Gary Bembridge, who runs the YouTube channel Tips for Travellers, has shared his top tips on how holidaymakers can ensure they get the best deal on cruises
A cruise ship guru has revealed six savvy tips for holidaymakers to snag a bargain amid soaring costs.
Gary Bembridge, who runs YouTube channel Tips for Travellers, insists there are still crafty strategies to outwit the industry’s climbing fees. His first piece of advice is to snatch up your cruise trip as soon as new itineraries are launched.
Gary says this is when you’re likely to secure the most competitive pricing before dynamic pricing tactics take effect, pushing fares higher. Additionally, he encourages travellers to stay alert for various promotions.
He explained: “While this might sound obvious, there’s some important things I’ve discovered you must focus on with promotions. First, I ensure I am ready to take advantage of promotions as I keep a list of all the places, cruise lines and ships I’m interested in.
“But I hold off booking until any of those go on offer.”
A further cost-saving trick is booking your next trip while still aboard your current cruise as you will benefit from exclusive onboard discounts.
Gary also suggests joining forces on a group cruise to score significant savings through bulk discounts. He explained: “Group packages are also a useful way to find late deals.
“If a specific sailing is not full, occasionally the cruise liners will offer group rates to clear a block of cabins to travel agents that create and sell packages bundled with flights, hotels and transfers. These disguise the discounted cabin fares from us passengers as there is no direct comparison possible.”
He also recommended using friends to help secure deals, adding: “This is an underused way to cut your fares. Many cruise liners will give a credit to be applied to current or future bookings if you refer a new traveller to them and they make a booking.
“The person who you refer will also usually get a credit.” Gary pointed out that being strategic about when you book could reap financial rewards, with some operators offering last-minute discounts online.
He said: “Many cruise liners use travel agents to clear unsold cabins rather than advertise the last-minute discounted fares on their sites. It could mean people who have booked spotting the lower prices on the cruise lines site and hassling them to reduce their higher fare to the lower one.
“By using these agents lines can reduce that risk. One of the key things to do to make sure you’re not paying more than others is to do fare tracking.”
