BY SKYLER CLEMENCE
MAR 05, 2017
Cruises can be expensive affairs. First, ships reel you in with a “cheap” room and an onboard credit but then smack you around with high-priced drinks, non-included restaurants, and dollar-a-minute Internet. Two years ago, I went to the Antarctica on an eleven-day cruise cost me around $7,500 USD (not booked last minute). That’s expensive for a cruising. You could even go to Southeast Asia for few months on that kind of money.
Luckily, there are, in fact, ways to cruise for as little as possible. It just takes a bit of skill, discipline, and sneakiness.
1. When Do These Deals Happen.
Remember this, booking a cheap cruise is actually quite easy and requires only one thing: flexibility. Cruise pricing is similar to tour pricing. The closer you get to the departure date, the lower the price becomes. It’s because cruise ships don’t want to depart with half-empty boats, so they drop prices steadily until that boat is leaving port, since for them empty cabins mean less money or we could say less money spent on board. With a goal of approximately 107% occupancy for every cruise sailing (which means higher occupancy that 2 people for every 1 cabin available), cruise lines are banking on certain profit once the ship sets sail. This need puts extra pressure on cruise lines to fill as many cabins as they possibly can before the ship sets sail. Plus, consider this: if cruise lines don’t fill all of the available rooms, they lose a lot more than just 50% of the cost. Because unlike hotels, cruise ships can’t rely on last-minute walk-in customers. Once the ship sets sail - those empty rooms remain empty for the duration of the trip.
From a revenue standpoint, it’s worth pricing unfilled rooms at a huge discount, instead of letting them sit empty. Money-savvy shoppers take advantage of these incredibly low rates on a regular basis - now you can too!
2. How to Find a Cheap Cruise.
One of the most infuriating things when you are on a cruise? Finding out the passengers in the cabin next to you paid hundreds less for the exact same getaway. But, whether you are aware or not, it happens all the time. Of course, most cruise lines don’t want you to know about their deepest discounts. You can’t go on just onto their website and expect to get the best rates up front. You'll have to find the right sites – the ones that partner with cruise lines just to fill the cruise ship.
3. Scour the internet.
Finding last-minute bookings are going to be the best. And since you are booking close to departure, you need to be flexible with where you are willing to go or OK with not booking the actual cruise even if you booked your flights. Up until 72 hours before a cruise sets sail, you will be able to book online and also see how many rooms are still available.
4. Reach out to a travel agency through e-mail about their last minute deals.
They will send you a listing of options, dates, prices and voyage itineraries. Travel agencies get the leftover berths from the ship operators 10 days to two weeks before sailing.
5. Scheduling your vacation in the off-season can save you tons, even on all-inclusive cruises.
You should avoid peak times, including the summer, school holidays, Christmas and Easter, as they are more expensive.The cheapest and most readily available deals are usually start from October. Then prices peak in high season from Christmas through January departures.
Not doing your research thoroughly could result in an underwhelming experience and regardless of a good deal, this would be equivalent to throwing your money down the drain. Now that’s something we can get on board with.
