Have you been really wanting to go on a cruise, but need to do so on a budget? If so, stay tuned as I walk you through finding a budget cruise that suits your needs.
There are several ways to go about finding a good deal on a cruise and which one you choose may depend on your preferences. The more flexible you can be, the the more likely you will be able to find a deal.
Choose a Budget Line
If you are flexible on which line you are willing to cruise on, there will be more deals for you to choose from. If you are planning to book a popular Caribbean cruises, look at lines like Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean or MSC for the best deals.
Book off season
An off-season cruise can be half the cost of one during peak season. For most itineraries, booking during the summer, spring break or holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to cost quite a bit more no matter what line or ship you are booking on.
Book early
Cruises rarely get cheaper than when they are first offered by the cruise line. Gone are the days when booking a last minute cruise means deep discounts. It is possible to still find the occasional deal, but unless you are flexible when it comes to scheduling last minute vacation time and don’t need to plan months in advance or care too much about the ship or itinerary, then you will be better off booking as early as possible.
Book a cheaper itinerary
If you are sailing out of the US, then a Caribbean itinerary is probably going to be the cheapest. Even if you find a cheap European cruise, you will need to pay for flights and hotel that can really push the cost of your vacation over the top. For example, we have a Norwegian Fjords cruise booked on MSC which is one of the cheaper cruises we have booked, but the flights and hotel stays are going to cost quite a bit more than the cruise fare!
Book an older ship
If you have the option to book an older ship, you will almost always find that the cruise fare is cheaper than the same itinerary on one of the newer and bigger ships.
While you can always go look up cruises on the cruise line websites, if you want to check out multiple lines at one time there are a few websites that can help you search for that perfect budget cruise.
Vacations To Go
While this is a site that will allow you to book your cruise through them, that is not how I use them. I use them as a way to search and compare cruises. Their search feature allows you to narrow down options from the date, region, cruise line, how long of a cruise you want to even which ship. When bargain shopping, I would look at window of dates, a specific departure port that is within driving distance, and a region. The offers shown are going to be the base fare for one person, usually in an interior cabin. It won’t include port fees, taxes or gratuities, so be aware that the price shown is not what you are going to pay, but it does allow you to compare prices of cruises.
CruisePlum
I’ve only recently started playing around with Cruise Plum. They are a search engine for cruises designed by cruisers who want nothing more than to make it easy for other cruisers to find their next vacation! They do not sell cruises or anything else. The site offers several ways to search including Hot Deals, Last Minute Deals and Solo Deals. Or you can search by number of passengers, cabin type, destination, and much more. They also offer the ability to save your searches, check airfare, see price changes and more. I also like that they show prices with all those hidden additions like taxes and fees. This is a powerful search engine that can really help you narrow down your search.
Both Vacations to Go and Cruise Plum search the majority of major lines, and will give you a good idea of what is out there. Once you have found a cruise or two or three, you can then go onto the cruise line’s website and do a mock booking, see what all is available on the ship, look at deck plans, and determine which line and ship will meet your needs. Often before booking a new ship, I will go onto YouTube and look for ship tours or other videos with information on that particular ship. You can also work with a travel agent that focuses on booking cruises and see if they have information on a specific ship or itinerary.
Cruising From The Ozarks 