Deen on Deck. It's a travel blog.

Believe it or not, cruising for less than $50 a day (yes, that’s out-the-door) DOES exist right now. But you can also find a bunch of cruises that are full-price or even on the extra-expensive side (I’m looking at you, Spring Break pricing). So how do you get the deals to write home about? My tips, madames and monsieurs…

• Cruised before? When you go your cruiseline’s website to search, make sure you’re logged in with your loyalty number (VIFP on Carnival, Crown and Anchor on Royal Carribean, etc…). This is key.
• Don’t just check your own, either. Check the loyalty number of each passenger, as rates can vary wildly.
• Don’t you be picky now! When you search for your cruise, do not put in a destination. YET. Don’t even put in a date. Put in the port(s) you want to leave from and that’s it. Sort by price. That way you’ll see the cheapest rates first and can then decide which dates/destinations could work for you.
• Keep coming back to the site every day, and and try logging in as multiple people in your household with different loyalty numbers (although the person who gets offered the cheap rate must be on the cruise), You will find rates vary wildly day-to-day and person to person. I booked an $85 pp cabin three days ago, that’s now showing me it would be $240 pp if I booked today. Another member of my household is seeing the cabin for $55 pp. It makes a huge difference.
• Do you know someone who’s seeing great pricing, but it’s not you? Ask them for the rate code that the great rate is showing up under. You can then call the cruiseline and ask if they might honor it for you. Be nice, of course! Sometimes they will do this and it can save you hundreds of dollars.
• Check out sites like VacationsToGo.com and CruiseFish.net which can track prices for you. I’ve personally booked through VacationsToGo in the past and got a nice teacher discount from them, in addition to a great rate.
• Mess around in the ship’s casino a little bit. Now, I’m not much of a gambler, but you don’t have to be. Set aside $50 or so to use in the casino, NOT because you’re going to win, necessarily, but because we’re using strategy here! Next cruise, you might just get offered some casino rates (which can literally be $0 per cabin). I know some folks who’ve only used the casino once or twice and been offered those deals. I’m definitely hitting the slots (but just a little!) on my next cruise.

My own success story? I’m leaving on an all-ladies 5-day cruise on Carnival in exactly one week. My out the door cost? $250 – That’s $50 per day, and I’m super happy with that price. Happy bargain-hunting, my friends!