Finding the best value for your cruise dollar is a matter of mapping out a good strategy. Here are tips to help you achieve your goal:
– Timing is everything when it comes to finding the best deals on cruises. Start out by avoiding cruises during school vacation breaks and, in the Caribbean, during the mid-February peak period. But look for the lowest prices and the biggest variety of discounts for sailings the first three weeks after New Year’s Day (as well as, for future reference, in the Caribbean from September through November, and on all cruises the first three weeks of December).
– Play the inside game. For all the time you spend in your cabin, does it really matter whether you have an “outside” (with portholes) or “inside” (without) room? The latter can cost up to 50 percent less than the former, and other locational factors — such as high vs. low deck level and midship vs. stern — can make big price differences too. So since you’ll be spending most of your time out sunning, or playing, or eating or dancing, why not get the cheapest stateroom you can and save the money for something more consequential?
– Get a guarantee. When you ask for that lowest-price cabin, don’t let sales reps tell you that category is sold out — ask for a “guarantee” booking at the price you want, and tell them that unless you can get that price, you won’t go on the cruise. If they agree (and they often do), they’ll give you the lowest price even if they can’t find you a minimum-rate cabin at the time of sailing. And voila — instant upgrade!
– Go with the flow. As with the airlines, prices are lower on the most popular routes with the most ships plying them, and they’re higher to exotic or esoteric destinations (say, South America, or certainly Antarctica). That’s why Caribbean and Mexican sails are often the cheapest. Even cruises that used to be relatively pricey, such as summer sails to Alaska, are now starting to be much more heavily discounted as more ships are sailing the route.
– Break away from the pack. Because of their volume of business, it’s true that the mass-market household names can provide well-priced offerings, but sometimes being a little obscure doesn’t hurt. For example, new to the American market (though not to the cruise industry) is a company called First European Cruises (888-983-8767). On its ships — the Azur, the Bolero and the Flamenco — you can take advantage of remarkably low prices on exciting cruises to the Baltic, Norway’s fiords, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and even to Africa for as little as $1,000 per week, even in summer — if you book through discount cruise brokers.
– Get repositioned. “Repositioning” yields bargains in the U.S. rental car market (north to south in the fall, south to north in the spring), and something similar occurs in the cruise industry. In spring, companies have to move ships from their winter homes in the Caribbean and Florida to their summer home ports in Alaska and Europe, or to New York for the summer cruising season to Bermuda. In late fall they do it in reverse. Either way, these repositioning cruises are often priced at 40 percent to even 60 percent lower than normal levels — and sometimes you’ll never find out about them unless you specifically ask, because some cruise lines don’t include them in their catalogs. So by calling them directly, or contacting a travel agent specializing in cruises, you can pay as little as $100 a day for cruises that sell for twice as much.
– Old is new again. The Atlantic, a ship once operated by an outfit called Home Line Cruises, now sails under the flag of Mediterranean Shipping Cruises (800-666-9333), which is offering two 11-night Caribbean itineraries for just $749 (without air fare) from January through April. Remember the Rotterdam and the old TV jingle, “Statendam, Rotterdam, let’s take a Holland America cruise”? Premier Cruises has revamped Holland America’s most popular ship ever as the Rembrandt, and in summer and fall a seven-nighter in the Mediterranean goes for less than $800 (excluding air).
For these and other similar deals, contact discount cruise brokers such as The Cruise Line, Inc. (800-777-0707), Cruises Only (800-683-7447), Spur of the Moment Cruises (800-343-1991), White Travel Service (800-547-4790) and Cruises of Distinction (800-434-7447).