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How to snag those discounted cruises


indi55
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One of my cruise friends (whom I actually met on a cruise) recently snagged a couple of really great discounted cruises .I have asked him for the secret/s so will be trying to follow his leads.However I will appreciate any tips /advice from any of you.

My preferences are

studio inside

10+ length cruises

any time of the year except summer

any destination

any cruise line

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One of my cruise friends (whom I actually met on a cruise) recently snagged a couple of really great discounted cruises .I have asked him for the secret/s so will be trying to follow his leads.However I will appreciate any tips /advice from any of you.

My preferences are

studio inside

10+ length cruises

any time of the year except summer

any destination

any cruise line

 

For the best prices ... Look at US to Europe and Europe to US Transatlantic re-positioning cruises which are mostly spring and fall (April/May and October/November)

 

Studio Insides will be most prevalent on Norwegian (Epic and Breakaway), but others have them.

 

You can find pricing on the cruise line's websites. And book out as early as possible.

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Ordinarily I would suggest you search on "last minute cruises," but with your preferences, I'm not sure you would find much.

I assume your friend turned you on to some of the Internet TAs that rebate a portion of their commission and book cabins at group rates.

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For the best prices ... Look at US to Europe and Europe to US Transatlantic re-positioning cruises which are mostly spring and fall (April/May and October/November)

 

Studio Insides will be most prevalent on Norwegian (Epic and Breakaway), but others have them.

 

You can find pricing on the cruise line's websites. And book out as early as possible.

Add the Athem (RCCL)......BUT..buyer beware...my son pain MORE for a studio than the inside cabin. His cabin was TINY...Shop around before committing.

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Your best bet to get a discount cruise is to spend a lot of time checking on cruises sailing within a week from a port you can get to easily and/or inexpensively. (The frequent catch with booking last minute is that the savings on the cruise fare can be offset by the increase in last minute air).

 

Of course, if getting the cheapest fare is primary, will you be able to buy a good deal when it appears- or will you wait, hoping for more cuts -- until you lose it?

 

I cannot imagine focusing solely on price - the cruise has to go somewhere I want to go at a time I want to go there.

 

Best advice: find a cruise you want at a price you are comfortable with -- and book it. There will always be something cheaper somewhere - life is about more than scoring a cheap cruise. If getting a cheap one is all-important, you can't afford to cruise - figure some other way to spend your time.

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Getting the great deals is somewhat of an art :). But when you snag a great deal, it can be very rewarding. And over forty+ years of extensive cruising, the last minute bargains have been some of our favorite cruises. So I will offer a few ideas that have worked for us. You first must understand that most of the truly great bargains are not advertised on the internet or anywhere else. Because of terms imposed by the cruise lines, the agencies that have these deals must notify folks via direct e-mail or an occasional private newsletter. But the use of the internet has caused most newsletters to disappear. So here is what you do.

 

You first need to identify reputable (always important) high volume online cruise agencies. Because of CC rules, I cannot help you...but talking to folks on cruises, and using search engines (like Google) with some follow up due diligence will do the trick. You then need to register your e-mail with these agencies (which should be free). The more agencies that have your e-mail, the better chance you will be notified of some good last minute deals. In this case, last minute is anytime inside the final payment period. If you do not want to have e-mails flooding your inbox you can set up a new e-mail just for this purpose.

 

You then need to take the time to read the e-mail offers. If something really catches your attention and you are interested, give that agency a call and ask about the offer. Sometimes they will have an even better deal that they can only discuss on the phone. Just keep in mind that to take advantage of great deals you must be able to go on a cruise on very short notice (sometimes only a few days) and most also be prepared to jump at the offer..since they can disappear very quickly. Hesitation can truly be a lose. My favorite deal, in the past 5 years, happened in October 2015. I got an e-mail with a pretty decent deal on a repositioning cruise on the new Regent Princess which was doing a 10 day from NYC to Miami (via 2 Caribbean ports). A quick call to the agency got me an even better deal (which they had just received via fax from Princess) which was a total cost of $1200 which included a balcony cabin (for 2) plus all taxes and fees. We were also able to get an additional $400 of on board credit which put the net cost at $900 or $45 per person/day. And then because we were Elite with the cruise line they upgraded us to the highest category balcony (upper deck,,mid ship). What a deal.

I booked this within seconds of hearing the offer (while I had my other computer looking for a 1 way air fare home) and it turned out to be a very fun cruise. So we did the same cruise the following year (Oct 2016) at a slightly higher price.

 

Late last June I stumbled on a very good price for HAL's Zuiderdam which was doing back to back 12 day cruises in Northern Europe (the Baltic to Iceland). We probably paid less then half what most paid on that cruise. And to make the deal even sweeter, we were able to find a terrific last minute business class fare on SAS Air...since we had to get round trip to Copenhagen.

 

Some of the best deals are on repositioning cruises, so one needs to always have a valid Passport ready to go :).

 

Hank

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Be sure to sign up for each cruise line's email offers. Princess is our favorite cruise line, and I receive a lot of emails from them, several a week. A lot of them are not very useful--just the latest offer such as "Sip + Sail" or "Sun-Drenched Deals." The last-minute deals are the ones you want. I retired this past February, and we haven't been able to find any extra great bargains. But we have had some deals that have been very good. Our upcoming cruise next month will cost us a lot less than some others are paying. The same itinerary next year for the same timeframe is 1-1/2 times the cost of what we paid. Of course that price will go up and down through the year as Princess tries to fill the ship.

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If you know where you want to go, be one of the first to book when the sailing is posted. The lowest priced cabins are sometimes not listed when the sailing is first listed, so track to see when your preferred category is available. This can be sometimes 18 months in advance, but you can always cancel!

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We usually book inside the final payment window. Cannot comment on studios. We book balcony cabins. We find the most attractive offerers are 30-50 days from sailing or two or three days from sailing. We usually do 12-20 day cruises.

 

There are scads of great last minute deals for insides and obstructed ocean views within a few weeks of sailing. Especially Alaska and Caribbean during prime times. We have scored two last minute Christmas cruises. There seem to be fewer Med deals now that some cruise lines have reduced capacity.

 

We find that it can sometimes be a challenge to get well priced short notice NA air. Our experience with Asia and Europe is that good pricing is available 30 days out. Indeed, one of our best prices was air to Thailand booked 10 days in advance. You really do need to shop for air at the same time. When booking a last minute cruise our TA will hold the fare for a few hours until we lock down our air. Of course when you book in this manner the cruise fare is non refundable, payable in full. The air can typically be changed for a fee if you pay attention to airline fare codes.. Very occasionally the cruise line will have a god air fare but typically we can arrange our own at a competitive price. We never buy cruise line hotels, transfers, and typically do independent or private shore excursions.

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One of my cruise friends (whom I actually met on a cruise) recently snagged a couple of really great discounted cruises .I have asked him for the secret/s so will be trying to follow his leads.However I will appreciate any tips /advice from any of you.

My preferences are

studio inside

10+ length cruises

any time of the year except summer

any destination

any cruise line

 

 

I have an additional question to this post that pertains. Unless you live in a port city or within easy driving distance, how do you go about getting a decent price on air fare?

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Unless you live in a port city or within easy driving distance of the port, how do you avoid exporbitent air fares?

 

You don't. That is why the whole thing must be considered simultaneously. Frequently, the cost increase of last minute air will more than offset the savings of last minute cruise. Depending upon where you live, and the time of year, and your sufficient intelligence to fly in early, the airfare and hotel cost can exceed the cruise fare.

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You don't.

 

You should always price the whole package simultaneously: cruise, air, pre-cruise hotel, and ground transportation - at the least.

Sorry, once again, I do not agree. We always book each cruise far in advance. 1 to 2 years. I wait for the "opening" booking day of the airlines. It has always been dirt cheap, rock bottom. I have been doing this for many, many years and it has always worked.

Example: our recent cruise (booked 1 1/2 years in advance) Checked the website every day. (usually 8 months to 1 year) before cruise date. On the FIRST opening day of airfare...it is rock bottom. Paid $422 for BOTH of us round trip...Has soared to $1212 for 2, round trip. There are ways to avoid exorbitant airfare prices. You just need to know when to book. JMO.

Edited by champagne123
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I have an additional question to this post that pertains. Unless you live in a port city or within easy driving distance, how do you go about getting a decent price on air fare?

 

That is an issue. I can only relate our own strategy which sometimes works out well, and other times does not :). We live in South Central PA.....and are within a few hours drive of IAD (Dulles), BWI, PHL, and EWR as well as our own local airport. As soon as we are ready to book a last minute cruise we will check various airfare deals from all those airports using a decent air search engine such as Kayak. We also check the individual web sites of both Southwest and JetBlue....2 highly rated airlines who do not often show-up in many search engines (because they do not pay commissions). We sometimes will be flexible with our days to grab good airfares. For example, getting a last minute good air fare home from a major Florida port on a Sat or Sun...is difficult. But if you come home Monday....the price might be a lot less (enough to pay for a night in a Florida hotel.

 

If we need to go to Europe for a last minute cruise, we not only look for air to the port city...but will also look at other major airports...even in other (nearby) countries. Getting around Europe is usually pretty easy, and depending on the airfare savings...it can make sense to fly in to a different airport and use a train, rental car, or even low priced European air to get to the embarkation port. To us, its all part of the fun and we love a challenge.

 

Another possibility is to check with the cruise line to see if they have any decent air deals. You just never know...until you try.

 

Hank

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Sorry, once again, I do not agree. We always book each cruise far in advance. 1 to 2 years. I wait for the "opening" booking day of the airlines. It has always been dirt cheap, rock bottom. I have been doing this for many, many years and it has always worked.

Example: our recent cruise (booked 1 1/2 years in advance) Checked the website every day. (usually 8 months to 1 year) before cruise date. On the FIRST opening day of airfare...it is rock bottom. Paid $422 for BOTH of us round trip...Has soared to $1212 for 2, round trip. There are ways to avoid exorbitant airfare prices. You just need to know when to book. JMO.

 

OP was talking about " snagging discounted cruises" - booking a year or so in advance MIGHT get you the lowest for that itinerary - but it would not be "discounted" in the context of this thread.

 

Also, "rock bottom" air fare rarely comes on "FIRST opening day". Again, it is possible that fares might only go up from day one -- but "rock bottom" is more likely to be found on an itinerary which is simply not selling - usually only a week or so before flight date.

 

Usually air fares are at their lowest far in advance - but far in advance is not when great, low cruise fares are found.

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