How to Save on Cruises With Miles & Points

The cruise industry is one of the hottest ways to travel, with the Cruise Lines Industry Association (CLIA) reporting in 2024 that the entire segment had seen 7.1% growth over 2021 numbers.

The opportunity to go to many ports of call all while staying on a cruise ship where your eating, drinking, and entertainment needs are all taken care of is part of the appeal of this form of tourism. Like most good things, these also aren’t free.

So, how can you use miles & points to actually reduce the cost of cruising, which is one of the most cash-reliant business models in the travel industry?

What is the Business Model of Cruises?

Cruising is one of the most lucrative forms of travel for the main lines that own and operate ships. These companies – Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian – are called the “Big Three” and make up the lion’s share of the cruising market.

The basic business model on which these lines operate (at varying levels of margin) is one that’s designed to incentivize getting passengers onboard. Because these cruise lines charge every transaction in USD, they can make a lot from upsells in the form of premium food, excursions, or especially wifi. 

For example, Carnival, whose ticket prices are generally on the lower end of the market, charges the following absurd wifi rates per day, per person:

These rates would most make Canadians balk, as this exceeds what even our most expensive telecom oligopolies like Rogers or Bell charge consumers.

This is just one example of where extra revenue is taken from customers, but the same rule applies across all of cruising: your stateroom prices may be somewhat low, but expect there to be extra costs.

This means the job of any would-be ship-trotter is to try and minimize all incidental costs while still getting an as affordable room aboard a ship as possible.

Because of this monetization model, any “free cruise” is likely to come with restrictions and costs. For example, Royal Caribbean sometimes invites guests who play in their casinos, so long as they pay taxes and fees.

Of course, anyone entering a casino is already statistically losing at least some money, so who’s really paying whom in such a scenario? There are certainly ways to leverage this if you’re canny, but creative comps gained from gambling are a little bit beyond the scope of Frugal Flyer’s mission to travel more but pay less.

Cruise lines also don’t like solo travelers much, though the solo cruise travel trend is becoming more common, and they’ll tend to charge the same price for one room to a single traveler as they would to two travelers sharing the same room. So, for all our examples, we’ll be looking at two travelers.

What are the Implied Costs of Cruises?

When it comes to cruising, the biggest expense you’ll be able to save on with miles & points are the implied costs.

As outlined above, the entire business model of the industry is to sell you a room for cash to get you onboard and then (mostly) upsell you on amenities aboard the ship. If things like restaurants and the like don’t cost extra onboard, that simply means their expense was contained in the retail price of the ticket.

Therefore, the best way to save using points is to reduce the costs of everything else (and maybe even onboard purchases) using the magic of miles & points.

Most passengers don’t live at or near the ports of departure for cruises, and so must take flights to meet their ship. This means many cruising packages are sold via travel agents, which are great for convenience but terrible for saving with your hard-won points.

There are also costs like taking taxis to and from the airport, your hotel, and the cruise port. Maybe you need to make hotel bookings before or after your cruise; that is another opportunity where you can use miles and points to save money. There are many programs that are great for these expenses, such as Scene+ and TD Rewards, as they let you redeem points against travel expenses already charged to your eligible credit card.

Ultimately, provided you can think creatively, using a variety of miles & points currencies can help you keep more money in your pocket for the ship experience.

Lastly, it’s important to remember that prices are always charged in USD, so this makes using a credit card without foreign transaction fees, such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card or the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, even more vital. Don’t pay a 2.5% markup if you don’t have to!

How to Save on the Implied Costs of Cruises

Let’s consider an exercise in how exactly to save on all these implied costs by booking a trip aboard the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, which departs from the Port of Miami.

We’ll use Air Canada Vacations (whom I’ve written about at length before) to get an idea for our prices and use Toronto (the center of the universe) as our starting airport.

With the following flights to and from Miami on April 25th and returning on May 4th, we are going to get to enjoy a cruise from April 26th to May 3rd, meaning we’ll get seven nights at sea and two in gorgeous Miami.

The total cost for this Air Canada Vacations package as presented for a balcony room overlooking the ocean is $6,543.68 CAD for two travelers, or about $3,272 CAD per person.

This package doesn’t include unlimited drinks onboard, free wifi, or any other such niceties or add-ons, but it is inclusive of airfare and the cruise itself. It’s also missing the two nights in Miami, one just before we board our cruise and another one as we wait for our flight out on May the 4th (be with you).

But what’s the price when booking the cruise directly with Royal Caribbean?

$4,148.50 USD. At the current exchange rates, that’s an awful deal as it converts to roughly $5,850 CAD. With that in mind, let’s go back to Air Canada Vacations and find this cruise but without the flights because we can arrange those ourselves and use points.

Booking through Air Canada Vacations shaves $400 off Royal Caribbean’s direct booking price:

So this means we now have to find our flights. By not bundling the flights, we pocket $1,100 for use on the cruise.

There are multiple ways to get these flights, and if we get them for two passengers at less than $1,100 total, we’re already saving money. 

Better yet, we can use universal point currencies such as Scene+ or TD Rewards to buy cash tickets from any airline, not just Air Canada, and then use these points to offset the cost. Another option is the RBC Air Travel Redemption Schedule, wherein you can use Avion Rewards points to book flights of a maximum ticket cost.

Most flights on Google Flights appear to be in the $1,100 range, so we would need about 110,000 Scene+ points to subsidize these flights, or we could partially offset them with fewer points. Either way, it’s a way to save.

Alternatively, we could use Aeroplan points to book the flights, though this may not be the best value as domestic North American flights on dynamic prices rarely are. I’m a 25k Elite and hold a premium Aeroplan credit card, and this trip is still priced out at 68,800 Aeroplan points plus $332 in taxes and fees.

I think Aeroplan points are better saved for other trips, particularly for international destinations, but if your goal here is to pay as little cash out of pocket as possible, then this redemption may be worth it to you.

Lastly, let’s not forget we have two nights in Miami to consider. This is a great time to use Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors points or free night certificates to save on those out-of-pocket expenses.

For example, for a Marriott Free Night Award that comes with the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card or the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business card, you’d only need to top-up with an extra 2,000 points to save $247 USD on a hotel stay.

Lastly, there’s the cost of transit and taxis to consider, and for those expenses, currencies like Scene+ points remain king. If I could leave you with one thought, it’s that ancillary costs, both onshore and aboard the ship, are likely to code as travel, so a credit card that can redeem its points against all travel-coded transactions, such as the TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite card, could be a good option.

Because most charges will likely be in USD as well, it’s even more important to consider a no foreign transaction fee card like the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card.

How to Save on the Price of Your Cruise

So I mentioned earlier that there are (almost) no free cruises. Does such a rare unicorn actually exist?

Well, sort of. There is the casino invitation, and there are certain cruise line loyalty programs that will offer free cruises to recurring customers with elite status, but both these will necessitate out-of-pocket costs.

It’s fine and dandy to save on the other associated costs of getting to and from your port of departure, finding free taxis, et cetera, but how does the miles and points enthusiast actually get on the ship for free?

The best way to get a free cruise on the market right now is via Virgin Cruise Lines, who have one of the most points-friendly products available. This comes up as a redemption option from time to time when Virgin Cruises are looking to fill empty cabin space, and it is bookable with Virgin Red points.

It’s a bit harder for Canadians to earn the requisite Virgin Red points, but if you’ve gotten into the US credit card game and can get US American Express Membership Rewards points, you can transfer these to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. From there, you can link this with a Virgin Red account, transfer your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, and book expensive cruises for only the cost of points plus taxes and fees. 

The downside of these cruises is that they’re 18+ only, so this isn’t helpful for families and is more for adult leisure travelers looking for more of a party experience. For those who are looking for a child-free experience, this restriction is obviously a massive upside.

Secondly, you can choose to burn your Marriott Bonvoy points on the Ritz Carlton Yacht collection for the luxury cruises they offer. The terms and conditions for redemption value are buried in their FAQS, but captured in the below screenshot:

The minimum redemption is 180,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for $1,000 USD off the cost of a cruise. This can’t be applied against taxes and fees. You can use 90,000 Marriott Bonvoy point increments thereafter for $500 USD off. This is a bad miles and points redemption opportunity with a cent per point value of only 0.55 per Bonvoy. Sad!

Finally, you can call Air Canada Vacations customer service at 1-866-529-2079 if you want to redeem Aeroplan points on a cruise vacation. This offers a flat value of 1 cent per Aeroplan point, but it can be used on a cruise package, including flights. This isn’t the most efficient way to use Aeroplan, but if your heart is set on a cruise, it may be one of the most easily accessible for Canadians.

Conclusion

To wrap up, the best way to use miles & points to offset the cruising experience is to use your rewards to reduce the cost of flying to your port of departure and keep down the cost of transport such as taxis. It can also be useful to apply flexible point currencies against fees you’re likely to incur, such as wifi costs.

For getting free cruises, nothing beats Virgin Cruise Lines, but there are options available (if less ideal) via Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan by way of Air Canda Vacations to sail in style. I hope that I’ve helped you get one step closer to your dream cruise while still reducing the cost through the power of miles and points.