How much does a cruise cost? If you book it on the right cruise website, it can be cheap!

Cruises have become one of the most popular means of traveling for millions of people every year, and we understand the appeal. Since the first cruise ship set sail over a hundred years ago, we’ve seen so many advances in the experiences they offer.

There are so many benefits to taking a cruise vacation. A cruise vacation allows you to let go of the stress of worrying about getting around in a new town, navigating three meals a day in a different country, or finding fun things that everyone in your group will enjoy. On a cruise liner, you have countless opportunities for food and fun, just a few steps from your cabin door.

You might automatically think of the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Mexico when you think of a cruise vacation. Tropical locales are indeed a favorite with cruisers, but there are so many different places you can travel to by cruise. Keep it stateside and explore Alaska or venture up north to New England and Canada. Travel to Europe without the hassle of a long, cramped flight and see the fjords in Norway and the Venice canals. Experience an African safari and see the Cairo Pyramids. There are so many different places you can visit on a cruise; we can’t even list them all here.

Cruises are an excellent choice for anyone who loves to travel but hate long, boring flights, booking hotels, and planning how to get from one location to the next in an unfamiliar city. You can enjoy shopping, restaurants, swimming, theater, clubs, and so much more while you’re on your way to your destinations.

Planning excursions ahead of time is an option, but you can even leave the planning until you are on board. Consult with experts and get great advice and tips on fun activities at each port. Cruising takes the frustration out of figuring out what to do at your travel location.

Another fantastic benefit of taking a cruise is there is something for every type of person. Whether you’re on your honeymoon, vacationing with a big group of friends, getting quality time with the whole family, or even taking a relaxing solo trip, a cruise will satisfy every single traveler.

Since we think cruise vacations are such a great way to see the world, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to find the perfect destination, compare prices and options between different liners and make reservations for a cruise that’s tailor-made for your individual travel needs.

We’ve compiled a list of the best websites to search and book cruises with the best prices. There are a lot of booking sites out there, so we made sure that the ones that made our list were thoroughly vetted. Each site was chosen based on its user-friendliness, search features, and functionality. We’ve even put together helpful pros and cons lists in an easy to read bullet-point format so you can quickly and easily find the right site for you without spending hours scrolling through Google results and trying to avoid ads and scams.

Here’s how we decided what booking sites made the cut in our list of the best cruise booking sites.

User Friendliness

We know how stressful it is to choose and book any vacation. Some booking sites are bogged down with ads while others go overboard on the graphics and colors, making it difficult to navigate and find the information you need. If the look of a website is off-putting, it can negatively affect your whole booking experience.

On the other hand, a fresh, clean website can make your booking experience a positive one and set a great tone for your whole trip. The sites we chose have intuitive user interfaces, which means they’re easy to navigate, and they present a strong aesthetic without being overpowering. They have all the added features and options that make cruise booking easy, but they’re organized in a way that isn’t overwhelming or overpowering.

The best sites on our list make the booking process simple from start to finish without trying to get you to purchase a bunch of unnecessary extras like car rental or expensive insurance. Their simplicity has another added benefit: faster-loading speeds. Without all the bells and whistles of graphics and animation, you’ll be able to view your options and make your purchase without waiting for each page to load.

These sites are pop-up free and confusion-free, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting and how to find it again later if you need to take a day to think over your options.

Rewards

Another feature analyzed throughout each cruise website was whether they offered any incentives or rewards systems. Rewards programs are set up by companies to give loyal customers money-saving benefits like exclusive deals, free food and drinks, discounted excursions, and coupons on future bookings. Rewards members can also benefit from time-saving perks like priority check-in upon arrival and other perks that make your trip even more enjoyable.

Often, you can benefit from these programs on your very first booking just by creating an account. You can also accrue points with your booking, advance to different levels of membership, and gain access to even better discounts and benefits. Basically, anything that would incentivize you to continue using their services to book future trips.

The booking sites on our list had to pass our strict set of guidelines for a rewards program, and we didn’t just add any old website with a membership plan.

We looked at what kinds of perks are offered and how much you have to spend to access benefits. One example is MSC Cruises. They offer 100 bonus points just for joining the program, but on the downside, you need to accrue 10,000 points before you can cash them in for a complimentary service.

Another thing to consider is how long your membership perks last. We made sure to take note of booking sites that offer a rewards program but which let your points expire if you don’t book a new cruise within a certain amount of time. We’re a massive fan of rollover points.

Customer Service

If you’ve ever been on any vacation before, you know that the customer service you receive can also have a positive or negative impact on your whole trip. We also want you to have access to excellent customer service when you’re booking your trip. That’s why we made sure the sites on our list have highly reviewed customer service.

It was important that to be included on our list, the customer service offered from each booking site had to be timely. If you have a question about something and it doesn’t get answered quickly, you’re likely just to use another site. These sites typically have a quick response time.

We also like sites that offer a variety of ways for us to get in contact with them if we have questions before, during, or after booking. Having an online chat representative that we can talk to while we’re booking is a definite bonus, but we also look for sites that offer phone representatives for customer service. We know not everyone likes to communicate via chat or e-mail, sometimes it’s just easier to get the right information through a phone call.

The last important factor in assessing customer service was the level of knowledge of the customer service representatives. Of course, we want to be able to ask questions about the site features and booking information, but having access to travel agents who can answer questions about the trip, food, activities, and the different excursions available adds a whole new layer to the customer service experience.

We made sure to include sites that offer a range of customer service options, so everything from choosing the cruise to booking it is hassle-free.

Travel Resources

It’s not as important as the site’s quality and customer service, but we also liked to factor in the presence of a blog or other travel resources when it came to choosing which booking sites made our list.

Booking sites with blogs have a more personal touch. They can offer travel inspiration, tips for packing, and planning your days and nights on the ship, and other general advice. Photos of the boats, the different excursions, and other scenic locations that would be open for activities are also great to help us visualize ourselves on this cruise.

A blog or newsletter is even more helpful if you’ve never traveled by cruise before or if you’re traveling on a new line. Every cruise is different, so we love hearing first-hand accounts of what a typical cruise schedule could look like.

Another resource we’ve found helpful is a quiz that helps you choose your cruise. By answering simple questions about what your travel preferences are, some booking sites give you recommendations like a virtual travel agent to help you narrow down the options.

Booking a holiday can be a challenging process, particularly if you’re uncertain about exactly what you’re looking for, and the addition of a blog with useful advice can make a website feel much more detailed and straightforward.

Transparency

Last but not least, we considered the transparency of each booking site that’s included on our list. Since there are so many cruise options and once you have committed, it’s not like a hotel where you can cancel mid-stay and find a new option if you find it’s not what you expected when you arrive, booking sites must be upfront about what’s offered on the ship.

We didn’t include booking sites that used ambiguous language when describing ship amenities. The booking sites you’ll find here spell out precisely what you’ll get for what you pay. They include up to date pictures of the ship inside and out, including what the different levels of cabins look like so you know exactly what you’re getting.

They also provide details about the food and drink offerings like what’s included in the price and what you’ll have to pay extra for once you are aboard. We don’t like it when booking sites tell you the cruise offers free dining, and there are ten restaurants to choose from only to find that the free dining is only available in 2 of the ten restaurant choices.

Comparisons and Review

Just like when you make any big purchase, you want to be able to compare the pros and cons of multiple options easily. It’s no different when you’re booking a cruise. Even when you choose your location, you’ll find that it doesn’t narrow down your choices. There are so many cruises to choose from; we appreciate when booking sites let us easily compare two or more cruises side by side. One example is Cruise Compete, which offers that visually appealing side by side comparison so you can easily see the differences between cruises.

Another great feature is being able to read reviews from past customers. You can gain some helpful insight from previous travels. Their comments may help you weed out some options, or they may help you to choose a package that’s best for you.

Overall, here you’ll find one of the most comprehensive lists of the highest quality cruise booking sites available on the web. Taking into account all the above considerations, we can compile a list of only the best site to save you time and money by highlighting only the sites that are easy to navigate, offer excellent customer service, use beneficial rewards programs, and provide blogs and transparency.

We think taking a cruise is the easiest way to travel to exotic locations, and we love that we can relax on a ship instead of taking a long flight. There’s a cruise for everyone, so start looking now, you’ll be saying bon voyage in no time.