New analysis of 700,000+ price changes shows Saturday delivers the strongest chance of a real fare drop—far outpacing the old Thursday rule.
MIAMI, Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- All Aboard Deals, a cruise-pricing analytics platform that tracks more than 35,000 sailings every week, has released new data showing a clear shift in cruise pricing behavior.
The full analysis, published in the data report "The Best Time to Book a Cruise for the Lowest Price (2025 Data)," highlights how weekend fare adjustments — especially Saturdays — now outperform the long-held belief that Thursdays are best.
WEEKEND PRICE DROPS EMERGE AS THE STRONGEST TREND
The study analyzed more than 714,000 price movements across major cruise lines.
Key findings include:
- Saturday: 10.8% chance of a real price drop
- Friday: 9.4%
- Thursday: 5.6%
- Tuesday–Wednesday: ~4%
- Sunday: 2.7%
- Monday: 2.4% (lowest)
This marks a major departure from the older 2018 booking advice many travelers still quote.
Full data breakdown:
https://allaboarddeals.com/blog/best-time-to-book-cruise-2025-data
"People still repeat the old Thursday rule, but the numbers just don't back it up anymore," said Graham Heldreth, founder of All Aboard Deals. "Once we visualized hundreds of thousands of live price changes, the weekend pattern stood out across almost every cruise line."
LATE-CYCLE DISCOUNTS CONFIRMED — ONE-THIRD OF ALL DROPS HAPPEN INSIDE 50 DAYS
The analysis also examined fare behavior across the full booking window.
Key trend:
- 33% of all meaningful price drops occur inside 0–50 days before departure
Royal Caribbean (41%), Celebrity (37%), and Norwegian (32%) show the strongest late-cycle movement — often triggered shortly after final payment deadlines.
Travelers can monitor these changes in real time through the Cruise Price Index Dashboard:
https://allaboarddeals.com/tools/market-pulse
SEASONAL PATTERNS STILL MATTER — BUT DEMAND KEEPS GROWING
Wave Season (January–March) and late November remain the most promotion-heavy periods.
Shoulder months such as April–May and September–October continue to offer stronger pricing flexibility.
CLIA's 2025 industry outlook reports passenger volume topping 34.6 million and projected to exceed 42 million by 2028, helping explain why peak months rarely see price drops.
Media Contact
Graham Heldreth, All Aboard Deals, 1 818-863-2735, [email protected], https://allaboarddeals.com/
SOURCE All Aboard Deals
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