Best Cruise Affiliate Programs
If your blog or website is in the travel niche and you’ve run out of ideas on how you can monetize it, you’ve ended up in the perfect place. For today’s article, we’ve prepared a list of some of the best cruise affiliate programs out there.
For each and every one of those showcased below, we’ll include the commission rate and cookie lengths that you can expect. When and if that’s possible, we’ll also note if they can be managed through affiliate networks.
Top Cruise Affiliate Programs
Cruise Direct Affiliate program
While the Cruise Direct program is self-managed, so you will have to sign up on the brand’s website, that doesn’t seem to be that much of a drawback when considering that this is one of the few companies that offer a 45-day cookie length.
The commission rate is a fixed one, which means that you will make 3% out of all of the sales you refer through your blog or website. While it might not seem like a lot, you do get to work with an affiliate manager that can guide you throughout the entire process.
In a nutshell, this cruise affiliate program might be a good choice for diversifying your income streams.
Orbitz
This one is by far one of the most popular websites currently being used by people who want to travel and are based in the United States. You can find a wide range of offers for flights, cruises, hotels, and anything else you might expect in this sense, all on this website.
What’s interesting about the Orbitz affiliate program is that the rates largely differ depending on the services picked by your readers. For example, on hotel bookings, you can make just 2% or 3% of the value of the purchase, but the packages will bring you a commission of 4% or 5%.
Car rentals are going to make you just $3 each while the rate you can expect for activities is just 2%. While it is a top program in this niche, the cookie duration is just 7 days, so it is significantly lower than what you can get with some of its competitors.
Last Minute Travel
There’s not too much to say about this program other than the fact that the rate you can expect is 3% on pretty much any type of service your audience picks. The cookie also lasts for 30 days, which is rather decent, but could have been better.
As for the website itself, you’ll find a very generous number of travel experiences here, whether that be vacation homes and activities or packages, car rentals, cruises, flights, and hotel stays.
Beach Tours Mexico
As its name suggests, this company is aimed at people who want to travel to pretty much any destination located in Mexico. Since this country is one of the favorite destinations of people in North America, you’ll probably have no trouble recommending the service to your audience.
Beach Tours Mexico might just as well be the best cruise affiliate program we have come across and the reason we’re saying that is the 30% commission rate. Best of all, this one offers you a tracking cookie that lasts for not one, not two, but three whole months.
The rate is available for all of the services available on the site, whether that be activities and packages or tour options.
Expedia
If you’ve ever booked a vacation for yourself or someone you know, you’ve probably encountered this website when researching some of the best travel options out there.
Therefore, you’ll have no issue recommending the Expedia travel agency to your audience. As for the program, you can enjoy a $25 commission rate on most products, but we do have to note that there are different rates for things like travel services, hotels, or car rentals.
Unfortunately, the cookie lasts for just one week, which means that it is one of the shortest ones we have stumbled upon.
CheapTickets
Right off the bat, one of the main reasons to become a CheapTickets affiliate would have to be the fact that you can easily manage everything through CJ Affiliate. If you already use that platform for your other niche websites, this can be a significant advantage.
There are various rates for different travel experiences that your audience purchases through your affiliate links, but for cruises, you can expect a fixed $30 commission. The cookie lasts for 7 days, so that’s not really worth writing home about.
Intrepid Travel
As an Intrepid Travel affiliate, you will be able to earn 4% out of all of the sales made through your affiliate links. The cookie duration is 2 months, which isn’t bad at all, especially when putting this program side by side with others in the same category.
The website is pretty large and well-known across the world and has a large variety of travel packages.
They’re somewhat aimed at adventure cruising, so here you’ll find things like festival tickets or sailing experiences, so the offers are slightly unique from what you can expect from other websites. Finally, this program works through CJ Affiliate.
Original Resorts
If you’ve been trying to find cruise ship affiliate programs that work through ShareASale, this one should be right up your alley. The company sells a wide range of travel experiences, but cruises and family-friendly hotels are at the top of the list.
Original Resorts affiliate marketing can earn you up to 11.5% of the value of each order that your audience places. The cookie lasts for 30 days, which is pretty much standard for most programs in this niche.
BookingBuddy
Given that it is managed by FlexOffers, you’ll have no trouble using this affiliate program as a way of diversifying your passive income.
Moreover, this program can help you earn up to 50% out of the value of every order, and there are lots of marketing materials that will make your job of recommending these services to your readership a breeze.
The downside is that the cookie is basically non-existent, which means that people should click on your affiliate link, book something and pay for it, and then you get your commission. Otherwise, you are not going to be able to make any money.
Cheap Caribbean
Like other cruise line affiliate programs that we have looked at, this one works through CJ Affiliate (formerly known as Commission Junction). While the rate that you can expect with this program is quite low (just 2%), the cookie does last for 45 days, so at least there’s that.
In other news, the average order on this website is worth more than $2,000, so that’s another aspect that you should consider.
Allianz Worldwide
Allianz is one of the largest firms in the insurance field and while we might have covered the program in one of our other articles, they have different services for various travel experiences.
For example, they also offer specific cruise insurance packages for individuals depending on several factors such as the country they are traveling to, their travel period, the ages they have, and where they hail from.
The value of the commission rate can vary between $12 to $25 for each insurance plan purchased through your affiliate links. As for the tracking cookie, you’ll be glad to know that it lasts for 45 days instead of the 30 you might have become accustomed to.
Virgin Holidays
While this one might not seem the best option at a glance due to the 2% commission, we would like to add that most of the orders placed on this Branson-owned website usually surpass the value of $2,000. The cookie also lasts for a whole month, which isn’t bad.
Furthermore, you’ll probably have less of a hard time recommending Virgin Holidays services to your audience given how well-known the brand is across the world. The company has a great reputation and now sells a wide range of travel experiences, including cruises.
Polynesia Cultural Center
This website is aimed at people looking to travel to Oahu anytime soon. This destination is by far one of the most popular ones in Polynesia, since it gets more than 1 million visitors per year.
While the average order on the site is just $400, it’s a good thing that the commission is 5% and not 2% like we’ve seen in other travel companies that have affiliate programs. The cookie duration is a full 30-day period, so at least there’s that.
Read more: Coursera Affiliate Program Review
CruiseAway
This one is the few programs in this niche that we came across and that are managed by Rakuten LinkShare. So, if you already use that affiliate network, that might be something to consider.
CruiseAway can offer you a commission rate of $10 per each booking made through your affiliate links. The nice thing is that the tracking cookie lasts for 90 whole days, so three months should be enough for your audience to make up their minds.
RoamRight
If you already use ShareASale for your affiliate marketing, you’ll be happy to know that you can manage this program through the same network, too.
One of the things that makes RoamRight stand out from the crowd is that the company can offer a 365-day tracking cookie. This means that you might be able to make two commissions per user, for example.
The payout consists of 15% out of all of the orders made through your affiliate links, so it’s really not bad at all. The brand does have some rigid terms, though, so you will need to do a bit of research before joining the program.
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Royal Caribbean Cruises Affiliate Program
As its name suggests, this one is aimed at users based in the United Kingdom who might want to explore exotic destinations that they might never have had the chance to see before.
We do have to note that the program is managed by TradeDoubler, a different online platform, so if you do not have an account on that website, you’ll basically find it impossible to become an affiliate.
As for what you can earn with this one, the commission rate is a fixed 4% on all orders, but the good thing is that most orders placed on the site surpass the value of $1,000. As for the cookie, it lasts for 45 days.
Way.com
This one is managed through ShareASale, a detail that can be looked at as an advantage. Way.com is a website that can be utilized for bookings of any kind, including cruises, but also car rentals and even wash services, along with insurance, auto refinance, and any type of adventure experience.
What we would like to note about the Way.com affiliate program is that the cookie basically never expires. This means that if someone has a great experience with this company and decides to book another travel service in the future, you’ll get your commission yet again.
By the way, you can expect a rate of 10% on all orders with this one. On ShareASale, you’ll find all the marketing materials that you might need, whether that be traditional affiliate links or banners.
Princess Cruises
This is the Carnival Cruise affiliate program you might have been on the hunt for as it is managed by this company. The brand is extremely popular and perhaps one of the most successful ones in this particular niche.
While the rate isn’t worth writing home about, at just 3% per order, the cookie does last for 30 days. We’d also like to note that this one works through AWIN, yet another very popular affiliate network currently available.
Tallink Silja Affiliate Program
This company organizes cruises in and around the Baltic Sea region, so for people who might want to visit destinations on the shores of countries such as Finland or Sweden, it could be the perfect option.
On the downside, this program works only through Tradetracker, a separate platform, so if you aren’t using that one already, you will have to first create an account over there. The commission rate you can expect with the Tallink Silja program is 5.6% on all orders with a cookie duration of two months.
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Aida Cruises Affiliate Program
This is another brand that’s currently owned by Carnival Cruises, but it is aimed toward people who are German speakers. So, if you happen to manage a blog in this language, this program should be right up your alley.
From the info we came across with regard to it, it doesn’t seem to be managed by a separate network — as such, you’ll need to submit an application on the company’s own website.
The commission rate ranges from 6% to 8% depending on the exact travel experiences your audience picks. The tracking cookie isn’t bad, either, since it lasts for 30 days.
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Saga Holidays
The Saga Holidays program is managed by AWIN, a network that we have extensively reviewed in one of our recent articles. As an affiliate, you can make up to 4% out of every qualifying order with a cookie duration of 30 days.
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Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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