Caribbean Cruise Deals

5 Tips for Finding Caribbean Cruise Deals
With its white sand beaches, secluded coves, diverse cultural influences, and mouthwatering food, the Caribbean is a traveler’s delight. There are so many islands and destinations to explore in the Caribbean that it could take a lifetime to see it all with your own eyes. That’s why Caribbean cruises provide an unmatched opportunity to explore the region. Cruise ships allow you to travel from port to port so you can see several destinations in one fell swoop. And since the Caribbean is such a popular destination for cruisers, the competition amongst cruise lines is fierce and prices are low. To ensure that you find the best cruise bargain, follow these 5 tips.

1. Book a Cruise in the Off Season
The Caribbean is a year-round cruising destination, but the peak seasons for cruisers are June to August, around Christmas and New Year’s, and February through mid-April. You can find great Caribbean cruise deals if you book a cruise from late April to May or from September to early January (excluding holiday weeks). Not only is the weather wonderful when you cruise in the Caribbean during the off season, there are also fewer tourists crowding popular attractions. Just keep in mind that the hurricane season runs from June to November, so if there’s a hurricane brewing while you take your cruise, there may be a change in the ports of call. You can avoid hurricanes during your Caribbean cruise if you take a cruise that visits islands in the southern Caribbean, such as Aruba and Barbados, which are less prone to hurricanes.

2. Book in Advance
Almost every Caribbean cruise line offers an early booking discount, so book your Caribbean cruise at least six to nine months in advance to save money. You may even be able to set up a payment plan and pay for your cruise in installments if you book early.

3. Book at the Last Minute
Although your safest bet for finding Caribbean cruise deals is to book well in advance, there’s also a possibility that you’ll be able to find a good bargain by booking at the last minute. Cruise lines don’t like to leave rooms on their ship vacant, so if the departure date is near and they still haven’t filled several staterooms, it’s likely that they’ll slash prices at the last minute in order to attract more passengers. If you have a flexible schedule and you’re open to visiting a variety of Caribbean destinations, wait until one to two weeks before the preferred departure date to start looking for last minute bargains.

4. Take a One-Way, Repositioning Cruise
Cruise ships journey from one seasonal cruising region to another as the seasons change. Since cruise lines don’t want to leave cruise ships empty when they reposition them, they offer rooms in repositioning cruises at a deep discount. In the fall, cruise ships in Alaska and Europe move to the Caribbean, while in the spring, the ships move back to Alaska and Europe. If you don’t mind taking a long cruise that lasts 9 to 18 days or longer and spending several days of the cruise at sea, you may enjoy taking a repositioning cruise that embarks or disembarks in the Caribbean. The only downside of taking a repositioning cruise is that airfare can get expensive since the embarkation and disembarkation ports are far away from each other.

5. Travel as a Group
Many cruise lines offer group discounts, so you will find excellent Caribbean cruise deals if you travel as a large group. You can expect around 1 out of 15 passengers to cruise at no charge and then split the discount among everyone in the group.