The most common discounts are seasonal, last minute, military, geographical, past passenger, senior citizen, positioning itineraries, promotional and distressed categories.
Seasonal – Caribbean cruises are typically discounted in the fall. Alaska cruises will be cheaper at the beginning and end of the season (May, September and October).
Last Minute – Waiting to book can also lead to a great bargain, especially if you are prepared to depart on short notice, having no strong preferences on which ship or itinerary. The winning combinations vary depending on the rules of the online pokies game.
Military – Tell the agent that you won the Medal of Honor fighting alongside Sgt. York at the Battle of Verdun and you might get an extra 5% to 10% off.
Geographical – Sometimes small discounts will be available because of where you live – say in Paris, Texas instead of Paris, Tennessee. (Don’t ask why – it is something known only to cruise line executives.)
Past Passenger – lines will frequently offer discounts and/or perks to loyal customers -depending on the number of previous cruises with that particular cruise line.
Senior Citizen – If you are over age 55, ask if an age related discount is available.
Promotional – These kind of discounts can rear their pretty little heads for any number of reasons – again, some only known by cruise lines executives.
Positioning Cruises – These are necessary but less popular itineraries needed to get the ship from one seasonal station to another – say, from Miami to Seattle for the Alaska season. These itineraries are available mostly in the spring and fall and almost always offer deep discounts. But be forewarned – these positioning cruises involve long days at sea and fewer ports. This is especially true of trans-Atlantic positioning cruises.
Category Sale – Another frequent price promotion a ship may be over-sold in one category and grossly under-sold in another; resulting in deep discounts on the latter.
