the cruising universe, the best three fringe seasons or times of the year to cruise are the first few weeks of May, the last weeks of Sept, and first two weeks of December.  I’ve heard from cruise experts that you can save up to 30% per person if you travel during one of those three times of year.

3.  Use cruise miles

No, that’s not a typo for credit card miles.  There is actually a thing called “cruise miles” now.  A cruise specialist company in the UK has developed a way for frequent cruisers to rack up miles the same way frequent flyers rack up miles.  The miles can be used to save money on future cruises, cabin upgrades, and even the flights to the cruise port.  There is a good how to use cruise miles page on their site that explains how it works.

4. Bring your own booze!

Yes, I know cruises either don’t allow or limit the amount of alcohol you can bring on board.  However, what they don’t limit is the number of sealed water bottles.  Lucky for you, there is a simple way to put clear alcohol into a sealed water bottle.  Check out the video tutorial (embedded below) that I found on YouTube that shows you just how easy it is to do and never buy alcohol on a cruise again!

photo credit: Monarch of the Seas (126) via photopin (license)