Interline Cruise Discounts
Cruise rates for airline employees and related industries, and the proof each line asks for.
Qualify for Agent RatesInterline cruise discounts are the travel industry discount most people outside travel agencies have heard of: reduced cruise fares for people who work for airlines. The rules are detailed, and the cruise line, not the airline, decides who qualifies.
An Example: Royal Caribbean’s Published Interline Rules
Royal Caribbean publishes its special-pricing qualifications on its qualifications FAQ. As checked in October 2026, its interline rate covered:
Who qualified
- Current employees with flight benefits at a domestic or international commercial passenger airline
- Current FedEx, Airborne Express and UPS employees
- Air traffic controllers (NATCA and CATCA) and employees of reservation systems such as Sabre, Worldspan, Galileo/Apollo and Amadeus
- Retirees from those employers
- Spouses, domestic partners and parents of a currently employed airline employee
Proof listed
- Active airline employees: a photo of the current airline ID badge
- Retirees: a photo of the retiree ID badge or a letter from the former employer
- Spouses, partners and parents: the employee’s ID badge and/or proof of flight benefits from the employee’s benefits portal
The FAQ says proof must be sent within 48 hours of making the booking and before documents are issued, that each airline employee may book up to two additional staterooms at the interline rate on a sailing (five when two eligible employees sail together), and that bookings are randomly audited — a booking without valid proof can be repriced or boarding denied.
Other Lines, Other Rules
Interline programs are not standardised. Some lines handle interline bookings only through specialist interline agencies; some ask for a letter on airline letterhead and an employee number; some do not sell interline rates online at all. Treat any summary you read — including this one — as a guide, and confirm on the line’s own site or with its reservations team before you promise a client an interline fare.
Interline Discounts for Agents’ Clients
Airline employees are a natural niche for a cruise seller: they travel often, understand flexible travel and may qualify for rates the public cannot get. If you serve this market, learn the interline proof rules for the lines you sell, collect proof at booking rather than at final payment, and keep copies on file in case of audit.
- Ask every airline-employed client which programs they qualify for, including family and retiree status.
- Check the rate against the line’s public promotions; a public sale can occasionally be the better buy.
- Explain that the line, not the agent, makes the final eligibility decision.
- Combine cruise with flights carefully: staff standby travel to the port carries a risk of missing the ship.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are interline cruise discounts?
Reduced cruise fares that some cruise lines offer to airline employees and, under each line’s rules, to related industries, family members and retirees. The name comes from the airline practice of staff travel on other carriers.
Can I book an interline cruise for friends?
Only within the line’s rules. Royal Caribbean, for example, lets each eligible airline employee book a limited number of additional staterooms at the interline rate on a sailing, and requires an eligible guest in each.
Can a travel agent book interline rates?
Lines and specialist agencies handle interline bookings in different ways; some cannot be booked online at all. Ask the line or your host agency how interline bookings are processed.
Serve the Travel Industry’s Own Travelers
Be a Travel Agent helps new sellers build a niche, from airline staff to families.
Become a Travel Agent