Where is the best place to get a good deal on a cruise?

Question

we want to go on either a caribbean or euopean cruise for at lease 5-7 nights and i've been checking the travel websites but i didn't know if anyone knew where to get a really good deal. are there any cruise ships we should stay away from?

Answer 1

I have found the web site "vacations to go" is a great source for cruises, especially discounted ones. They buy them up in bulk and need to sell them all up.

Answer 2

Just go to the cruise line web sites and click on their specials.  Each cruise line has some specials listed and Carnival and Royal Caribbean have the best sites for finding specials.  The "specials" link on Carnival's home web page is on the left side at the top.  Royal Caribbean will have a link in red that say "Hot Deals".

Those are your best bets in addition to booking far in advance, like 9 to 12 months before you want to go.

HOLLAND AMERICA

http://www.hollandamerica.com/

CELEBRITY:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/home .

ROYAL CARIBBEAN:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gohome.d.....

AZAMARA:

http://www.azamaracruises.com/07/azama.....

NORWEGIAN:

http://www.ncl.com/

PRINCESS:

http://www.princess.com/index.html

CARNIVAL:

http://www.carnivalcruiselines.com/

Answer 3

There are essentially three "angles" on getting a deal:

(1) "Group" bookings.  This is where the cruise line sells a block of cabins in bulk to a travel agent at a good price early on.  It's then the travel agent's responsibility to sell these, and their customers are restricted to the particular sailings / cabins they chose for the group. This is what Time Traveller's talking about.

(2) Online discounters.  Online travel agents have lower overheads than regular travel agents, so they can cut into their commissions and pass on the savings.  

(3) Distressed inventory specials.  These are sales in the last month or so.  They usually only happen in the low season.  You can find them through the cruise lines or sometimes through travel agents.  But don't count on these!

In general, if you are specific about what you want, book it as soon as you know.  Otherwise you may not get to cruise at all.

You can read more about how (where and when) to book a cruise here:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/bu...

Also, keep in mind there are a few structural things you can do to get the most for your money:

- Go during the low season,  February, March, October and November -- because there are no school vacations then, so families aren't buying cruises

- Go through a high-volume port, like Ft. Lauderdale or Miami

More about this here:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/ch...

Hope that helps!