Cruising was expensive in 2023, leading to many to seek out cheaper alternatives to the the premium prices new ships have. It's a great way to save money on a cruise in 2024 and 2025.
Social media has popularized the concept of "dupes", which is when you seek out cheaper duplicates. It's something Gen Z and millennial influencers trotted out as travel prices starting to rise.
Of course, a dupe is a fancy term for what travelers have been doing for decades of bargain hunting. It's akin to "do this, not that" approach to trip planning and you can apply this strategy to cruises too.
With land travel, you might look at a trip to Memphis, Tennessee instead of Nashville, Tennessee. Or Liverpool, England, instead of London.
It's a hot trend in travel, and here's how you can apply this to a Royal Caribbean cruise.
It's not about picking the oldest ship possible
You might think all you have to do is find the oldest, smallest cruise ship and this exercise is over. But that's over simplifying the idea.
Sure, a cruise on Grandeur of the Seas will almost always be the cheapest option, but finding a dupes is about saving money, not necessarily the lowest price.
Think of it like buying a television. You don't want the cheapest model they have, because it's going to probably not the size you want. Instead, you want to find the best price of the same class of television you're in the market for.
When it comes to cruise ships, the idea is you compromise a little on the ship in exchange for a much better price.
Big ship dupe
Given that Royal Caribbean is well-known for its biggest cruise ships, you might be tempted to book one of their newest and biggest ships: Icon of the Seas or Wonder of the Seas.
These represent the latest and greatest Royal Caribbean has, but they will also have the highest prices.
Assuming you want to go on a big ship with lots to do, water slides, and great entertainment, there are a couple ships to consider instead.
Oasis of the Seas is the best alternative to sail on instead. It's the original game changer of the Oasis Class ships, and got a massive upgrade in 2019 with $165 million in upgrades.
It has lots for families, including water slides, a Broadway show, a revamped pool deck, and updated kids programming.
Here's a look at prices to see the difference:
Spring Break 2024 - March 17, 2024
- Icon of the Seas: Starting at $1,806 per person
- Wonder of the Seas: Starting at $953 per person
- Oasis of the Seas: Starting at $875 per person
Summer 2024 - July 6, 2024
- Icon of the Seas: Starting at $2,934 per person
- Wonder of the Seas: Starting at $1,276 per person
- Oasis of the Seas: Starting at $1,046 per person (Oasis will be in Europe)
Christmas 2024 - December 21, 2024
- Icon of the Seas: Starting at $2,146 per person
- Wonder of the Seas: Starting at $1,295 per person
- Oasis of the Seas: Starting at $964 per person (6-night itinerary)
You'll easily save a few hundred dollars per person by choosing an older Oasis Class ship over a brand new ship.
Alaska cruise dupe
If you're like me, you'd love to take an Alaska cruise and experience everything this beautiful part of the world has to offer.
Finding the right dupe is about balancing dates and ships. There's a big difference in time of year, as much as which ship you pick.
Royal Caribbean offers cruises on two types of ships: Quantum Class and Radiance Class ships.
The bigger Quantum Class ships sail from Seattle, and that will get you a convenient embarkation port, and lots to see and do on your ship.
The Radiance Class ships sail from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It's a bit more difficult and expensive to get flights there (compared to Seattle), and the ships have less to do onboard. But they usually have a much appealing itinerary.
It's also important to note Radiance of the Seas does open-jaw sailings instead of roundtrip. She also offers land tours. For the purpose of this exercise, we're going to omit Radiance since it's so different in terms of itinerary to the other ships.
Just like the Oasis Class, if you opt for the older ship in the class, you'll probably get a better price.
June 14, 2024
- Ovation of the Seas: $1,434 per person
- Quantum of the Seas: $1,418 per person
- Brilliance of the Seas $1,006 per person
July 12, 2024
- Ovation of the Seas: $1,497 per person
- Quantum of the Seas: $1,209 per person
- Brilliance of the Seas $1,059 per person
August 9, 2024
- Ovation of the Seas: $946 per person
- Quantum of the Seas: $986 per person
- Brilliance of the Seas $698 per person
Alaska's prices aren't as varied as the Caribbean because there's less choices and the season is so short.
Still, you can see there are price savings in almost every scenario if you choose to cruise on Quantum or Brilliance over the newer Ovation of the Seas.
It's more than just the cruise price
However, not all dupes will necessarily pay off for cruisers. You may need to rely on other ways to find savings.
Which picking a "dupe" cruise, you should consider what the ship's amenities are, such as dining venues, top deck activities, and entertainment.
Depending on which week you're looking at cruising, you might find less of a discrepancy than you might have wanted. If you're willing to change the time of year you cruise, you can often save much more money on the cruise fare.
Read more: When is the best time to go on a cruise?
Avoiding peak season times to go on a cruise can be net you much bigger savings than picking one ship over another.
To save money on a cruise in general, try being flexible with your trip dates. For example, pick a Caribbean cruise in September or May instead of July.
Read more: The best time to book cruises by day, month, and last-minute
Picking a shoulder season cruise, along with booking a year or more in advance, is the best combination to saving the most money and getting the lowest price for almost any cruise.
