Available Options to Book Your Cruise

Just as there are many accommodation options to choose from there are also many options available when deciding how to book your cruise. Each option has their pluses and minuses to consider. It is up to you to decide which option is best for you.

The Passage Contract includes the details which govern all dealings between you and Princess Cruises. No matter who you book with be sure to read the fine print and know what you are agreeing to ahead of time. You should be doubly diligent when it comes to any fees that might be charged in addition to your cruise fare such as taxes, fuel charges and gratuities, as well as to change, cancellation and refund policies. Even if you don't make any changes, cruises are often subject to last-minute itinerary changes due to weather and sea conditions. There may be no friendly travel agent standing by waiting to spell the terms and conditions out for you, so it's important that you read every last detail yourself. 

If you're booking your own cruise online with a Travel Retailer or inquiring about prices from a Travel Agent or Princess Cruises take care when selecting the dates of the cruise and entering the names of passengers. Since cruises run the same itineraries on repeat, it can be easy to select the wrong date and wind up with a cruise that doesn't work for your schedule or even departs in the wrong year. You should also be aware that passengers' names must match their passport exactly when it's time to board the ship, so when you type it in to make your cruise reservations, check and then double-check. I made this mistake on my first cruise but luckily I noticed it in time to have it changed prior to departure.

Also be aware that Travel Agents and Travel Retailers may only have a limited number of staterooms to offer in certain areas of the ship. It may be wise to book early to help assure you get the type of accommodation, location, and price you are seeking. You typically will not save any money by waiting until the last minute to book your cruise but you will see less selection of accommodations. 

Nearly all cruise lines do not allow "Anti-Rebating" which is a policy that maintains a floor on pricing and prevents travel providers from engaging in price wars and client poaching. While cruise fares don't vary too much from one booking agent to the next, you should still always compare prices on a few sites before you book. Just like with hotel rooms, some booking sites buy cruise cabins at a group rate and may be able to sell them a little bit cheaper, while others may be able to score you a free upgrade or will foot the bill for bonuses like onboard credit and prepaid gratuities to nab your business. Others may offer some other incentives such as cash cards which would be issued after the cruise is complete. It always pays to compare before you book. In the end however, you will find very little difference, if any, on accommodation pricing no matter who you book with. The differences will most likely be in the added perks that they can offer.

If you're having any issues at all or you're unsure of how you should proceed at any point, you can call the online travel agency's customer service line for assistance at any time. Don't be afraid to do so -- customer service is there to help you and it's better to spend a few minutes getting an answer to a simple question before you book than it is to end up possibly making multiple calls and dealing with various people to fix an error that was made after your booking has already been completed. It's definitely worth picking up the phone when you see a cabin category listed online as "call for prices" or "waitlisted" because there might be an unpublished deal waiting for you or another option for getting on a full sailing. 

Also don't assume that once you book your cruise that you can't cancel it. There are specific allowable periods that allow you to receive a full or partial refund if you can't take your cruise. You may also want to consider trip insurance to cover you if you need to cancel the cruise inside of the non-refundable window period. It is up to you to decide how much risk you wish to take and if you want to pay the money for this added protection.

Please be aware when you are searching for a price of a cruise that in addition to the fare price there can be a lot of hidden fees, such as port fees, gratuities (now referred to as "crew incentives"), and other costs that may be tacked on to the fare price. However, the cruise lines, Travel Agents, or travel retailers, may also offer additional perks that overall lower the cost of your cruise but may they be hard to first detect. 

Focus your decision on the total cost of the cruise, not the headline fare. Often times onboard credits (OBC) are offered by travel retailers and agents, ranging from $50 to several hundred dollars per person or stateroom (be sure to clarify which it is). These onboard credits can be used to pay for port excursions (if booked through the cruise line), specialty restaurants onboard, or provide you with spending money to purchase things onboard the ship. It is surprising to learn that cruise lines can make up 35% to 40% of their total revenue from onboard purchases, such as beverage packages, specialty restaurants, casinos, excursions, spa services, etc. Take this into account when comparing fares. As expenditures on the ship can account for a significant proportion of your overall cost it can make a large difference to the total cost of your vacation and should be factored in when making comparisons. Added promotions, such as the current Princess Plus promotion, may add a significant cost to your overall cruise price but it also offers you may options that you may have added to your cruise anyway. In addition, some cruise retailers, such as Costco Travel, offer cash cards valued at $165 for this 14 day cruise when booking an interior stateroom. You may want to calculate that savings into your overall cruise price. For this cruise we were also surprised to discover a $150 OBC (per stateroom) given to us by our booking agent (Costco) that was not even advertised when we booked our cruise. We also received a $75 OBC (per person) because we had put a $100 deposit down (per person) on our last cruise.  We also receive $250 OBC (per stateroom) for being a certified shareholder of CCL stock. That is a total of $550 in OBC!

You may also have a savvy Travel Agent that could package your cruise along with your airfare and pre-cruise hotel stays into a more affordable package that could save you money in the long run when you add up all of the additional costs you may incur when taking a cruise. Click here to use an online cruise cost calculator to estimate your expenses for you trip, with all major spending areas you may find on a cruise. Simply input details about your trip and see how much you should budget for this vacation (you may need to deduct the gratuity amount from your cruise cost if these are part of your cruise package cost as the calculator automatically adds this cost to your cruise).

If you book your stateroom with Princess Cruises direct, or through another cruise retailer, they may offer you a less expensive fare if you book a "guaranteed" stateroom. They will guarantee a stateroom in a specific category of staterooms, however you will not know exactly where it is located until a couple of weeks before departure.  This is the guarantee gamble. You may have a better chance for an upgrade, but again, an upgrade isn't always an upgrade. If you want to save some money and you are not particular on where exactly your stateroom is located then this is a viable option for you. We however, prefer to pick our staterooms exact location so we don't get located near a noisy area. The choice is yours.

To simplify the tipping process for guests, a discretionary gratuity  (or "crew incentives" or "crew appreciation" as they are now being called on Princess and other cruise lines) of $19 per guest for suites, $18 per guest for mini-suites and $17 per guest (including children) in all other staterooms, per day, is automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. (These rates were raised by $1 effective August 31, 2024) This gratuity will be shared among those staff who help provide and support your cruise experience, including all waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, and housekeeping staff across the fleet. If you prefer to adjust this set amount, you may do so by visiting the onboard concierge counter prior to disembarking the ship. We do however, generally tip our room steward on the last day by leaving them some money in an envelope if they have provided good service, which they most always do.

These automatic gratuities can be a hidden addition to your cruise stateroom account as they will add an approximate $119 (or more, depending upon the type of stateroom you have) to your cruising fare for each guest on a 7 day cruise. Some people feel like they are a hidden tax added to your cruise fare. However, cruise lines and Travel Agents will often run promotions offering to pay for these gratuities, so keep your eye out for these types of offers. These gratuities are currently paid for by Princess Cruises as part of their current Princess Plus promotion.

For an in-depth explanation about gratuities (amounts, etiquette, and more) click here. 

I do want to add some advice about showing gratitude towards the Princess staff that serve you on your voyage: When you get home from your cruise you will receive and email from Princess requesting you complete a survey about your past cruise. If there was staff that you would like to highlight as going above and beyond in their service or kindness to you, please let Princess know their names and where they worked. This type of recognition helps these employees advance in their careers and may produce additional rewards which they deserve.

Another addition to the advertised cruise fare are taxes, fees and port expenses,and may include fees, charges, tolls and taxes imposed on the ship by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities, as well third party fees and charges arising from a vessel's presence in a harbor or port. Taxes, fees and port expenses may include U.S. Customs fees, head taxes, dockage fees, wharfage fees, inspection fees, pilotage, air taxes, hotel or VAT taxes incurred as part of a land tour, immigration and naturalization fees, and Internal Revenue Service fees, as well as fees for navigation, berthing, stevedoring, baggage handling and storage, and security services. Taxes, fees and port expenses may be assessed per passenger, per berth, per ton, or per vessel. Assessments calculated on a per ton or per vessel basis will be spread over the number of passengers on the Ship. These taxes, fees and port expenses are subject to change and Princess Cruises reserves the right to collect any increases in effect at the time of sailing even if the fare has already been paid in full. These extra fees are around $262 per person for this 7 day cruise. 

Above all, continue checking on your cruise prices even after you have booked. If you see a better option out there offered by Princess or your Travel Agent, you can often re-negotiate to get the new price or incentive offers usually up to 90 days before sailing. On our last cruise we called Costco Travel, where we have booked through, and notified them that Princess Cruises was offering free gratuities and some added onboard credits. Another time there was a fare reduction. Both times they readily agreed to match those offers and added some additional perks that Costco Travel was currently offering. When we booked with Costco Travel for this cruise, they told us that Princess Cruise, unlike other cruise lines, is often open to honoring new promotions even within the 90 day sailing period. It never hurts to ask and it could save you money or make your cruise even more enjoyable with some added perks.

Soon after we booked our Sky Princess cruise in January, 2021, our friends also booked their cruise through Costco Travel with the same type of stateroom category but I noticed that their fare was now $120 less than ours. I called Costco Travel and they immediately gave me the same price! In March, 2021 I noticed the cruise fair had dropped an additional $120 and called Costco Travel and they again gave me the new advertised price.

For our last cruise, within a month of booking our cruise fare had dropped $194 and I was able to secure the new fare! In September of 2022 I again noticed a significant price drop plus an added $100 per person credit for shore excursions for this cruise. I called Costco Travel and they worked with Princess Cruises to lower our fare by $606 plus give us the additional shore excursion credits of $200! We will continue to monitor the fare and call if it drops again.

While cruise lines typically do not give you a lower price within the 90 day sailing window if their price drops our Costco Travel representative told us that Princess Cruises is more likely to do so. For our last cruise in January I noticed that our stateroom price had dropped by $762! I called Costco Travel and they spoke to Princess Cruises and they gave us the lower price.  In addition, we qualified for the new Best.Sale.Ever promotion which was being offered at that time which gave us one night of specialty dining during our cruise in addition to the other promotion perks. Our Costco cash card dropped from $235 to $165 and we lost $50 in OBC but the effort was still well worth it. It doesn't cost anything to ask, except some time waiting on hold.

You can also sign up for a free automatic email from Cruisewatch.com which will notify you if your stateroom type lower or raises in price. However, they don't specifically ask what category of stateroom you currently have so I'm not sure how accurate their notification will be.

Although the video below references the sister ship the Royal Princess and is a bit out of date, it still gives you an idea of what is included and excluded with your cruise fare. Details concerning these specific inclusions and exclusions will be included on this website.

Princess Better Than Best Price Guarantee

Princess Cruises recently announced a new promotion that offers a "Better Than Best Price Guarantee" which means that if you find a lower price before final payment, Princess Cruises will give you 120% of the difference as onboard credit.

The new price must consist of the same ship as the original booking, the same sail dates, the same stateroom category, the same number of guests, and the same cruise fare type. If the cruise meets all of these details then you fill out the claim form to receive the OBC. When you submit the claim form, Princess will verify it, and once it is confirmed, they will match the difference plus give you the OBC.

costs included with your cruise fare:

• Meals in five Main Dining Rooms and the buffet, plus meals and snacks at the Trident Grill, Pergo Pizzeria, Swirls (selected items), International Cafe; also 24 hour room service (excluding select menu items)

• Water, coffeee, tea (including iced), and select juices in the buffet area

• All main theater production shows

• Most daily activities and events onboard, including games and events

• Movies Under the Stars, including complimentary popcorn

• Use of the fitness center (excluding classes)

• Use of sports court

• Scheduled activities in the Camp Discovery Youth Center through 10 pm

Costs not included with your cruise fare:

• Crew Incentives (amounts vary depending on stateroom type)

• Most specialty dining

• Lotus Spa and Salon services

• Beverages outside of water, tea, basic coffee and select juices in the buffet or main dining rooms

• Auto gratuities of 18% for beverage and spa treatments

• Most fitness classes

• Use of the Sanctuary sun deck area

• Shore excursions

• Activities including, but not limited to, bingo, casino gaming, and wine tastings

• Internet access and packages

• Evening group babysitting the Camp Discovery

• Photos and are gallery purchases

Sign up for the Princess Cruise emails which announce sales and promotions they are currently offering or check their website or your Travel Agent or Travel Retailers site for current prices. If you let me refer you to these promotional emails we both will receive a $25 onboard credit to use on the cruise!

Once onboard, you can also meet with a Princess Travel Consultant to book a future cruise, sometimes with substantial savings, or just put down a $100 deposit down for a future cruise (very easily done on the Medallion App or on your stateroom TV). The deposit is good for 1 year, is totally refundable if you decide not to use it, and gives you onboard credits ($15 - $150 depending upon the length of the cruise and your booked accommodations)  for use on your next cruise.  We had Future Cruise Deposits available for this cruise as we had each put $100 deposits down  and we each received $75 onboard credits. Not a bad return on our money! In addition, we only had to use our $200 deposit for this cruise instead of giving them a $800 deposit which we would had to do if we did not take advantage of this option while onboard. 

If you are celebrating a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary during this cruise, it is wise to note that when you are booking your cruise as Princess Cruises will put a sign on your stateroom door and give you a special dessert during one of your dinners during the cruise. On our second cruise, we had recently (actually like 5 months previously) celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary so we noted that on our booking and were treated to some special perks during the cruise.

So when should you book your cruise? That is entirely up to you. We booked our first cruise within the 90 day window of departure. We booked early for our other  cruises and often made modifications to the fare as new promotions were offered that could save us money or give us additional perks.  We are taking this same approach with this cruise by booking in March of 2023 and locking in our stateroom choice and hoping for other promotions to lower the fare or add perks in the future. The overall consensus from most cruise experts is to book your cruise at least a year in advance to achieve the best fares and stateroom location.

Reports from the major cruise lines say that pre-bookings for early 2024 and extending into 2025 cruises far exceed bookings which were seen for 2019 (pre-COVID-19) indicating that there is a pent up demand for cruising.  So if you decide to wait until closer to the departure date to book your cruise you may also risk the chance that there will be much more limited selection or no staterooms available of your preference if cruising rebounds with a flourish for 2023-2024. We did notice there were not a lot of staterooms available for this cruise when we booked it so we suspect that many future cruises will fill up fast. Costs for 2024-25 are also up more reflecting a rebound to the popularity of cruising and the pent up demand being released.

The truth is that cruise prices may vary, but they tend to hover around the same price, whether the cruise departs next month or next year. But what about last minute deals? It seems like basic logic that if a cruise were about to set sail with empty rooms, the cruise line would slash prices to get people onto the ship. After all, an empty room earns no money for the cruise line. However, if cruise lines slashed prices at the last minute, people would then catch on and wait to book their cruise. There would be no reason to book your cruise early. This would be disastrous for the cruise lines, who want you to book your cruise as soon as possible. In fact, some cruise lines refuse to drop prices any lower once the cruise gets within a few weeks of departure. Popular cruising destinations typically have full ships because the destination is popular.

There are signs that cruise lines are raising prices. Several news stories report cruise fares will be more expensive in 2023 and 2024 as cruise lines try to make up for their pandemic losses and higher fuel charges they are facing. Inflation and supply chain issues have also hit them hard. The cruise lines experienced increased debt during the pandemic and they have to raise prices to pay off this debt.

Princess Plus

In order to attract cruisers back to the sea, Princess Cruises is currently offering Princess perks in what they refer to as their Princess Plus 

• Drinks - Enjoy the Princess Premier Beverage Package, which includes all types of beverages for free ($15 limit per drink)

• Wi-Fi - Stay connected with family and friends - posting, video chatting, sharing your sea adventure. (1 device)

• Crew Incentives - Princess will pay gratuities on your behalf, so the crew who takes such good care of you is also taken care of . Effective for cruises booked after December 14, 2022 the crew incentive costs will be: $19 for suites, $18 for mini-suites, and $17 per guest in all other staterooms.

• Premium desserts (2 per day)

• Fitness Classes (2 per day)

• Unlimited juice bar

• (2) casual dining meals at selected dining venues (Steames and Planks BBQ)

• Free OceanNow food and drink delivery

• Free room service delivery

Is this promotion worth it?  You will save about 54% if you don't take the Princess Plus package (for a 14 day cruise). Crew Incentives for an interior stateroom is of $224 per person ($448 per couple). If you want Wi-Fi ($15 per day per person) you will end up paying about $210 per person ($420 per couple).  We don't take full advantage of the drink package like other cruisers may because it includes alcoholic beverages. However, it does include fountain soda, bottled water, specialty coffees, teas, and more. Also a one time $15 charge (per guest) for use of the OceanNow food and drink delivery service will be assessed for standard fare guests.

You can however, decide not to take advantage of these additional perks if you feel you won't use them and have the opportunity to realize a less expensive cruise fare. The decision is yours.  The value is $95 per day, per guest and the cost is $60 per day, per guest.  

You do not have to book directly with Princess Cruises to obtain this current promotion. Any Travel Agent or Cruise Retailer will also be able to offer you this promotion along with other perks they may have. It does appear however that Costco Travel does not give you the option of not accepting the Princess Plus package if you book online. You must call them to receive the Standard fare booking price.

If one person in your stateroom decides to sign up, all other persons within that stateroom must also sign up.

What is included in the Premier Beverage Package is explained here

The Wi-Fi package allows you stay in contact with friends and family while on your cruise

Gratuities can be an added hidden fee that you may not be aware of and add more than $200 per person to your cruise cost.

Princess Premier

In order to attract cruisers back to the sea, Princess Cruises is also currently offering all of the perks of Princess Plus (described above) and some additional Princess perks in what they refer to as their Princess Premier package. The additional perks are:

• Unlimited specialty dining meals per guest

• Wi-Fi (for up to 4 devices)

• Photo package (unlimited digital photos and 3 prints of your favorite photos)

• Princess Prizes - allowing you to win a variety of prizes ranging from $20 to $100,000 throughout your cruise

• Premium desserts (unlimited)

• Fitness classes (unlimited)

• Juice bar (unlimited)

• Unlimited casual dining meals at selected dining venues (Steamers and Planks BBQ)

• Medallion accessory

• Reserved theater seating for production shows

Is this promotion worth it?  Again, you will have to crunch the numbers and decide if these perks interest you or not.. Your cost is $90 per day, per person. 

You do not have to book directly with Princess Cruises to obtain this current promotion. Any Travel Agent or Cruise Retailer will also be able to offer you this promotion along with other perks they may have. It does appear however that Costco Travel does not give you the option of not accepting the Princess Plus package if you book online. You must call them to receive the Standard fare booking price.

You can however, decide not to take advantage of these additional perks if you feel you won't use them and have the opportunity to realize a less expensive cruise fare. The decision is yours. 

Click here for more details about the Princess Plus and Premium packages

Military Cruise Benefit Program

To thank the brave men and women of the American and Canadian militaries for their service, Princess Cruises offers up to $250 free onboard credits for veterans as well as active, retired or disabled military personnel. This special military benefit is eligible on any cruise, any time of the year and can be used to purchase a wide variety of amenities and experiences including Lotus Spa® treatments; dining in our specialty restaurants; gifts, jewelry and clothing in our onboard boutiques; and Princess Cruises shore excursions. 

Cruises of 7 days receive a $100 onboard credit and 14 day cruises receieve a $250 onboard credit.

To receive this benefit you must verify your military status as explained on the Princess Military Benefit Program webpage.

Book Directly With Princess Cruise Line

You can book your cruise directly through Princess Cruises, whether through on the Princess Cruise website, or by calling them direct at 1-800-901-1172 to talk with a Cruise Vacation Planner. We met a Cruise Vacation Planner (CVP) on our last cruise and she stated that they can give you very personalized service and find you the best prices, not only for your cruise, but also airfares and hotels if you desire, all free of charge. They can also keep you abreast of changes in fares and current offers. (I have to admit that if I still wanted to be working, this would be an ideal job for me)

Princes Cruises can also put you in contact with Travel Agents to assist you in your preparations. I have found that Princes Cruise customer service to be very top notch, with friendly and very attentive and helpful support.

Booking directly with Princess Cruises probably also offers you the widest selection of staterooms to choose from. Other travel providers typically only have a few staterooms on each deck to choose from.

If you book with Princess directly you may have the option to pick your room, but typically, depending upon availability, they may offer a guarantee within  specific categories as an alternate to an assigned stateroom, and you will be assigned a stateroom in that category or better. Cabin assignments will be made at any time between booking and day of departure, however you typically do not know your exact stateroom location until 1-2 weeks prior to the cruise.

One of the advantages of booking direct with Princess is that they may offer you a room upgrade prior to the cruise. Just be aware that upgrades are not always an upgrade. Do your homework before agreeing to any such offers. We declined this option because we were satisfied with our stateroom location and we were unsure where we would be located if upgraded. If you give them permission to give you an upgrade you do not have the option to decline it later if for some reason you don't like the location of the upgraded room. That decision is yours. For this cruise I opted to select the "meta upgrade" option, allowing Princess to upgrade me to a higher class of stateroom (from interior to balcony) but not allow them to move me to another interior stateroom location.

Princess Cruises also offers a service known as Princess EZair . This service offers you additional protection in making sure you and your luggage arrive to your destination on time. They can offer air flights and fares that fit your cruise, flexibility, and no-worry luggage handling from the time you leave until you are onboard. This one stop shop does seem to cover most of the mishaps that can occur during pre-cruise transportation and lodging . There are both pros and cons with booking your air transportation and luggage handling with your cruise line. Find out more by clicking here.

Book With a Travel Agent

With everyone attached to their phones, laptops and tablets, many people assume that online is the only way to book travel. But, as booking online can often be confusing, a Travel Agent might be just what you need.

While you may have a favorite Travel Agent that you typically work with, it is often times more advantageous to work with a Travel Agent who specializes with cruising. They will often be more aware of fares, deals, and tips that can save you more money. Because they work more often with the cruise lines, they are often offered more deals and have contacts that can help you with issues. However, Travel Agents may only have a limited number of staterooms and locations to choose from with their packages. This can make it difficult to locate a group of friend's staterooms close together, both because of the limited availability, and because your friends may have booked their accommodations with another source who offered stateroom locations in a different area or deck. However, this probably isn't an issue as we do also need to have some time to ourselves.

One of the most important things to know is that Travel Agents -- in particular, cruise specialists -- have been onboard the ships and can really give you firsthand advice about different cruise options. They have done a great deal of research through familiarization trips and cruise line seminars, so you don't have to do the work yourself.

The best Travel Agents have access to discounted group rates and exclusive cruise pricing that's not found anywhere else. In addition, agents occasionally give you extra value on your booking -- such as prepaid gratuities, or onboard credit -- to sweeten the deal. And if the price of your cruise drops after you book, a good agent will notice and refund you the difference in fare. Because the cruise lines pay their commissions, you don't pay more for their services and expertise.

Your agent will also be able to sort out travel insurance, if you choose to have it, and will collect payment for the cruise (usually a deposit at the time of booking and the full amount 60 to 90 days before departure). In addition, the agent can help you with the rest of your travel plans, such as pre- or post-cruise stays, airfare and transfers. 

Booking with a Travel Agent gives your transaction a personal touch -- you have a resource for asking questions and someone to contact if something goes wrong during your travels. But, your relationship with an agent doesn't tend to end after one trip. The agent will keep you in his or her database, alert you to deals or sales and can even suggest future trip ideas. 

So how do you find a qualified Travel Agent? Many agents become accredited cruise counselors through CLIA's Cruise Academy or take courses through the different cruise lines to become more expert at selling their products. Inquire whether the agent has attended any of these training programs. In addition, you can look for affiliations with the National Association of Cruise Oriented Agencies (NACOA), Better Business Bureau (BBB), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) or even AAA. 

Question the agents on cruising trends or up-and-coming destinations, and ask them to explain the differences between cruise lines. Find out how many cruises they've taken that year and with which lines they've personally cruised. The more knowledgeable an agent is, the better advice you'll get. If the agent has rarely cruised, you might want to take your business elsewhere. In addition, you might want to look for an agent who is a cruise specialist, either at a cruise-dedicated agency or within a larger general agency, to get the best service. You should also look for a Travel Agent who is familiar with cruising in the COVID-19 era. Things may be done differently on cruise lines in the future and it is well worth having a knowledgeable Travel Agent to help you.

Find out if the Travel Agent has preferred status with any cruise lines or whether he or she belongs to travel consortiums that would enable him or her to get you better deals, upgrades, etc. But watch out, some agents will push a particular line too aggressively for your tastes. You don't want to get caught in an agent's agenda if the cruise line isn't right for you. 

Look for agents offering discounts, free perks and other incentives. If you don't see a sign or advertisement, always ask -- the agent may have fabulous offers the cruise lines won't let him or her publicize. In addition, ask if the agent can meet or beat the best price you've seen elsewhere. 

You can book a cruise through a huge travel retailer with branches around the country, a local cruise agency, or even a home-based agent who will talk cruising with you at your local coffee shop. You'll find pros and cons of working with the different types of agencies; for example, you might get more personal service from an independent agent but better deals from a large company with a high volume of bookings. Shop around and see what size fits your needs best. 

The Princess Cruise line can also help you find a Travel Agent that specializes in cruising. Go to the Princess Cruise website and enter your zip code into the search box and it will provide you with a certified agency to assist you in your cruise preparations. 

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

You can search for a CLIA-certified travel agent on the organization's website. Use the search tool to locate agents in your area with a variety of levels of CLIA training.

American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)

Use ASTA's consumer website to locate a travel agent who has agreed to conduct their business activities in accordance with the organization's code of ethics. Select "cruises" or "cruise lines" under Specialties to find agents that focus on selling cruise travel.

Book Your Cruise Online Yourself

If you have cruised before and feel comfortable with it, or know exactly what you want -- the cruise line, destination, duration and cabin -- booking online with a Travel Retailer can be quite easy and perhaps save you money. Also, if you're a do-it-yourself type, and you have the time and inclination to thoroughly research your own trip, then go right ahead. For many of us, planning is half the fun of taking a trip. Most online cruise retailers have comprehensive search functions, as well as pages that list their best or newest deals. Many also offer additional resources, such as deck plans, photos and reviews. A step-by-step process will guide you through the booking and payment procedures. 

Even though we did not have any cruise experience we both like to do exhaustive online research before we jump into anything. And anyone that knows me well, knows that when I get into something, I really like to get into it!

There are a lot of websites that sell cruises. If you're looking to find the best deal for your cruise, even the smallest discount is welcome. Most cruise offers have the same base headline price for your accommodations. The difference usually is the incentives they may offer to entice you to book with them.

We searched around the internet a lot looking for the best cruise fares and we found that Costco Travel gave us the best fares and perks. Even though my wife may work for Costco, she gets no discounts on purchases or travel. We do however have a Costco Citi credit card that offers us 3% back in travel, so that gives us even more savings.

To take advantage of the savings that Costco Travel may offer, you do have to be a member of Costco, so that is an added additional expense if you are not already a member. Costco membership has an annual fee of $60 (Gold Star membership) to $120 (Executive membership) depending upon the type of membership you select. The Executive membership will also give you an additional 2% back on travel so paying the additional $60 can often pay for itself by taking a cruise. It is anticipated that Costco will be raising their membership rates in 2023.

The website Cruzely.com also had an article about booking cruises and found that Costco Travel usually was the best choice for booking cruises due to the incentives they offered.

Another advantage we found with booking the cruise ourselves is that we selected the exact stateroom we wanted (from the offerings that Costco had reserved). However, Travel Retailers, may have the same issue as Travel Agents, in that they may only have a limited amount of staterooms available to choose from. 

Costco travel is also now offering a $165 Costco Cash Card per interior stateroom for this 14 day cruise. These Cash Cards can be used at any Costco location and will be sent to you 2-4 weeks after your cruise. We actually received an email while we were on our last two cruises notifying us that our Cash Card was available.

While cruise lines typically do not give you a lower price within the 90 day sailing window if their price drops our Costco Travel representative told us that Princess Cruises is more likely to do so. For our last cruise in January I noticed that our stateroom price had dropped by $762! I called Costco Travel and they spoke to Princess Cruises and they gave us the lower price.  In addition, we qualified for the new Best.Sale.Ever promotion which gives us one night of specialty dining during our cruise in addition to the other promotion perks. Our Costco cash card dropped from $235 to $165 and we lost $50 in OBC but the effort was still well worth it. It doesn't cost anything to ask, except some time waiting on hold.

One thing to be aware of is that often the prices that are quoted on the Costco Travel website automatically include the Princess Plus package. Since we do not drink alcohol we just book the standard fare saving us $65 per day for the each of us. However, you must call Costco Travel to get the standard fare price.

In addition, Costco Travel is the largest travel agency in the United States so because of its volume sales it probably is offered more deals by the cruise lines which they pass onto their customers. They also typically offers larger onboard credits than most Travel Agents, and if you don't use all of these credits on your cruise they will give you the difference back in a Costco cash card. Other Travel Agents cannot offer you that option.

Bidding to Upgrade Your Stateroom

Recently Princess Cruise Line started a program, similar to what is done on many other cruise lines, that gives guests the opportunity to bid for a stateroom upgrade at a price you're willing to pay. You may not have the option to upgrade your stateroom if at the time of your booking, you chose the "no upgrade" option. We have typically picked this option as in the past, if you allowed the cruise line to "upgrade" you for free, the upgrade may not necessarily be an upgrade according to what you originally chose. There was no option to decline the upgrade so we have always chosen the "no upgrade" option.

Click here for more details about this new program.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance ---- should you get it? There are many things to know and consider about trip insurance.

Emma La Teace is a popular YouTube blogger and host of her own website about cruising. She gives her insights about Travel Insurance here.

The last thing most of us think about when we plan a cruise is the list of things that can go wrong before and during our vacation. But, there are many risk factors which are very unique to cruising.

Flight delays caused by weather or a mechanical problem can keep you from arriving to your embarkation port in time. The airline can lose your checked bags. You may get sick before you board or, even worse, mid-cruise. You might make a boneheaded move in a port of call and miss the ship. Plus, a host of other general issues can scuttle a cruise, such as the illness or death of a family member, cancellation of plans by a travel companion, job loss, airline delays and lost baggage.

Those reasons and so many others are why travelers may seek travel insurance coverage. It can provide that extra bit of calm and control we all crave. More importantly, it can prevent you from losing money due to unforeseen circumstances and travel emergencies, and insurance fees are typically just a small percentage of your vacation expenditure.

An outbreak of virus is not covered under most travel insurance plans for trip cancellation purposes. If you purchased a "Cancel for Any Reason" optional upgrade, however, there should be some level of trip cancellation protection available but only if you cancel your trip at least two days prior to departure. 

Cruisers who have "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage might be able to get back a portion of their nonrefundable trip costs if the cruise line cancels the entire cruise prior to departure. However, cruisers should first work with their cruises line to see if refunds are being offered, including for airfare and nonrefundable hotel reservations. 

An important thing to consider if you are thinking about getting the "Cancel for Any Reason" option is that it is typically only offered when you book the cruise or perhaps within 14-21 days (verify) of your initial booking date. The amount you may get back can also vary from 50% to 100% of your trip cost so shop wisely! You should be aware that the "Cancel for Any Reason" option cannot be typically chosen within 60 days of sailing with some insurance providers. It is wise to check the fine print before agreeing to any trip insurance. (Guess who forgot to do this?? ME)

It’s worth noting that if airfare and hotel reservations were booked outside the cruise line (independently, or by a travel agent), the cruise line has no obligation to provide any sort of refund. Those details would have to be worked out with individual airlines and hotels in conjunction with their current policies.

It should be noted that during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Princess Cruise line offered full refunds or offered to defer the cruise for a later date (and offered additional onboard credits) to all passengers even though they were not obligated to do so. Up to 45% of the passengers chose to defer their cruises for a later date.

You can shop and compare trip insurance coverages and rates on sites such as insuremytrip.com .  Decide what coverages are important to you and how much you are willing to pay. The coverages and rates can vary widely so shop around for what works best for you.

Princess Cruises also offers their Princess Vacation Protection (PVP). Available in both a Standard and Platinum plan, choose the plan you want based on the coverage and plan price that works best for you.  The Standard plan costs 8% of your cruise fare while the Platinum plan costs 12%. Princess Cruise Captain's Circle Loyalty Program members who have achieved Ruby status (minimum of 3 cruises or 30 days) automatically receive a complimentary upgrade to PVP Platinum; Princess Cruises will pay the difference in plan cost on their behalf.

Carnival Cruise Limited (CCL) Stocks and Perks for Shareholders

In a world where owning stock in a company rarely gets you anything beyond the investment value and a steady source of paper to feed to your shredder, it is refreshing that the cruise line industry continues to maintain investor benefits in the form of onboard credit. Carnival Cruise Limited (CCL) which owns and operates the Princess Cruise line (along with Carnival, Holland America, Cunard, Costa Cruises, AIDA, P&O Cruises, and luxury brand Seaborun)  offers these benefits based on the length of the cruise on any of the cruise lines they own:

Short cruises of 6 days or less earn $50 in onboard credit. Mid-length cruises (7 to 13 nights) earn $100 in credit, and cruises 14 days or longer earn $250 in onboard credit. This perk is also available for each cruise you take. If you took 3 cruises per year, you would be awarded the benefit for each cruise. This benefit is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be used for casino credits/charges and gratuities charged to your onboard account. 

This benefit is available to shareholders holding a minimum of 100 shares of Carnival Corporation Limited (CCL). Only one onboard credit per shareholder-occupied stateroom. 

During the financial crisis that began in 2008, famed investor, Warren Buffett, said "In short, bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price". During the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 all of the cruise line stocks plummeted in price and Carnival Cruise Limited took a big hit but we were confident that they would rebound and grow so we purchased a block of 100 shares of CCL in the spring of 2020, not only to take advantage of this perk, but to help share in the growth of this industry as it rebounds.

Even though we will not realize any more onboard credits, we decided to purchase another 100 shares  of CCL during the summer of 2022 when the stock market took a big nose dive. We are hopeful that cruising will successfully rebound in the future and the anticipated profits we make will be enough to pay for a future cruise! Buy low, sell high.

The process to get your OBC for being a stockholder used to involve sending in some proof to Princess Cruises showing that you own at least 100 shares. In 2023 they started requiring you to use an app called "Stockperks" to verify this information. We weren't real comfortable with this process but it worked out okay.

Onboard Credits (OBC)

To give you an idea of how much Onboard Credits you can easily earn, below is a table which shows the amount of OBC we earned for this cruise by:

• $25 (each) of OBC for putting a $100 (each) deposit  down on our last cruise

• $50 OBC offered Princess Travel

• $100 OBC earned by being CCL shareholders

Onboard Credits Him Her Total

Future Cruise Deposit $25.00 $25.00     $50.00

Shareholders Benefits $100.00   $0.00   $100.00

Princess Promotion $50.00 $0.00     $50.00

Total Onboard Credits $175.00 $25.00 $200.00

The OBC will help cover our excursions costs or other things for this cruise!

Future Cruise Deposit (FCD)

Once you have done a Princess cruise and feel you would like to do another one in the near future, you should consider putting down a deposit for a future cruise while still onboard the ship. This can be done by visiting Guest Services, on your stateroom TV, stopping by the future cruise desk, or on your Princess Cruises App. The cost is $100 per person and is good for one year. If you don't cruise during the next year this cost will be reimbursed to you. However, if you do cruise you will qualify for less of deposit towards your next cruise (typically $100 instead of $200-$400) plus earn onboard credit for the upcoming cruise. $25 per person for a 7 day cruise and $100 per person for a 14 day cruise. You can also purchase multiple deposits if you feel you may take multiple cruises during the next year. This opportunity can only be done while you are onboard the cruise and these deposits can not be purchased before or after this cruise. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.