In February, Barb McGowan took a seven-day cruise on Holland America Line, visiting the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and the Dominican Republic for $343, or $49 a day, excluding taxes, port fees and extras . By comparison, Holland America currently lists a seven-day Caribbean itinerary in October from around $700.
The catch: He only had 48 hours notice.
Ms. McGown, a 64-year-old from Naples, Fla., who runs a restaurant franchise, took one of the new lines standby cruiseswhich is aimed at travelers who live near the ports of departure and is intended to fill vacancies on the ship.
“I was looking for deals, and this was a great experience,” said Ms. McGowan, praising the food and entertainment. “I was impressed enough to put down a deposit on a future trip.”
A way to keep ships full
Holland America introduced its standby program in August to maximize ship occupancy, knowing that cancellations were inevitable. So far, the rest of the cruise industry has not followed its lead.
“If the cancellations are within a week or two of sailing, it’s difficult to resell that slot on the open market,” said Dan Rough, Holland America’s vice president of revenue management.
In the same way that airlines oversell seats, cruise lines can compensate for cancellations by overselling staterooms. Filling standbys, however, reduces Holland America’s reliance on overselling, which runs the risk of bumping passengers on long-haul departures or potentially offering large cash incentives to encourage volunteers. to cancel.
While the company hasn’t heavily promoted the new practice, it’s attracting a thrifty following by touting a bargain rate — $49 per person, whether sharing a cabin or traveling solo, before taxes and fees — on a web page that lists available departure dates to attract flexible travelers. Standbys should expect an interior cabin, according to the company, though ocean view and veranda cabins have been designated. (The company declined to say how many standby cabins it offers.)
“Forty-nine dollars per person, per day is pretty extraordinary,” said Colleen McDaniel, the editor of CruiseCritic.com, a website that reviews cruises, noting that the price covers all meals and entertainment. “You won’t find a cheaper land resort for what’s included.” (In 2023, the average nightly rate for a hotel room in the United States will be about $156, according to STR, a data analytics firm that tracks the hospitality industry.)
To participate, travelers select an itinerary from a standby list on the website — current embarkation ports include Boston; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Montreal; Quebec City; San Diego; Seattle; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Whittier, Alaska — and pay for the trip in advance by calling Holland America or booking through a travel adviser.
There are no refunds for standby cruisers who wish to back out. However, if the gamble does not pay off, and the cruise line cannot offer a cabin to someone on the standby list, it will issue a refund.
The company says standby offerings are added continuously and often list itineraries within two to three months of departure. Current offerings include seven-day sailings on Alaska’s Inside Passage from April to September and seven- to 11-day cruises along the coast of New England and Canada’s Maritime Provinces between May and October.
Proximity is a bonus
Standby cruisers will not know their acceptance or rejection until a week to two days before departure, complicating transportation arrangements.
“Last-minute airfare can offset savings on a cruise,” writes Crystal Seaton, owner of Road to Relaxation Travel, a travel agency based in Raleigh, NC, in an email. Although he had never booked a client on standby sailing, he assumed it would be for travelers who could drive to a port.
“We were lucky; we found out on Tuesday that we were going on a Friday 3 p.m. sailing,” said Sheila Valloney, 66, of Clermont, Fla., who with her husband spent nine days on a Holland America ship. in the southern Caribbean in February by standby.
Before he was cleared, he reserved a parking spot near the Fort Lauderdale dock, which would have set him back about $6 if he canceled. He also packed their vacation clothes to go at the last minute for the three-and-a-half-hour trip to the port.
Booking a refundable airline ticket — or at least one that guarantees a credit in loyalty points or cash in the event of cancellation — is one way travelers who must fly can take advantage of the deal.
For her standby sailing, Ms. McGowan drove 90 minutes from his home to the ship in Fort Lauderdale. But her travel companion was coming from Indiana, so when she joined the standby list a few months before the departure date, she booked her friend a Southwest Airlines flight using frequent flier points to- refund if last minute cruise does not arrive. through.
Avoiding extra charges
Once on board, charges for extras like cabin upgrades, Wi-Fi, alcohol, and shore excursions can add up, even if the most frugal travelers try to avoid them.
Ms. McGowan splurged for the $17.50-a-day charge for an upgraded beverage package (includes basic non-alcoholic travel beverages) and took a shore excursion, focused on coffee plantations, which he considered it a good value at $89.
During their trip to the Caribbean, the Valloneys asked around for recommendations for good beaches, where they went to relax on port days, and waited until they reached land to check emails, to avoid paying for Wi-Fi on board.
“We didn’t miss it,” said Ms. Valloney. “For drinks, we wait until happy hour, it’s buy one get one free.”
Will other companies follow?
To date, no other cruise lines have adopted standby programs.
Princess Cruises said it does not plan to offer cabins on a standby basis, but noted that it is already offering last minute deals, which tend to run about $50 to $60 per passenger per day. For example, a seven-day Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage departing May 8 is listed at $399 per person in a double-occupancy cabin.
Several other major cruise lines did not respond to questions about the potential use of standby programs, though such operators Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line also offer last minute deals on their websites.
“We would be surprised to see many major cruise lines start using a similar model” on the standby system, wrote Kimberly Coyne, the head of sales and content strategy for Cruiseline.com, a cruise review site, in an email. He said standby fares may not be financially sustainable for cruise lines and cited the potential that travelers may become too accustomed to late-booking deals.
More ways to save
With the recent surge in cruise bookings, companies are discounting less, Ms. McDaniel of CruiseCritic.com.
He points out more reliable ways to get a deal versus standing by, such as booking during “wave season,” a sales period that typically runs from January to March, or taking a repositioning cruise, where a ship moves from one region to another according to the season. . A repositioning itinerary in the fall could sail from Alaska to the Caribbean via the Panama Canal.
“It’s not uncommon to find a repositioning cruise for less than $75 per night,” Ms. McDaniel, noting that other costs such as an airline itinerary to one city and return from another can cost more than a standard round-trip ticket.
Repositioning cruises tend to stop at fewer ports and add more shipboard enrichment programs, such as lectures and activities like cake decorating classes and craft spirits tastings.
“For many people the ship is the destination and this is the perfect activity for people who want to go on a ship,” he said.
