Save money and boost rewards when booking cruises
Tl;dr: Use Cruiseplum to find good deals, and maximize rewards with merchant offers and cruise portals.
A few days ago, I talked about the best cards to use to book a cruise. While using an optimal card is always worthwhile, I wanted to discuss a few other ways to cut costs and maximize rewards on cruise bookings. Let’s dive in:
Search smart
Cruiseplum is a comprehensive cruise search engine (not an online travel agency) that offers a ton of useful filters to find sailings based on your target budget, origin, destination, number of passengers, and more. You can see a breakdown of how to use the site here.
Book through shopping portals
Rakuten is my favorite (referral link for $30 cash back), although there are many other options. As I write this, by starting at Rakuten (or using their browser extension), you can get cash back for booking cruises in a variety of ways: 3% at Expedia, 2% at Cruisedirect, 6% at Priceline, 2% at Celebrity Cruises, 1.5% at Princess Cruises, and 4% at MSC, among others.
Or, book through airline or hotel portals
Alternatively, you can book through an airline or hotel portal. Delta, AA, United, and Marriott all offer a cruise booking platform, each offering a 110% “best price guarantee” (check the terms & conditions on the respective sites for details). Typically, Delta and United offer 2 miles per $1 spent, while AA offers 1 mile, and United and AA typically double their miles when you book with a co-branded credit card. Be on the lookout for sales, though; right now, United is offering up to 10 miles per $1 for balcony rooms booked with a co-branded credit card. United also offers shipboard perks to elite members on certain cruise lines.
Check for merchant offers
It’s not uncommon for credit cards to have “offers” for large discounts or rewards on cruises. For example, American Express recently offered 20,000 points for spending $1,000 on a Royal Caribbean cruise, Citi offered $250 back after spending $1,000 on a Carnival cruise a few years ago, and Chase offered a more modest $35 back after spending $100+ with Carnival earlier this year.
Look for referrals
Sometimes it's possible to get some extra savings from a referral. For instance, my friend 30 And a Wake Up shared this referral link to get a $25 onboard credit when you book a Princess cruise.
Use your Amex Platinum if you have it
Finally, if you have the Amex Platinum and are looking to take a cruise, you should be aware of the Cruise Privileges Program. When booking 5+ night voyages on participating cruise lines with Amex, you will receive a shipboard credit of $100-300, an “exclusive amenity,” plus an extra Amex point for each dollar spent.
Happy sailing! ⚓