Luxury cruises range in price from expensive to outrageously expensive. But the value of high-end ships is clear: For the money, you get more fare inclusions, nicer accommodations, upscale dining and higher space-to-passenger and crew-to-passenger ratios than on big, mass-market ships.
Still, sometimes you want the luxe for less.
You’ll never find a cheap luxury cruise, but you can find sailings that are less expensive than others (either when sorting by the total cost or the per-night rate). You might have to compromise on sail dates or take a risk with the weather, but you can get great value by choosing the cruise less traveled.
Here are the five most affordable luxury cruises we could find, so you can save a little bit when you sail in style.
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Fall Caribbean cruises
Caribbean cruises might be the bread and butter of mass-market cruise lines, but they don’t have the same prominence among the itineraries of the luxury lines. Tropical cruises on luxury lines tend to be shorter sailings, taking place in the fall and winter (rather than year-round) and often targeting younger professionals who might not have the time to take two-week vacations.
Combine those factors with a shoulder-season fall travel date (between mid-September and the week before Christmas) and you’ve got yourself a more affordable luxury cruise.
For example, Regent Seven Seas Cruises‘ 2024-2025 Caribbean season runs from November through March. The least expensive sailing for the season takes place in early December in the travel lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fares start at $3,899 per person for a weeklong round-trip cruise from Miami. A similar seven-night sailing costs $4,799 ($900 more) in February.
Shoulder-season Alaska cruises
No matter which cruise line you sail, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that the first and last Alaska sailings of the season are the most affordable. Why? Timing and weather.
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The Alaska cruise season begins in late April or May and runs through September and occasionally October. These travel dates are often nonstarters for families, who wait for the summer school break to take their vacations. Even travelers not bound by school schedules sometimes shy away from these cruises because of the imperfect weather conditions.
In May, temperatures can still be chilly in Alaska, waterways in glacier areas can be clogged with ice, Alaska’s famous salmon haven’t started to run and bus service at Alaska’s famed Denali National Park hasn’t yet begun. In September and October, the temperatures start dropping — and the rain keeps falling — and attractions such as Denali begin to close.
All that said, if you’re willing to take a risk on the weather and aren’t planning a land tour up to Denali, you can score a deal on a high-end Alaska sailing during these off-peak times.
In 2025, a mid-May Alaska cruise on Silversea starts at $2,950 per person on Silver Moon (for port-to-port service — door-to-door is $4,900). The same cruise in July is priced from $4,550 for the cruise-only (or $6,400 door-to-door with transfers), making the shoulder-season cruise $1,600 less expensive. Even better, May is not as rainy as July, so you could experience sunnier days on the more affordable sailing.
Transatlantic crossings
Many travelers choose their cruise for the ports of call. Cruisers are drawn to the destinations, whether they’re checking exotic ports off their bucket list or love spending time on the beach. It’s no surprise then that longer-than-average itineraries with few to no port calls are not warmly embraced by many cruise fans (except for devoted sea-day lovers).
Because many cruise ships regularly reposition between Europe (where they spend the summer) and the Caribbean (where they spend the winter), transatlantic crossings are inevitable. To attract guests, the cruise lines add interesting onboard activities and guest lecturers to the voyage, and they lower prices. If you love relaxing sea days and would revel in spending day after day in the middle of the ocean, an ocean crossing is a surefire way to get a luxury cruise experience for less.
Small, all-inclusive line SeaDream is a solid example of how affordable transatlantic sailings can get. In 2025, SeaDream 1 will sail its last Mediterranean cruise of the season from Barcelona to Malaga, Spain, with cruise prices starting at $6,499 for an eight-night cruise. The ship then sails from Malaga across the Atlantic to San Juan, Puerto Rico. That 13-night sailing is five nights longer than the preceding cruise, but its starting price is $3,799 — a $2,700 difference.
Entry-level cabins
As a traveler chasing luxury, you’re all about the upgrade. But to get a great price on a high-end cruise ship, you might want to reconsider your aversion to booking the cheapest rooms.
Entry-level suites on the nicest ships are not the windowless closets you’ll find on some of the mass-market ships. They’re spacious cabins with either windows or private balconies and separate sleeping and sitting areas, as well as nicely appointed, reasonably sized bathrooms and often walk-in or large closets. You’ll get the same personal service, have access to the same gourmet dining and can enjoy the same ship amenities (a spa, a serene pool deck, social lounges and more) as folks in the top suites.
And you’ll pay less. For example, an entry-level suite on luxury line Seabourn‘s Seabourn Encore is a veranda suite, measuring 246 to 302 square feet with a 68- to 83-square-foot private balcony. On a seven-night Greece and Turkey cruise departing in June 2025, prices for these rooms start at $4,299 per person. Opt for the next suite level up — a 450-square-foot penthouse suite with a 93- to 103-square-foot balcony — and you’ll pay from $7,999. That’s an increase of $3,700, all for a suite you won’t be spending much time in on this port-intensive itinerary.
Suite enclaves on big ships
Several big-ship cruise lines have entered the luxury travel space with suite enclaves that come with extra amenities, and the options can be affordable by luxury standards. These cruises are ideal for families looking for upscale accommodations combined with robust children’s programming or luxury travelers who prefer a more casual vibe or a wealth of entertainment and activity options on board.
Options include Norwegian Cruise Line‘s The Haven, Royal Caribbean‘s Royal Suite Class and MSC Cruises‘ Yacht Club. Travelers who book these suites get VIP treatment compared to their shipmates. They have access to exclusive restaurants, lounges and sun decks; get priority boarding and theater seating; and might even receive more fare inclusions such as drink packages, internet access, gratuities and butler service (depending on the category booked).
Cruise fares in these top suites aren’t cheap, but they can be comparatively affordable in two ways. First, Royal Caribbean, MSC and Norwegian cruise ships typically sail shorter itineraries than true luxury lines, so you could book a short cruise to spend less on your total vacation cost. Second, while prices are comparable to the luxury lines and can skyrocket when ships start to sell out, you can sail in the ship’s top suites for what you’d pay for mid-level on a luxury ship.
For example, you can book an aft-facing penthouse (619 to 668 square feet with a 199- to 248-square-foot balcony) on a seven-night Caribbean cruise on Norwegian Encore for $4,149 per person on a Feb. 2, 2025, sailing. It comes with all of NCL’s Free at Sea inclusions (drinks, dining, Wi-Fi and shore excursion credit), as well as the services of a butler and concierge, and access to The Haven’s private lounge, restaurant and sun deck.
A weeklong Regent Seven Seas cruise to the Caribbean also in early February costs $14,049 per person for a 655-square-foot Grandeur Suite (with a 166- to 263-square-foot balcony). The cheapest veranda suite on that sailing starts at $6,599 per person — more than $2,000 over the price for a suite in Norwegian’s The Haven.
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