I am always asked how to get a deal on a cruise. Note a deal in my way of thinking is paying as close to the double occupancy rate for one person. This is hard to do as all cruise lines prefer two people in a cabin, as this way they maximize their other services such as drinks, excursions and specialty restaurants earnings. When I see a double rate highly discounted, I start to look for solo deals on the ship as there must be cabins available and all ships want to have ideally a 100% occupancy.
So below are my tips to get that solo deal
- timing is key. If you have a specific destination in mind start watching the price about 6 to 9 months before departure. This is updated as I am finding I need to book earlier in order to get On Board Credit and lower price. Check both the double rate and solo rates, then I track the cruise every few days to see if the ship is selling out. if you book 6 months ahead you will still get reasonable air prices and all the shore excursions aren’t sold out. But you will get some updates to your flights but usually only a couple of minutes. And if they change planes your seat will be changed
- book older ships as the newer ones are always premium priced.
- book a ship that’s about to go into dry dock or just coming out of it. Note sometimes you will encounter issues when the ship just comes out of dry dock such as plumbing or air conditioning.
- yes you can get deals last minute which is usually 6 to 8 weeks before departure but it’s usually guaranteed cabins, or inside cabins or yucky locations. Just remember you will pay more for the flights so it’s total cost you should look at. Also some of the better flight times may be sold out. And the best shore excursions are often sold out.
- are solo cabins a good deal? Not most of the time as they are very seldom at the double rate for one person. In fact most of the time they are also much higher, and inside cabins. The few balcony ones they have are usually sold out quick. I hated the solo cabin on NCL, too small and bad ventilation. The RCL one with the virtual balcony was better ventilated but really small. I tried their balcony one because you get another 50 to 75 feet of space on the balcony and fresh air. The Rcl solo balcony was great. I would highly recommend it.
- watch for airline sales. It should not matter where you save the money. I was able to save a few hundred on a transpacific flight thru a sale directly with the airline. if The cruise line does not offer direct flights option it’s a no go. I usually only book thru the cruise line if it’s a same departure day flight and it’s lowered priced.
- watch for sales.. Holland and Princess do last minute sales.. 6 to 8 weeks before and this is how I have gotten good deals on balconies. MSC and RCL are best at the 4 to 6 month before departure.
- use a travel agent for the booking. They will often give you a small on board credit.
- own the cruise line stock in your portfolio. You need a 100 shares. It’s a good deal for carnival stock as I have already paid for the stock in on board credit. RCL is expensive stock, but it’s doing well and the onboard credit pays the gratuity and or shore excursions.
Hope this helps
Marcia
