Although it would be nice, there isn’t any perfect time to book to get a discount cruise. The destination and itinerary, the cruise line and the ship, even the planned travel dates all play a part. But there are tips and tricks that will help you vacation at a discount.

Cruise lines offer some of the best deals if you book – 6, 12, or even 18 months before departure. They may offer lower prices, better upgrades, or more perks for packages booked far in advance. It’s a win-win situation. The cruise line knows well ahead of time that they have a full ship, and the traveler gets to enjoy discount cruises. Book a cruise in advance, and you also have the opportunity to lock in your room and destination choices.

The opposite end of the timing spectrum is the last minute cruise. Travelers who have the flexibility in their schedules to travel with short notice can take advantage of a cruise line’s need to have as many rooms booked as possible before departure. You may need to be a bit of a gambler, but you could find that your cruise comes with an even smaller price tag than expected. The down side is that you may not have your first choice of rooms or itineraries.

There is a particular time of year when discount cruises may be more common, and that is what is called “wave season”, or roughly January through March. This is the time of year that most people book cruises. The competition for those passengers is fierce, and the cruise lines want to persuade you to take a look at what they can offer. Whether it’s room upgrades or lower prices, their goal is to stand out from the crowd. Why not take the advantage?

The time of year you choose to travel can also help you find a bargain. In most regions, cruising is not a year-round activity, it’s seasonal. With high season comes high demand, and also high prices. If you’re traveling in low season, on the other hand, you may be offered additional enticements to help fill rooms that would otherwise go empty. Low season rates are usually found at the beginning and the end of the cruise season for a particular region.

Another relatively unknown option for travelers that can travel “off season” is the repositioning cruise, or repo cruise. Ships that regularly sail far northern regions, like Alaska or Scandinavia, must be moved twice each year, taken north each spring and brought back south each fall for the winter. These one-way trips are in many ways also one-of-a-kind. They tend to be longer, averaging 10 to 20 days, with more days at sea. Repo cruises also often have ports of call that aren’t available on the regular cruise itineraries.

When you get right down to it, no matter when you plan to book a cruise, there are always discount cruises available!