New twist on cruise deals: This line will knock 20% off your fare if you pay in full now
How eager is Silversea Cruises to get you to commit now to a trip over the next three years?
As part of a new, limited-time offer, the Miami-based luxury line will give you a hefty discount of up to 20% if you book a voyage in the coming weeks for 2023, 2024 or 2025.
The catch: You'll only get the discount if you book a nonrefundable fare and pay for it in full within five days of the booking.
In other words, you have to show Silversea the money — and there's no backing out once you do.
The pay-in-full-now, sail-later promotion is unusual, as most cruise lines only require customers to make a small deposit when they book a cruise, with final payment not due until just months before a sailing.
Silversea normally doesn't require customers to make a final payment until just 30 to 60 days before a sailing.
The new "prepaid pricing" promotion, as Silversea is calling it, brings discounts of 10% to 20% on normal fares, depending on the sailing. The discounts are available when you book using Silversea's "port-to-port" fares through Feb. 28, 2023.
Silversea offers two tiers of pricing: "port-to-port" and more expensive "door-to-door" fares.
Port-to-port fares include accommodations on a ship, butler service, onboard meals, drinks, onboard gratuities, unlimited Wi-Fi, shore excursions and a complimentary city center shuttle service when applicable.
Door-to-door fares include all of the above plus private executive transfers from home and international flights to reach the ship as well as the availability of business-class upgrades at a reduced rate.
The new discounted prepaid pricing is available for 226 ocean and expedition voyages scheduled for 2023, 2024 and 2025 on eight of Silversea's vessels.
The offer is designed to be the line's main promotion for wave season — the heavy cruise booking period that typically begins in January. Cruise lines often roll out their best offers of the year during wave season.
Related: Why wave season could be the best time to book a cruise
Already, more than half a dozen cruise lines have rolled out promotions for wave season that bring everything from discounted rates to onboard credits and free onboard amenities.
Among the most notable new promotions is a wave season offer from Virgin Voyages announced last week that brings an enormous drinks credit — $600 per cabin for some sailings — when making a new booking.
Under the terms of the new Virgin offer, which will be available through Jan. 31, 2023, anyone who books a voyage for one person will be able to bring a second person in the same cabin for 60% off the regular fare.
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