In the Cruise World, This Isn’t Winter. It’s Wave Season.

High-end ship lines are relatively new to wave sales, which they hope will “instill this idea that the further out you book, the better,” Beth Butzlaff, the vice president of cruise sales for Virtuoso, the travel adviser consortium, said. “Generally, it’s based on value like an upgrade or amenity or shipboard credit.”

That’s true at Silversea. Through Jan. 31, the price for its Caribbean itineraries will include round-trip airfare, transfers between the airport and the ship, and shore excursions in every port; the operator says the savings is worth around $1,100. Departing March 27, a 10-day Silversea cruise from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., costs $4,500 a person.

The small but growing segment of expedition cruising to distant destinations like the Galápagos and Greenland is starting to show up during wave season. Through Feb. 28, Hurtigruten, for example, is offering savings of up to 40 percent on select sailings through 2022 in destinations departing from Svalbard, Norway, to see polar bears (starting at $5,200 a person for 10 days, discounted 30 percent) and to Antarctica (from $8,733 a person for 12 days, also 30 percent off).

The small-ship adventure cruise line Lindblad Expeditions has historically not had a wave season sale, but this year is offering one on Alaska sailings for families, through March 31, including 50-percent-off fares for up to two children 22 and under for May and August 2020 sailings. Fares start at $4,420 a person, pre-discount, for six-day cruises.


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