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, 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 $235 for our 14 day cruise. You may want to calculate that savings into your overall cruise price. For this cruise we were also surprised to discover a $30 OBC (per person) 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. Princess also offered a $100 OBC (per person) towards excursions. We also receive $250 OBC (per stateroom) for being a certified shareholder of CCL stock. That is a total of $810 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" as they are now being called on Princess and other cruise lines) of $16.50 per guest for suites, $15.50 per guest for mini-suites and $14.50 per guest (including children) in all other staterooms, per day, is automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. 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.

Effective for cruises booked after December 14, 2022 the crew incentive costs will be: $18 for suites, $17 for mini-suites, and $16 per guest in all other staterooms.

These automatic gratuities can be a hidden addition to your cruise stateroom account as they will add an approximate $100 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.

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 $165 per person for a 10day cruise, and $270 per person for a 14 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 this 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.

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). The deposit is good for 2 years, 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. On our 2020 cruise we each put $100 deposits down and we each received $25 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. On our 2022 cruise we again put a $100 deposit down and we will each receive $75 onboard credits for this cruise and only had to put a deposit of $200 down.

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 second cruise and twice 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 2022 and locking in our stateroom choice and hoping for other promotions to lower the fare or add perks in the future.

Reports from the major cruise lines say that pre-bookings for early 2022 and extending into 2023 cruises far exceed bookings which were seen for 2019 (pre-COVID-19) indicating that there is a pent up demand for cruising. Bookings for early 2023 are reported to be at the high end of historical averages. 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 2022-2023. 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 2023 are also up more reflecting a rebound to the popularity of cruising and the pent up demand being released. The cost for an interior room for this 2023 cruise compared to our 2022 cruise is $62 more per day!

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 will soon start 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.

We booked our 14 day cruise onboard the Sky Princess in January, 2021 and by April 1, 2021 the same stateroom category and a promotion offering less was $722 more! As of April 20, 2021 the same stateroom category had increased by $874 (although the Costco gift card had increased from $425 to $500). This is telling me that the cruise is booking up much quicker than normal. You snooze, you lose.

Princess Plus

In order to attract cruisers back to the sea, Princess Cruises is currently offering 3 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 ($70.79 per day)

• Wi-Fi - Stay connected with family and friends - posting, video chatting, sharing - all thanks to some of the best Wi-Fi at sea ($9.99 per day)

• Crew Incentives - Princess will pay gratuities on your behalf, so the crew who takes such good care of you is also taken care of ($14.50 per day for an interior room) Effective for cruises booked after December 14, 2022 the crew incentive costs will be: $18 for suites, $17 for mini-suites, and $16 per guest in all other staterooms.

Is this promotion worth it? The difference in the cruise fare is about $560 if you don't take the Princess Plus package (for a 14 day cruise). But you will still be obligated to pay the Crew Incentives of $203 per person ($406 per couple). If you want Wi-Fi you will end up paying about $140 per person ($280 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. In the end the Princess Plus package comes out to be about a wash. The added Wi-Fi and gratuities offers are enticing inclusions.

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 $50 per day, per guest. Effective for cruises booked after December 14, 2022 this price will increase to $60 per day.

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.

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 $100 per person to your cruise cost.

Effective for booking made after December 14, 2022 the prices of this package has increased to $60 per day and some items like crew incentives and Wi-Fi (from $10 per day to $15 per day) will also increase so it remains to be seen if this package is really worth it in the future, espeically to those of us who don't drink expensive alcohol drinks. We feel in the future it may be better to book the basic fare and add on items we may want, such as Wi-Fi or perhaps a coffee or soda package.

Princess Premier

In order to attract cruisers back to the sea, Princess Cruises is also currently offering the perks of Princess Plus (described above) and 3 additional Princess perks in what they refer to as their Princess Premier package. The additional perks are:

• 2 specialty dining meals per guest

• 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

Is this promotion worth it? Again, you will have to crunch the numbers and decide if these perks interest you or not. The value of all perks is $156 per day per guest. Your cost is $75 per day, per person.

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.

This package is also being increased to $80 per day for bookings after December 14, 2022. There are some additonal added perks but one should do the math to see if it is worth it.

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.

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.

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. When we booked our cruise in January of 2021 we did notice that they seemed to have a very limited choice of staterooms available. We're not sure if they were only given a limited number of staterooms to sell or if demand is high with many people wanting to get back to cruising again.

We also received a coupon book once onboard to use for savings on our cruise when we booked with Costco Travel on our second cruise.

Costco travel is also now offering (in addition to the Princess Cruise Princess Plus promotion) a $285 Costco Cash Card per interior stateroom for a 14 day cruise and a $450 Costco Cash Card for a 14 day cruise in a balcony stateroom. These Cash Cards can be used at any Costco location and will be sent to you 2-4 weeks after your cruise. In addition, and unknown to us when we booked, Costco also gave us $30 OBC (per person) for this cruise!

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. 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.

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.

Click here for more details about this new program.

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.

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:

• Putting a $100 (each) deposit down on our last cruise

• OBC offered by Costco Travel

• OBC offered by Princess Cruises

• OBC earned by being CCL shareholders

Onboard Credits Him Her Total

Future Cruise Deposit $75.00 $75.00 $150.00

Shareholders Benefits $250.00 $0.00 $250.00

Costco Promotion $30.00 $30.00 $60.00

Princess Credit Promotion $75.00 $75.00 $150.00

Shore Excursion Promotion $100.00 $100.00 $200.00

Total Onboard Credits $530.00 $280.00 $810.00

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