From the Bridge: Riding Wave Season for the Best Cruise

It’s January, and you’ve undoubtedly seen a lot of ads for and coverage of great cruise deals. That’s no accident. Every year, January to March, the industry teams up to create the best and most tantalizing reasons to take a cruise vacation. In what I call the “kitchen sink” approach to cruise deals, lines offer all sorts of tempting extras, from free Wi-Fi to airfare upgrades and from complimentary beverage packages to two-for-one discounts.

Our own story, “Wave Season Deals 2017,” which is updated regularly as new promotions surface,  offers a handy guide to what deals we see out there.

But all the hoopla about cruise deals at this time of the year reminds me that choosing a cruise based on its deals hype can be tricky.

First and foremost: The biggest mistake you can ever make when choosing a cruise is to base the decision solely on the cost of the trip. These days, cruise lines — whether big or small, mass market or ultra-luxe — all have carved out niches of their own to appeal to particular types of travelers. What works for family cruisers with kids in tow might not appeal to retirees who want a quiet, destination-centric experience. First, figure out which lines best fit what you’re looking for on vacation  (preferably with the help of Cruise Critic and/or your own travel agent). And then, shop. Shop hard. Narrow down the hunt by looking for the best possible deals on experiences that will make you happy.

Second bit of advice: If you’re looking for cheap-cheap-cheap, wave season isn’t going to help you (save that for super last-minute or super low-season bookings). What wave season does brilliantly is try to give you the best annual bang for your buck, and by that I’m talking about value.

What’s new this year in wave season deals? The promos put forth by cruise lines offer a peek at trends that can help make your next cruise your best cruise.

Here’s what looks interesting to us:

Build Your Own

There are more opportunities than we’ve ever seen to pick your perks. Figure out which extras you’d plan to pay for anyway — shore excursions, Wi-Fi, alternative restaurants, business class air,stateroom upgrades and spa treatments — and find the deals that offer these items up for free. Some lines offering the best variety of options here are Norwegian, Celebrity, Oceania, Windstar, and Crystal.

Kids Sail Free on Luxury Lines

While big-ship lines have long carved out a niche for family travelers, it’s interesting to see this year that more upscale and/or adventure-oriented lines, such as Crystal, Oceania and Star Clippers, are promoting travel with kids’ deals.

BOGO Plus

Buy one, get one free is a pretty good deal to start with, but keep an eye out for cruise lines, like Viking Ocean Cruises, that are sweetening the pot with an additional choice of a free beverage plan, gratuities or $400 in onboard credit. MSC’s two-for-one adds a “kids cruise free” enticement.

Solo Fares & Air on the Rivers

Typically, European river cruise lines haven’t had much need to discount too heavily, but this year there are some particularly good value options. Free air seems to be a popular lure with Viking River Cruises offering it to those who book select voyages, and Emerald Waterways is offering a similar perk to travelers who choose higher-end cabins. Look for solo promotions, too; lines typically offer reduced or eliminated single surcharges for cruises that aren’t as fully booked as they would like. (This could be the year for single travelers to head to Burma’s Irrawaddy on Avalon, for instance.)

Popular Destinations in Low Season

You might not find as many value-packed wave season options during high season on routes in the Caribbean (late winter and early spring) or Alaska during the summer. Still, you can find decent rates (with good choice in the $100 to $150  range) for Alaska cruises – Holland America has some excellent deals in late April, for instance. In the Caribbean in the heart of summer, there’s plenty of choice in the $50 to $125 per diem range from lines like Carnival, MSC, Norwegian and Celebrity.

Re-positioning is Always a Safe Bet

Regardless of wave season, you can almost always nab the best deal in cruising each year on repositioning voyages. Ships traveling from the Caribbean to Europe in the spring –and reverse in the fall — along with Alaska to Caribbean trips via the Panama Canal, are still a steal. In November, for instance, deals in the $40 to $50 range abound from Royal Caribbean and Norwegian on a number of ships.

Resource: Author Carolyn Spencer Brown, Cruise Critic’s Editor in Chief.  View Original Article

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This post was written by nelson