PENNINGTON, N.J., Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Critic® (http://www.cruisecritic.com), the world's largest cruise reviews site, announces the launch of Price Drop, a new way to shop for cruise deals.

Price Drop offers travelers the ability to compare recently reduced cruise fares with the highest published rates from the past seven days - highlighting the most significant price drops and best value-for-money.

By using Price Drop, consumers can:


    --  Browse or search deals by month, cruise line, destination, cruise
        length, cabin type and price drop percentage.


    --  Watch for new price drops by subscribing to Price Drop email updates
        based on cruise preferences.


    --  Easily find more information on cruises listed on Price Drop by
        referencing Cruise Critic reviews.

"Typically, cruise deals are displayed as a discount from the brochure rate, which is often much higher than the price people actually pay," says Melissa Paloti, Cruise Critic's director of product development. "We've found that by changing that metric, and comparing current prices to those from just a week prior, consumers are given more visibility into the true savings offered. Our goal is for Price Drop to highlight the best deals available, and give consumers greater confidence when buying a cruise."

How does Price Drop work?

Every day, Price Drop pulls current fares across major cruise lines and compares them to published fares from the last seven days. If prices have dropped during that period, the discounted cruise fare is added to Price Drop, along with the discount percentage.

To watch for future price drops, consumers can sign up for weekly Price Drop email updates based on cruise preferences.

For more information on Price Drop, visit www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop.

About Cruise Critic
 Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 100,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 21 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 260 million unique monthly visitors*, and more than 125 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.1 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions.

*Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, July 2013

Cruise Critic and The Independent Traveler are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Independent Traveler, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

© 2014 The Independent Traveler, Inc. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:
 Aubrey Manzo, Cruise Critic
aubrey@cruisecritic.com
609-730-9155 ext. 274

SOURCE Cruise Critic