Budget Cruising

Can you cruise for cheap?

Even with cruise costs increasing since the shutdown, budget cruising is still possible, and provides a great vacation option for those who love both the ocean and travel.

Being a budget cruiser will often mean different things depending on who you’re talking to, and being a budget cruiser doesn’t have to mean always booking the cheapest cruise. What it does mean is booking the best valued cruise within your budget.  

What DOES it take to be a budget cruiser? Research and Flexibility. Now those two things may seem like opposites of each other, but not in this instance. 

In order to find a budget cruise, you need to be willing to research and plan for your cruise. 

There are a lot of things you can do to find a budget cruise. Signing up for cruise line emails is a good start. They will send out promotional emails on any ongoing sales which is a great way to a cheaper deal on your cruise. Most of your “budget lines” will always have a sale of some kind going on. 

The lower-tier, or budget lines are going to be Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian in the US. European budget lines would include MSC, Costa and P&O. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also consider the mid-tier lines like Princess, Celebrity and Holland America along with the new Virgin Voyages as they also offer frequent sales and all-inclusive options that might be within your budget. 

Book early! One of the best ways to get the lowest price on a cruise is to book as soon as the cruise line posts the cruise. If you know you want to be on a specific ship at a specific time, this is definitely the way to go! It is rare that costs go down after a cruise is first available to book. With the exception of right before the sail date, fare prices are almost always at their lowest during the first few days or weeks. This is especially true when it comes to newer ships which tend to be in higher demand. 

Flexibility is very important if you want to be a budget cruiser. The line, the ship, the itinerary, and the dates all affect your cruise fare. The more of those you can be flexible on, the better when it comes to being a budget cruiser. 

Most of the time you will be constrained by at least one of those factors. Maybe you have to cruise during the summer months because you have kids, so you’re less flexible when it comes to the date of your cruise. If you can’t be flexible on one thing, it is even more important that you are flexible in other areas if you want to find the best deal. But let’s say you want to cruise on the newest Royal Caribbean Ship, and you only have a three week window to cruise. At that point you want to make sure that you’re booking as soon as possible to get the lowest fare, showing how important planning is since it is possible to book most cruises two years in advance!

We are usually pretty flexible when planning a cruise. We book far in advance and are able to book during the off season with plenty of flexibility on dates. One of the biggest constraints we face is our choice to cruise out of ports within driving distance, saving us money on airfare. 

Now there is always the chance that you can book a last minute cruise at a deep discount, but that still requires you to research in order to find those great deals. And it definitely requires flexibility. A good way to check for cheap last minute fares is through Vacations To Go, which allows you to search most cruise lines all at the same time. Another site that can help you find deals is Cruise Plum. These are good places to narrow down your search; then you can check out the cruise directly non the cruise line’s website.

Be sure to keep track of price drops on your cruise. There are several apps out there that will keep track of price changes for you. Many lines will allow for price adjustments to your fare as long as there are still cabins available in the same class as the one you have booked. Some lines may require any adjustments be made prior to final payment, but it is always worth a shot to go ahead and call the cruise line and see if you can get some kind of compensation. It will usually take the form of onboard credit or a cabin upgrade. This is a great reason to book through a travel agent as they can then be your advocate and make those calls for you.