How to Get A 65% Cruise Price Reduction

Have you ever dreamed of boarding a ship bound for the perfect destination? Now imagine how you would feel about that same trip after finding a cruise price reduction of 65%. It isn’t just a dream anymore. Thanks to the innovative team at Cruisewatch.com, you can find a cruise price reduction to nearly any destination.

Our site, a cutting-edge search engine that matches customers with cruises, recently released a report showing that the average cruise price reduction is 16%. The same report indicates that shoppers can find discounts of as much as 65%, if they use the right booking tool.

We regularly publish cruise evaluations, but have gone the extra mile to prepare an analysis of all cruises for the year. This analysis uses more than 6,000,000 data points to evaluate the average and maximum price reductions each cruise company has offered during a booking period.

Minimum and Maximum Cruise Price Reduction per Cruise Line

Minimum and Maximum Cruise Price Reduction per Cruise Line

The results are astonishing! The cruise companies use extremely different pricing strategies. Cruise companies can be divided into two groups. The first group has very flexible prices, while the other group offers more stable pricing. The cruise lines with flexible pricing quickly react to changing market situations. This flexibility allows them to balance supply and demand easily. It also allows them to offer great cruise price reductions! The cruise lines with the more steady pricing model prioritize stable and reliable fares. This pricing model prevents them from offering large price reductions on their cruises.

“The biggest savings are achieved by automatically observing price changes, then making a prediction as to whether a price increase or reduction is likely,” says Nina Stumpe, a cruise enthusiast and co-founder of Cruisewatch.com. Stumpe went on to say, “This information must be immediately made available to the end customer via modern alert functions so that they can decide on a booking. This is how cruise search works today!”

On average, consumers can see 16% savings over initial pricing. Savvy consumers can see up to a 65% cruise price reduction on select trips.

Holland America Line leads the group with very flexible prices. Holland America offers an average 23% savings over the initial price. Fortunately, sharp bargain hunters can find a near 60% cruise price reduction. Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Seabourn are other cruise lines that are pursuing a similar pricing strategy.

Carnival Cruise Line heads the group that pursues a more stable pricing model. Other major cruise lines like Costa and MSC also use a more stable pricing model, but occasionally offer last minute discounts. Carnival Cruise Line offers an average 13% savings, but will offer a cruise price reduction of 32% at times. Ponant, a smaller cruise line, frequently offers discounted cabins, but tends to wait until shortly before departure to offer a cruise price reduction.

“Our data shows that cruise prices fluctuate with cruise lines that officially claim to not offer discounts. Frequently, these lines will not offer certain cabin categories at a discount, but will make less expensive cabin categories available. The result is virtually the same for consumers,” explains Stumpe. “That is why it is important to monitor and keep track of price changes. It can help you save huge amounts of money.”

Next generation cruise search with Cruisewatch

We offer consumers free price drop monitoring. Our website processes massive amounts of data using intuitive software that will help consumers find the perfect cruise: at the right time, at the best price. Users can receive automatic alerts when prices are reduced or when good deals are on the horizon. A price forecast is built into the website. “Cruise lines invest massive amounts of resources into revenue optimization. We are leveling the playing field and offering consumers up-to-date technology to make the right decisions,” says Cruisewatch’s co-founder. We are doing this to honor our motto: RIGHT CRUISE. RIGHT TIME. RIGHT PRICE.

Further analysis:

You can find more valuable resources on our website. For instance, have you ever wondered if it is cheaper to go on a cruise than to have a stay-at-home vacation? You can find the answer here. Consumers often wonder how far in advance to book their cruises. We answered that question in this blog post. Surprisingly, there is one day of the week when you can find the best prices on cruise tickets. Find out which day it is by reading this post.

 

See current price drops

Why you should always book a cruise five weeks before it sails

A study by cruisewatch.com, a next-generation cruise search engine with an innovative decision support system, finds prices for cruise sailings are cheapest five weeks before setting sail.

Have you ever experienced checking cruise prices and finding they are high and then upon checking again later prices have decreased? The biggest factor you should consider in saving money is to determine the right moment when to book a cruise, says cruisewatch.com. Based on an elaborate study that considered more than 25,000 cruise sailings, cruise prices drop the lowest five weeks before departure.

Average Historic Pricing

Average Historic Pricing

The best discounts can be found in the weeks prior to sailing, with average reductions of 4 percent for interior and ocean-view cabins. But that is just the average. Not fully sold sailings can be discounted up to 40 percent.

“If you’re flexible regarding the cruise sailing, ship, or departure date, you can save big money by booking short term. But you can only choose between the last unsold rooms. If you are keen to get a special category, especially a suite, you should book your cruise early,” explains Nina Stumpe, a cruise enthusiast and cofounder of cruisewatch.com.

Prices get more dynamic short term; more expensive cabins have less or no price reductions

“Cruiseline’s prices are steered mainly during the last 100 days before departure. During this ‘hot phase,’ the biggest price decreases take place, especially for interior and ocean-view cabins. Interestingly the balcony staterooms, which are more expensive, are reduced less, and suites don’t get any discounts,” Nina says.

See current price drops

Historic Cruise Pricing Overview

Looking at the past can tell us quite a bit about the future. For example about the best time to book that cruise.

Thistoric cruise pricinghe chart on the right hand side shows you the historic pricing for oceanview cabins on Celebrity Eclipse. You can see how the pricing changes over time with the left hand side of the graph showing 600 days before departure and the right hand side being departure day.

We have normalized all pricing at 100 so that you can see price drops and hikes. The orange line is the average pricing line with the other lines showing statistical boundaries.

In this example, the pricing trend is generally upwards in the beginning with moderate increases of about 3%. Price reductions start about 60 days before departure with the lowest pricing around 40 days.

Of course, this is just the average. Cruise pricing will always be impacted by individual demand and supply. As you can see, there are sailings that have significant price increases fairly early. Such sailings are typically in high demand seasons (such as public holidays). And there is also a very active last minute season with strong pricing drops about 90 to 25 days before departure (red line).

Keep this in mind when looking at current cruise prices and check out the pricing history of the ship you are interested in. To do this, browse through the cruise lines, pick a ship, click on “analytics” and then choose a cabin type. Happy savings!

Browse Cruise Lines