Top five cruise lines for Black Friday deals

Calling all deal hunters, it’s almost time! That’s right, Black Friday is only around the corner *que finger stretches for optimal deal booking*.

Black Friday 2024 promises a feast of cruise deals that you simply can't refuse. But ahead of these delicious deals being revealed, we’ve compiled the top five most searched-for cruise lines so you can decide which cruise line you’ll be booking.

From P&O Cruises to Marella Cruises, discover exactly what each cruise line can offer you and start becoming excited about snagging an amazing deal. Naturally, there are other cruise lines out there, but thousands of deal-bookers can't be wrong!

Black Friday's origins may have stemmed from Christmas and Thanksgiving shopping, but it now belongs to those swish cruise goers who appreciate a dollop of style with their savings. Let's do it!

P&O Cruises

With a fleet of seven ships strong, P&O Cruises caters to the British market with ships sailing from their homeport of Southampton as well as offering a range of fly-cruises.

P&O Cruises sails to more than 300 destinations around the world with more than 780 cruise holidays currently available to book. You can also find a ship to suit you – Arvia, Iona, Britannia, Azura and Ventura are family-friendly whereas Aurora and Arcadia are adults-only.

P&O Cruises is widely known to be budget-friendly and offers good value for money. Tips (optional), speciality restaurants, Wi-Fi, adults-only areas, the spa, soft drinks, and alcoholic drinks are not included in the base price.

Included in the price are the buffet restaurant, pool-side venues, children’s club, babysitting, flights & transfers, water, fruit juice, tea, coffee, a five-course celebration night dinner and all entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment, you can expect theatre shows, live bands and comedy. Onboard the family-friendly ships, complimentary children’s clubs are available.

As for accessibility, P&O Cruises offers a range of accessible cabins – including wheelchair-accessible and partially accessible cabins suitable for a mobility scooter. For other accessibility needs, the line encourages you to fill out an ‘on-board needs’ questionnaire after booking.

Solos can book one of P&O Cruises’ single cabins, with complimentary activities exclusively for solo travellers, so you can meet and get to know each other.

Marella Cruises

As an extension of the well-known and loved TUI brand, Marella Cruises proves to be a popular option for British cruisers.

Marella Cruises are all-inclusive as standard – meaning your meals, snacks, drinks and tips are included. Flights and transfers are also included in the price.

The line does not sail from any UK ports, instead focusing on fly cruises. Sailing to more than 100 ports, Marella Cruises offers a wide range of shore excursions from the likes of the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. You can also opt to do a cruise and stay in one of over 200 handpicked TUI hotels.

Five ships make up the fleet, all carrying less than 2,000 passengers. The newest ship in the line is Marella Voyager, sailing to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Canary Islands. This is also the line’s singular adults-only ship, with the rest being family-friendly.

Marella Cruises offers lots of entertainment, to – well – keep you entertained. From quizzes to live music to west-end style shows to cookery demonstrations, you’ll find something that tickles your fancy.

Much like P&O Cruises, Marella Cruises is an accessible cruise line with a small number of adapted cabins. The line has teamed up with AccessAble to provide an in-depth accessibility guide for all of their ships.

Solo cruisers have a choice between specially selected solo cruise deals, which have been handpicked for solos, with no single supplement.

Royal Caribbean

Famous for mega-ships, Royal Caribbean is a popular choice for those who believe bigger is better. With 28 ships in the fleet, the ships are split into different classes – Oasis, Icon, Quantum, Freedom and Voyager class.

If you’d jump at the chance to stay at Disney World or Las Vegas, then Royal Caribbean ships are for you – with options of where to eat and what to do coming out of your ears.

The line sails across the world but has a focus on Europe and the Caribbean. A few ships will also sail to Alaska, China and North America in the summer.

The cruise line is known for its three private island resorts – Labadee in Haiti, Perfect Day at Lelepa in Vanuatu and Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.

Also well-regarded for onboard activities, Royal Caribbean features the first rock-climbing wall and ice-skating rink at sea as well as a FlowRider surf simulator and the AquaTheater with water shows.

But most of the onboard activities are not included in the price, so you’ll have to pay extra. Included in the price is your accommodation, meals/snacks in the buffet restaurant, main dining room and by the pool, water, juice, iced tea, hot chocolate, selected tea and coffee, fitness centre, shows/entertainment, pools and selected water park activities.

So, expect to pay extra for speciality restaurants, Wi-Fi, shore excursions, alcoholic drinks, spa services and, as mentioned, selected onboard activities.

As you might have guessed, Royal Caribbean is suitable primarily for families, with an extensive youth programme covering ages from 6 months to 15 years old. Adults are also catered for, with adult-only spaces such as nightclubs, bars and lounges.

Royal Caribbean offer an impressive range of accessible arrangements, with accessible staterooms, shore excursions and assistance. The cruise line also has help in place for autism and developmental disabilities as well as visual and hearing disabilities

As for solo cruisers, Royal Caribbean offers solo rooms on select cruise ships, with 10 ships offering a limited amount of studio staterooms that are priced for solos.

Princess Cruises

Sailing to 330 destinations across 17 ships, Princess Cruises is a big player in the cruise industry offering affordable, traditional cruises.

Known as the ‘Love Boat’, Princess Cruises offer a classic cruising experience. The focus is on dining, entertainment, bars and a fun music scene, as opposed to flashy activities.

The multitude of offerings onboard means that the line is suitable for a wide variety of guests – from families to couples to those new to cruising.

Like Royal Caribbean, the line has split its ships into different classes – Royal, Grand and Coral, with Royal-class ships possessing the largest capacity and Coral the smallest. And these ships sail around the world, from small three-day samplers to meaty world cruises – the choice is yours.

Princess Cruises typically appeals to couples aged 50-plus, but the line also has facilities onboard for families, making it perfect for multi-generational cruisers.

Holding singles-only nights, Princess Cruises has some adaptations in place for solo travellers. Shared dining is available in the main dining room. As for solo cabins, Princess Cruises offer a limited number of dedicated cabins for singles, but with a single supplement charge.

Similar to P&O Cruises and Marella Cruises, Princess Cruises welcomes guests with physical disabilities, but you need to make your accessibility needs known ahead of your cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Known best for onboard race car simulators, a VR Jurassic Park ride and an escape room experience, Norwegian Cruise Line is the cruise line to opt for to guarantee a fun and modern cruise experience.

With 19 ships in the fleet, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) splits the fleet into six different classes – Sun, Dawn, Jewel, Breakaway, Breakaway Plus and Prima Class.

Onboard, included dining is made up of the buffet, main dining room, pub, poolside grill, room service and tea/coffee/juice/water. You’ll have to splash the cash when it comes to speciality dining, as with most cruise lines, as well as the onboard Starbucks, gelato and chocolate shops. If you fancy a bite to eat while watching a show, this is an extra charge too.

Entertainment is the main focus onboard, with this aspect also split into included and extra charge. Included are the ropes courses, mini-golf, children & teen club, main theatre and live music. Extra charge is the go-karting, VR arena, kid’s arcade and bowling alleys.

Did you know that NCL was the first cruise line to build staterooms and common areas specifically for solo cruisers? NCL offers studio staterooms where no single supplement applies – including solo inside, ocean view and balcony. You can meet fellow travellers with NCL’s solo meetups.

As for accessible cruisers, the line has a dedicated team of Accessibility Coordinators who will contact you with a questionnaire and will then guide you through each day and aspect of your cruise, so you feel comfortable and informed.

Now, that’s what I call being spoilt for choice.

If one of these cruise lines appeals to you, then keep them in mind this Black Friday 2024 and keep up to date with us here at World of Cruising to discover the Black Friday deals as they roll in.