Here are my 5 best insider secrets to finding cruise travel deals - specifically free of charge or at least really cheap. At least one of them should be a good fit for your situation and get you out there on the high seas this year!

Secret #1 - Speak Your Mind

If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you know there is a an endless array of entertainment and educational opportunities on board. Everything from ballroom dancing, to origami classes, to seminars on wine tasting. Did you know that each of those presenters AND their family get a complimentary cruise in exchange for a couple of 1 hour work sessions? Would you work for about 4 hours to get a killer cruise travel deal?

Secret #2 - Bring Your Friends

Taking a free cruise would be great, but how much better would it be if you brought along your a few of your favorite people like friends and/or family? Well, that is one of the most common ways to get your cruise travel deals at no charge. All you have to do is organize a group and book 4 to 8 rooms, depending on the cruise line’s policy. How about your church or club groups? Sports teams? Business colleagues? You can be sailing on a real cruise travel deal for free with just a few phone calls.

Secret #3 - Shop Till You Drop

This is one of my favorite cruise travel deal tricks - go shopping! I want to share with you a website where you can go and shop online, at a significant discount, at hundreds the most popular retailers, and then be rewarded with FREE TRAVEL! They offer rewards for free cruises, luxury resorts, and condo vacations - all for doing the shopping that you wanted to do anyway. And, no, you don’t have to spend a fortune - rewards are available at just $50 in spending. Oh, and did I mention that this all comes entirely free to you? Check out the details on how to shop and travel free.

Secret #4 - Cruises for Life

All of the secrets I’ve revealed help you get that free cruise, one time. Well what’s better than 1 free cruise - of course a lifetime of cruise travel deals!!! And what if you never had to search again for that deal, you just went to one place and knew you were getting the best prices out there? I can show you how to get free cruises forever - you just have to cover the taxes and off you go. Better yet - but you can give those cruises away as gifts to your friends, family, or to promote your business. Travel memberships also include wholesale pricing on resorts, condos, tours, all-inclusives and tons of other great stuff.

Secret #5 - Become An Agent

No, I’m not suggesting you change careers and become a travel agent, unless that idea really interests you. But did you know that travel agents get the absolute best cruise travel deals available? Agents have access to FAM or familiarization trips organized by travel vendors to show off their amenities to agents and encourage sales. These trips are discounted up to 80% and even sometimes free to agents. In addition, agents can get complimentary cruises instead of commissions for booking a certain number of rooms with the cruise lines. Talk about a cruise travel deal! Could you refer a few friends to your website to get a free cruise?

Get more details to become a travel agent now.

Technorati Tags: cheapest cruise, cruise travel deals

Finally booked your first cheapest cruise deal? You must be excited! Now take 5 minutes and learn some basics about cruise travel deals so that you can really enjoy your big vacation.

 

Technorati Tags: cheapest cruise, cruise travel deals

Looking for a great vacation for you and your family? Want to make sure you find the best cruise travel deals available? The travel industry has changed a lot in the last 10 years and more and more adventurers are booking their own travel online. This cuts out the middle-man (travel agent) and ensures that you can research the details yourself and get a great cruise travel deal. The question isn’t where can you get a cruise deal, it’s how do you find one that you can feel confident about and know that you are not getting ripped off.

As with most significant expenditures, you will want to do a bit of research to make sure you are getting the best cruise travel deal. Since you are likely not going to rely on a professional to advise you, a little bit of time spent in the planning stages is prudent. Things you should always investigate:

Ports of Call

Which ones do you want to visit? What exact itinerary fits for you? You never want to pick a cruise simply because it looks like a travel good deal. It needs to be one you and your family would choose, even if price weren’t an issue.

Cruise Lines

Same rules apply here. You haven’t saved anything on your cruise travel deal if you simply choose a lesser quality cruise line to save a buck. If you don’t want entry-level accommodations, don’t choose a boat known for budget travelers. The food won’t be as good, the service less attentive, and at the end of the day you will not feel like you got a bargain.

Hidden Fees

All cruises have additional charges beyond just the standard traveler fare. But some choose to introduce them ala cart, while others offer a “full meal deal.” You cannot avoid costs like port taxes, tips, and beverage fees, but just make sure when looking at multiple advertised prices or fare quotes that they are comparable in terms of what is included. A 5 day cruise for $399 sounds like a pretty good price until you realize there is $179 for port taxes on top of it, a $49 fuel surcharge, and a mandatory onboard 10% tip that will be added to your bill at the end of the voyage. It turns out that the better cruise travel deal was the competitor offering a similar cruise for $549, but all of those charges were bundled into the deal from the beginning. Buyer beware.

Learn more about hidden fees in the 2 part feature Cruise Travel Deals - 4 Hidden Costs You Must Know About.

What is the Buzz?

Especially if you are a first-time cruiser or are trying a cruise line that you have not been on before, it’s a good idea to find out what others are saying. Online forums, traveler review, friends, family, and coworkers are a good source of experience to draw on. Remember that there are always going to be complainers and you can’t please everyone all the time, but if 60% of travelers say they would never again take a cruise travel deal from Company X, then you may want to heed their advice.

Great cruise travel deals can be found from many different websites and a variety of providers. Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia will offer some decent prices and specialists like Cheap Cruises and Cruises Only run great deals on any flavor of cruise you like. Just make sure you know what you are buying so that you can get on with enjoying the vacation of a lifetime!

Technorati Tags: cheapest cruise, cruise travel deals