Christmas may be over but a cruise holiday could help brighten up the winter gloom and give you something to look forward to in the new year.
Many cruise brands are offering discounts and incentives to encourage passengers onto the high seas.
This period is known as wave season, where cruise lines bring out new offers to tempt passengers onto winter sailings so they can fill their ships and also to secure bookings for the new year and beyond.
The deals typically last until March but you may be able to depart up until 2027 in some cases.
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Promotions can vary from extra onboard credit to discounts on drinks packages or reduced cruise fares.
It is important to shop around though to ensure you are still getting value for money and check the total costs including any flights and tips.
Here are some of the best cruise deals for 2025.
Azamara
Luxury small cruise ship brand Azamara is offering passengers up to $1,000 (£790) of onboard credit on bookings made up to 31 March 2025.
It applies to select voyages departing between 6 January 2025 and 11 May 2026.
You can earn $200 (£158) of onboard credit per cabin when booking a Club Interior, $400 (£316) on a Club Oceanview, $500 (£395) on a Club Balcony and Club Balcony Plus, while you will only get the full $1,000 when booking a suites.
One itinerary option is an 11-night Gems of the Adriatic and Aegean Voyage aboard Azamara Pursuit. It departs from Venice on 22 July 2025 and includes long 10-hour stops in destinations such as Koper in Slovenia, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Santorini in Greece – giving you plenty of time to explore.
Prices start from £2,619 per person for a Club Interior cabin, while suite rates start from £6,159 per person.
Ambassador
British no-fly cruise brand Ambassador is offering a range of deals or what it describes as “shiploads of savings” for select sailings in 2025 and 2026 that are booked between 19 December 2024 and 12 February 2025.
Passengers can get half price premium drinks packages on selected sailings next year and buy one get one half price on some 2026 and 2027 sailings.
The offers are available for both ships in the Ambassador fleet, with Ambience operating from her home port of London Cruise Terminal and Ambition sailing from seven additional regional ports including Newcastle, Dundee, Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol, Falmouth and Portsmouth.
Celebrity
Celebrity has released what it describes as its biggest sale yet.
It is offering up to 35 per cent off a first and second guest as well as up to $600 of onboard credit and $200 off flights.
The offer applies to bookings made until 3 March 2025 and for sailings departing up to 30 April 2027.
It includes a departure from Southampton aboard Celebrity Apex for a nine-night round trip cruise around Spain and Portugal. Prices start at £1,455 per person.
Cunard
Passengers can claim up to triple onboard spending money on selected voyages with Cunard until 17 February 2025.
The promotion is valid for more than 750 voyages with the luxury cruise line between seven and 43 nights, departing between 13 April 2025 and 31 December 2026.
These include Cunard’s transatlantic crossings on Queen Mary 2, with prices starting from £599 per person.
Explora
MSC Cruises’ luxury brand Explora Journeys has unveiled a “Unique Oceans Offer,” giving passengers up to €1,000 (£828) of prepaid excursion credit per suite, plus bookings can be made with a 10 per cent deposit.
The offer is valid until 28 February for sailings around the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and the North American east coast.
The deal can also be combined with others, such as early booking fares.
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises launched its “Holiday Like Never Before” offer with adverts during the Christmas Day episode of Coronation Street.
Until 3 March 2025, passengers booking a new sailing are being offered onboard spending money of up to £500 per cabin and 20 per cent off classic drinks packages.
Third and fourth guests will also sail for free when sharing an applicable cabin with two full paying adults.
The offers can be used on almost 200 destinations, starting at £100 per person each night, with deposits of just 10 per cent.
Princess
Princess Cruises has launched a “Come Aboard” sale, letting passengers book a getaway with a £50 per person deposit rather than the usual 15 per cent charge.
The deal is available now until 3 March 2025 across more than 2,000 itineraries and all 17 ships in the Princess fleet are included
Prices start from £499 per person for a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale aboard Sun Princess in November 2025 – the brand’s newest ship.
The brand is also offering savings of more than £1,000 per cabin when booking a Sanctuary Collection suite, mini-suite or balcony on Sun Princess and the soon-to-debut Star Princess.
Additionally, passengers who book a 2025, 2026 or 2027 sailing up until 15 December 2025 are being offered a “Best Price Guarantee”.
If you find a better fare on princess.com for the same cruise, stateroom category and sail date at any time before their final payment, Princess Cruises will provide 120 per cent of the difference in the form of an onboard credit, up to $2,000 per person/booking/stateroom. This applies up to 90 days prior to sailing.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is running a Boxing Day flash sale on European sailings until Wednesday 1 January 2025.
Passengers can currently get up to £640 off sailings, with prices starting from £340 per person for a weekend roundtrip getaway aboard Liberty of the Seas from Southampton in May.
The brand regularly offers deals and there may be offers in the new year to look out for.
Seabourn
Ultra luxury and expedition cruise brand Seabourn’s “Sail of the Year” has reduced fares of up to 15 per cent on select voyages and more than £750 of credit per suite.
This includes deals on more than 400 worldwide ocean and expedition itineraries sailing in 2025 and beyond as long as you book by 18 February 2025.
Itineraries include a 14-day North Cape & Norwegian Fjords sailing aboard Seabourn Sojourn on 14 June, with prices from £7,224 per person for an oceanview suite.
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