How to Find Cheap Cruises

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I've had a few people ask me about how I find cruises so cheap, so I thought today I'd share that with you...

To start with (almost) every day I get an email from Cruise Watch. I say almost because the system is persnickety and consistency isn't one of its redeeming qualities. What I DO love about it though are the deals it clues me into when they do come through. Here's a piece of the one I received yesterday:

Each day I get ten "Recommended Cruise Deals" and ten "Lowest Ever Cruise Deals." As you can see, some of these prices are really incredible, $169 for a four-day cruise is only about $42 per day. You can't eat three meals out for that, let alone all your lodging and entertainment! You do have to take into consideration additional fees, like service charges, as well as the travel costs to get to and from the cruise. If you happen to live near the cruise port, in my case if the cruise was going out of Seattle or Vancouver, this is nominal. We typically just pay for parking in these instances as we like to drive ourselves. But if you have to fly, you're on the hunt for a great cruise price and a great flight sale that match up! I'll post more on that later if you're interested (let me know in the comments). 

So how can you go about getting this information as well? You'll need to visit Cruise Watch and sign up for a free account. This is an AI powered site that crawls the web finding all the deals. The positive side of this is that it can find all kinds of things, the down side is there are no people to talk to when you run into problems. Here's the secret I've found to getting it to work for me. Sign up for and account and opt in for emails then LEAVE IT ALONE. Do not fill in any of the additional information in the profile. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but what I've found is that if I put more info in, I never get the emails. I've had to set up several accounts with different emails to sort this out. You might not get an email for a day or two, but in my experience within a week they start coming and then they're pretty regular once a day.

Beyond receiving tips in these emails, when I'm in the mood I also like to browse a couple of different sites to see what is out there. One of these is Cruise Watch as well. So, I have one account specifically for receiving the email and then on another account, which has to be opened with a different email, I fill everything out so that I'm able to do searches on the site itself. To do this, fill out as much as you'd like on the "Preferences" tab of your profile and then, at the bottom of the screen, click on:

This will give you and extensive list of responses, today I received 3,125. I certainly don't scroll through all of these, but, when I'm in the mood to browse, I'll often flip through the first few pages.

You'll see in these listing the prices for different levels of rooms. These prices are often incredible and, unfortunately, by the time I'm viewing it they've often gone up a bit. You can see the current price by clicking on the listing and then clicking the PINK "Book Now" button. Be careful, there are often ads at the top that also have a "Book Now" button so it can get confusing. I'm pretty sure this is intentional...

Near the bottom of the next screen, you'll see the updated prices per person, likely based on double occupancy depending on what is filled in above it. You don't have to actually book the cruise, you're not making any commitment, you're just checking out the current price. I'll click through a dozen or more listings in this way when I'm just perusing. It's kind of like clothes shopping where you take an outfit into the fitting rooms to try it on.

The next site I'll share with you is Cruise Plum. Yes, plum, like the fruit. Don't ask me how they got the name, but the whole site is purple, so perhaps that has something to do with it? When you get to the site, the first thing it will do is take a moment to verify that you are human. How does it do this? You got me, but eventually it usually decides I am 🤣. Sometimes I have to check a little box, just so it can be sure! I guess computers haven't figured out how to check boxes yet? Anyways, Cruise Plum is a handy little site with some sophisticated searches. It's not as pretty and flashy as Cruise Watch, but the information is infinitely more useful! For a few of the high-end searches they require you to sign into an account, but, again, those are free and they'll give you the opportunity to create one if you don't already have one when you need to. I'll go through the different types of searches they have here briefly.

 

• The Hot Deals are cruises whose price is notably lower than its value. They will be starting at least one month from today and could go two years or more into the future. There are a TON of controls for sorting and viewing this list and I leave you to play with it. 
• One thing I appreciate about Cruise Plum is that the price shown for each cabin type is the TOTAL price for two people INCLUDING taxes, fees AND tips (if they are required by the cruise line). So, for example, if it showed that an inside cabin was $1,462, the actual per person fare is only $591, which includes taxes and fees, but this price also reflects the $280 in required tips that would also be tacked onto the cruise price. It really helps for people like me who tend to see $591 per person and think, "Wow! A cruise for less than $600! Sign me up!" Whoa there Nellie! Cruise Plum gives the reality check that the cruise is actually $1,462, which is still an amazing price, but not what I would have been expecting if I saw $591, which is what the Cruise Lines count on when they show you the per person price. At least now they have to include the taxes and fees in that, they used to be able to tell you the cruise was only $380 and then slide those taxes and fees in later in the checkout process when they had you hooked.
• The Last Minute Deals are for cruises that start as soon as tomorrow or as late as one month from now. They aren't kidding when they say, "Last Minute"! Again, the slew of sorting options are at your disposal and you can go to town. I will draw your attention to their color coding key, though:
  
  
  
  

  The darker the color on a price, the better value it is, and if it has a little brown corner, it is the lowest price this cruise has ever been, or may be in this case.
  
  
• Ah, The Solo Deals! This is where I've found more than a few gems! You see, cruises, like hotel rooms, are priced based on double occupancy. With hotel rooms they actually advertise the price for two people instead of one though! Just like you can't go to a hotel and ask for the price to be cut in half because there's just one person in the room (try it, you might get some odd looks!), you can't expect a cruise to give you a discount just because you're cruising alone. They've modeled their entire business on at least two people sleeping in that room, and shopping, and eating, and gambling, and doing shore excursions. So, when just one person books a room, they add what they call a "Solo Supplement" to it. Usually, it's about the same cost as an additional person less their taxes. Occasionally, it's even more expensive than it would be for two people to sail in a room (and no, you can't promise to gamble for two and make up the difference!). Here's the secret: sometimes cruise lines make deals on the solo supplements! Every once in a while, you'll see it as low as 0%. That's how I booked a solo balcony room on a Princess cruise for only $333 last year, that I sadly didn't get to use. This search on Cruise Plum lets you see these typically hidden deals.
• With this search, instead of seeing all the types of cabins on each row, you'll just see one cabin type. Next to it you'll see the following:
  
  
  
  

  You can sort by any of these column headers just by clicking on them, and if you click again it changes between lowest to highest and highest to lowest.
  
  
  
• The "Supp." Column is the solo supplement I mentioned before, or how much extra they will charge you for being alone.
• Again, the "Total Price" includes taxes, fees, and tips for the whole room. This is the total price of your cruise - apart from any add-ons you may choose like shore excursions, etc.
• One column I really appreciate is the "Price Per Day". Sometimes a cruise will seem really expensive until you account for the fact that it's 13 days long (like the one I'm taking next month). All of a sudden, $594 doesn't seem so bad when you realize it's $46 per day!
• I don't tend to use the Price Drop and New Release lists because they are rarely going to be the "best" price for a cruise, and that's what I'm looking for. Yes, a cruise is often at it's lowest when it first gets released, but I'm not typically one who plans two years in advance (there are exceptions) and I always hope it'll go down!
• On the next menu, I often use the Standard Search. 
• First, you'll click the bright green:
  
  
  
  
  
• Next, you'll choose the number of passengers:
  
  
  
  
  
• The country you're coming from (Sorry to those of you outside North America!):
  
  
  
  
  
• And how you'd like your results displayed (I typically choose 1 row per cabin):
  
  
  
  
  
• Finally, it downloads the data and gives you your list, but this is just the BEGINNING of the fun you can have with this search! On the left-hand side of the screen is a whole list of filters that you can adjust to get exactly what you're looking for. The sheer number of options might be overwhelming, but I will regularly choose the date range I'm looking for, perhaps the length of cruise, and the cruise lines I'm interested in. Sometimes I'll narrow it down by the region I'd like to cruise to as well. Just to let you know, if you click the double check marks by an option it will include everything in that section, but if you click the little arrow on the right you can open up the section and choose exactly what you're interested in. In this image, for example, I might only be interested in a balcony cabin on Azamara and so I could click that and limit my search to exactly what I'm dreaming of! (No, I've never sailed on Azamara but I hear it's incredible)
  
  
  
  
  
• Once you've played around with all the filters to your heart's content you have your perfectly curated list!
• If you've put a lot of effort into this, I would encourage you to save your options by clicking on the green button at the top left of the screen. This is where the site will want you to "Login/Join" on the right.
  
  
  
  
  
• Last, but certainly not least, I'll cover the Suite Search - and SWEET IT IS! Sorry, I couldn't resist 😏. This is a search that I haven't found anywhere else. It's so special that they'll make you sign in before they even show you the search, but that's ok because remember, accounts are free. This search is very similar to the Standard Search so I won't break down all the steps again, but you can search for the EXACT cabin type you want (say you're looking for a Norwegian Haven 2 Bedroom Family Villa), or you can just say you want a Haven Cabin (Premium), or you can say you just want any suite on Norwegian (don't worry, this is the only search that actually understands that the Club Balcony Suite is not ACTUALLY a suite). OH, THE SEARCHING POWER!!!!!!!! Ok, getting a little carried away...
  
  
  
  
  
• Again, this search shows you the Base Fare Per Person, the Total Cabin Price (for two people), and the Cabin Price Per Day to let you know just how good the deal is. I will often sort the list by Cabin Price Per Day so I can sell my husband on the cruise 😁.

And that, my friends, is Cruise Plum! I know I've probably blown your minds with options already, but I have just a couple more places that I will often check. The next one is actually simpler than either of the first two and sometimes it is all I have the energy for.

Vacations to Go is an actual, honest-to-goodness, travel agency. They are famous in the travel community for the price lists they publish. Again, you will need to make a free account, but that seems to be the case everywhere you go these days! Unlike Cruise Watch or Cruise Plum, they won't let you populate a list of 5,000 search options - they are real people and not AI so they probably realize that you'll never get through that much! So, when you do a search here you'll have to put in a few parameters to get started. On the "90 Day Ticker" on the left I'll frequently enter "Norwegian" and the date range I'm considering. If you only enter the date range, you'll likely get a page like this:

Once you narrow it down enough, you'll be sent to a page like this:

There are a few options you can toggle, but much fewer than the other sites. That's not necessarily a bad thing though as, like I said, sometimes it's nice to keep it simple. I will draw your attention to the left where it says, "Cheapest rates for singles". By clicking on this you'll get a list similar to the "Solo Cruise" search on Cruise Plum, but, again, much simpler. You can also click on "Singles Cruises" > "Cruises with a Low Single Supplement" from the top menu on the front page to get a list of these cruises from all the cruise lines.

You can, of course, click on the Cruise ID in the left column to get more info and reach out to the agency to have them book it for you, but I'm too much of a DIY person for that. I typically get the info and then head to either the Cruise Line's website or the last site I want to share today...

Ok, if you've stuck with me this long, you're probably REALLY interested in travel, so I'm going to give you an AWESOME BONUS. ID90 is a travel agency for people who work in the travel industry - AND their friends and family. I received access to it through my daughter who works for an airline, and now I am able to share it with you. After all, any friend of mine is a friend of my daughter's, right? Really, though, it's totally legitimate for me to share this with you as they put a sharing link right on my page. Occasionally a deal posted here will only apply to airline employees, but that will be clearly marked and they won't let you get it "by accident". To check on these incredible deals for yourself, just click through my referral link. Just as a heads up, the site works best in Google chrome, not Microsoft Edge, don't ask me why. You can also get the app on your phone, if that's more your style! This site gives amazing deals on Hotels, Rental Cars and Cruises. I've even seen Norwegian marked down here occasionally, and I've never seen that anywhere else. I love opening the Cruise section on my phone and just browsing and dreaming. Everything is set up in crazy, disordered groupings, but you can do a standard search if you want to. 

There! Now you know all... ok a few of my travel secrets! If you're still with me, let me know in the comments if you'd like me to highlight a cruise or two that I find at the bottom of my blog posts in the future!

Here's the Thing: I know searching like this isn't for everyone. Really, I guess cruising isn't for everyone. But if, like me, you like to do a little searching and dreaming in your down time, now you know how!