Have an idea of what you want out of your cruise. Are you wanting to whale watch in Alaska or ride dolphins in the Grand Cayman? The more general your goal, the easier it is going to be to find a great deal, so staying vague is best in this case. Tropical with a preference to the Bahamas or to the Caribbean is a good generality.

Search for flights BEFORE buying your cruise/selecting a port! This is a MUST! My first cruise cost as much as the flight to get to the port. Grant it, the cruise was insanely cheap but the flight was mediocre in terms of deals. Flights can easily cost as much or more than your cruise if you don’t search first. Try to fly to a port that has flight specials often (like Miami or New Orleans) or one that is geographically closer, thus cheaper. Keep in mind that most ports cater to certain destinations. California/Washington state ports go to Alaska/Hawaii/Fiji for the most part, where as Florida ports go to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Jamaica, and parts of Mexico. New Orleans departs to a lot of Mexico and South American ports. It’s a lot to keep in mind, but once you get to the port, everything else is taken care of! I usually stay in the port city a few days at the beginning or end to extend my vacation, which can help you get a better deal on your flight by being more flexible on which days you fly!

Find a cruise! I have always cruised with Carnival, in my searches they have been the cheapest. They also have a military discount, and all cruise lines offer certain discounts based on your state of residency. I usually go directly to Carnival and search with my state and the military rate selected. Then I look for the most days with cheapest cost per day (last year we went on a 6 day cruise to Key West, the Grand Cayman, and Jamaica for $243. And then a 5 day cruise  to Nassau, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay for $199) I divide the total cost over the number of days and compare it to how much I would spend on a hotel. Vacations-To-Go is also a great deal site that searches ALL cruise lines for great last minute deals, the site is out of date and not enjoyable to look at, but they do have great deals that will make it worth it! If you are a AAA member/military/senior citizen ALWAYS check for discounts either by a google search or calling to book. A few more seconds of your time could save you hundreds!

Here is an article of a few cruise deal sites with their pros and cons listed. If you have some time, its worth searching them all because you never know who might have the better contract for the specific cruise you are looking for!

Getting from the airport to the port. This is VERY easy, the cruise lines want to make this as hassle free as possible, and they have. You can purchase your shuttle while you are checking out, or any time after you have booked before your cruise. In my opinion, going through the cruise line is over priced, so I call the airport I am flying into and ask what shuttle services service to whichever cruise line I am sailing through. They usually give a list of at least 3-5 companies, some of which you can haggle with! One way to go about this to be sure you aren’t late to board your cruise is to arrive a day early. Stay in a hotel with a shuttle service to the airport, and then you wont have to pay any cab fare to or from the airport and you can arrive a day early to make sure you catch your shuttle to the port.

You can also look into a one way car rental, depending on how many people you are traveling with, this may be a much cheaper option. If you decide to do this, be sure to check for toll roads and distance to see if it is in fact more cost effective. Ports like Port Canaveral where you fly into Orlando have a long drive and tolls, may not be worth getting a rental, where closer ports like New Orleans, could be very cost effective.