Last Minute or Early Bird Discounted Cruises?

When looking for a good value or discounted Antarctica cruises, you have to consider the lifecycle of cruise planning. Because Antarctic cruises are for many a trip of a lifetime, similarly to african safaris or diving liveaboards, people often start planning for these expeditions a long time before their departure. Often, planning on having this trip as a celebration of a milestone such as a proposal, honeymoon, graduation gift, or retirement. But it doesn't have to be solely for a celebration! Reaching thre 7th continent is an experience worth celebrating in itself!

So how can you find a good value Antarctica cruise?

In our experience, there are three phases to cruise marketing:

1. The launch of the next season cruise catalog which often occurs 12 to 18 months before departure. This brings you the early bird discounts.
2. The marketing of both seasons. During this time, some limited time offers and flight credits may be applied on either seasons to move some inventory. This is also the time where you are most likely to see cruises going for the regular price.
3. The last minute discounting of the current season which happens 4 months to 2 weeks before departure

But what about the last 2 weeks before departure window you will ask?

While there may be some cabins available immediately before departure, in our experience the limited availability combined with elevated last-minute flight prices and additional stress involved with these make them not truly worth considering especially if flying from North America or Europe. But off course, if you have a burning desire to go right away we can certainly help you with that, by contacting us right now.

Early Bird Discouted Antarctica Cruises

What we generally see for early bird discounts on Antarctica expeditions is a range of 20% to 40% off, with sometimes some operators running specials where the 2nd passenger sails free. Sometimes flight credit offers can yield significant savings during this time where the flight prices are low but the credit value can perhaps cover all of the airfare. For those who like certainty and to select a more specific type of cabin, early bird discounts can be an attractive option to have this trip of a lifetime to look forward to.

Last Minute Antarctica Cruises

On the last minute deals for Antarctica expeditions, we tend to see a much wider range of discounts often starting at 30% for the nearly full cruises all the way to 50%+ on the larger ones that still have unsold cabins less than 4 months before departure. In our experience, this is where you will get the biggest value uplift.  While going to Antarctica is never cheap, by selecting a discounted last minute cruise you can get a lot of value for money. Perhaps this allows you to select a cruise that has more included activities such as kayaking, camping or standup paddleboarding? Or maybe this means that your higher caliber operator offers you jet service to the port of embarkation, or even that the gratuities and top shelf drinks are included. The cheaper end of total pricing will often remain fairly stable, rarely hitting under $5,000 per person but it's truly on the inclusions that you can win big by selecting a last minute Antarctica expedition. We sometimes have access to unlisted deals and extra rooms on charters that can be more affordable than that, but we unfortunately cannot list those publically. For those, get in touch with us.

At Unsold Antarctica we work for you. Providing unbiased advice to help you find a great deal on your dream cruise. Through relationships with all providers we help minimize the amount of empty cabins leaving for the 7th continent. Let us guide you to a memorable experience of a lifetime.