Cruisers are saving thousands with price guarantees – here’s how to do the same

• Many contemporary cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line have price-guarantee policies.
• This means if you book your cruise and later see the fare is cheaper, the line will honour the new price.
• Each program is different so here is a guide to each of the policies of each of the major lines that sail in Australia.

Cruisers are sharing their hacks on how they have managed to save thousands by price matching their fares.

There are plenty of cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Princess that have price guarantee policies. If you have booked a cruise through the website and later find the same voyage offered at a lower price, the cruise line will honour the new price.

Cruiser Lisa Miller Franco said she saved $1600 on her cruise by using Royal Caribbean’s re-price guarantee, not once, but twice.

She said: “I just got a second re-price on my cruise; I can’t believe it. It’s for a nine-night cruise to the South Pacific this November. I booked it last year and re-priced it down in June and saved $1200, and then I just re-priced it again and got another $400 off.

“I literally just call and say please can you check the room pricing, I could see it had dropped because I was looking at the suites and my room is showing a different price. They are always very helpful, they just re-price it down to the new price. As long as it isn’t paid in full.”

Another cruiser Wendy Dean shared a similar story: “I called them the other day for the same cruise. Originally I was booked in the interior as a balcony was so expensive. When I called, I saved around $1200 and got upgraded to a balcony. The savings will go towards more shore excursions for our kids.”

Explaining how she achieved this Wendy said: “I looked at the current pricing on their website and then called and asked about upgrading. I think as long as you haven’t paid the full amount they will try to accommodate you.”

Keen eyed cruisers who take advantage of these price guarantees can save thousands, which depending on the cruise line and how long before your cruise, can be offered as a partial refund or as onboard credit. Either way, it can free up plenty of money to put towards your next holiday or splurge a bit more onboard. 

Tips to get your price guarantee 

• Periodically check the prices for your cruise. An easy way to do this is to set a calendar alert for once a week or once a month, and then just have a quick look when it pops up. If you notice the price has dropped down, get on the phone to your cruise line!
• Checking during promo periods such as the end of financial year or black friday can you give a better chance at seeing your cruise price lowered. 
• Don’t pay for your cruise up front! Once the total amount is paid this will make it much more difficult to get a price guarantee paid. It’s best to pay in installments. 
• Use a travel agent! If it sounds like a lot to be constantly monitoring prices, if you have a travel agent they will often do it for you, and they can handle the re-pricing process if the cruise does drop. 
• Don’t be afraid to ask for an upgrade! Like in the examples above, sometimes you might even be offered an upgrade, or just like when boarding a plane, it can’t hurt to ask and you might just get lucky. 
• Check your cruise lines individual price guarantee policy to know exactly what the terms are. You can read below for a summary, but if you’re sailing with a different line or want more information, simply google your cruise line of choice and price guarantee to see under what circumstances you can get a fare lowered.

Princess Cruise Line

• Any Princess cruise booked for 2025, 2026 and 2027 comes with a price guarantee.
• From their website: “Enjoy total peace of mind with our Best Price Guarantee — a promise built into every Princess® cruise. Book any 2025, 2026, or 2027 sailing, and we guarantee you’ll never find a lower price before final payment.”
• However, this applies only to pricing on their official website, if you see the same cruise advertised on a different website, this doesn’t apply.
• If you do see a cheaper price on their official website, the cruise lines will give you 120% of the difference as an onboard credit. 
• This means if you book a cruise for $5000 and then you see it for $4500, the cruise line will give you 120% of the difference between the two prices as an onboard credit. In this instance that would be $600OBC. 

Royal Caribbean

• Royal Caribbean’s Best Price Guarantee comes with a slight difference for whether you see a better price within 48 hours of booking your cruise, or after this 48-hour window.
• If you see a better price within 48 hours after booking, you can contact the cruise line and receive an upgrade if available, or a refund of the price difference. However, if you’ve already made your final payment, you can receive an upgrade if available, or otherwise, onboard credit in the amount of the price difference.
• If it’s been more than 48 hours, the key difference is whether you’ve made your final payment yet. If you haven’t, then you can receive an upgrade if possible, or otherwise a refund for the price difference. If you have, you can receive an upgrade if available, but nothing else. 
• This means it’s crucial to check the current price of your cruise before your final payment, as this will be your last chance to make some savings. 

Celebrity Cruises

• The Celebrity Cruises Best Price Guarantee applies to any price advertised to the general public. Celebrity’s policy also includes if you see promos with added value that wasn’t advertised when you booked your cruise. For example, if now there’s a cruise offering $1000 OBC and free-WiFi for booking, you can access these perks as well using their program.
• If you submit a request on or before the day of final payment for a reduced cruise fare, Celebrity will reduce the cruise fare to the new fare amount. 
• If you submit a request to add or change an added value offer on or before the due date of final payment, Celebrity will add this to your booking. It’s worth noting that you can’t combine different promotions, so if your cruise booking had a promotion attached to it as well, you can’t combine that with a new promotion, but you can choose the one you’d prefer.

Norwegian Cruise Line 

• Under the NCL Best Price Guarantee, if a lower price is advertised before the final date, you can utilise this price for your booking. 
• If you’ve already made your final payment, and then see a price drop, you can choose between an upgrade, subject to availability, or a future cruise credit of the difference, that can go towards a future sailing.
• There are several criteria that exclude certain cruises from the offer, which can be viewed here.

Carnival Cruises 

• Carnival Cruises has a price guarantee policy, but it’s much less comprehensive than the other major lines, as it can only be applied within two days of booking your cruise. 
• If within two days of booking your cruise, you see the price drop, you can receive 110% of the difference in onboard credit. 
• Also, this offer is not available with Carnival Australia. Therefore, while the policy can be used for overseas sailings, Carnival has no price guarantee policy in Australia. 

Disney Cruise Line

• Disney Cruise Line does not have a price guarantee. You are locked into the initial price you agreed to.