4 Secrets to Saving Big on Cruises

Cruises are becoming increasingly popular ways to holiday, but for many the price tag is just too high. We dug up our four favourite ways to save big on cruises:

• Repositioning Cruises – Vacationers looking for a long trip on a small budget should try a repositioning cruise, which happens when a ship is moving from one route to another. These trips tend to be between 14 and 28 days long, and can start as low as $35 a day. Keep in mind though, that there will be fewer stops in ports, and flight costs for one-way trips can offset savings.

• Book Your Next Cruise While on Holiday – Enjoying your cruise? Most cruise lines will have an on-board travel agent that will help you book your next cruise right on the ship. The lines have an incentive to keep you loyal, so these agents will offer discounts and stateroom credits to entice you back. You’re not locked in to a specific date, so when you get home speak to a travel agent to see if there are any further discounts available.

• Keep Watching Prices – Cruises used to offer their best rates to those who booked far in advance, and this is sometimes still the case. However, keep an eye on prices even after you’ve booked. If it drops before the final payment date you can simply cancel and rebook through your travel agent.

• Sign Up for Newsletters – Cruise lines sometimes offer extremely low rates to preferred booking partners, with the caveat that they aren’t allowed to advertise them to the general public. Sign up for email lists of these cruise-focused travel agencies and watch for notices to ‘call for low rates’. These rates are usually available for only a short time, so you’ll need to book quickly.

(photo by Kabacchi)

Decoding Your Plane Ticket

Most seasoned travellers know the important letters and numbers on their boarding pass: gate and seat assignments, flight number, and boarding time. But most of us never stop to consider what the other codes mean.

The ticket code itself generally consists of the following information: which airline you’re flying, what flight you’re on, your ticket class, and the date and time of departure. Most of that is pretty easy to understand, but what’s a ticket class?

The ticket class is a coding system used by airlines to put passengers into castes. F or P will mean first class, J, D or C for business class, and the rest for coach. But even within coach, there are many different classes depending on what you paid for your ticket. Y indicates you paid full fare, while Q or other letters generally mean a discounted ticket.

Why should you care?

Passengers with higher class codes get preferential treatment. If you’re travelling on a Y class ticket, you’ll be less likely to be bumped and more likely to be upgraded. In fact, Y, B and M are generally the only classes eligible to be upgraded. Higher ticket classes also earn more frequent flier miles, sometimes up to 150%, and enjoy more freedom in making changes and cancellations to their itinerary.

The bad news is you can only get a higher code by paying more. But when you’re on the quest for that bargain ticket, you understand what you’re getting for the price you pay.

(photo by melloveschallah)