It's possible to cruise for free and it's not as hard as you might think.
Gather up a group of your friends and family and you can earn free passage and group benefits.
Just reserve eight or more staterooms on one sailing and you've got a group! Most cruise lines define a group cruise as a minimum of 16 people occupying eight cabins.
The 16th person (which could be you, the tour conductor) cruises free.
Tour conductors work with a travel agency to make all the travel and onboard arrangements.
Cruise Lines only award the value of the cruise fare only.
Port charges, taxes and government fees are not free and must be paid by everyone in the group, including the Tour conductor.
All you really need is a group willing to travel together and an excuse to go such as a family reunion, birthday, anniversary, wedding, college reunion, church groups, friends or just to have fun and you are on your way to cruising for free.
Getting a free fare is one thing.
Getting a free cabin is something else altogether.
For that you need to book twice as many people and cabins.
Sixteen people means the 16th person cruises free; 16 cabins means the 16th cabin is free.
Some cruise lines also offer special perks available only to group cruisers.
Amenities can include such things as private hosted cocktail parties, cabin upgrades and shipboard credits.
Each cruise line has its own group leader policy and they may vary depending upon the cruise lines guidelines.