This year’s Amazon Prime travel deals, some of which have already been posted, include up to 40% off a Carnival Cruise Line

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voyage and heavily discounted Southwest Airlines

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Rapid Rewards points. 

Amazon’s travel deals come at a time when high prices have been a concern for travelers, leading some to scale back their vacation plans, according to a Deloitte report. A growing share of travelers plan to take road trips this summer, and many will drive instead of fly to save money.

While travel discounts on Prime Day could be appealing to vacationers, snagging a deal on a trip is different from shopping sales for products like clothes, travel experts said. Travel deals often come with restrictions, and require shoppers to know their travel plans well and be fully aware of the fine print.

Money is not the only issue when shopping for vacations; travelers’ valuable time could be lost as well, said Erika Richter, vice president of the American Society of Travel Advisors, a trade group representing the travel-adviser industry. If people are unhappy with their travel purchases, the consequences could be more serious.

“For products, you can return. You can’t really take an experience to Whole Foods and return it,” Richter told MarketWatch. 

So far, six companies have listed deals on the Amazon landing page ahead of Prime Day: Southwest; Carnival; the trip-booking platform Viator, a subsidiary of Tripadvisor Inc.

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; the peer-to-peer car-rental marketplace Turo; and car-rental companies Avis

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and Sixt

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.

Like the rest of Prime Day’s offerings, the travel deals are only available to members of Amazon’s Prime program, which costs $139 a year and comes with free overnight shipping on certain products as well as a host of other perks.

Several partner companies told MarketWatch that they will release more details about their Prime Day deals later this week. An Amazon spokesperson said that more information on the travel deals will come out as the event approaches.

Here’s how to get the most out of these travel deals, according to experts.

Don’t take Amazon’s word for it. Shop around.

Among the travel deals that have been released in advance of Prime Day, “there are a few good deals, and there are some terrible deals,” said Clint Henderson, managing editor of the Points Guy, a site where consumers can compare travel-rewards credit cards.  

Both the deals from Carnival and Southwest are great offers, he told MarketWatch, but some — such as a deal offering up to 30% off an Avis car rental plus a 10% Amazon gift card — are a “no deal” for him. People can easily get the same discount elsewhere — or an even bigger one. For example, Avis’s own website was offering up to 35% off car rentals when Henderson spoke to MarketWatch.

People interested in the Prime Day travel discounts should first check to see how Amazon’s deals stack up by looking at the partner companies’ websites, as well as other travel sites, he said. Some deal websites have better prices, he said, such as the cash-back shopping site Rakuten

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which was offering 13% cash back on Viator as of July 5 — better than Viator’s 10% discount on the Amazon Prime Day landing page. Rakuten’s deal later changed to 10% cash back.

Though Prime Day has offered good deals over the years on travel-related products such as luggage and noise-canceling headphones, the trip deals that Amazon posted ahead of this year’s Prime Day “are just OK,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert and spokesperson at Going.com, a discount airfare platform.

“We haven’t seen [Amazon] crack the code quite yet,” she said, referring to Prime Day deals on flights, hotels, cruises and other travel experiences.

Don’t expect great deals on flights on Prime Day

Airlines seldom release their best prices during a promotional event like Prime Day because discounted airfares always sell easily, Nastro said. The Southwest deal for Prime Day, where travelers can buy the airline’s Rapid Rewards points for 50% off, is probably only a good offer for people who are already Rapid Rewards members and might be just a few points shy of qualifying for a free or reduced-fare flight, she noted.

Make sure you know the terms and conditions of any travel deal

Even the best deals offered during promotional events like Prime Day can come with stipulations and restrictions, Nastro said. 

Shoppers should read terms and conditions carefully to make sure they fully understand the offer they are getting, travel experts say. Restrictions can change the value of a traveler’s trip, Richter said. 

While the Prime Day discount of up to 40% off a Carnival cruise sounds generous, it’s important to note that cruise deals can sometimes come with significant caveats, Richter said.

For example, under the terms and conditions of a previous Carnival sale in early July — unrelated to Prime Day — travelers who booked a discounted ocean-view or balcony room could be assigned a room with a partially or fully obstructed view, Richter said, which could change the whole experience for cruisers.

“Some might feel, ‘Is this really worth 40% off if I can’t even see out of my window?’” she said.

Carnival and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment on the terms or conditions of the Prime Day cruise deal.

Do you shop Amazon’s Prime Day sales, and if so, what do you buy? MarketWatch would like to hear from readers about their financial decisions and money-related questions. You can write to us at readerstories@marketwatch.com. A reporter may be in touch to learn more.