Why You Should Book Your Next Cruise on a Thursday (2024)

FAQs

Why You Should Book Your Next Cruise on a Thursday? ›

According to an extensive study that followed price drops in the cruise industry, Thursdays may be the best day to book a cruise. Prices associated with travel are always in flux due to supply and demand, so the prices of a cruise can change daily. Prices could spike on a Wednesday and drop, well, on a Thursday.

On average, prices for cruises drop the most on Thursdays, according to CruiseWatch.com. The data also revealed Wednesdays to have the greatest price hikes during the week. The worst day to book if you're hoping for a price drop, according to the data, is on Sundays.

If a cruise is filling up quickly, the company has no reason to release a sale to entice customers. But if a cruise's departure date is fast approaching and the ship is only partially booked, prices will drop, and complimentary add-ons will increase, resulting in some happy customers.

The extra onboard credit and reduced deposit are wonderful benefits to booking. However, if you're at home, your best bet is to still book a cruise now and lock in the price. Overall, cruise prices tend to go up over time, and the best prices tend to be when booked as early as possible.

It depends on the cruise. I just looked depending on the ship and somes dates left Sunday, Monday Wed, Thursday ,Friday, and Saturday.

Cruise prices change every day.

You might want to consider what day of the week to search for cruises, says cruisewatch.com, a search engine for cruise price drop. According to an elaborate study that took into consideration more than 600,000 data points, cruise prices drop lowest in the middle of the week with Thursday seeing most discounts.

Cruise prices do not get cheaper closer to the sailing date in all cases. Cruise prices are usually the cheapest furthest from the sailing date when first launched or 60-90 days before the cruise sets sail. The prices of some cruises will decrease last minute – but this doesn't always happen.

Many cruise lines come out with their best fares when itineraries first go on sale, and then raise the rates as the ships sell out. This is especially true with luxury cruises, new or popular mainstream ships and Disney cruises that tend to book up well in advance.

Is it worth upgrading your room on a cruise? ›

More space is almost always worth any minor trade-offs (like being far from the elevator or subject to more noise from surrounding decks). If you can move from an inside to an outside or from a balcony to a suite, for free or for cheap, we say go for it.

Travel agents can get better deals on cruises

Their service to you is usually free, though some may charge first-time clients a minimal fee. It's worth it. In addition to sharing their expertise, the agent may have negotiated group space at lower rates with the cruise line, which may save you money on the cruise fare.

The Verdict: Plan to Board Your Cruise Ship Early

However, it's better to err on the side of too early than too late. Remember that it's always better to be a little early and wait a little longer before embarking rather than show up late and miss your trip entirely!

The main thing is that cruise ship captains work long, tiring hours. They work 10 weeks in a row, then have 10 weeks off. However, in those 10 weeks of work, they are required to be on-call 24/7 and function with as little as five hours of sleep, depending on how smoothly things go.

Hurricane Season

Storms in August and October have a moderate risk of developing into hurricanes while September has the highest risk of all. For these reasons, September is the worst month of the year to take a cruise.

The average cruise ship speed is the same at night and day. But the truth is that the speed of a cruise ship at night can vary depending on a number of factors. For example, the size and type of the ship, the weather conditions, and the distance to the next port of call can all impact the speed.

Traditionally, the cheapest months to book a cruise have been January, February, and March, which are also known as "wave season." The trio of months often welcome industry-wide sales that can extend further than just a reduction on cruise fares.

What is the cheapest time to book a cruise? Prospective cruisers can usually find "a lot of good deals at the beginning of the year" during wave season, Goldberg-Glazer said. That period typically lasts from January until March. However, the optimal time to book may depend on when you plan to sail.

Sailing on a cruise that's between 6 and 9 days in length means you can take in more exciting ports and also relax onboard (and perhaps even schedule a day to enjoy the spa or pool when the ship is in port).

The best months to book a cruise are January through March, when nearly every cruise line launches some kind of "wave season" promotion, and November through December, when Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales often start well before Thanksgiving and end days or weeks after.