Where to find the best deals on cruises

[Aidan's Mommy]

DH and I are thinking of using a little of our tax return and splurging on us and taking a cruise. We have been on two cruises in the past, one with Disney (LOVED IT!! But too expensive now) and one with Carnival. We have done the Eastern Caribbean as well as the Western and would like to try out the Southern now. Due to my DH's job, we won't be able to go until we get snow again (which at the rate we are going, it will be tomorrow! ).

Anyway, I have done a few searches and found some decent deals, but I want to make sure I'm getting the BEST deals. I do belong to ebates and have seen Orbitz offer the 20% back at times...is that the way to go? Where have you found great deals?

 

[hockeygirl14]

When we look for cruises we check directly with the cruise line - often they offer good deals like free upgrades or on board credits. I also check out vacations2go as they offer pretty good deals as well. You also get discounts for past cruiser and sometimes based on state or even AAA! We also get discounts through a family friend's timeshare company so you could always check around with that kind of stuff! Expedia and travelocity tend to be the same as the cruise websites as far as I know.

 

[familyfirsttimer]

Friends here recommended cruisecritic.com. Tons and tons of information as well as forums. Probably best to ask there. I have been doing tons of research on that site.
Good luck

 

[Anthony1971]

Keep in mind that most agencies will charge you a fee if you cancel booking direct will not up to a certain amount of days out. Cruise line can and do add fuel surcharge and can change taxes after you have booked.... this has happened to me twice.... used an outside agent once and I had to pay otherwise pay a cancellation fee if I had booked direct I could have cancelled with no fee.

 

[happymommy]

If it were me, I would first research exactly which cruise suits you.

Then, you can compare the cruise line's price with any competitor's.

We did our one and only cruise (Disney) booked through Costco. I had it all planned out with the cabins (two interior connecting ones, which cost all of $50 total more than us all 4 sharing one cabin, and a LOT less than us sharing a veranda one, so it was almost buy one get one room free, which was great for the space). Then I called Costco, and got a $650 Costco gift card for using them. Nice to have - of course easy to spend there! Did all our grocery shopping when we got home with it!

 

[usd2bmd]

We have sailed three times and all were with Carnival. Although I would like to do Disney, it is just not in the budget. We booked the first one through AAA, but have since booked through Carnival. I believe it's called the early saver fare. You have to keep an eye on the prices but when they go down lower than what you booked for you fill out the form online and send it in and if the cruise isn't paid off yet the price goes down. If it is paid off you get to choose between an onboard credit or an upgrade. The last time we cruised the price went down about $800 total.