Cruise fares are often heavily discounted (up to 50 percent) if you book your cabin over one year out from the departure date. There are two catches, however; you must be able to plan far ahead, and booking early almost assures that you will not receive an upgrade. With an empty ship there is no reason to move people around, and as an unfair result, the first comers get what they pay for, while latecomers may benefit.
If you have a more flexible schedule, take advantage of last-minute fares. Cruise lines are eager to fill the ship and often offer the same heavy discounts as early bookings. Extra Incentives or upgrades may be added on top of the reduced fares, so certain open categories can be filled rather than left empty. Last-minute fares are particularly good in the off-season.
Cruise lines often include onboard credit incentives with cabins of all types. The most commonly used system is one that grants a certain amount of onboard credit according to the cost of a cabin. For example, if your cabin costs up to $500 per person, you could receive $25 per person or more in onboard credit.
Remember that onboard credit can only be used on the ship. It will be placed directly into your onboard account and can be accessed with a swipe of your passenger key card. Onboard credit can be used for meals at premium restaurants, spa treatments, drinks and all charges on the ship except for excursions and casino gambling, in most cases.
Cruise lines want to get passengers comfortable with spending on the ship, so to give you a painless way to sample what's offered, the credit is given in hopes that you will continue to spend once the credit is gone.
Free category upgrades are something of a hidden incentive. Cruise lines will sometimes offer category upgrades to passengers at the time of booking when there is a particular category that needs to be filled. On all other occasions, it is up to passengers to request an upgrade when booking.
Upgrades can include transferring to another cabin of the same category located in a more desirable spot or on a higher deck, transfer to a specialized room of the same category, or transfer from an outside room to a balcony room. The chances of getting an upgrade are increased when you are a repeat cruiser, when you have a travel agent inquire for you and when you are booking your cruise at the last minute.
Every major cruise line offers passenger loyalty rewards programs of one kind or another to repeat clients. Member benefits include special members-only onboard events, dining discounts, preferred status for excursions and show tickets, free Internet use, free laundry service, onboard credit vouchers, gaming discounts and more.
Benefits are on an accelerated scale and increase as certain plateaus are reached. Each line has its own system and its own set of rewards. Most passengers are automatically placed into the program by the cruise line at the time of booking.
