There are many ways to save on costs related to cruising and still enjoy a fabulous cruise vacation, so below are some tips we've collected from sources across the web to help frugal cruisers plan a cheaper cruise.
From MSNBC's
Cruise-onomics; 12 Money-Saving Tips we found the following gems:
- Airport Transfers: When flying to a cruise port using taxis instead of transfers provided by the cruise lines can save as much as 50% off the cost to get from the airport to the ship.
- BYOB: Just like in restaurants the bar bill can add up to much more than the food bill, so cruise lines do allow you to bring your own wine to enjoy with dinner but will charge your a corkage fee of around $10.
- Shore Excursions: You are not limited to using the cruise line to book shore excursions, you can often save money by booking them yourself from destination websites or rent a car in port to independently explore the destination.
From CruiseDiva.com's Cruise Cost Control Money Saving Tips:
- Laundry: Doing laundry onboard the ship can be very expensive using the ship's laundry service. Instead bring a small bottle of laundry detergent and some clothes pins in your suitcase.
- Medical Treatment: Many insurance providers do not provide coverage outside of the US so read your policy before leaving home and supplement gaps in coverage through travel insurance.
- Water Gear: If you plan to enjoy many water sports on your cruise you may want to bring your own snorkel gear or purchase it prior to getting on the ship as the frequent rental of water gear may exceed the actual cost of it.
From Budget Travel's Your Top Five Money-Saving Cruise Questions - Answered! came the following cost saving tips:
- Use Agents: Most people assume the best cruise deals can be found online, but that's not always the case and the majority of cruises are still booked using a travel agent who in most cases is free to the cruiser.
- Tipping: Most cruise lines now automatically add gratuities for services offered during the cruise, but checks still come with a line for gratuity. If you're unsure ask if the gratuity is included in the service before tipping.
- Airfare: If you want to save money on airfare to the cruise port don't rely on the package price offered by the cruise line as it's likely not the cheapest and you may end up saving a bundle by investigating airfares yourself on sites like Kayak.com.
