Cheap Cruises You Can Book Now — Record-Low Prices Start at $26 Per Day
This fall may be the perfect time to book a cruise of the Caribbean or other locations you couldn’t afford in the past. Let’s look at some cheap cruises you can book now.
Oct. 7 2022, Published 1:35 p.m. ET
Cruise lines are still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of 2020. Although much of the travel industry has rebounded, travelers are hesitant about cruising, which has caused cruise lines to drop their prices to record lows.
According to travel website The Points Guy, Carnival Cruise Line is offering four-night cruises for as low as $26 per day. That’s a far cry from what cruising typically costs, which is about $152 per day for a base ticket price, reports CruiseHive.com.
Here are some cheap cruises you can book now.
With prices so low, this fall may be the perfect time to book a cruise of the Caribbean or other locations that you couldn’t afford in the past. Let’s look at some cheap cruises you can book now.
Carnival and Holland America are currently offering some of the best deals on cruises, TPG reports. Here are some current deals on Carnival:
$104 per person – four-day cruise of the Bahamas from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. The cruise leaves from Port Canaveral in Orlando, Fla., and stops in Nassau and Princess Cays.
$124 per person – four-day cruise of the Western Caribbean from Jan. 16–20. The ship departs from Miami and visits Key West and Cozumel.
Holland America is offering these deals:
$199 per person – five-day Pacific Coastal Cruise from Vancouver, B.C. to San Diego on Oct. 24–29.
$379 per person – seven-day Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver in May 2023.
If you want to cruise destinations outside the U.S. and the Caribbean, MSC Cruises offers discounts on its cruises to Europe and the Mediterranean. Here are a few MSC Cruises deals:
$119 per person – five-night Mediterranean cruise departing Dec. 21 from Portofino, Italy, with stops in Marseille, Barcelona, and Rome.
$149 per person – six-night Grand Voyage cruise departing May 28, 2023, from Portugal’s Madeira Island and landing in Genoa, Italy, with stops in Casablanca, Morocco, and Barcelona, Spain.
The discounted prices don’t include fees and taxes.
The current discounted rates on cruises around the world are so low that the cost of government fees, taxes, and port charges (which aren’t included in the above prices) may be more than the price of the cruise itself. Additional fees run anywhere from $100 to $200, TPG reports.
Cruising may now be more affordable than a hotel stay.
The current discounts on four to six-day cruises are also less expensive than staying in many hotels for just a couple of nights. In April, hotel room rates hit an all-time high of almost $150 for the average daily rate, reports HotelManagement.net.
Some cruise lines are offering incentives instead of slashing prices.
Some cruise lines are holding back on cutting their prices too much but are offering different incentives and freebies to get people on board. For example, Oceania Cruises just announced that travelers booking 2023 trios would get a free pre- or post-cruise land tour valued at $4,600, TPG reports.
Norwegian Cruise Lines is also offering incentives like free unlimited drinks, excursions, and specialty dining rather than slashing prices on fares, TPG reports.