Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The 5 Absolute Cheapest Carnival Cruise Deals for 2024

cheapest cruise ship

While space and storage in these cabins are limited, they’re a great option if affordability is your priority and you plan to spend more time enjoying the ship’s many amenities. While a cruise can be an expensive luxury vacation, it doesn’t have to be. You can have maximum fun while keeping your onboard spending to a minimum as long as you know which ships to book. Carnival Cruise Line—known as one of the most affordable cruise lines—was founded in 1972 and now carries millions of guests every year aboard its 24 ships. It sails to Alaska, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Greenland, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama Canal, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific. Cruises on older ships tend to have lower rates for two reasons -- the ships lack the amenities and the hype of the newest vessels, and they tend to be deployed on shorter or less popular routes.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line

They might not have the fancy go-kart tracks or virtual reality or robotic bartenders. And so cruise lines charge less because the experience isn’t worth the same. These costs were compared solely on the cruise fare, which does include complimentary dining venues as well as most of the onboard activities and entertainment.

$940 pp — 5-Nt. Bermuda Balcony – Up to $2,050 to Spend & Free Gratuities

So, to help in your search for cruise deals, we've come up with three categories for penny pinchers -- budget cruise lines, budget itineraries and budget seasons. You don't necessarily need to sail with a dedicated budget cruise line to find rock-bottom rates, but you need to know which itineraries and cruising seasons traditionally have the lowest prices. With savvy strategies, you can even find extremely affordable sailings on more upscale cruise lines, as well as the mainstream ships. Some of the best cruise deals aren’t only about getting the bottom dollar cruise fare. A number of cruise lines offer booking promotions that include your choice of perks, such as free specialty dining, tips, Wi-Fi and drink packages. Our cheap cruise deals are available with all the major cruise lines and we are preferred agents for P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Fred Olsen to name just a few.

cheapest cruise ship

Don’t Wait for Last-Minute Cruise Deals on High-Season Sailings

For some lines and sailings, you can forget it unless you book months -- or a year -- in advance. This is particularly true for bucket-list voyages to places like Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands and world cruises -- some of which can sell out in a single day. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Most beaches you'll visit on a cruise, including the cruise lines' private islands, will rent you snorkel gear, umbrellas and beach floats, or sell you beach toys. Save money by purchasing and bringing your own snorkel gear, beach shade, inflatable beach toys and floats.

As the Icon of the Seas Launches, Some Passengers Prefer Smaller, Older, Cheaper Cruises - WSJ - The Wall Street Journal

As the Icon of the Seas Launches, Some Passengers Prefer Smaller, Older, Cheaper Cruises - WSJ.

Posted: Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Fleetmates Carnival Inspiration (1996) and Imagination (1995) have four-night Mexico cruises for the same price. Norwegian Spirit (1998) has an 11-night Mediterranean cruise for $599 per person ($55 per night). Finding a sale is the easiest way to get a deal on a suite. For cruises in the Caribbean and the Bahamas, a good rule of thumb for bargain seekers is to avoid any dates families tend to travel, such as holiday and school vacation periods, including over the summer. You'll get a better deal on a suite in the fall and on sailings right before or after holidays, such as in early November or mid-January.

However, an important caveat is that NCL will almost always have an offer where your fare includes something extra – maybe free drinks, free WiFi or some free excursions. This is also important to bear in mind when comparing prices. Just be careful though, because Princess also offers the upgraded Princess Plus and Princess Premier fares, which can add a lot onto your cruise price. The only problem is that most of them are from US ports, so if you don’t live within easy reach of Florida or Texas, you might not be able to enjoy the best fares that this cruise line has to offer. They’re a fun, family-friendly line that primarily sails around the Mediterranean, although they do have sailings in the Caribbean, Middle East and other destinations.

How to save money on your cruise booking

In other words, ships don’t normally sail with empty cabins. If you want the cheapest cruise, then your work isn’t quite done even after you book. You’ll want to check in from time to time (once every week or two) to see what the price is now.

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Every ship in the fleet offers a range of delicious complimentary dining options, but you can dig into even more crave-worthy flavor by purchasing a Specialty Dining Package for less ahead of your cruise. Add a Specialty Beverage Package — which includes unlimited alcoholic beverages, soda, and more — and your experience is as close to all-inclusive as it gets. And with so many complimentary shows and attractions onboard, you can easily fill every sea day without spending a single dollar extra.

Wonder of the Seas

Prices vary a lot with P&O, so depending on the destination and the month, fares can be a lot higher. But there are some excellent deals to be had if you’re more flexible. It’s not just about the advertised price, but also any other fees you have to pay – port taxes, gratuities, and so on. Deciding the cheapest cruise line isn’t an easy task, because there’s so much you need to consider.

Sometimes a cruise line will offer several versions of the same resort day pass or beach break excursion — one that just covers your entrance and another that includes lunch and drinks and water toy use. If you don't plan to eat or drink that much, or at all, you can save by booking the least expensive version of the tour and just paying for the amenities you use a la carte. Step onto a cruise ship pool deck or atrium on the first day of your cruise, and you're likely to be approached by a waiter offering you a drink in a souvenir glass. You want the cocktail, but do you really need to bring home a cup in the shape of Carnival's funnel?

Last-minute cheap cruise deals are a tough find in the most popular seasons and routes, especially if you want your pick of cabins. Summer travel and school holiday periods book up early, particularly for cabins that sleep three or more and are in demand by families traveling together. The corollary advice is that cruise lines will sometimes drop prices or offer value-added promotions on cruises that have too many available cabins left a few months before its scheduled departure.

Sailing aboard the Carnival Elation, you’ll have stops in Nassau and the Princess Cays along with two full days at sea. This sailing departs Florida, with a full day in Nassau, followed by the Princess Cays — a private Carnival spot. Then you’ll have a full day at sea as it cruises back to Port Canaveral. As for the cruise, before reaching The Bahamas, you’ll have a day at sea to lounge poolside and work on your tan.

It’s free and you’re signed up automatically if you have booked with Cruises.com at least once before. Benefits include things like shore excursion credits, onboard spending credits, or deposit waivers. Benefits are identical to those offered through the CruisesOnly loyalty program. For example, a deal was offered for up to $2,000 cashback, $1,500 to spend onboard, or a Visa gift card. However, after reading the fine print you’ll notice that in order to get the full bonus you’d have to spend $20,000+ on a cruise.

If you can be flexible on which week you cruise, you can save money by choosing whichever sail date has the cheaper price. The cheapest room on the ship is an inside cabin, so choose one of those rooms if you want to spend less on your next sailing. You'll get access to the same pools, restaurants, shows and activities as the folks in the balcony cabins; all you're missing out on is a window and some more floor space. Some people actually prefer inside cabins for amazing sleep in the pitch dark and because they spend all their time out and about on the ship and are never in their room. The higher the room category you’re booking, the more bonuses you’ll be able to get. Keep in mind that lots of the bonuses you may see advertised won’t kick in unless you book a balcony stateroom or a suite.

The innovative brand is known for many firsts at sea, including an ice-skating rink, bumper cars, zip-line, rock climbing wall, robotic bartenders and the Flowrider surf simulator. Its latest ship, the Icon of the Seas, which is set to begin sailing in January 2024, will be the world’s largest cruise ship. You might start to see a trend that many of the cheapest cruises on our list have a common feature of departing from Florida and heading over on a short trip to the Bahamas.

I always recommend trying the local cuisine in port, both because it's a fun way to experience a new culture and to support the local economy. But if you're on a budget and need to cut costs, skip the meals in port and head back to the ship for meals in the many included eateries on board. Cruise ships will discount paid attractions on the fly if they need to drum up more revenue in a certain area or if restaurants are not full. If you keep your schedule flexible, you can jump on mid-cruise specials, advertised in your daily schedule or newsletter, and save on specialty dining, arcade games, spa treatments and more.

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