Everybody loves a good deal. After all, every little bit helps, especially on big-ticket items like a vacation. A cruise is the type of vacation that can hit the pocketbook hard, especially if you don’t know the ins and outs of how to find a good deal. If you’re in the market for a cruise, you may be wondering how to get the best price, where to look to find an incentive or package deal, and when is the best time to book. If that sounds like you, read on, friend. All potential cruisers can benefit from a bit of education in that area, and what that really means is that you NEED to know about wave season.

Wave season is the time when you can get the best deals, the best package offers, and the best incentives on booking a cruise. The prices during wave season will be highly competitive, and you’ll find the smokin’ hot deals on cruises throughout the year, including short term incentives, and sometimes even deals on cruises up to two years in advance. You may be wondering why they call it wave season, and there is a simple answer: during wave season, you can expect a wave of great deals on vacation that cruise the ocean’s waves. If you’re thinking of taking a cruise, you’ll definitely want to shop around during wave season.

Traditionally wave season runs January through March, and for good reason — immediately after the holidays is when many people start planning their vacations for the upcoming year, which leads to an influx of cruise bookings. The cruise lines noticed this pattern years ago and decided to capitalize on it. To take full advantage of wave season deals, plan on booking earlier in the season rather than later, as prime sailings and prime destinations may fill up early, if the deals are hot enough (and they usually are). Some cruise lines occasionally offer discounts for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holidays, but wave season is always a sure thing. You know you’ll find a steal-of-a-deal if you shop wave season.

Pretty much all. Wave season has become an industry standard over the years, and now everybody joins in the fun, from major cruise lines to smaller ones. You’ll find wave season deals on ocean cruises and river cruises, big ships and small ships, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and everything in between. Expect better deals from the larger companies, but you’ll see discounts across the board.

Wave season deals come in many shapes and sizes. Your standard deal is just a discounted purchase price, but that’s just the jumping off point. When it comes to saving cash off your purchase price, it may come in the form of a straight-up discount, like 25% off the standard rate, for example. It may also come in the form of cash back as an onboard credit, reduced or waived deposit, BOGO cruise fare, and/or reduced price for additional passengers (or sometimes even kids sail free!).

Outside of cost savings on the initial booking, many cruise lines offer freebies and/or perks that can add value to your experience. You may find offers for things like complimentary beverage packages, shore excursions, cabin upgrades, internet access, and other onboard experiences. You can sometimes find cruise lines offering free airfare to and from your embarkation/disembarkation port, or a free night’s hotel stay before or after the cruise. Sometimes it’s an offer for prepaid onboard gratuities, or for a set amount of onboard credit to use as you see fit. It may even be a complimentary bottle of wine in your stateroom when you arrive. If you’re really lucky, you may find a combination of several of the above offers all rolled into one. The sky’s the limit during wave season.

WorldMark by Wyndham Travel’s got your back. When it comes to finding the best wave season deals, look no further than your exclusive owner travel agency. WorldMark by Wyndham Travel has exclusive partnerships with several major cruise lines, and through those partnerships, WorldMark by Wyndham Travel is able to book any and every wave season deal you can find, but not only that — they often have some exclusive deals of their own, including offers you won’t find with the cruise lines or any other travel agency. Some of WorldMark by Wyndham Travel’s hottest deals can be found right here on your owner website, but some are so fresh, so good and so new, you can only get them by calling in. Call WorldMark by Wyndham Travel at 800-953-5511 before you book your next cruise and let their friendly and knowledgeable Travel Advisors get you the best deal possible for riding the waves.