The quickest way to get cheap cruises is to stay flexible: sail outside peak school-holiday dates, pick an inside or guarantee cabin, look at repositioning and shoulder-season voyages, and compare the cruise line’s own price with a travel agent’s before you pay a deposit. Then keep watching the fare until final payment, because many lines will reprice or give you onboard credit if it drops. Finally, budget for the extras, since a low fare can hide a high total.
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This guide explains how to find cheap cruises step by step, for both US and UK cruisers, and how to work out whether a “cheap” fare really is the better deal once gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi and travel to the port are added. If you just want the offers on the table right now, see our separate round-up of cruise deals for 2027 and when to book them; this page is about the methods that work whatever the year.
How to Get Cheap Cruises: The Short Checklist
- Be flexible on dates. Moving a sailing by a week or two, away from school holidays, often makes more difference than anything else.
- Choose the cheapest cabin you are happy with. Inside cabins and guarantee fares are usually the lowest prices on any ship.
- Look at shoulder seasons and repositioning cruises. These regularly have the lowest per-night fares.
- Compare budget lines and older ships. The newest, most hyped ships rarely carry the lowest fares.
- Price the same cabin in several places. Check the line directly, a travel agent and a discount agency.
- Book early for popular trips, late for flexible ones. The right timing depends on what you want.
- Track the fare after booking. Ask for a reprice or onboard credit if it falls before final payment.
- Add up the true cost. Gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, flights, hotels and parking all count.
Pick Budget-Friendly Cruise Lines and Ships
Mainstream, family-focused lines usually offer the lowest starting fares. In the US market that typically means Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean’s older ships, with Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess often competitive on certain itineraries. Costa Cruises is a popular budget option in Europe. For UK cruisers sailing from British ports, P&O Cruises, Ambassador Cruise Line and Marella Cruises are common starting points, and it is worth checking each line’s current terms because some (Marella, for example) have long included tips in the fare, which changes the comparison.
Within any one cruise line, the newest ships tend to cost more because demand is higher. An older or smaller ship on the same route can be far cheaper for the same ports, even if it has fewer headline attractions. If you mainly want the destinations, a quiet older ship is one of the simplest ways to save.
Inside cabins and guarantee fares
An inside cabin has no window, so it is almost always the cheapest category on board. If you plan to spend your days on deck and ashore, you may barely notice. A guarantee fare goes a step further: you book a category (or better) but the line chooses your exact cabin later. Cruise Critic notes these are often discounted by roughly $50 to $100 per person, and you may occasionally be upgraded. The trade-offs are that you can’t pick your location, which matters if you get seasick or are sensitive to noise, and some guarantee fares are excluded from bundled perks.
The Cheapest Times and Destinations to Cruise
When you sail matters as much as where. Prices rise in school holidays, around Christmas and New Year, and on any date when lots of families travel at once. The best value usually sits in the weeks just outside peak season.
| Option | Why it can be cheaper | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Caribbean in autumn (especially September to early November) | Low demand once school restarts | Atlantic hurricane season runs to 30 November, so itineraries can change |
| Alaska in May or September | Shoulder months either side of summer | Cooler, less predictable weather |
| Mediterranean in spring or late autumn | Fewer families sailing, lower port crowds | Cooler sea and some shorter daylight hours |
| Repositioning cruises (spring and autumn) | Ships moving between regions sell many one-way, sea-day-heavy trips | Lots of sea days and one-way flights home |
| Short 2-5 night sailings | Low total price and easy to fill midweek | Can be busier and livelier; higher cost per night on some lines |
Repositioning cruises
Twice a year, cruise lines move ships between seasonal regions, for example from Europe to the Caribbean in autumn and back again in spring, or into and out of Alaska. These sailings often have some of the lowest per-night fares available because they include many sea days and start and end in different ports. If you enjoy relaxing on board, they can be excellent value, but price the one-way flight before you book, because it can wipe out the saving.
Short cruises
Three- and four-night cruises from Florida to the Bahamas, or two- to four-night “taster” sailings from Southampton, keep the total cost low and are a good way to test whether cruising suits you. Check the cost per night rather than just the headline price, since short trips are not always the cheapest per day. If you are comparing a week from Florida, our price comparison of the cheapest 7-day cruises out of Florida shows how the lines stack up.
How to Find Cheap Cruises When You Book
Early booking vs last-minute cheap cruises
There is no single “best” time to book, but there is a reliable pattern. For popular sailings, such as school holidays, new ships, suites, Alaska in summer or bucket-list itineraries, booking early usually gives you the best fares and the widest cabin choice. Last-minute cheap cruises do still appear, usually within about 90 days of departure once the final payment deadline has passed and lines want to fill empty cabins. They work best if you live within driving distance of a port, are happy with any cabin, and don’t need school-holiday dates. Flights booked late can cost more than the cruise savings, so keep that in mind.
Wave season
Wave season is the cruise industry’s big sales period, roughly January to March, with some offers starting as early as November. Rather than just cutting fares, lines often add value: reduced deposits, free or discounted drinks packages, Wi-Fi, prepaid gratuities, onboard credit, or free fares for third and fourth guests. UK lines run similar new-year sales. These offers suit people planning a trip for later in the year or the following year.
Travel agent, discount site or direct?
Cruise lines publish the same base fare everywhere in many markets, so agents compete with extras rather than lower headline prices. A good agent may add onboard credit, prepaid gratuities or group perks, and will usually handle repricing for you. In the US, comparison and agency sites such as Vacations To Go and CruiseCompete let you see what different agencies will offer for the same sailing, and warehouse clubs like Costco Travel bundle cruises with shop cards. Booking direct can be simpler if you want to manage everything yourself. Whichever route you take, compare like for like: same ship, date, cabin category and inclusions.
UK cruisers should also check the financial protection on offer. A package that includes flights should come with ATOL protection, and booking through an ABTA member gives additional safeguards.
Discounts you might qualify for
- Military and veterans’ rates, senior rates and state or province resident rates (common on US lines).
- Kids-sail-free or reduced third and fourth guest fares in the same cabin.
- Loyalty programme offers for past guests, including members-only sales.
- Group rates if you book several cabins together.
Price Drops, Repricing and Tracking Tools
Booking a cruise is not the end of the hunt. Fares move constantly, and if yours falls before final payment you may be able to benefit.
- Before final payment: Many lines will reprice your booking to a lower public fare, or offer the difference as onboard credit. Royal Caribbean, for example, allows price adjustments before final payment, but the lower fare must be for the same cabin category and not marked “new bookings only,” and recent promotions increasingly carry that restriction.
- Within 48 hours: Carnival’s Lowest Price Guarantee has paid 110% of the difference as onboard credit if you find a lower qualifying fare shortly after booking. Check the current terms, as these schemes change.
- After final payment: Repricing is rare. Cancelling and rebooking usually costs more in penalties than it saves.
- UK bookings: Repricing rules can differ by country of residence, and some lines don’t offer it to UK customers at all, so ask before you rely on it.
Cruise lines won’t tell you when the price drops, so set a reminder to check, or use a tool. Cruise Critic’s Deal Score shows how a fare compares with typical pricing, while services such as CruisePlum and Cruisewatch track fares and send alerts. If you booked through an agent, ask whether they monitor prices for you.
One more check: a cheaper fare may not include perks your current booking has. Compare onboard credit, drinks or Wi-Fi inclusions before switching.
Budget for the Hidden Costs
The fastest way to turn a cheap cruise into an expensive one is to ignore the extras. Before you book, add these to the fare:
| Cost | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Gratuities (service charges) | On big US lines, roughly $17 to $20.50 per person per day in a standard cabin in 2026 (Carnival $17, Princess $18, Royal Caribbean $18.50, Norwegian $20), more in suites |
| Taxes, fees and port charges | Sometimes shown separately from the headline fare in US pricing |
| Drinks | Pay as you go, or a drinks package charged per adult per day; most lines require all adults in a cabin to buy one |
| Wi-Fi | Usually charged per day or per voyage, per device |
| Shore excursions | Can match the cruise fare on a port-heavy trip; independent tours or walking ports are cheaper |
| Flights, hotels and parking | Port parking is charged per day, and arriving the day before adds a hotel night |
| Travel insurance | Essential, and should cover medical evacuation at sea |
A useful habit that many guides skip: work out the all-in cost per person per night for each option you are weighing. Take the fare, add taxes, gratuities, any package you will definitely buy, and your travel to and from the port, then divide by the number of nights. A slightly dearer cruise that includes drinks and tips, or one leaving from a port you can drive to, often beats the cheapest headline fare. Choosing a homeport you can reach without flying is one of the biggest savings for both US and UK cruisers. When you do need to fly, our guide to finding cheap flights with Google Flights can help, and booking a flight that lands the day before sailing is safer than saving money on a same-day arrival.
Once you are on board, set a daily spending limit, use your onboard account app to keep an eye on charges, and remember that main dining rooms and buffets are included, so speciality restaurants are optional.
Gratuities add up quickly, so read our guide on whether to prepay gratuities on a cruise to see if paying in advance suits you.
Getting a cheap fare is only half the job, so read our guide on how to save money on a cruise once you're onboard before you sail.
Before you pay a deposit, it’s worth comparing the different ways to book a cruise, because the same fare can come with very different perks.
FAQs
What is the cheapest way to go on a cruise?
Book an inside or guarantee cabin on a short or shoulder-season sailing with a budget-friendly line, from a port you can drive to. Then skip drinks packages and paid excursions unless they genuinely save you money.
Is it cheaper to book a cruise last minute?
Sometimes. Last-minute deals tend to appear within about 90 days of sailing, but cabin choice is limited and flights can be expensive. For school holidays and popular itineraries, booking early is usually cheaper.
Is it cheaper to book a cruise through a travel agent?
The base fare is often the same, but agents may add onboard credit, prepaid gratuities or other perks, and can handle repricing for you. Compare the full package, not just the fare.
What month are cruises cheapest?
For the Caribbean, late August to early November is usually cheapest, outside major holidays. Shoulder months such as May and September for Alaska, and spring or late autumn for Europe, also tend to be good value.
What happens if my cruise price drops after I book?
If it drops before final payment, contact the line or your agent; many will reprice the booking or give onboard credit for the same cabin category. After final payment, adjustments are rare.