Luxury Cruising Editorial

When it comes to booking a cruise, budget plays a big role for most of us. Sure, we’d all love to sail anywhere without checking the price tag – but for many, finding the best value is key.

And sometimes, you’re simply after the cheapest possible deal.

I regularly find cruises for as little as $50 (£40) per night – and I love nothing more than tracking down bargains and sharing them with my email subscribers.

So, I’ve crunched the numbers, checked the lowest-priced cruises, and compared the cheapest cruise lines in the world. Here’s how they rank – and a few surprising stats I found along the way!

The Cheapest Cruise Line is… MSC Cruises!

The cheapest cruise line is MSC Cruises. On average, their cheapest cruises can be as much as 30% less than those of other similar cruise lines. Generally, the cruises are not as well-reviewed as those from other cruise lines, but most people still have a very enjoyable experience.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that every MSC cruise is going to be cheaper than cruises from other cruise lines. There is a huge host of factors that go into deciding the price of a cruise, including the month that you cruise, the duration, location and more.

But on average, MSC cruises tend to be a lower price than other, similar cruise lines.

Other low-cost cruise lines, provided you book at the right time of the year and for the right duration, include P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean. These offer the best value cruises, even if some of them are hardly considered budget cruise lines!

Read more: Why Are MSC Cruises So Cheap?

The 7 Cheapest Cruise Lines

Deciding the cheapest cruise line isn’t an easy task, because there’s so much you need to consider.

It’s not just about the advertised price, but also any other fees you have to pay – port taxes, gratuities, and so on.

Plus, different cruise lines offer different cruise lengths. Some cruise lines may offer cheap 7-night cruises, but they’ll never beat the price of a 2-night cruise with another, ‘more expensive’ cruise line.

So to work it out, I’ve taken a look at the cheapest cruise option for several of the biggest cruise lines in the world, but not just their single cheapest cruise – I’ve looked at their cheapest 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-night cruises and then taken an average of their cost per day to cruise.

These prices include all port fees and taxes, and the gratuities that you’d be expected to pay.

But what’s really important to remember is that this is just the cost of the cruise. And so it doesn’t mean this is the average price you would pay when you book, because it depends on the location.

If you live in the UK, you’re hardly going to get a cheap deal booking a 4-night cruise to the Caribbean from Florida! And if you’re in the US, you can’t really take advantage of the lower port fees for cruises from Australia without paying a huge amount on flights.

1. MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises are often some of the cheapest you can book. They’re a fun, family-friendly line that primarily sails around the Mediterranean, although they do have sailings in the Caribbean, the Middle East and other destinations.

The cheapest cruises will be on older ships in the fleet, rather than the epic World Europa or World America. And they usually won’t be round-trip sailings either, so you’ll always need to arrange flights. Depending on where you’re based, that can push the prices up.

2. Costa Cruises

Costa is an Italian cruise line that offers most of its cruises around Europe. Fares are typically low and there’s not much variation between the cheapest itineraries and those in peak seasons, so even during the most popular months, you’ll get a good price.

The quality of a Costa cruise depends on your tastes and what you want from your cruise, but reviews are typically good, even if there’s not as much to enjoy onboard as on, say, a Carnival or Royal Caribbean ship.

3. P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises is a popular choice for British travellers. While the cheapest prices are unlikely to be found on the newest ships in the fleet, like Arvia and Iona, the older ships are still well-maintained and offer a great experience.

Prices vary a lot with P&O, so depending on the destination and the month, fares can be a lot higher. But there are some excellent deals to be had if you’re more flexible.

If you’re a family or are cruising with friends and don’t mind having more than two to a cabin, look out for special offers where the third and fourth guests sail for free. This can halve the price of your cruise.

4. Carnival

Carnival has a reputation as one of the cheapest cruise lines, but when you factor in the costs of port fees and taxes, it’s not quite as low-priced as the line’s website makes out at first glance. But the older and smaller ships in the fleet do still have some excellent prices available.

The only problem is that most of them are from US ports, so if you don’t live within easy reach of Florida or Texas, you might not be able to enjoy the best fares that this cruise line has to offer.

5. Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is considered a slightly more premium cruise line by some, though it is still cheaper than many other cruise lines targeted at a mainstream audience.

With Princess, the lowest prices are split between cruises all around the world, so no matter where you live, you may not get a price as cheap as another cruise line, but you won’t be paying huge sums more than the typical best Princess fares.

Just be careful, though, because Princess also offers the upgraded Princess Plus and Princess Premier fares, which can add a lot onto your cruise price.

6. Royal Caribbean

You might be surprised to see Royal Caribbean on a list of cheap cruises, especially with the sky-high costs of the newest ships, Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, but remember this is based on the cheapest available cruises.

Royal Caribbean has a lot of older and smaller ships in the fleet like Vision of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas. You won’t get the same low prices on the Oasis-class ships, never mind Icon of the Seas, that’s for sure!

But if you want a fun-packed cruise, then it’s worth checking the cheapest Royal Caribbean prices as you will often find some fantastic fares, though again your flights can push the price up a lot.

7. Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL cruises aren’t the cheapest, but they’re far from the most expensive when compared to luxury cruise lines, too. It’s the short breaks that tend to drive the average prices up, although once you look beyond the cheapest fares, you’ll see that the newest ships are also a bit more costly.

However, an important caveat is that NCL will almost always have an offer where your fare includes something extra – maybe free drinks, free WiFi or some free excursions. This is also important to bear in mind when comparing prices.

Older, Smaller Ships Tend to Be Cheaper Than Big New Ones

There is no single answer for the cheapest cruise ship in the world, but look for older cruise ships sailing for the cheaper cruise lines. MSC Orchestra and MSC Opera are two of the cheapest cruise ships sailing in the world.

The ship does play a part in the cost of your cruise. Older ships tend to – but only tend to – cost less to cruise on than newer ships.

And the reason for that is down to the quality of the ship. The newest ships are nicer, they’re better maintained, and because they are often bigger, they have more exciting things to see and do onboard.

Whereas older ships, even if they’ve been renovated, can sometimes feel a little tired. They might not have the fancy go-kart tracks, virtual reality or robotic bartenders. And so cruise lines charge less because the experience isn’t worth the same.

But again, the ship is just one factor when it comes to pricing a cruise. An inside cabin on a brand-new megaship will likely be cheaper than a suite on an older, smaller ship, for example.

It’s Possible to Cruise for $25 per Night!

The cheapest cruises you can book are often $100 per person for 2-3 nights, though these may not include tips and port fees. It is possible to cruise for $25 to $30 per night, but you’ll need to factor in other costs like flights, too.

Obviously, the cheapest cruise available to book at any one time will constantly change. Prices aren’t static; new itineraries and dates are released on a regular basis, and sometimes the cheapest cruises sell out, leaving another cruise to become the cheapest one available.

There are some cruises that are shorter than 3 nights, but they are rarely any cheaper than around $80 total, so getting a 3-night cruise for around that price (with taxes and tips on top) should be seen as an excellent value.

Advertised Prices vs. the Price You Actually Pay

When you’re booking a cruise, you should always check what’s included and what other fees you might still need to pay.

I’ve already mentioned these briefly, but the two most common additions are for port fees and taxes, and for gratuities.

Port fees and taxes are completely mandatory. Some cruise lines will include them in the advertised price, while others will mention them underneath the price, often in small print, so you may only see them when you get to the final booking stage.

Read more: What Are Port Fees And How Much Are They?

Tips aren’t completely mandatory, but you really should pay them. Cruise lines will add them to your account automatically, and if you don’t want to pay them, then you need to speak to Guest Services to have them removed. They make up a large part of the crew’s salary, though, so removing them has a significant impact.

Read more: Can You Refuse To Pay Gratuities On A Cruise?

While researching the cheapest cruise line, I thought it was interesting to compare the advertised price – the one you see in big, bold numbers when you search on a cruise line’s website – and the actual price you pay with fees and gratuities included.

Because I’ve included fees and taxes in my stats above, this doesn’t impact which cruise line is cheapest, but it’s good to know so that you’re always careful when booking your own cruise, and you aren’t duped by a false low price.

The difference is often huge – indeed, with Carnival and Royal Caribbean, you’ll pay over two-thirds more than the price that they advertise as the cost of the cruise!

The Bottom Line

If you want a cheap cruise, you’d best check cruise lines like MSC, Costa and P&O Cruises if they sail near you, to see what their best prices are. Carnival and Princess also have some lower-priced sailings, too, if you’re happy on older ships.

But if you want the best experience, then a newer ship or a better cabin category might be preferable. Don’t skimp too much – you still want to enjoy your cruise.

And there are always ways you can get a good price, even on ‘more expensive’ cruise sailings.

Read more: How to Get Cheap Cruises: An Insider Guide

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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