About
What CruiseMiner is, and what its grades mean
CruiseMiner is cruise price analysis. It takes the fares we list, puts every one of them on a single per-person, per-day axis, and grades them — so a number stops being a number and becomes a judgement you can argue with.
Independent by construction, not by promise
We take no booking commissions and sell no cruises. Subscribers pay for the analysis, which means nothing on this site gets a better grade because it would earn more. That is a structural fact about how the business makes money, not a pledge about our intentions — the two are worth distinguishing.
The two grades
Every result carries a Deal grade and a Line grade, because "is this good?" is really two questions. The Deal grade compares a fare against genuinely similar sailings. The Line grade compares it within its own fleet. A sailing can be mediocre against the market and still be the best that line will offer this season, and a shopper loyal to that line deserves to know both.
Peer comparison is the load-bearing part. Grading a fare against every cruise in the catalogue would be easy and worthless: short cruises would always look expensive per day, long ones always cheap. Read per-day price for why that axis is the honest one.
What we look for
Beyond price, the analysis looks for patterns a shopper would struggle to see one search at a time: sister sailings, where the same ship runs the same itinerary on many dates at very different prices; cabin inversions, where a higher cabin category is priced below a lower one on the same ship; and itinerary rarity, where an unusual route happens to carry an ordinary price.
What the numbers cannot tell you
A methodology page that lists only strengths is marketing. So, plainly:
- Every price here is an estimate, in USD, per person per day. The figures on this site were observed 13 August 2026. Fares move; confirm with the cruise line before booking.
- We analyse the sailings we list, which is not every cruise that exists. A grade describes a fare's standing within our data, not a claim about the entire market.
- Grades are about price, not about quality. An A-graded sailing is well priced against its peers. It is not a promise that you will enjoy the ship, the route, or the weather.
- A small peer set makes a weaker grade. Unusual itineraries have fewer true comparables by definition, so the confidence behind their grade is lower than for a Caribbean week.
- We do not model every cost. The per-day figure is about the fare, not gratuities, flights, drinks packages, or excursions.
Who we are
CruiseMiner is a small independent team building tools for people who would rather compare cruises on evidence than on marketing. Questions, corrections, and arguments about a specific grade are all welcome — corrections especially, since a grading system nobody can challenge is not worth much. Reach us at hello@cruiseminer.com.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you sell cruises or earn booking commissions?
- No. CruiseMiner never books a cruise and takes no commission from any cruise line, agency, or booking site. The analysis is paid for by subscribers, which is what lets a sailing be graded badly without anyone losing revenue over it.
- What does the Deal grade actually compare against?
- A Deal grade rates a fare against genuinely comparable sailings — similar length, similar itinerary character, similar cabin tier — rather than against the whole market. Comparing a seven-night balcony to a two-week suite would produce a flattering grade and a useless one.
- What is the Line grade for?
- The Line grade rates a fare within its own cruise line. A sailing can be poor value against the wider market and still be the best week that line offers all season, and those are two different questions a shopper is entitled to ask separately.
- Are the prices you show guaranteed?
- No. Every figure on this site is an estimate in USD, expressed per person per day, and carries the date it was observed. Fares change. Always confirm the price with the cruise line before booking.
- Why per person, per day?
- Because a headline fare hides the length of the trip. A four-night getaway and a fourteen-night crossing cannot be compared on sticker price, and the longer voyage usually looks expensive when it is often the better value. Dividing by nights on a per-person basis puts every cruise on one axis.
See it applied to a real cruise
Every fare on one axis, with the reasoning attached.
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