Last Minute Cruises to the Carribbean Save You Money This Summer

I'm fortunate enough to work from home and be able to take vacations without giving anyone notice, so I love booking last minute cruises. If you're retired, self-employed, or just able to get away on short notice, you can save quite a bit booking last minute. Cruise ships don't like to sail with empty cabins, so they will slash rates in the weeks leading up to the departure date to ensure as many money-spending passengers are on board as possible. And the Caribbean is a fantastic destination (and a great place to find deals, especially in the summer).

Taking Advantage of Cheap Last Minute Cruises to the Caribbean This Summer

Summer is a great time to take a vacation, especially if you have kids you want to take along, and the Caribbean islands are lovely to sail around. Rates are often great for a couple of reasons:

• Fewer people choose to vacation in the Caribbean during the summer -- We're often looking to beat the heat in the summer, and choose cooler vacation spots such as Alaska or Northern Europe, but the Caribbean is a lot like Hawaii in that it may actually be cooler and more pleasant (i.e. "perfect year around") in the summer than say Texas, Georgia, the Midwest, etc. Tropical climates rarely get above the 80s, making the temperature perfect even in July and August.
• People are concerned about hurricanes -- Folks know summer as the beginning of hurricane season, but it doesn't really kick into full gear until September or so, so there's little reason to worry about cruising the Caribbean in the summer. Even if there is a hurricane, a ship has a lot easier time steering clear of the weather than a hotel on land! And if you're booking your vacation last minute, you will probably already have an idea of what the weather is going to be like, as tropical storms can be predicted quite a ways in advance.
  
• People have the kids and don't think cruises are good family vacations -- In the summer, you have kids out of school, and a lot of folks assume cruises are just for romantic getaways for mom and dad or retired couples, but in truth, you can find kids of all ages on cruise ships. All the big mainstream ships have great kids' spaces which can include skating rinks, teen computer rooms, pools with slides, and other amenities for children, so you can indeed take the kids on a Caribbean cruise, and you can count on them having a good time.
  

All of these misconceptions about cruising the Caribbean in the summer serve to our advantage, because we're presented with great rates as cruise lines seek to attract folks. Add the deals you get when booking last minute on top of that and you can get a fantastically affordable vacation (and, for the record, "last minute" can mean a few weeks in advance--the prices start to drop as far out as a couple months, so you don't literally have to be packed and ready to go at a moment's notice).

How to Find Last Minute Cruises

I just keep an eye on sites such as Travelocity, where bookings (prices and what cabins are left open) are up-to-the-minute for all the major cruise lines. Prices can change from day to day, so it pays to check back frequently.

Also, if you have a favorite cruise line, signing up for their newsletter can also keep you appraised of last minute deals.

Cruise Deals That Include "on board" Credits Can Save You Money

If there's anything good about a bad economy, it's that the cruise lines are offering lots of cruise deals to entice people to book vacations.

Chances are you want to take a trip anyway, and right now, if you shop around, it's possible to get much better deals than you could a year or two ago.

One way cruise lines sweeten the pot is with "on board credits."

But is this really a good deal? Or is it like frequent flyer miles (something you'll never be able to use)? Let's take a closer look:

First off...

What Are on Board Credits?

On board credits are basically dollars that you can use while you're on the ship.

As we've talked about before, cruises are all-inclusive in that they include lodging, meals, entertainment, and of course travel to your cruise destinations, but you'll pay for extras. Extras include everything from alcohol to shore excursions to spa treatments to casino gambling to merchandise at the shops. If you partake heavily in the extras, you can end up with a pretty big bill at the end of the trip. Even if you mostly take advantage of the free stuff, you'll probably still end up spending money on some of the little things.

Because virtually everyone spends a bit of money on the ship, on board credits are likely to be used by anyone. This makes them a pretty good deal as far as cruise deal perks. There usually aren't a lot of restrictions, and there are plenty of ways to spend those on board credits.

How to Find Cruise Deals That Offer on Board Credits


As I've mentioned before, I like to watch Travelocity for cruise deals (they'll often have at least one cruise line doing a promotion that includes goodies such as free airfare or on board credits), but there are other places to find deals too.

• "Junk mail" mailings from cruise lines -- If you've cruised with a line before, chances are you're on their mailing list. Don't be so quick to throw their flyers away though, especially if you're planning another trip. You'll probably find information on their current cruise deals inside.
• Email newsletters -- The e version of junk mail. Again, being on the cruise line's mailing list can be a back door to cruise deals such as on board credits and other perks.
• Booking your next cruise while on board the first -- Cruise lines almost always offer on board credits for folks who book again while they're still on vacation. You don't have to commit to a time or a place, just to a cruise, and you've usually got a year or more to solidify your sailing.
• Ask the bigger travel agencies -- While I'm a Travelocity fan, it never hurts to ask a travel agent what's out there. Larger agencies and those that belong to major Travel Industry Consortia often have shipboard credits on select ships and sailing dates.
• Airline rewards programs -- I've never gotten much out of the frequent flyer deals, but I've read that some can include on board credits for affiliated cruise lines, so if you fly a lot, it may be worth looking into.
  

Last Minute Cruises Offer Best Deals

Most people need to plan their vacations months in advance so they can get time off work and make other arrangements, but if you're retired or set your own schedule, you might want to look into last minute cruises.

With last minute cruises, you have an opportunity to get tremendous savings. This is because cruise lines don't want to sail with empty cabins. It's better for them to drop prices and get people on board (people on board who will spend money on drinks, casinos, shore excursions, etc.) than have empty rooms.

In my experience, the best place to find last minute cruise deals is Travelocity. I've compared the same cruise on Priceline, Travelocity, and the cruise line's home page, and always found Travelocity to be the cheapest.

Check them out if you're looking to book a last minute cruise and get a great deal.

Cheap Cruises, Do You Get What You Pay for?

Every now and then I check those sites that tell you how many people are searching for certain terms using search engines, and since I have this blog on cruises, I naturally check out things related to sea-going vacations. It shouldn't come as any surprise that "cheap cruises" is searched fairly often (much more often than "luxury cruises" when I checked this month).

Everybody wants to get a good deal, and I've written a couple posts on how to save money on cruises, but is this a case where you get what you pay for?

If you find some too-good-to-be-true, last-minute deal on a website, are you going to end up in a dingy, drinking your mai tais out of a paper cup?

You might be surprised to learn that the answer is.... no. As long as you book with a reputable company (Travelocity or the like) that isn't going to disappear overnight, you should be fine.

When you book a cruise, you have access to all the same amenities as the people who are paying thousands more for a suite. I sailed with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) on my Hawaiian cruise, and because I could travel whenever, I booked an inside cabin a couple weeks out at a nice discount. And what I found is that no matter how much you pay for your room, you get the same buffet, the same entertainment, the same access to amenities.

So, what's the catch? Well, it's a bit like Las Vegas. You know how they ply you with all those 99 cent drinks so you'll get drunk and spend tons of money in the casino? Well the cruise industry makes a lot, if not most, of its money on the extras that aren't included in your ticket. Examples include drinks (you'll even pay for sodas on cruises), alternative dining restaurants (there are plenty of dining options that are included in the price, but you may want to check out the more exotic fare), shore excursions (I spent several hundred just on shore excursions during my week in Hawaii), and shops (yes, you can shop until you drop right on board).

You don't have to pay for any of these things, but you'll probably want to enjoy yourself some, so just keep this in mind when you're budgeting for your cruise vacation. Yes, cheap cruises can still be an awesome vacation, but plan on spending a little to a lot extra, depending on what you go in for when you're on board.

Paying for Your Cruise in Advance Can Mean Discounts

There are a surprising number of ways to get discounts on the price of your cruise. For example, we've talked about special group cruise rates, booking your next cruise while you're still on your last cruise, and saving money by booking extra people into your cabin. These are all ways to get great discounts on cruises.

Now here's one more trick for saving money when booking:

According to Cruise Vacations For Dummies, you can save money by paying in advance.

"Cruise lines love to get your cash as early as possible," the book says. "So some of the pricier lines offer discounts to folks who pay their whole cruise fare ahead of time. Silversea Cruises, for example, offers a 5 percent discount if you pay for your cruise in advance."

It sounds like this particular "cheap cruise" trick may only work for the luxury lines, so I guess RCI and NCL are out, but if anyone has gotten a discount from the mainstream lines by paying early, please let us know in the comments below.

Save Money by Booking Extra People in a Cabin

Looking for ways to take the cruise of your dreams but not spend the next three years in debt from it?

Well, one way you can save money is by booking more than two people into a cabin. Cruise ships base their rates on two people per cabin, but most of the lines allow more, up to as many as five.

The first two people get the regular fair, but the extras get hefty discounts. And if the "extras" are your kids, there may be further discounts from family-friendly cruise lines.

There's no rule that says three friends can't go and take advantage of this deal either though. As long as you don't mind squeezing a bit (most people don't spend that much time in their cabins when they go on a cruise anyway), everyone can save a bit of money.

Things can get crowded in a small inside cabin, but with more people chipping in to cover costs, you might be able to afford a suite or at least a room with a view to offset the extreme togetherness factor.

Group Cruises Mean Nice Discounts

If you've love to take a cruise, but it's a bit of a stretch financially, you can save money if you get a group together.

For the cruise lines, a group is generally a minimum of 16 people in 8 cabins. If a lot of cabins are already sold out for a cruise, the line may not offer any sort of discount, but during the slow and shoulder seasons, when it's hard from them to sell all their cabins, they love offering perks to people who can bring in a number of bookings.

In fact, you can often even get a free cruise for the 16th person. (Hey, if you're the one arranging things, there's no reason that can't be you! Or you could always split the discount with the rest of the group... if you're feeling nice.)

Also, if your group is big enough, the cruise line may throw in some other free bonuses such as cabin upgrades, a cocktail party, or on-board credit vouchers you can use in gift shops and other places on the ship.

Just schedule a family reunion or convince a bunch of your friends that they need to get away for a week, and you're set!

Buy Early or Buy Late for the Best Discounts

If you're looking to save money on a cruise, there are two strategies you can take:

Buy early or buy late.

The biggest discounts for cruises are typically given for buying early (right after the cruises are listed--at least four to eight months before sailing) and for buying late (during the last six weeks when cruise lines are dropping rates to make sure cabins fill up).

If you're a first-time cruiser and there's a set time when you want to take your vacation, you'll definitely find the most peace of mind by taking the book-early route. That way you'll know everything is taken care of and you won't feel stressed wondering if you'll be able to find a good cruise deal as the days tick closer to your vacation time.

If you're an experienced cruiser and/or you are flexible about when you can take a trip, you may also find good discount cruise deals by booking last minute cruises. However, any time you wait until the last minute, you seriously decrease your odds of getting a good cabin, dining room seating, and the airline routing and prices you prefer.

It really depends on your personality and what's important to you. If you know you won't be spending much time in your cabin, it may be just fine that the view is blocked by the life boats.

Those are the two best ways to save money and get great cruises at discount prices though: book early or book late.

Book Your Next Cruise During Your Current One to Save Money

Cruises offer a great value for your vacation dollar, but there ways to get even better deals than the ones printed in brochures or posted on the Internet. For instance, repeat cruisers can get some excellent deals.

Want to save big money on your next vacation?

Consider booking your next cruise while on board your current cruise.

Cruise lines love to give discounts to people who sign up to vacation with them again. So if you like the experience you're getting, see what kind of deals you can get for signing up for another trip.

(Just because you go with the same cruise line doesn't mean you have to go on the same vacation. The big cruise lines have ships running all over the world, so you can sign up for a trip to Alaska or South America even if your current cruise is in the Caribbean.)

What if you're already back from your cruise and you didn't take advantage of the cheap deals you can get by booking while you're still on board?

You can still get great deals if you're a previous customer of a certain line. Some lines even offer free cruises after you've taken enough trips with them. Just ask your travel agent or check out specials on the cruise line's website.

So when you're trying to justify your next vacation, just remember that a great way to save money on cruises is to take lots of trips!