Your FAQs about military discounts on cruises:
If you book directly with a cruise line, you will pay more than you need to. GUARANTEED.
Looking for a veteran and military discount on your cruise?
Then you’ve come to the right place! Here’s why you should book with us:
TRUST
We’ve been in business since 2001! Thousands of military families trust us and you can too.
REAL DISCOUNTS
Our Veteran and Military Discounts are guaranteed to be below the cruise lines’ lowest rate – always.
OUR SERVICE IS FREE
We have no fees: no booking fee, no change fee, no cancellation fee – nothing. Our service is free to you.
WE MONITOR RATES
We always check to see if the rate and promotions are better for you at the time of your final payment! No one else does that.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
We offer a military discount on travel insurance, with free insurance for kids. Limit: One free kid under 17 for each adult in the cabin!
DEPENDENTS QUALIFY
All U.S. and Canadian active and retired military, veterans and their families qualify for our discounts.
When you book with us, you are not helping a corporate CEO buy a 3rd vacation home.
You are helping real families put food on the table, send their kids to school and care for aging parents. Thank you for helping us help you!
These cruise line ‘special offers’ usually linger year-round.
Virgin – The new cruise line for the young, the hip, the coolsters. However, not too young! No one under the age of 18 is allowed! That’s right you 18-39 year olds – NO KIDS! Wifi, tips, and basic beverages are included. Also included are up to $600 in free drinks! (It’s only $300 or $150 for shorter cruises.)
Carnival is always offering either 50% reduced deposits or $50 per person reduced deposits, up to $50 onboard credit, and free room upgrades.
Royal Caribbeanl is offering 30% off all cruise fares, kids free on select sailings and the 2023 Kicker Sale for even more savings.
Norwegian is giving all perks free to all categories (except sail away gets only the wifi and $50 per port shore excursion credit) Plus 30% off and ½ priced deposits. 3rd and 4th in the cabin are FREE – on select sailings.
NCL is offering FREE AIR FOR THE SECOND GUEST (if you buy air for the first guest), and 2 for 1 deposit!
Celebrity now includes unlimited drinks and wifi in the cruise fare: 20% savings off the cruise fare, and up to $700 air credit!
Costa Their Back to Sea Sale includes $400 off and up to $200 onboard credit.
Princess The Best Sale Ever gets better with drinks, wifi, gratuities, cabin upgrade, and specialty dining included at a higher fare.
Even more onboard credit can be had – up to $250 per military member, depending on the length of the cruise.
Cunard: Up to $2000 onboard credit, 50% reduced deposit, and dining credit included in Three For All promotion.
Military members get up to $250 in onboard credit, depending on cruise length. Veterans with DD214 all qualify!
Disney They are now offering a special discounted rate just for active and retired military on many cruises sailing in the next 4 months.
And up to 30% off for Florida residents.
MSC Caribbean and Europe include drinks and wifi, onboard credit, and kids free on select sailings at a higher rate than without them.
Holland America Have It All Sale: includes drinks, wifi, specialty dining, and shore excursions. Kids FREE on select sailings through 2022 in the Caribbean, Mexico, or Alaska!
Oceania Olife Choice offer includes round-trip air, free air transfers, free Internet, and either free shore excursions, free beverage package, or free onboard credit. Free gratuities and transfers on World Cruise. Also, get our military discount on all Oceania cruises from Military Cruise Deals.
River Cruise Deal on Viking Free International Air on Waterways of the Tsars, Air from $499 on the Romantic Danube, and Air from $399 on Lyon to Provence itineraries. $200 to $800 military discount from Military Cruise Deals.
Luxury Cruise Deals on Windstar Small ship feels like your own private yacht! For $79 a day, get drinks, wi-fi, and gratuities included. Heck, they’re even offering to do your laundry for free.
All promotions listed here are subject to change by the cruise line at any time!
We have hundreds of recent 5-star, authenticated reviews:
We’ve used these people for the last 4 cruises we’ve booked, don’t waste your time looking at other sites this team always found the best prices for us. 🙂 - Carly Shumate, military spouse
This is our 10th year booking cruises with Military Cruise Deals: perfect every time! - Joel Wheatley
Military cruise deals is a great company! They respond to inquiries fast, provide excellent pricing, and their customer service is second to none. We have used them for many cruises and never had a problem. - sherry_w
This will be our second cruise w military cruise deals and I won’t go anywhere else. The customer service is second to none - I’m serious. Beats USAA too. Anything I’ve needed or wondered has been answered honestly and without trying to sell or up-sell. - Mark O’Reilly
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Went out of their way to help me. I will use Military Cruise from now on. I am retired from the Navy with 22 years of service. Thanks, - Frank Wade.
Always a great service and best prices! That's why we keep coming back. Thank you. - Malishka11
I cannot say enough about how helpful, supportive, and understanding this team has been. I have never found a more professional customer-orientated travel agency anywhere. - Mendy Channell-Wilson
I can not tell you how great it has been working with someone that has great customer service and treats you as a person… Something very seldom found anymore. Y'all will be our travel agency for all future cruises. - Hugh Turner
We have used military cruise deals four times, and every interaction with them has been great! We had several problems booking/dealing with cruise lines directly. The staff at Military Cruise Deals is courteous, quick to respond to questions, and knowledgeable - wouldn't book anywhere else! - jewels_55425
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Unable to call toll-free numbers from overseas? Call us at 256-485-6792 or use the Ring Me button.
How to Book a Cruise with all Military Cruise Discounts applied
You may book directly here on our website. Our cruise search engine is configured to reveal the cruises with the lowest military discounted rate plus our extra discount is built right in. Need to book more than one cabin? Just book the first one and then start again to book the next one.
If you want to confirm that the rate shown online was the lowest rate available to you and to get our additional discount applied, you can call us at 1-866-9-MILITARY (866-964-5482) to book the cruise with you over the phone.
Be sure to tell the agent that you or a family member is part of the Armed Forces. We will then help you find the right cruise for you at the very best price.
If the cruise line is offering its own military rate, you will get that rate for as many cabins as they allow. Even if no veteran and military discounts are offered by the cruise line, we will apply our discount to the other cabins. If you already booked with the cruise line directly before you found us and have not yet paid in full, call us anyway. We might be able to get a discount applied for you.
GET CRUISE DEAL ALERTS and INSIDER CRUISE TIPS
Learn about the best, new military cruise discounts and cheap deals the moment they are announced!
Every day we look for the very best veteran and military discounts and special offers so you don’t have to! The really amazing, once-a-year-type deals are usually offered without notice and new last-minute deals pop up every day.
Like us on Facebook to get notified of all military cruise discounts as soon as they come out!
What’s new and awesome in cruising? We’ll tell ya – and give you some great tips!
Is there such a thing as 80% discounts on cruises, as advertised by some other websites?
Oh gosh, no. We can hardly believe some sites make such silly claims! The reality is, their rates are usually the exact same as the cruise lines.
They are comparing their price to a ‘brochure rate’ to sound like they are offering a discount.
What kind of military cruise discounts do we offer?
- We simply offer a discount off the cruise lines' lowest rate, usually about 5%.
So for a $4000 cruise fare, our discount would be $200. It comes out of our commission, so there’s not much more to give. (That’s why the claim of 80% off is soooo ridiculous.)
- And we offer free travel insurance for kids and discounted at around 50% off for adults, based on passengers' ages.
- Yes, you ALSO get any and all past guest perks, amenities, onboard credits, promos offered by the cruise line - anything you would get by booking direct...PLUS OUR EXTRA MILITARY DISCOUNT!
Do the cruise lines offer any military cruise discounts and benefits?
They all do something different.
- Carnival consistently has a special low rate just for the military on most of their cruises.
- Royal Caribbean does! Just be sure to check the military box.
- Norwegian has a new military discount program that could get you 10% off – ask us how to get that applied – it is cumbersome.
- Celebrity often has a military rate that’s about $100 less than civilian rates. Celebrity has so many different fare codes, getting the right price with the perks you want is tricky! Let us help.
- Disney occasionally announces a huge military discount on specific cruises. Usually not on holiday or summer-time cruises. Mostly on cruises during the offseason like in October, November, February, and March. We check for those daily and post all details on our Disney page.
- Princess and Cunard offer onboard credit to every military member. The amount is $50 to $250, based on the length of the cruise.
- The luxury and river cruise lines rarely have a discount specifically for military and veterans, but we book all luxury and river cruise lines and provide a discount for you when you ask us for a quote!
UPDATE ON CRUISE DISCOUNTS FOR MILITARY and VETERANS
Are there any military discounts on cruises in 2023 and 2024?
After years of amazing Covid-deals, cruise pricing has rebounded in a major way. In fact, the cruise lines tell us that summer 2024 is booking up already.
That means pricing is only going up as inventory goes down. So do not wait. Most cruise lines’ lowest rate have a non-refundable deposit rule, so you’d lose your deposit if you tried to cancel later.
Norwegian, however, has a fully refundable deposit. Yet their final payment is due 120 days before the cruise.
What is our cruise discount for military families and groups?
As always, you’ll get everything the cruise line is offering, plus your entire group will get our military and veteran discount, plus any extra amenities that we offer – usually onboard credits or specialty dining.
Our best advice for getting the maximum cruise discount on a 2024 or 2025 cruise:
Book as far in advance as possible!! Or, cruise in the shoulder season, which would be May, October or November.
Cruise bookings are back: All restrictions on cruising have fallen, so folks are coming back to cruising in droves.
Cruise ships are finally going out full. So if you have any intentions of cruising in 2024 or 2025, do start shopping now and get something on hold so you get in on the good deals.
How are our military discounts on cruises calculated?
The cruise lines often have anywhere from 3 to 20 different fare codes we could use to price out a cruise.
Some are higher but come with a beverage package or other amenities.
When you book on our site, our site automatically uses the lowest available fare code offered by the cruise line for that cruise.
Then, our site automatically subtracts a discount from that fare - and reveals this new discounted price to you.
If you want to get the perks that are offered with higher-priced fare codes, you’ll need to call us to book. And we’ll help you use that fare code, and then still get our discount applied.
How to find all possible military discounts in 2023 and 2024?
All rates you see on our site already have a military discount added (which means, actually, subtracted from the cruise lines’ lowest rates). So, if you were to compare our rates with the cruise lines, you’d see that ours are lower.
Also, if any other benefits, amenities or perks come with that cruise, we’ll have them listed under that cruise in the ‘BONUS OFFERS’ section. Be sure to click the bonus offer itself to read the terms and conditions.
But honestly, the way you should go about this is to look for a cruise you’d like based on where you want to go, and when you can go. And then see what the best deals are that fit your needs.
How do you get all military deals or discounts applied to your cruise booking?
You don’t have to even try. We do that for you in three ways.
- First, our online booking engine is configured to check for all military discounts from the cruise line.
- Then our system automatically adds an additional discount from us.
- Finally, one of our expert agents personally looks at every booking to make sure it has been done correctly, and all perks and discounts that could apply, have been applied.
- Once we get a confirmation from the cruise line with your booking, we check that carefully to make SURE they’ve got all our discounts and benefits applied.
You know what - we do even more than that. So, you are in good, capable hands with us. You don’t need to worry about a thing. We got this.
The Military discount on your cruise is not the only reason you’ll be glad you booked with us!
Here are even MORE reasons why veterans and military folks like you should book your cruise with Military Cruise Deals.
We apply our military discount to all cabins that contain any friends and family of military personnel – so your whole group gets our discount!
If the price of your cruise comes down, we’ll get you their new lower rate or the difference in the form of onboard credits or upgrades. This applies only until the final payment date. Our online discount does not apply.
After the final payment date, cruise lines will not adjust the rates or provide onboard credit but may offer an upgrade at their discretion.
When you book with us, you pay the lowest possible rate – lower than if you’d booked with the cruise line directly, on-base agencies, or other online cruise websites.
We help you save even more money on travel insurance and shore excursions. We never charge booking or cancellation fees of any kind! The cruise line penalties apply as usual though!
We’re always available by phone – so you can get excellent customer service from a cruise expert every day of the week! We aren’t just order-takers. We are experienced cruise travel agents!
This is how we save you money even after your cruise is booked and paid for:
Between the time you book your cruise and your final payment date, we encourage you to check the rates offered by the cruise line. If it is less than what you paid, we will contact the cruise line and request that they re-fare your cruise to their new lower rate, upgrade you to a higher category, or provide an onboard credit for the difference.
Cruise lines do NOT always honor the request but we always try! Please note, Cruise lines will NOT re-fare after the final payment date and many of the new non-refundable deposit fares restrict making fare changes after booking! After the final payment date, cruise lines will not adjust the rates or provide onboard credit but may offer an upgrade at their discretion.
The lower rate will NOT qualify for our online discount.
Who qualifies for our military discount?
Our cruise discounts apply to all U.S. and Canadian active duty, retired, and honorably discharged military personnel (veterans) – and their friends and family. Even military members from OTHER countries are able to book most cruises with us. Email us to inquire!
Seniors who are veterans may qualify for all senior and military discounts available.
Click here to see how to indicate senior and veteran status on our site.
While all spouses, dependents, family, and friends DO QUALIFY for the military discount from Military Cruise Deals, most cruise lines will often only allow the veteran and military discounts to be applied to the cabin which contains the member of the military.
Thus, getting the maximum military discounts and benefits applied correctly is sometimes not an easy and obvious endeavor.
We are experts on all the cruise line’s military and veteran discount policies: we know exactly when special rates and benefits pop up, who qualifies for them, and how to get them applied.
Transferring your booking to Military Cruise Deals
At Military Cruise Deals we often hear "Your offer is better than what I booked directly with the cruise line, how can I get your offer?"
The answer is quite simple as long as you booked directly with the cruise line and not with another agency.
If you transfer the booking to us, then you get to keep the same cabin, the same booking number, and the same rate as you have with the cruise line. You will also get to take advantage of our offer.
You lose NOTHING when you transfer to us. Any past guest promotions or perks you had will remain on the booking
Plus, we automatically check the rates for rate reductions at the final payment date for you!
Even your non-military friends and family can take advantage of this great opportunity! We will add our extra discount to ALL CABINS traveling with you, regardless of their military affiliation.
The cruise lines have made the process to transfer your booking over to travel agencies very easy.
So, transferring your booking over to MilitaryCruiseDeals.com is an easy way to save money by having us add our exclusive discount and sometimes more!
Contact us today and see what special offer your cruise booking may be eligible to receive.
If you are past your final payment date or booked more than 30 days ago, the cruise line will not allow a transfer to us.
You may be able to transfer with a quick phone call or online procedure! Keep reading to find out more.
Cruise Lines Travel Agent Transfer Forms and Policies:
Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Azamara
You may transfer your cruise booking to Military Cruise Deals up until 30 days from creation as long as your request is made outside of the final payment period and the booking has not been paid in full.
If a booking has a ChoiceAir ticket or if the transfer request involves a change in the currency we cannot accommodate a transfer.
In order to transfer your booking from Celebrity, Royal Caribbean or Azamara, you have to complete the simple Travel Agent Transfer Form online and when asked for the agency telephone number, you enter 787.932.8059
Carnival
You may transfer your cruise booking to Military Cruise Deals within 90 days of making the original booking as long as it is not past the final payment date.
In order to transfer the booking, please provide us with the confirmation email you got from Carnival and your booking pin number and we will be able to transfer it over for you.
If you don't recall adding a pin code to your booking, please call Carnival back to add one to the booking. Also, please forward your confirmation from Carnival to us at [email protected].
Having issues with this process? Contact us for assistance!
Cunard
You may transfer your cruise bookings to Military Cruise Deals any time before the final payment.
If you have made the deposit on the booking then you must send a letter to Cunard.
Please contact us for the mailing address and assistance with the letter.
Disney
We can accept booking transfers from Disney without adding a discount. The only way to get our discount on Disney is to make sure the current rate has not gone up and rebook on our website or by calling us.
Your booking must have been made 30 days or less from the time you request the transfer and cannot be paid in full. Click here to get the transfer form.
Please contact us to get the info you need from us for that form.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Reservations may be transferred to Military Cruise Deals up until 14 days from being booked as long as they are not paid in full.
NO Deposit on Booking: call Norwegian Cruise Line at 877.397.1502 and tell them you'd like to transfer your booking to your travel agent.
They will need your travel agent's agency name and phone number. The number is 866.964.5482 and tell them your agent's name is Mitch from Military Cruise Deals.
Deposit on Booking: you'll need to fill out their simple transfer form and email or fax it in.
Click to Download Form: Norwegian Cruise Line Transfer Form
MSC
You may transfer your MSC Cruise Booking to Military Cruise Deals prior to making the final payment and up until 60 days from initially booking.
The agency transfer form has to be signed by the guest and then sent by email to [email protected] or by fax to 866-782-2889.
Please contact us if you need any assistance. We're happy to help!
Holland
You may transfer your Holland America Cruise booking to Military Cruise Deals as long as you have not made the full payment.
To transfer a booking, please send your confirmation email from Holland America by email to us at [email protected] or download and follow the instructions on this form.
Princess
You may transfer your Princess Cruise booking to Military Cruise Deals as long as you have only paid the deposit and booked less than 60 days ago.
To begin, click below to download the transfer form.
You will need to include our agency name Military Cruise Deals and phone number 866.964.5482, your name and your booking number.
Once complete, email the completed form to Princess at [email protected]
This process can take a few days. Once it's done you will receive an invoice from us including your additional discount!
Feel free to contact us if we can be of any assistance!
Viking
As long as you made your Viking River Cruise booking in the last 60 days and have not paid it in full, then you can transfer your booking to Military Cruise Deals.
The process is easy, just contact us to get started.
Virgin Voyages
As long as you booked less than 30 days ago and the final payment is not yet due, we can help!
The process is easy, just contact us to get started.