Abstract The disorderly charging of electric cruise ships will widen the peak-to-valley difference of the power grid. Reasonable adjustment of the charging behaviour of electric cruise ships can effectively smooth the peak-valley difference and achieve peak clipping and valley filling. Based on the forecast value of the number of electric cruise ships in the Baiyangdian area in 2022, a price incentive demand-side management model was constructed and Monte Carlo simulation was used for model calculation. The results show that under the price incentive model, the electric cruise ship users are charging at the valley of electricity consumption, and the load peak-to-valley difference and load smoothness coefficient will be reduced. While electric cruise ship service providers obtain additional benefits, charging costs for electric cruise ship users are decreased.