Deal or no Deal: How to spot a bargain from a fake this Black Friday

• Remember the maxim from the Australian Securities and Investment commission: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
• As we move to Black Friday, you are about to be inundated with special cruise deals.
• But just how good are Black Friday deals? Our advice: Don’t book a black friday deal before reading this.

This week, your inbox will likely flood with offers from every major cruise line promising the “biggest sale of the year.” Black Friday has firmly landed on Australian shores, and even though it isn’t until next week, the travel industry is one of its loudest and most enthusiastic participants.

But for the savvy Aussie cruiser, the question isn’t where to go, but what is actually real. Is that 40% off sticker a genuine bargain, or just a marketing illusion?

We’ve done some homework, and can now reveal the tricks of the trade. Here is your guide to separating the bon voyage bonanzas from the marketing mirages. Don’t snap up that booking without reading this first.

Tricks to look out for 

The false former price

This is a classic tactic. You’ll see a price with a line through, excessively higher than the current price being offered. The reality is that this is rarely an accurate depiction of the real price of the cruise, and it’s definitely not worth impulsively booking.

The up-to trick 

This is another classic tactic, used across all industries. Here you’ll see advertising material that says something like ‘Up to 50% off cruise fares’, with the key part of the sentence being ‘up to’. This could mean that just one singular cruise has 50% off, which could even already be booked, and other fares are offering lower savings or no savings at all.

Packaged options

This is something you’ll encounter more with websites like Flight Centre or Luxury Escapes or other travel websites that offer you a package deal with your cruise, a hotel and sometimes even flights. These aren’t inherently a trick, and you can definitely find great deals like this, but the packaging of so many things together makes it harder to track how much you’re really saving. These deals can be great, but just make sure you do your research and look up the individual prices of each part of the package. 

Different ways of expressing the price

Generally when you see a cruise priced, you are seeing the price per person, for an interior cabin, for the entire duration of the cruise. Make sure you keep a close eye on exactly how your cruise is being priced. Sometimes you may be shown the price per person if four people occupy the cabin, and you could be looking at the price for a cabin category you’re not interested in, you could think the price includes your kids when it doesn’t. Just make sure you know exactly what the price you’re seeing represents. 

Read the fine print

Make sure you’re aware of any conditions that come along with the deal. This could be that the cruise can’t be booked with a deposit and has to be paid all at once, that it’s refundable, that it doesn’t count towards loyalty points or anything else similar. Be sure to double-check there aren’t any conditions that make the deal inconvenient for you.

Tactics to find good deals and not get sucked into average ones

Price match

Straight off the bat, something that is important to know is that many cruise lines offer a price match. This means that if you’ve already booked a cruise, but see the same cruise advertised at a lower price, some cruise lines will offer you this reduced price if you call them up. This is important to know for those who already have their cruise booked before Black Friday, as you might be able to save as well.

Calculate the day rate

To help get a good idea of the price you’re paying, simply divide the cruise by the number of days. For example, if you see a 10-night cruise for $2800 per person, you can do the maths and see if this is $280 per person, per night, and this will give you a stronger idea of whether its in your price range and whether its a good deal for you.

Onboard inclusions

Another tip that applies especially to those with a cruise already booked is that often the best savings aren’t found in cruise fares, but rather in onboard inclusions. For example, cruise lines often drop prices for drinks packages, wifi packages, pre-booked spa treatments and more during Black Friday. This is also great because it’s easier to identify if you’re getting a good deal as you can easily look up the normal rate for these services.

The benchmarks

Now, cruise prices jump around all the time, so this isn’t the easiest thing to do, but here’s an approximation of what to expect for the major cruise lines in Australia. A Carnival cruise is generally about $120 – 160 per day, a Royal Caribbean cruise is about $160 to $280 per day, a Princess Cruise is about $170 – 270 per a day and Celebrity Cruises is about $200 – 2500 per day. If you’re seeing fares that aren’t below these approximations, it’s likely that the deals aren’t worth an impulsive buy and you’ll be able to find a similar price another time.

Use other search engines to compare 

Having a quick search in places like Cruise Guru, Flight Centre, Clean Cruising and so on, can help you check what normal cruise prices look like compared to the deal you have in front of you. You might even be able to find the exact cruise you’re looking at. You can also check in places like Facebook groups to see if the deal is really better than normal pricing.

Have your own expectations and plan 

The best way to make yourself foolproof to a deal is to already have an idea of your vacation budget and wants. For example, to know how much you plan to spend, what level of hotel you’ll stay in if you need one, how many shore excursions you are planning on doing and so on. The truth is that the more you spend, the more savings you can find, but this is only valuable if you were going to spend that much in the first place.

As far as travel planning goes, nothing beats a budget.