How to save on cruises

FrankGrimes

I've just spent ages researching cruises and thought I'd share what I think is a great way to save on cruises. My parents went on a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines in the Meditteranean and loved it - hearing about it from them made it clear it's for all ages and not stuffy like the perception I had before that. Following the steps below meant we saved over €600 for the 2 of us on a Western Caribbean cruise this November.

1. Go to www.cruisecritic.com and research the various cruiselines, and ships and decide on an itinerary that you want. If you book very early you should get a discount (and if you go through a US travel agent you should be able to avail of any price drops between paying your deposit and the final payment - not sure if that also applies to Irish travel agents).

2. Decide what type of cabin you want and in what location - important to be sure you are comparing like with like when shopping around.

3. Check what prices you can get from travel agents online and bricks & mortar. If booking very early you should get a discount, likewise, if booking less than 90 days before departure (like we did) there might be some good offers available (particularly off-peak) as many cabins become available after people don't pay their final payments by this deadline.

4. Go to www.cruisecompete.com and request a quote for your specific itinerary. Travel agents will start replying with quotes to compete for your business. You can choose to include your current best offer, or your target price in your quote request.

5. If you're happy with the quote, research the agent and book with them. We booked through www.cruises-n-more.com. They were very competitive and highly professional and I could discuss with them over the phone.

Some cruise lines won't accept bookings for non-US citizens from US travel agents (e.g. Princess won't) though others have no problem with it (e.g. NCL and I think Royal Caribbean too) so it's a great way to save on exchange rate but also to avail of the more competitive prices in the US market.

For reference, by following the above we got a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise with NCL at late notice for off-peak (mid-November) in a balcony cabin on Deck 9 for €570 per person. Hope this helps.

tw0nk

Thanks for taking the time to put this together Frank, Ive been toying with the idea of going on a cruise, hopefully next year I will get a chance.

Tony

Very useful thanks

gonker

Thanks for that Frank. Was thinking of doing this next year. Let us know how you get on.

dingding

Very good info OP. particularly about getting the price cheaper. Availed of this before.

A good site for discovering particular cruises is www.vacationstogo.com you can search by ocation, port, ship, line etc.... They have a free phone number from Ireland and I used them before. Also you can put up the cruise you want on cruisecompete.com (you need to register) and companies will come back with quotes for your cruise.

The prices will be almost the same but what you are looking at is the extras such as cabin credit, note on some lines this credit can only be used for certain things.

Also when you are allocated a cabin, check out if there are any problems such as obstructed view etc... so you can get your cabin changed before you pay the final amount. (google your ship and cabin no.)

Also research the cruise line carefully as the ships are different and designed for different clientele you might find it either to lively or to quiet for your liking.

Many of the US agents have US freephone numbers that you can't ring from Ireland. I got around this by using Skype as it lets you ring foreign freephone numbers.

I would recommend this as a very relaxing vacation and writing this from a cruise ship in Alaska :D.

Enjoy the bargain hunting.

marrm

dingding wrote: »

I would recommend this as a very relaxing vacation and writing this from a cruise ship in Alaska :D.

Enjoy the bargain hunting.

On the net from an Alsakan cruise ship? Are you rich?

I'm going next year and they charge 75c PER MINUTE for internet access. :eek:

How are you doing it??

muint

Thanks for this info - currently researching Liberty of the Seas for Caribbean for Oct 2009. Sailed on her last year (our 4th cruise with Royal Caribbean) and loved every minute of it. A fantastic ship with a never ending list of things to do - apart from eating yourself silly!! I usually book online with the cruiseline's website and they do indeed give you a refund in the difference if the price of the cabins go down. Learned this from CruiseCritic.
Cruising for me the by the far THE most enjoyable holiday for us and it is not as expensive as you would think when you consider that all your food and entertainment is included in the price.

muint

Marrm - you lucky so and so..... which ship are you on?

sunny2004

big thanks for taking the time to post !:)

marrm

muint wrote: »

Marrm - you lucky so and so..... which ship are you on?

Norwegian Sun. Vancouver-Alaska & back. Internet @75c/minute. Don't think I'll be checking my emails for a week.

vms7ply9t6dw4b

How much did flights set you back OP?

FrankGrimes

Flights into Orlando and out of Miami with BA via London (prefer travelling with BA if in economy) cost us just under €600 each, which isn't very cheap but I think is ok.

finbarrk

Would any of you recommend a cruise ship that you could bring kids on? A 9 yo and a 6 yo.
Thanks. Although maybe this question should be in the travel forum.

FrankGrimes

finbarrk wrote: »

Would any of you recommend a cruise ship that you could bring kids on? A 9 yo and a 6 yo.
Thanks. Although maybe this question should be in the travel forum.

Yep, that'd be a question for the travel forum, though you'd get more insight at www.cruisecritic.com - great dedicated forum.