How to Get a Bargain on a Cruise This Summer

Cruises Editor

Cruise Tips

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Trying to figure out how to get a cruise deal these days is like trying to read tea-leaves, but here are six ways you might just bag a bargain.

Book early

Without a doubt, booking your cruise well in advance is the surest way to get the best price. If you haven’t already booked your summer cruise, do it now – or better yet, think about next summer. Six to 12 months prior to your journey, and in some cases even up to two years, has become the industry norm for scoring between 25 and 50 per cent off. This also applies to river cruises, where you might also get complimentary flights for early bookings.

Book late

If you have the nerve to hold your hand, the ability to hop on a ship at a few weeks’ notice and flexibility with your destination, you might get up to 50 per cent off last-minute bookings. It’s a big gamble, as such deals are becoming less common, but ships would rather sell cabins at a discount than not at all. On the downside, you’re unlikely to get the stateroom category you want, and will probably end up in an inside cabin.

Do your research

It pays to compare what different cruise companies offer in terms of inclusions. Sometimes the apparently more expensive cruise turns out to be cheaper in the long run because it offers a drinks package, pre-paid gratuities, inclusive shore excursions or kids-for-free fares. Some cruise lines offer discounts for repeat passengers. January, February and Cruise Week in September are when they go all-out trying to sell cruises for the following summer, so you can often pick up the best deals then.

Stay tuned

Sign up for e-newsletters and check out newspaper adverts to keep yourself abreast of the latest deals. Facebook and Twitter are other great sources of up-to-the-minute offers. Cruise lines often offer special promotions such as spot sales, complimentary on-board credits or spa treatments. Sometimes certain sectors just aren’t selling well, so look out for the release of promotional fares to fill cabins.

Head to the Pacific

Most voyages out of Australia head to the South Pacific on big ships, so there’s lots of capacity, which means consistently lower prices for this destination. (If you want consistently high prices, head to Antarctica!) There may even be more bargains over the next two years, with some 15,000 additional cabins to sell on new ships.

And finally…

Avoid the Christmas period, which is virtually never discounted. Go as early or as late in the summer as you can. And go retro. When a cruise line launches a new ship to great fanfare, they often cannibalise some of their own business as cruisers, eager to experience what’s new, switch vessels. The result? For a while it’s harder to fill the older (and perhaps smaller) ship, even though there’s nothing wrong with it. Prices fall accordingly, and you can sail away satisfied.

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