What is the best way to search for and then book a cruise?

I still see people saying that they like to book cruises directly with the cruise line but I rarely see anyone indicating that this method holds some type of benefit. I have been on over 30 cruises over 25 years and it is very rare for the cruise line’s price to be cheaper but maybe I’ve just missed them all. There are benefits however to booking on third party sites. Before we get to that though, we have to find the cruise we want to book.

Finding the perfect cruise

I’m sure there are over 100 websites out there that can help you find a cruise but I really like Expedia. Unlike Priceline where you need to use their website, Expedia allows you to search for cruises on their website and their app. You can use a number of filters to search by location(s), cruise line(s), length of cruise, dates, etc. You can then sort them by price, date, etc. I find this really easy to use and it’s my go to site/app for finding great cruise deals. Once you find the cruise you want you can then book it somewhere else.

Keeping an eye on prices

Unfortunately there isn’t a Google Flights for cruises where you can search for a cruise and then put an alert on it to watch the price. However, Cruisewatch.com does allow you to put a price alert on a cruise once you’ve found it. You’ll get emails as the price changes. In my experience, you won’t get alerted to every single price change for some reason but you will get at least some of them. It’s still a great service though.

Where to book

I don’t care if you use 2 sources or 20 but you have to compare the prices instead of just assuming one place is always going to be cheaper. In my experience, Expedia and Priceline are the same price or lower than the cruise line most of the time. You should be motivated by price. If you don’t book direct, you still can manage your cruise on the cruise line’s website and you’ll still earn loyalty points. If there’s some type of benefit to booking direct, I haven’t found one. I’ve booked several cruises direct for one reason or another and I’ve never noticed a difference except the lack of cash back.

If all prices are the same, you should book with Expedia or Priceline depending on the current Rakuten deal. In my experience, the Expedia/Rakuten combo is usually the best. Usually Priceline is just 2x back on Rakuten for cruises and they don’t have a rewards program. With Expedia, you’ll get 3% back on Rakuten and then you’ll get 1x back with Expedia. I got back almost $100 from just one cruise. Just go to Rakuten to check the Expedia and Priceline cashback rates because they sometimes change.

Expedia and Priceline will also give you the same extras that the cruise line will give you. Sometimes they’ll have an even better deal. Booking a recent cruise on Expedia not only got me the best price, it also got me $350 in on board credit which canceled out the gratuities charge.

Regardless of what you do, you have to do the math. Be sure to do the complete math and factor in the cash back you’d get from Rakuten and the Expedia rewards. The other benefit to booking on Expedia in my opinion anyway is that they will call the cruise line for you. My cruise price dropped and I would have had to wait on hold forever to talk to someone. Expedia waited on hold for me and requested the price drop on my behalf. They then called me when they were done with the call.

If you’re not a Rakuten member, you can sign up using this like to get $30 back when you spend $30. www.rakuten.com/r/JEFTRA4 This is the best way to save money on travel. There’s no membership fees, you don’t have to put in your credit card and there’s nothing to cancel. It’s free money! It’s one of those things where it sounds so good (because it is) that some people think there must be a catch. Normally you’d be right but this is one of those few things where it really is as good as it sounds without any catches. Please note if you don’t use this link you’ll only get $10 back.