Some people are cruise people, they love getting on a ship, unpacking once and getting to see multiple exotic destinations, with all kinds of activities and dining options on board. While setting sail can be pretty expensive, you can find great deals if you know when to look for them.
According to travel agent Joanna Kuther, certain times of the year tend to be cheaper than others and it’s “all based on the demand.” She explains, “When you’re talking about holidays and when schools are out, when families want to travel together, it’s always going to be more expensive.”
To score the best bargains on cruises:
- When you book can make a big difference. If you have a specific cruise in mind, Kuther recommends booking a year in advance. That way you’ll get the discounts and also have more stateroom options to choose from.
- “The prime rooms go early, believe it or not,” the travel expert says. “Suites or if you have a family of five and need connecting cabins, those are all of the rooms that go first.”
- But if you’re flexible about when and where you sail, you can get deals closer to departure.
The cheapest months to go on a cruise depend on where you’re sailing:
- For deals on cruises in Europe and the Caribbean, Kuther suggests going in September or October. That’s when kids are back in school and she says the crowds really die down in September.
- Cruises to Alaska typically run from April to October, with peak demand in the middle of the summer, so you’ll want to avoid June, July and August.
- “But if you do late April, early May and then September, beginning of October, you’ll definitely get a better price,” the travel agent says.
- There are also repositioning cruises in the spring and fall, when cruise lines move ships from one region to another, and you can save a lot on those.
- “If you jump on say in Miami, you're going to do transatlantic to Europe and then the ship will reposition itself into its European season,” Kuther explains. “So if you can get on that one-way cruise, they usually tend to be less expensive and obviously much longer, too. So you get a really, really good value for your money.”⠀
Source: USA Today