The Best Websites to Book a Cruise in 2024

Table Of Content

• Best Carry-On Luggage Suitcases in 2023 – Buying Guide and Reviews
• Best Train Comparison Websites
• The Best Cruise Lines
• #1 Tripadvisor: Cruise Comparison and Reviews
• Arriving at your embarkation port early is key to having a smooth sailing.
• $3,399 pp — 7-Nt. Caribbean Getaway – Up to $200 to Spend & Free Travel Credit

Thanks to this comprehensive price history, Cruisewatch can predict cruise prices and drops with an accuracy rate of around 80 percent. Using the site’s cruise price prediction alerts, travelers can save up to 71 percent just by booking at the right time. A subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Cruise Critic has similar search results to that site, but it offers a bit more comprehensive information for seasoned cruisers who want more details before they book. Cruise Critic has tons of filters and sort options to help you find what you want, including everything from cruise line to cruise style (family cruises, luxury cruises, cruises for the disabled). Each itinerary clearly lists what is and isn’t included in the fare; Wi-Fi, alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and port taxes and fees are among the common exclusions. Avoya’s team of staffers and wide network of independent agencies make for a cruise booking website that’s a bit different from the rest.

Best Carry-On Luggage Suitcases in 2023 – Buying Guide and Reviews

In addition to the large cruise aggregators, there are a number of smaller websites focused solely on cruises. Cruising is big business, and that’s why you have dozens of websites at your disposal, all competing for your travel dollars. It can be a complicated, time-consuming process that involves dozens of open tabs and maybe a spreadsheet or two. The region’s love of the outdoors lifestyle means active experiences are easy to find, both through cruise line excursions and independent operators. Cruising in Northern Europe offers a fantastic variety of excursions and experiences, from historical city tours to adrenaline-filled outdoor adventures. Aurora borealis in the sky seen from a cruise ship in Arctic Norway.

Best Train Comparison Websites

The website emphasizes destination-focused travel and unique shore excursions, appealing to travelers with a passion for exploration. Azamara’s smaller ships and longer port stays further enhance the immersive travel experience. But you might not even need to pay out-of-pocket for trip insurance because many credit cards offer travel insurance as a built-in benefit to customers who pay for travel expenses on that card. The best place to book a cruise will vary depending on what you're looking for out of the experience. We've broken out cruise booking sites based on common booking goals. It’s free and you’re signed up automatically if you have booked with Cruises.com at least once before.

The Best Cruise Lines

The other disadvantage is that you need to be a member of Costco to book. However, if there is a reason where you need to change your booking or get a refund, then it could be a little more complicated than booking directly through the cruise line. That means you don’t have to run yourself ragged trying to find the best deal. Search SmarterTravel Hotels for great accommodations in your port of call. You can sign up for price alerts, which will notify you by email when the fare on your selected itinerary drops. Expert travel tips, dream destination inspiration, and timely travel news delivered to your inbox daily.

#1 Tripadvisor: Cruise Comparison and Reviews

It’s possible that if you book one day, the next day the price may go down. The good news is that the price is unlikely to move much (unlike airfare). By waiting until the last minute you aren’t likely to find great deals, but it will mean that you have fewer cabin choices. With a focus on cruising, they are able to better serve cruise passengers — including having staff that you can call directly to help you book.

Avoya Travel

The tours are usually led by locals, which means the guides can also give you some good recommendations if you have time before you need to return to the ship. If you're looking for a unique excursion that still gives you the highlights of a European city, I recommend booking a food tour. I've done tours in places like Amsterdam, Budapest, and Paris, and I've never been disappointed. Some of the major European tourist destinations have strict dress codes — typically everyone must at least cover their shoulders and knees out of respect. Going early or late in the season usually means you'll have more tolerable weather and smaller crowds in some of the big destinations like Athens. Furthermore, Cruise Critic makes no guarantees for availability of prices advertised on our site.

Arriving at your embarkation port early is key to having a smooth sailing.

Tripadvisor is one of the worlds biggest travel sites and is perfect if you are looking to book at cruise. You can view details of all ships, reviews of previous cruises, photos and itineraries. The site allows you to search 70,000+ cruise deals from over sixty sites with just one search. Next up, Avoya Travel is a unique option, as it combines online search features and travel agent know-how to give you what it calls a superior cruise-booking experience. You enter some info about what kind of cruise you want, and then a planner uses your information to show you the best cruises for you. Better yet, a website membership gets you access to unpublished deals, as well as free cruise booking changes and cancellations.

When prices are the same, we recommend cruise bookers compare the perks being offered, then book on the site with the most appealing bonuses, like onboard credits, airline miles, hotel points or cash back. Costco is a retailer that offers exclusive products and pricing to its members. Through its Costco Travel website, members receive exclusive prices and benefits when booking hotels, rental cars, cruises and travel packages.

$3,399 pp — 7-Nt. Caribbean Getaway – Up to $200 to Spend & Free Travel Credit

One of the nice things about Orbitz is that it offers a rewards program, but, unfortunately, cruises are not eligible for Orbitz Rewards. Cruise Critic is a cruise-focused website that features reviews, tips, and advice for a huge community of cruisers. The Cruise Critic forums provide a place to ask questions, give advice, and get help booking your next cruise. In that case, you’ll want to contact the website that you booked through — not the cruise line (unless you booked through the cruise line’s website). For example, if you book through CostcoTravel.com, then contact them first for any price drops you see. We think so as they can help you look at every cruise available to find one that fits.

The Best Ways to Book a Cruise - NerdWallet

The Best Ways to Book a Cruise.

Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:01:35 GMT [source]

Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Fortune Recommends. However, if you have a bundle of United miles and prefer cruising to flying, it might be a good redemption for you.

There’s also a dedicated 800 number that lets you speak to Expedia’s cruise experts and, often but not always, a generous amount of onboard credit thrown in for good measure. The website also offers exclusive discounts, ensuring you get the best value for your money. Whether you're a first-time cruiser or an experienced traveler, iCruise is a go-to destination for planning your dream cruise. With its vast resources and seamless navigation, iCruise makes the cruise booking process a breeze.

Benefits include things like shore excursion credits and onboard spending credits. If the site offers a good incentive for booking through them, then know that you’ve found a good deal. If the incentive isn’t that strong or you don’t want to go through a third-party to your reservation, then booking directly through the cruise line is your best bet. For instance, one recent search promoted free gratuities on trips booked through the site, but we couldn’t find any mention of this once we actually started the booking process.

CheapCaribbean.com may sound exclusively for Caribbean travel, but it offers cruises worldwide. This booking platform stands out by providing unique search categories, such as cruise themes, not commonly found on other platforms. Moreover, CheapCaribbean offers enticing incentives like discounts, credits, and a loyalty club to enhance your booking experience. Cruise Critic is a treasure trove for cruise enthusiasts, offering information about cruise lines, ships, and routes. From detailed reviews to valuable cruising tips, it’s a one-stop destination for cruising. However, while Cruise Critic allows you to browse and explore cruise options, it doesn’t directly sell them.

Above all, remember the age-old rule that if something sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Be wary of any websites advertising cruise deals that are significantly less than the same cruise priced elsewhere. For example, we found a cruise offering a $45 Costco Cash Card for booking the cheapest stateroom for just $409. In other words, that deal is like getting 11% off the price of your cruise. In addition, while aggregator websites will almost always have the same prices you’ll find everywhere else, they often offer perks you won’t find on the cruise lines websites. Each of these cruise line websites will allow you to be as narrow or as broad with your search as you wish.

While you might think of Tripadvisor as just a place to get reviews and photos of hotels, restaurants, and activities, it’s actually much more than that. In addition to reviews and traveler forums, Tripadvisor acts as a metasearch engine, comparing prices on lots of other websites. Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market.