The Best Time to Book a Cruise for a Good Deal

Table Of Content

• Low-Cost Cruises
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises
• MSC Cruises
• The Best Time to Book a Cruise (Save Money, Better Cabins)
• Day Alaska Round-Trip Seattle: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau
• The Best Cruise Deals of Wave Season 2024
• Wave Season tends to welcome industry-wide sales that can help you save money or get some additional perks
• Book a Cruise Early or Late

Within a given cruise sale's promotional period, I've seen cabin prices fluctuate daily and I've seen them stay the same for a week. It all depends on how many cabins a cruise line has allocated for a specific fare class and whether those rooms happen to sell out or not. Whether you're hoping for a quick getaway to The Bahamas or a dream cruise around Europe, the best time of the year to book a cruise is now while wave season is ongoing. You want to lock in a good rate, secure your favorite cabin and a pick specific ship and itinerary -- especially popular ones that tend to sell quickly, are one-off voyages, or are otherwise in high demand.

Low-Cost Cruises

Travel insurance isn’t exclusive to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see our list of the best travel credit cards for more info) but it’s an essential perk nonetheless when considering which card to book your cruise with. Look through these approaches to see which might be the best time to book a cruise with Norwegian in your price range and to a destination that you'd love to visit. Plus, some cruise lines -- such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival -- allow you to reprice your cruise if you notice that the price has dropped after you've placed your deposit. The absolutely best time to book a cruise is when you stumble across a price that seems like a good deal to you.

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Regent Seven Seas Cruises

You'll get the best deals, especially on popular summer itineraries, by booking early. Keep an eye out for promotions offering value-added perks to sweeten the deal because those pandemic-era discounts are quickly disappearing. For ships that sell out more slowly, or unexpectedly encounter a rash of cancellations before final payment, cruise lines may slash rates at the last minute to fill empty cabins. That's when you might find inside cabins for $50 per person, per night, on a weeklong cruise, and great deals on outside and balcony cabins.

MSC Cruises

It’s not uncommon to see 2-for-1 fares, heavily discounted fares (sometimes as high as 70%), free excursions, cabin upgrades and much more. For popular destinations or those with limited sailings, such as cruises to Alaska or The Caribbean, you might need to purchase your tickets further out from the sail date if you want to avoid price spikes. As of September 2023, I am able to browse Carnival sailings through April 2026. Of course, offerings vary based on ship and destination; however, if I wanted to place a deposit on a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise onboard Carnival Jubilee that departs on April 11, 2026, I could do so!

The Best Time to Book a Cruise (Save Money, Better Cabins)

However, if you have specific dates or preferences, it’s wise to book even earlier, especially during peak travel seasons. This allows you to secure the best cabin options, take advantage of early bird discounts, and have ample time to plan your shore excursions. Adults seeking a child-free getaway will appreciate Virgin Voyages' Wave Season sale. From now until January 31, 2024, you can save up to 70% off the fare of second sailors on sailings that depart through November 2025. Only certain ships and expeditions offer accommodations large enough to fit three or four people, so groups and families looking to stay in the same cabin should book as soon as possible because options may be limited. Hall says that his company typically sees more last-minute deals with river cruises than ocean cruises.

We polled travel advisors who specialize in cruises to better understand when the best time to book a cruise is. You can save up to $3,000 when you book cruise and airfare together on select 2024 Uniworld itineraries, like this Ganges River cruise through India. Again, the best time to take a cruise if you want the cheapest price is when school is in session. If you have to sail during the summer or holidays, expect to pay a premium. While the lure of last-minute cruise deals tempt people, data actually suggests that it’s a much better idea to book as far in advance as possible.

The Best Cruise Deals of Wave Season 2024

This means that customers can book their trip as early as possible and when the price drops, they can request to have their rates lowered as well. For cruises booked through February 29, 2024, travelers can get a two-category suite upgrade on Regent. Enjoy up to 50 percent off deposits and up to as much as 20 percent off eligible sailings. From spring getaways to family summer vacations and fall escapes to winter wanders.

Finally, the cruise lines are simply looking to fill rooms faster so they can maximize revenue, plan berths and coordinate other logistics a little earlier in the year. Offering a rare mix of high rewards rates and redemption flexibility, this card is a dream for frequent spenders on travel & dining – while charging a modest annual fee. That being said, you also need enough time to gather (and apply for) proper travel documentation. If your cruise is in Europe, you will need a valid passport, rather than a birth certificate and government-issued I.D. Cruise pricing is dynamic, meaning that it fluctuates based on the itinerary, time of year, ship's age, and how soon it is scheduled to depart.

Of course, it's easy to rack up a higher bill (purchasing a beverage package, paying for onboard Wi-Fi, booking excursions in the ports you're visiting) but a cruise is still typically much cheaper than traveling on your own. It's wave season in the cruise industry right now, which means it's the best time to book a cruise. You can also book discounted cruises through Costco, USAA, your credit card rewards page or CruiseCompete, where travel agents compete to offer you the best deal on your ideal cruise. The general consensus seems to be that there isn’t one best month for booking cruises. The best deals tend to crop up throughout the period between mid-November and Mid-March. You may think you will find a once-in-a-lifetime cruise deal if you wait until the last minute.

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When it comes to planning the ultimate getaway, there are so many reasons why cruise vacations rank among the most popular travel options. If you’re not a planner, or if the only things you’re looking to focus on during your getaway is savoring great food, relaxing, and soaking up the sights, cruise vacations are the way to go. A cruise vacation is also a great option if you’re traveling with the whole family, especially when you opt for a Royal Caribbean cruise. All of the ships in this cruise line’s fleet offer family-friendly experiences for guests of all ages.

School is in session at this time of the year meaning that there’s a lot of demand from cruises to keep working, therefore cruise lines offer incredible discount rates to fill up the ship. Fall is known among the cruise enthusiast community for having the best deals for incredible locations. Virgin Voyages is offering more savings for your plus one during wave season. The second guest included in the booking will get up to 60 percent off their fare.

Perhaps you don't care about kids sail free because your children are grown and are hoping to secure a stateroom upgrade. They will be able to tell you what cruise lines are offering those kinds of Wave Season deals without you having to search the internet yourself. Like airfare, cruise fares can move up and down over time (though not near as drastically). If you book a cruise and see the price drop later, you should call the cruise line and request a refund of the difference.

If your travel plans for 2024 are still up in the air, let's talk about how right now is the best time all year to book that cruise you've been dreaming of. So instead of setting calendar reminders to book on a specific day, consider signing up for email alerts so you’re ready to pounce when the right deal goes live. There’s very little evidence to suggest that there’s an ideal day of the week or month to book a cruise. Much like booking late, this strategy is best for those who have some flexibility about when they leave and where they go. You still want to book as early as possible, though, to get a good offer and reserve your spot. On Carnival, for instance, if you book a Super Save rate and find a lower price a few weeks later, you will not be eligible for the lower price.

Look to book about two months from the departure date for the ripest markdowns, and check in periodically on Norwegian's Cruise Deals page to see what last-minute offers are available. With that, though, you are never guaranteed to find the cheapest rates of the year during these months. Sometimes, cruise lines will inflate their prices right before a sale, so 30% off everyone's fare might not be as great of a steal as you think it is.

Additionally, guests can pay a 10% reduced deposit and earn 200 EUR per person in onboard credit. This year, MSC Cruises has more ships and itineraries sailing from ports in the U.S. than ever before." That’s when you’ll see the best deals emerge, whether it’s during Cyber Monday or right in the middle of wave season. But whatever the reason, cruise lines tend to be extremely generous during wave season.