Comparison

Cruise Countdown & Picker vs Cruisebound

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cruise Countdown & Picker

Easily search and compare thousands of cruises without annoying pop-ups. Set price alerts for specific trips or subscribe to deal categories to find the best prices. Explore ship details, dining, entertainment, and cabin options.

Highlights
  • Search and filter cruises
  • Price alert notifications
  • Last minute and destination deals
  • Detailed ship and cabin information
  • Cruise countdown widgets
  • Compare prices from multiple sites
Features
Read full description

You know when you go to a cruise website and it gives you a hundred pop-ups asking for your email and then screams at you to call them now before this 'deal' disappears? Ugh. I found this annoying as well and set out to build a simple, user friendly way to find cruises using just my phone. No annoying pop-ups or asking for emails. CruisePicker lets you easily search thousands of cruises by destination, departure port or cruise line and your desired travel dates. You can then sort and filter results by lowest price (or per night price), your favorite cruise line, port, type of cabin, or how long you want to cruise for. Don't overpay for your cruise. If you have your eye on a specific cruise, simply add a price alert to it and we'll send you a daily push notification with any price changes. Price alerts are free and there is no limit - set as many as you want! If you are interested in last minute deals or balcony deals for Alaska, subscribe to these categories in the deals section. The app monitors thousands of cruise prices and will automatically send you a notification when it spots a cheap price. Its not unusual to find deals from $30 / night! Deal categories include (more in the app): - 7 night Caribbean deals - Balcony deals for Mediterranean - Cruise deals from Miami - Cruise deals from Los Angeles - Deals on NEW ships - Carnival cruise deals - Royal Caribbean deals Many people want to learn about the ship - what's the food like? C'mon, we know food on a cruise is key! We list each restaurant and bar, entertainment venues and onboard activities. In addition, we describe each type of cabin (there are many). Where we can, we also list which venues are included (free) and which require an upcharge. Here is a summary of the features the app provides: - NEW: Cruise countdown widgets help you get excited for your cruise - Search and Filter cruises by departure port, date, length and cheapest prices - Watchlist: Get price alert notifications when prices for a specific cruise price drops (or goes up) - Deals: Track the best prices for last minute cruises, new ships, or by popular destinations and lines - Compare prices from many sites to make sure you get the best deal - Detailed itinerary: each destination and arrival and departure times - Explore what to do on each ship including dining, entertainment and activities - Browse the various cabins and staterooms categories - Content: Learn about the cruise lines and how each is different - See deck maps for every ship - Dark mode for late night browsing:) Covers all the major cruise lines including: - Carnival Cruise - Royal Caribbean - Norwegian Cruise Line - Disney Cruise - Celebrity Cruises - Holland America Line - Princess Cruises Note: each cruise line is unique! Read our guide to cruise lines. Cruises from all ports including Miami, Ft Lauderdale, New York, Galveston, Seattle, Vancouver and more. Also, check out popular destinations including: - Caribbean & Bahamas - Alaska - Europe & Mediterranean - Mexico Have questions or an idea to make the app better? I'd love to hear from you. Email my team: team (at) cruisepicker (dot) com - We read every email. Lastly, check out what our users have been saying. Tony R. "I like getting CruisePicker alerts when I'm in a boring meeting. I can quickly check out the deal and see if it's worth checking out more." Ashley G. "I have my eye on deals from Miami. I live here so I can easily catch a ship even if its last minute. Any day on a cruise is better than on land!" Maria A. "My husband and I have busy lives and a cruise is how we destress and relax. I just love all the filters and sorts this app has - makes its super easy to find the best cruise for us."

About

Cruisebound

Organize all your cruise trip details in one convenient app. Track departure dates with a customizable countdown and easily manage your reservations. Perfect for both first-time cruisers and seasoned travelers looking to stay organized.

Highlights
  • Centralized cruise details
  • Customizable countdown widget
  • Reservation management
  • Trip organization
  • Departure tracking
Features
Read full description

Cruisebound keeps all your cruise details in one place, making trip planning simple. Track the days until departure with a customizable countdown widget and manage your reservations with ease. Whether you're preparing for your first cruise or your next one, Cruisebound helps you stay organized. More features coming soon. Download now and get ready for your next trip.

Screenshots

Cruise Countdown & Picker4 screens
Cruisebound4 screens

Verdict

The call

Cruise Countdown & Picker and Cruisebound both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 74% of Cruise Countdown & Picker's written reviews are positive against 29% of Cruisebound's. Cruise Countdown & Picker also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Cruisebound's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cruisebound holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cruise Countdown & Picker has 2.8K ratings behind it against 553, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Cruise Countdown & Picker's written reviews are positive against 29% of Cruisebound's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cruise Countdown & Picker ships an update every 2 weeks, Cruisebound monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Cruise Countdown & Picker versus Cruisebound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCruise Countdown & PickerCruisebound
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings)4.8 (553 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.4% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K — better553
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB110 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCRUISE PICKER LLCCruisebound, Inc.

Customer experience

Cruise Countdown & Picker

All ratings2,824 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative20.7%

Cruisebound

All ratings451 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%

Bugs and requests

Cruise Countdown & Picker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not working properly
  • Inability to save new cruise
  • Crashes when using certain features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more cruise lines and ships
  • Improve widget customization options
  • Allow editing of settings without adding widget first
  • Enhance cruise search capabilities
  • Provide option to exclude certain cruise lines or ports

Cruisebound

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Cruise Countdown & Picker

No in-app purchases

None

Cruisebound

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cruise Countdown & Picker free?
Cruise Countdown & Picker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cruisebound free?
Cruisebound is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cruise Countdown & Picker or Cruisebound?
Cruisebound is rated higher. Cruise Countdown & Picker averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Cruisebound averages 4.8 from 553 ratings.
Do Cruise Countdown & Picker or Cruisebound have ads?
Neither Cruise Countdown & Picker nor Cruisebound shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cruise Countdown & Picker or Cruisebound?
Cruise Countdown & Picker ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cruisebound monthly. Most recently, Cruise Countdown & Picker was updated on November 2, 2026 and Cruisebound on November 4, 2026.

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