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The 9 Best Sites to Book a Cruise

Avital Andrews

Avital Andrews, SmarterTravel's editor-at-large, is a travel and lifestyle journalist who is also a contributing editor for AAA's Via magazine. Her stories have been among the 10 most emailed or viewed on the Los Angeles Times, Outside, Sierra, and SmarterTravel websites, and have also appeared in USA Today, HuffPost, Apple News, Business Insider, and many other nationwide outlets. Her travel book , sold at bookstores and on Amazon, is in its fourth edition, and her journalism gets national media attention, including from The New York Times , The Atlantic , Time , NPR, and MTV. She's currently working on her first children's book. Follow her on Twitter @avitalb .

The Handy Item I Always Pack: My laptop—the lightweight and stylish HP Spectre x360—since I'm almost always on deadline.

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Booking a cruise isn’t always simple. It can be a complicated, time-consuming process that involves dozens of open tabs and maybe a spreadsheet or two. But knowing the best site to book a cruise can help a lot.

And while would-be travelers are accustomed to clicking around on travel search engines to find the best deals on flights , hotels , and rental cars , many people don’t realize that they can use these same types of sites to book cruises, too.

But is there one best site to book a cruise? That depends on what you’re looking for. Sometimes the best cruise website is actually a cruise line’s own site—since technically, cruise booking websites aren’t allowed to undercut the prices that the cruise lines set.

Often, though, the best cruise search engines are indispensable for locating incredible deals, including ones that throw in booking incentives worth hundreds of dollars—in Amazon gift cards, complimentary shore excursions, onboard freebies, and so on.

To save you the hassle, SmarterTravel investigated the glutted space of cheap cruise sites to determine which are worthy of listing as the best cruise websites; below are a few that come highly recommended.

The Best Sites to Book a Cruise

• Expedia (including Travelocity and Orbitz )
• TripAdvisor

Avoya Travel

Cheapcaribbean.com, cruisedirect, cruise critic, costco travel, cruisewatch.

Expedia is an obvious first mention in a list of the best cruise booking sites, in part because it’s an absolute juggernaut (Expedia also owns Travelocity and Orbitz ). Its cruise-booking interface is simple and straightforward, only requiring you to enter your preferred sailing destination and date range, as well as how many passengers you’ll be bringing along. Then Expedia does the heavy lifting for you, with comprehensive results that make it one of the best cruise search engines.

On Expedia, it’s common to find bookable cruises for 70 percent off face value, with the ability to sort by price so the best cruise deals come up at the top of the list, saving you the scrolling. A sample search for a mid-June cruise to Alaska, for example, quickly came up with a seven-night itinerary starting at $389 per person—that’s less than $56 per person, per night for a mostly inclusive weeklong vacation.

Expedia’s cruise deals tend to come paired with other enticing offers, including steep discounts on pre-departure hotels when you book both your cruise and hotel through Expedia. There’s also a dedicated 800 number that lets you speak to Expedia’s cruise experts and, often but not always, a generous amount of onboard credit thrown in for good measure.

Best feature: Sheer search power. Expedia’s easy-to-use cruise search engine generates a useful and well-ordered list of the best cruise deals, without much effort required from the user. Also, Expedia’s prices frequently match what the cruise lines themselves offer.

Check out Expedia

Priceline is another powerhouse among cheap cruise websites. The initial interface comes off a bit clunkier than, say, Expedia’s or Kayak’s, but the tradeoff is that you can quickly search by cruise line, both standard and luxury, as well as by cruise length and departure port.

Using the seven-night Alaska example, Priceline brought up an itinerary aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas that starts at just $374 for the full week—roughly $53 per night. Hard-to-believe cruise deals like this show up on Priceline with regularity, which is part of what solidifies it as one of the best cruise websites.

Also adding to the appeal: deals exclusive to Priceline, plenty of bonus amenities (examples include $50 in onboard credit, third and fourth guests sailing free, and free specialty dinners for two), no money down to book certain sailings, frequent onboard credit sales, an 800 number to call should you need assistance while booking, and a loyalty club that’s ties in with every cruise line’s loyalty program. Priceline also lets you click a “senior discount” box if that applies to you.

Best feature: Priceline’s “ 110% Best Price Guarantee ” promises that if you find your cruise listed at a lower price on another website within 48 hours of booking, then Priceline will refund you 110 percent of the cost difference, including port charges.

Check out Priceline

Tripadvisor

Many people think of Tripadvisor mainly as a travel review site, where you go to get real talk on hotels and attractions, and to see non-glamorized photos of places as seen through actual travelers’ eyes. But Tripadvisor is also an excellent site for travel deals, including on cruises.

Tripadvisor Cruise , which launched in April 2019, is among the best websites for cruise deals—it lets you nab the lowest price by comparing more than 70,000 ocean and river cruises from some 60 of the best cruise websites. It’s got an attractive, inspiring landing page, and its newest function, “Explore Ship-tinerary pages,” lets you browse full ship profiles, details, photos, and itineraries.

Though Tripadvisor is technically a meta-search site for cruises, which means that it will send you elsewhere to actually book, its search engine lets users sort by destination, length, cruise line, and month of travel. The default search results are ordered by “best value”, unless you specifically click that you’d rather see the results organized by price, cruise length, departure date, or cruise ship. Even when you click on “price,” the lowest-priced offering doesn’t always come up first, though it only takes a few seconds of scanning to determine which itinerary has the lowest price—that seven-night Royal Caribbean International trip to Alaska came up on Tripadvisor starting at $365.

Best feature: What makes Tripadvisor one of the best sites to book a cruise? In addition to having one of the best cruise search engines, Tripadvisor lets you read other cruisers’ candid reviews of the cruise that you’re considering, so that you get the non-sugarcoated truth about each sailing.

Check out Tripadvisor

7 Things You Should Never Do on a Cruise Ship

A rarity on the internet, Avoya Travel is a family-owned company that has been dealing in travel for more than 55 years. Avoya is one of the best sites to book a cruise in part because of its patented technology that lets travelers search cruises by destination, date range, cruise line, and last-minute status—and then get matched up, in real time, with one of Avoya’s expert vacation planners, who use that algorithm to customize a cruise booking to your specific preferences. (From Avoya’s website: “…we combine the ease of online search, with the expertise and personalized service of Independent Vacation Planners, plus secure exclusive deals and extras so you get more out of every vacation.”)

Avoya’s team of staffers and wide network of independent agencies make for a cruise booking website that’s a bit different from the rest. Its front page shows the “Best Travel Deals,” which might include half-off cruise fares, onboard credit, prepaid gratuities, and free or reduced airfare.

Like several of the other best cruise websites, Avoya offers a low-price guarantee; if you book a cruise with Avoya and then find a lower rate on another website within 24 hours of booking, Avoya will refund the difference.

Best feature: Avoya offers free membership, and members get exclusive deals and discounts, access to unpublished fares, first dibs on promotions, the ability to save favorite searches, and the right to book, change, or cancel travel without incurring any Avoya fees.

Check out Avoya Travel

When looking for the best site to book a cruise, don’t be put off by CheapCaribbean.com ’s overly specific moniker. Despite the site’s name, it offers cruises all over the world. The site’s vibe is beach-oriented and a bit cheeky, with a front page that can overwhelm—but click on the “Cruises” tab, and a cleaner interface appears. There you can search by cruise line, ship, destination, departure date, and departure port.

CheapCaribbean.com offers refunds on 24-hour cancellations (within certain parameters) and a “ 110 percent best price guarantee, ” a promise that if you find a lower price on the same cruise within 48 hours of booking, the company will refund you 110 percent of the difference. The site also lists traveler reviews about each cruise ship (as supplied by Cruiseline), though the reviews often include comments about the ship’s destinations other than the one you’re considering, which isn’t entirely helpful. There’s also a live chat widget if questions come up while booking.

Best feature: Helping to make CheapCaribbean.com one of the best cruise search engines is the fact that it lets you check boxes for additional discounts, including a senior discount, discounts by state (just enter your ZIP code), and past guest discounts if you’ve previously sailed with, say, Princess, Norwegian, or Disney.

Check out CheapCaribbean.com

Its front page is clunky and sort of in your face, but CruiseDirect is still one of the best cruise sites for a variety of reasons. As a cruise-only company, CruiseDirect doesn’t deal in flights, hotels, or rental cars, allowing it to focus its full capacity on helping you find the best cruise deal possible. On the site, you can search by destination, departure port, month, length of cruise, and cruise line. There’s real-time online chat and a contact number for support from a cruise expert. If you aren’t quite ready to buy, you can “heart” cruises to save them as favorites to refer back to later.

CruiseDirect offers perks on most sailings, like onboard credit, free drinks, free Wi-Fi, free gratuities, free travel insurance, or a free specialty dining experience—check out the “Bonus” box on the cruise listing you’re considering to see what extras it comes with.

Best feature: Like some of the other cruise websites on this list, CruiseDirect offers a “ best price guarantee ,” which means that if you find a lower price on another cruise booking website within 24 hours of your initial booking, you’ll get refunded the difference. But one key difference between CruiseDirect and the other cruise sites is that you don’t have to pay the cost of your cruise up front, just a deposit—and then if your cruise fare drops before you’ve made your final payment, CruiseDirect will readjust your rate accordingly.

Check out CruiseDirect

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A subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Cruise Critic has similar search results to that site, but it offers a bit more comprehensive information for seasoned cruisers who want more details before they book. Cruise Critic has tons of filters and sort options to help you find what you want, including everything from cruise line to cruise style (family cruises, luxury cruises, cruises for the disabled). Each itinerary clearly lists what is and isn’t included in the fare; Wi-Fi, alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and port taxes and fees are among the common exclusions.

Certain itineraries are marked with graphics declaring that the ship has won one of the site’s “Cruisers’ Choice” awards, denoting vessels that Cruise Critic members declare to be the among the best in categories such as cabins, entertainment, and family-friendly features.

You can sign up for price alerts, which will notify you by email when the fare on your selected itinerary drops.

Once you’re ready to book, Cruise Critic shows you a variety of offers from some of the best cruise booking sites, including bonuses such as onboard credit and prepaid gratuities. Then you click off to the site of your choice to make your purchase. Prices generally match what’s advertised on Cruise Critic.

Best feature: Under each search result is a tab for “reviews” where you can read reviews from Cruise Critic members who’ve previously traveled on the ship. On certain cruises you can click over to a full-length write-up of the ship by one of the experts on the Cruise Critic editorial team, including detailed information on dining options, cabins, entertainment, dress code, and more.

Check out Cruise Critic

When you think of Costco, you probably think of bulk food and toilet paper. But the next time you’re booking a cruise, it’ll be worthwhile to pull up Costco Travel , which is, unexpectedly, one of the best cruise websites.

The site doesn’t look fancy—it’s pretty bare-bones, visually—but the upside of going with a no-frills cruise-booking website is that Costco Travel offers extremely competitive prices, as well as some of the most attractive incentives, usually in the form of Costco Cash delivered to you after you get home from your cruise.

Though there’s no single point of contact if you need to call and discuss your cruise booking, Costco Travel’s call center is staffed with helpful agents from early morning until evening, seven days a week, and passengers can rest assured that Costco won’t go out of business before they set sail. Note that a Costco membership (starting at $60 per year) is required to book with Costco Travel, and that Costco doesn’t accept American Express.

Best feature: Rock-bottom prices—plus lots of cash back if you play your cards right: Costco Citi cardholders earn 3 percent cash back on cruise purchases, which can combine with the 2 percent Costco Reward for Costco Executive Members for a total of 5 percent back on Costco Travel’s already super low cruise rates.

Check out Costco Travel

Pondering which is the best site to book a cruise? Keep Cruisewatch in strong consideration—more than a typical cruise booking website, Cruisewatch bills itself as a “digital cruise advisor” that couples data power with personalization.

As an artificial intelligence cruise advisor, Crusewatch created technology that makes searching and booking a cruise more efficient—the first, it calls “Cruise Price Prediction.” In short, Cruisewatch collected and stored the daily price for each ship and cabin over a span of five years, resulting in millions of data points—and a massive database that informs exactly when cruise prices are lowest, and when the greatest saving potential exists.

Thanks to this comprehensive price history, Cruisewatch can predict cruise prices and drops with an accuracy rate of around 80 percent. Using the site’s cruise price prediction alerts, travelers can save up to 71 percent just by booking at the right time.

In addition to being able to predict prices, Cruisewatch tailors user search results to match their established preferences through customizable profiles and other similar features. This means you won’t waste time wading through cruises that may be cheap but don’t align with your vacation goals.

Best feature: Cruisewatch’s easy-to-set price alerts, based on tons of data, allow users to be notified in real time of the best new cruise deals the minute they come online.

Check out Cruisewatch

Book a Stay With SmarterTravel Hotels

Need a place to stay the night before you set sail? Search SmarterTravel Hotels for great accommodations in your port of call.

Some of the links featured in this story are affiliate links, and SmarterTravel may collect a commission (at no cost to you) if you shop through them.

Follow Avital Andrews on Twitter  @avitalb  or on  Facebook .

Editor’s note: Sarah Schlichter contributed to this story.

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When it comes to planning the ultimate getaway, there are so many reasons why cruise vacations rank among the most popular travel options. First of all, they’re completely stress-free. On a cruise vacation, all the planning is taken care of by the cruise line — from the destinations you sail to and the shore excursions available at each port, to a full range of entertainment and activities happening onboard every day. If you’re not a planner, or if the only things you’re looking to focus on during your getaway is savoring great food, relaxing, and soaking up the sights, cruise vacations are the way to go. A cruise vacation is also a great option if you’re traveling with the whole family, especially when you opt for a Royal Caribbean cruise. All of the ships in this cruise line’s fleet offer family-friendly experiences for guests of all ages. Even little ones will find plenty of ways to play with spaces and activities designed for tots to tweens. One of the top reasons savvy travelers love cruising, though, is because of the incredible value it offers. With Royal Caribbean, your cruise fare includes access to most of the ship’s attractions, select dining venues and all of the entertainment onboard. If you want to make your experience even more all-inclusive, you can opt for beverage and specialty dining packages that cover drinks and dinner at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the fleet. On top of all that, the cruise line presents frequent limited-time offers and seasonal sales, making it easy to score big savings when booking your vacation.

I’m ready to start planning my cruise — how can I score the best deals?

Whether you’re looking to book a short getaway or a longer adventure to far-flung destinations, Royal Caribbean makes it easy to save big on everything from your cruise fare to special experiences onboard and onshore. The first step to making sure you get the best deals is to join the cruise line’s email list. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive regular updates on all the latest offers, like deals by destination , kids sail free promotions and flash sales. The savings don’t end when you book your cruise, though. Once you’ve made a reservation, you’ll also receive notifications about special offers for onboard experiences — like discounts on beverage and specialty dining packages, shore excursions, spa services, and more via My Royal Cruise .

Does it pay to plan ahead, or should I wait until the last minute?  

It’s an age-old question — does the early bird really get the worm, or are there perks to taking a “wait-and-see” approach? If you’re booking a cruise vacation, you’ll find there are benefits to both strategies. Planning ahead is a great way to score big savings , as Royal Caribbean often runs early saver deals to guests booking well in advance. It’s also pretty safe to assume prices usually go up as availability goes down the closer you get to your sail date, so booking ahead is a surefire way to lock in a great rate. That said, booking a cruise at the last minute can also yield some unexpected savings — but only if the itinerary you’re interested in hasn’t sold out yet.

If you can be flexible when it comes to your travel dates, you’ll have your pick of unbeatable savings. Popular vacation dates — like the holidays , spring break , summer vacation and week long cruises — sometimes see the highest prices (though you might get lucky with a seasonal sale). If you have the flexibility to travel during the shoulder season or off season, you’ll likely enjoy big savings on popular stateroom categories , like Balconies and even Suites. The deals don’t only apply to your cruise fare, though. Once you’ve booked your vacation, you could easily unlock discounts and specials on add-ons, including beverage and dining packages , Voom® high speed internet, shore excursions, and amazing experiences not included in your cruise fare — like a day of pampering at Vitality SM Spa, a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship’s galley followed by brunch, VIP seating at shows, and much more.

How can I maximize the value of my cruise vacation?

There are plenty of ways to get more bang for your buck when you sail on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Every ship in the fleet offers a range of delicious complimentary dining options , but you can dig into even more crave-worthy flavor by purchasing a Specialty Dining Package for less ahead of your cruise. Add a Specialty Beverage Package — which includes unlimited alcoholic beverages, soda, and more — and your experience is as close to all-inclusive as it gets. And with so many complimentary shows and attractions onboard, you can easily fill every sea day without spending a single dollar extra.

Royal Caribbean also offers deals based on departure ports  and destinations, so if you’re a flexible traveler looking for great savings, you can plan your next vacation around which itineraries are on sale. Just check your email or visit RoyalCaribbean.com/cruise-deals to stay up to date on promotions, sales and special offers. You can even browse sailings and deals by homeport, destination and season, so you can rest assured you’re getting the best possible deal no matter when or where in the world you choose to set sai.

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Table of Contents

When it comes to Expedia prices

When it comes to expedia travel insurance, when it comes to the expedia cancellation policy, when it comes to the expedia loyalty program, when it comes to maximizing credit card points, the pros and cons of expedia recapped.

Frequent travelers likely know that there’s something better than a dream trip: a dream trip that you booked on a bargain.

The ways to save money on travel are plentiful. You can redeem hotels and airline points, or take advantage of last-minute travel deals, to name a few. And booking through third-party online travel agencies like Expedia can sometimes yield especially big savings.

Beyond just deals, Expedia has robust search filters that make finding your perfect vacation easy. It streamlines purchasing trip insurance , which can be especially important for travel these days. Plus, the Expedia Rewards program earns you points to pay for future bookings.

But booking through an OTA like Expedia is not without its drawbacks. Here's a look at some of those to help you weigh the pros and cons of booking travel through Expedia.

Pro: Expedia has frequent sales, last-minute travel deals and bundle discounts

Expedia deals are aplenty, whether it’s a bundling discount or a sale.

Bundling: A major component of booking travel on Expedia is the practice of bundling, where you can expect additional savings for booking more than one product (e.g., flight and hotel, or hotel and attraction ticket) in one transaction. For example, when we searched for a hotel and rental car in Miami, one five-day booking option included up to three free rental car days while another offered one free night.

A perk of booking travel through Expedia is that you select your hotel, airfare and car rental in separate steps in the process. This makes it easy to bookmark the page and compare the cost of these items on Expedia versus the cost on the company’s direct website.

Expedia payment plans: If you don’t want to pay for your whole trip at the time of booking, Expedia allows you to make smaller payments through Affirm, which is a service that offers short-term loans for online purchases. If approved by Affirm , you’ll be able to pay for your trip in monthly installments.

You can also check Expedia’s Deals page and Expedia’s Last-Minute Deals page . Both tend to offer an eclectic mix of travel deals, ranging from cheap motels in tiny towns to lavish resorts in major tourist destinations. We’ve spotted deals as high as 70% off.

» Learn more: How to find cheaper last-minute flights

Con: Booking direct is sometimes still cheaper than Expedia

Sure, Expedia sales and last-minute deals are nice, but that’s not to say that you can’t find other (sometimes better) deals for booking directly with the travel provider. Many offer their own exclusive deals — and they might save you even more than booking with online travel agencies. Compare prices across both Expedia and the specific company to ensure you’re getting the best price.

And sometimes the savings go beyond just the sticker price. For example, boutique hotel chain Ovolo Hotels offers generous amenities including free laundry, happy hour refreshments and a daily breakfast buffet — but only if you book directly with them.

» Learn more: Is Expedia legit? Can it get me a good deal?

Pro: You can purchase an Expedia travel insurance policy

Expedia partners with various insurance providers, depending on your individual booking, to offer trip protection.

F or flights: Expedia offers travel insurance protection options that cover flight cancellation, medical emergencies and other covered circumstances.

For hotels: Choose hotel booking protection to reimburse your stay in the case of cancellation.

For car rentals: You can add car rental damage protection for an extra per-day fee.

Coverage varies by plan, but you can typically expect reimbursement for some (or all) trip costs if your trip is impacted by covered reasons. Covered reasons typically include delays, loss, theft or damage to one’s baggage and personal belongings. You’re also typically reimbursed for covered medical expenses, including emergency evacuation if you get sick or injured during your trip.

But there are many limitations and exclusions, so read your policy’s fine print to understand what’s covered.

Expedia 24-hour cancellation

When you book a flight on Expedia, you can cancel for a full refund as long as you do so within 24 hours of booking. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires airlines to allow you to cancel a flight for a full refund if canceled within 24 hours of booking and it was booked seven days before departure.

Con: Outside travel insurance might be more comprehensive or cheaper (and sometimes free)

You can opt out of Expedia’s travel insurance and either be completely uninsured — or simply acquire your insurance elsewhere. And there are better travel insurance policies out there.

After a comprehensive review of dozens of plans that assessed factors including price and COVID-19 coverage, here are the best travel insurance policies .

What’s more, you might not even need to pay for travel insurance at all. Many credit cards offer travel insurance benefits if you paid for your trip with that card.

Pro: Expedia offers some fully refundable options

Because airlines, hotels and other travel services set their own individual policies on Expedia, change and cancellation policies can vary significantly. While it can be tricky to parse the policies for each individual property, use Expedia’s “fully refundable” search filter to limit potential bookings to those with flexible policies.

For straightforward requests, use the Expedia service page to make changes and get a refund. If you’re unable to get help through Expedia’s self-service tools, other ways to get in touch with Expedia include live chat, a dedicated Twitter account ( @expediahelp ) and a phone line.

Con: Most cancellation policies are bad, confusing or both

Because airlines are required to give full refunds if you cancel within 24 hours of booking, Expedia lets you change or cancel your flight reservation without fees within the same time period.

For everything else, good luck. Because each travel provider sets its own policies, navigating them can be a headache. In some cases, canceling through Expedia means you’ll have to chase after the hotel or activity provider to recoup the costs.

Additionally, prepare for cancellation fees (both Expedia’s own fees as well as fees from the service provider). That’s if you’re able to cancel at all. Some bookings through Expedia are nonrefundable altogether.

Pro: It’s great for commitment-phobes

The new Expedia Rewards program, One Key Rewards, lets you earn OneKeyCash for every booking you make on the platform (plus on Vrbo and Hotels.com), which can then be used like cash toward future trips. Not only that, but Expedia users can earn status, which includes benefits like exclusive members-only discounts and extra benefits at VIP Access properties (such as free breakfast or late checkout).

For travelers who don’t like to commit to one airline or hotel company, don’t travel that frequently, or who book travel that otherwise doesn’t have its own loyalty program (like a tour or vacation rental), Expedia makes it possible to still get rewarded.

» Learn more: The guide to One Key Rewards

Con: Most hotel and airline loyalty programs are far more rewarding

While the One Key Rewards program is fine, most travel loyalty programs tied to specific hotels or airlines are almost always more rewarding. For individual point values, most other currencies of airline and hotel points are worth far more than OneKeyCash, which nets you 2% back on cruise, hotel, activity and rental car bookings but only .2% on flights. Once it's in your account, you can use it to pay for bookings just like you would cash — though you’ll need enough OneKeyCash in your account to pay for an entire flight, not just part of it.

Additionally, holding specific airline or hotel elite status is typically more lucrative than the value of elite status on One Key Rewards as most perks extend to Expedia VIP Access properties only. That said, some elite members can enjoy up to 20% discounts on hotels and free price drop protection on flights, which is a plus.

As for how to use Expedia points, OneKeyCash can be redeemed on “pay now” bookings for participating purchases priced in U.S. dollars. You can use it to pay for part of a hotel booking, but you’ll have to have enough to pay for the full cost of a flight (including taxes and fees). And while you can’t transfer rewards, you can use your OneKeyCash to book travel for others.

But depending what status you’re able to reach with individual brand loyalty programs, you can likely expect better perks. So if you’re fine committing to one brand, you’re almost always better off striving to earn its status versus with One Key Rewards. But if you only stay for a night here or there or prefer to book based on location or price, it’s a way to earn a few more rewards.

Pro: Expedia counts as a travel purchase

Many travel rewards credit cards give you a higher rewards rate on travel purchases, and booking sites like Expedia typically count as travel spending. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2 points per dollar on travel spending, compared with 1 point per dollar on most purchases.

Con: Travel credit cards are usually better for earning and redeeming rewards

If you’re loyal to a specific hotel or airline brand — or are open to pledging allegiance — credit cards aligned with those brands typically pay more on purchases directly from the brand partner. For example:

on American Express' website

on Chase's website

• 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases.

Terms apply.

• 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases.

• 12 points per $1 spent on eligible Hilton purchases.

• 6 points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

• 1 mile per $1 spent.

• 3 points per $1 spent.

• 2 points per $1 spent.

Even general-purpose travel rewards cards that aren't tied to a specific airline or hotel chain will often reward you more handsomely for booking through their own portals than they would for going through a site like Expedia. Going back to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card : As mentioned, it earns 2 points per dollar on most travel purchases — but 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Chase portal . Among general-purpose travel cards:

• 5 miles per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.

• 2 miles per $1 on other purchases.

• 5 points per $1 spent on travel booked through Chase.

• 10 points per $1 spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Chase.

• 5 points per $1 on air travel booked through Chase.

• 5 points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 spent per year.

• 5 points per $1 on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.

• 2 miles per $1 spent.

• 1 point per $1 spent.

If you're considering booking with other online travel agencies like Priceline or Hotels.com, here are the best credit cards for online travel booking websites .

With the right deal, booking travel — including flights, hotels, cruises or car rentals — on Expedia could be worth it. It makes searching for travel relatively easy given the massive array of available listings, coupled with thoughtful search functionality to actually help you create your ideal itinerary.

But don’t automatically assume it’s a cheap way to book travel. Especially given the complicated cancellation policies, it might become among the most expensive, should an uninsured trip need to be canceled.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024 :

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Coming soon: Earn up to 4% cash back on every purchase

U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card

Unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase.

Up to an additional 2% cash back when paired with a U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account.

Cash back rates can be obtained when rewards are redeemed into an eligible U.S. Bank deposit account.

The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card will be available soon - be among the first to apply. Read our review and join the waitlist below.

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Norwegian Luna Revealed, Sailing from Miami in 2026

• September 18, 2024

Norwegian Cruise Line today unveiled and opened for sale the next evolution of its Prima Plus Class, the all-new Norwegian Luna, according to a press release.

The new ship will sail from Miami beginning April 4, 2026 through November 2026. The Norwegian Luna will kick off its inaugural Caribbean season with two western itineraries to Roatan Island, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Harvest Caye, Belize.

The ship will then sail seven-day cruises with calls to the beautiful Eastern Caribbean destinations of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island in the Bahamas, which will feature a brand-new pier by late 2025.

At 1,056 feet long, 156,300 gross tons, and accommodating approximately 3,550 guests at double occupancy, the Norwegian Luna will boast an overall 10 percent size and capacity increase from Prima Class ships, and will be built at Fincantieri.

“Inspired by the relationship between the moon and the tides of the ocean, we are excited to introduce Norwegian Luna as the vessel that perfectly complements her sister ship, Norwegian Aqua,” said David J. Herrera, president of Norwegian Cruise Line. “The debut of Norwegian Luna truly showcases our ongoing commitment to providing guests more of what they enjoy and value – a brand-new ship with the latest, innovative offerings sailing to the beautiful, tropical destinations of the Caribbean. It’s important to give our guests more to see, more to do, more to enjoy on board and ultimately more out of their cruise vacation. We can’t wait for them to experience Norwegian Luna!”

The company said the Norwegian Luna’s hull art will showcase a vibrant dreamscape by ELLE, the highly acclaimed street artist from Napa, Calif., who has partnered with popular brand names such as Nike, Reebok and Ralph Lauren. Entitled ‘La Luna,’ the artwork is a visual exploration of humanity’s deep-rooted connection with the celestial forces in space as human beings are intrinsically linked to the ebb and flow of the moon. ‘La Luna’ will display proudly on the bow of the ship, leading guests on an extraordinary voyage and an epic journey of discovery.

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