Websites to find and Book Cruise Ship Deals

movieman on 26/12/2016 - 16:22
Last edited 27/12/2016 - 11:26

Hi Everybody,

Recently been thinking about joining the cruise craze.

Besides cruisesheet.com, and other recommendations for bargain cruises?

I'm looking for the cheapest per night cruise, either beginning or ending in Australia, at some stage in the next few months or year and a half.

Thanks everyone for your advice.
Seems that subscribing to various companies, and looking a few months to last minute will provide the best deals.

Also, cruise guru / Qantas cruises lets you sort by price, and vacationstogo.com seems to have the best search options.

Cheers

Travel Cruise

Comments

  • Cheeper on 26/12/2016 - 17:55

    https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=book+a+cruise
    Also if you sign up to some of the cruise lines they will send you special deals.

    • movieman on 26/12/2016 - 18:46

      Thanks.

      I was more after tips as to websites to compare the lowest price per day.

      Basically Iwantthatflight for cruises.

      • flyingfridge on 26/12/2016 - 18:52

        Cruisecritic has a basic price check engine - but no sites for cruise are as developed as ones for flights and hotels

      • Cheeper on 26/12/2016 - 22:32

        No such site … just have to sign up for the specials and shop the net.
        Local travel agents seem to be on par with net offerings these days… could be worth having a chat with them and registering your interest. A couple of friends have had good deals put to them by local agents.
        The main thing with cruising is to get what you want…
        Do you want booze, kids running wild, low quality food & entertainment, etc.. or… less kids running around (go after school holidays) better class of entertainment, food and ship overall?
        P&O & Carnival are more dedicated to accomodating kids where some of the others are not.
        Also beware that some do not include your daily tip in their fare and deduct $15 + per person from your onboard acct every day. You usually can go and have this removed but they don't like it.
        I have used a variety of sources to book every cruise so far… the best deal over loyalty. There is very little the booking agent can do and theoretically the booking is under the control of the cruise line.
        A cheap deal on a bad ship is not a bargain at all… :-(

        • movieman on 27/12/2016 - 08:42

          Thanks for your reply….

          Yes, it seems a deal-aggregator for cruise ships comparing by cost per night would be an awesome idea for someone to implement.

          Till then, I may need to sign up for spam emails.

        • ATTS on 27/12/2016 - 11:01

          does every cruise, require you to pay tips?

  • PR0r on 26/12/2016 - 19:24
    +1

    http://cruises.kogan.com/ is alright, haven't booked with them or really used it as I much prefer to just book directly via the cruise liners own website.

    My wife has booked many of our cruise holidays using http://www.flightcentre.com.au/cruises

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 26/12/2016 - 19:52

      Kogan.com is good in that you get that 48 hour window to price beat a booking. Sucks if it's via a promo code since they won't honour it :)

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 26/12/2016 - 19:42

    Whenever I come across a cruise comparison engine it's nearly always just a travel agency selling its own deals (or redirecting to an on-line agency, such as kayak.com simply redirects to cruises.com). Cruises are still sold the old-fashioned way unfortunately.

    Other than signing up to cruises (they offer some craaaazy cheap deals at times - cheaper than an airbnb in Sydney), I don't know what to do. It's a little stupid that there's only a handful of cruises that leave Sydney each month but it can still end up cheaper to use a travel agency than book direct…

    I found I get seasick even on large cruise ships so I don't care for them anymore :)

    • tonka on 26/12/2016 - 22:50

      I get really bad motion sickness. Dramamine is a 110% cure for me as long as I take half hour earlier, have you tried? All the ginger, wristbands and herbal based tablets etc I find are just placebos.

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 26/12/2016 - 23:41
        +1

        Thanks for the tip. Dramamine makes me tired like crazy unfortunately. I mean like completely out of it. The rare side effects of popular alternatives like Scopolamine were pretty scary.

        • tonka on 26/12/2016 - 23:53

          Interesting, maybe that's why I sleep a lot on cruises. I had assumed it was just because I could.

  • Cybella on 26/12/2016 - 21:22
    +1

    I cruise regularly and have taken approximately 20 cruises. I usually book on American websites (I have booked with smartcruiser.com and vacationstogo.com but with the declining Aussie dollar this is not as good as it once was. However, depending on the cruise it may still be viable. When obtaining a price, be careful they give you a complete price as US sites don't have to show the total price unless you ask them to include all taxes, fees and gratuities.

    In Australia, I find Qantas the cheaper one at the moment. What I do is find my best price and then get someone like Cruise1st.com.au or Cruiseaway.com.au to beat it. There really isn't that much difference with cruise prices but try and get perks like free dinners, drink packages or on board credit included to make it better value.

    • movieman on 27/12/2016 - 11:27

      Thanks, will look into it.

      Appreciate your advice.

      As it will be out first cruise, we aren't too bothered when or where - just seeking the best value for money.

  • hasselbladsnapper on 26/12/2016 - 21:43
    +1

    Try Cruise Guru based in Sydney we have used them a number of times. I think also they have a link with Qantas which helps to gain discounted flights to meet up with your cruise. Cruise Critic is the go to site for general info …look at the "boards" for each cruise line so much info, bit like OzBargain for the cruise fraternity.

    Lastly, do not book directly!!!, having an agent in the middle can come in very useful in negotiating a final price IF you see the cabin price is reduced. I have saved thousands this way, but a word of warning check the cost before FINAL payment as after that point NO deals will be available through your agent. Book direct with the line & you can forget any final payment discount, a good large agent has the leaverage with the cruise lines!!.

    Enjoy your trip.

  • grimo82 on 26/12/2016 - 22:35

    my oldies always seem to use Cruise1st.com.au, when there not somewhere on a cruise………

    • movieman on 27/12/2016 - 08:44

      Thanks.

      May have to sign up to all these popular sites, and manually filter through their offers.

  • red-hot on 27/12/2016 - 09:33
    +1

    We just rerurned from a cruise. A few other passengers had got a much cheaper price through Scoopon.

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