Cruises are great vacations. They go from destination to destination carrying you along in comfort often for a passage price that is less than the airfare to get to any one of the destinations you visit. On a basis of activities and food on offer versus price a cruise is a great value. That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s its cheap. The best way to think of cruises is as an a-la-carte vacation, and like an a-la-carte meal it’s easy to spend too much on expensive and indulgent options that leave you weighed down with more than you need, and poorer.
Fortunately, there are some tips to make saving up for your cruise, saving when you book your cruise, and saving while on your cruise easier. If you research thoroughly, plan wisely, and stick to a budget you can have an amazing vacation, and still have money to spend when it’s over.
Saving for Your Cruise
Everyday life is filled with little expenses that may make the day-to-day more enjoyable, but add to a substantial figure. The stop for coffee or breakfast on the way to work. Eating out instead of packing your lunch and having a dinner at home. These aren’t huge costs, but they do add up. Planning your meals and cooking for yourself is a great way to save money. It is also a good way to eat healthier, and helps you stay in shape. It’s a two-for-one savings of your health and your finances really, and it can help you save up for a cruise while alleviating that nagging fear of swim wear.
Phone apps and other digital time wasters are another expense most of us could stand to do without. You need to ask yourself before you buy the next bit of paid DLC if you really want it, or if you’d rather have a Mai Tai while looking out at the ocean over a frothy wake instead.
Another way to raise funds for your cruise is to get rid of some of the mostly forgotten items you have in your home. Many closets, garages, and attics are filled with items you could stand to part with, and that would be useful to someone else. This is another twofer where you get a cleaner house, and a cruise in the bargain.
Booking Your Cruise
There are several ways to save when the time comes to book your cruise. One way is to wait until six to three weeks before you the cruise you’ve had your eyes on leaves to book. An empty stateroom is little more than a waste of fuel for a cruise line, and often they’re willing to start booking rooms for a bargain price as the departure time nears. The downside is that you’re accepting accommodations that everyone else passed on. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the room you’ll be staying in. If you’re the sort who isn’t planning to spend any time in your stateroom this probably isn’t a problem.
The more discerning cruiser on a budget may want the stateroom of their choice, but only if its a price they can comfortably afford. The best way to get deals like this is to get involved with the cruising community in general, and an individual cruise line’s community in particular.
There are cruisers with decades of experience taking vacations at sea, and that experience has taught them the ins-and-outs of the cruising. They’ll have insights into what is actually a good value for the price, and what seemingly good deals are just marketing ploys. They can direct you to the best deals.
The season you plan to cruise in matters too. Prices are at their highest during the summer months. In the depths of winter cruise ships leave the colder ports for warmer seas. In between is what is known as the shoulder season. A period where temperatures are still warm enough to enjoy a day on the beach, but kids and college students are back in school. September and October are excellent times to take a cruise because of the savings.
Florida ports and Port Canaveral specifically are home to cruise ships all year round, and some years the warm weather lasts well into December . This makes for what is potentially a very long shoulder season with cruises that can be booked for a song from September through March. The caveat is that no one can predict the weather, and you will have to be flexible in order to have fun on your cruise.
The weather and other factors can interfere with your travel plans. Creating the possibility that you might miss the cruise you’ve spent so much time and effort saving up for. A cruise missed due to factors outside of anyone’s control—your’s or anyone else’s—is generally nonrefundable, and a credit towards another cruise isn’t that much of a recompense if you’ve spent a great deal of time saving and planning for your cruise.
To prevent this you need to plan to arrive a day early whether you’re flying, or driving to meet the cruise ship. It allows you the time to deal with any unforeseen delays without missing your cruise. It can actually add to your cruise. Dinner at a steakhouse, or an evening by the pool might be just the recharge you need after a long day of traveling. Consider this: a Go Port Fly Snooze Cruise Package includes a night at great area hotels, and shuttles to and from the airport for less than what a cab ride from the airport would cost. Cruisers that are driving in can get hotel nights, parking, and cruise transfers for one low price with our Snooze Park Cruise Packages. By booking with us cruisers save up to $120 off their cruise parking, with packages starting at just $81 that’s a net savings of $39. More than enough for a few extra drinks on board AND you get a hotel night.
Hire a Professional
There is a limit to how much you can accomplish on you own though. Travel agents know the cruise industry better than anyone else. After all it’s their job. They have access to a range of contacts and memberships in programs that simply aren’t available to the general population. Travel agents are better equipped to help you plan a cruise than anyone else. It can be well worth it to pay them a percentage if it will get you the cruise you want at a price you can afford.
Plan in Advance
There are several expenses on your cruise that can be reduced, or even eliminated with enough foresight. Laundry and dry cleaning services aboard are costly. Finding out if there is a self-service laundry option at your hotel and using it can save you money. Packing with a plan to do your washing in port after your cruise can save you even more. Other things like making sure you bring along enough SD cards, or another way to save your photos can keep you from having to buy them aboard the ship. Planning to share your photos online while in port will keep you from having to buy an expensive internet package, or save you from exorbitant roaming charges from your cellular carrier.
Excursions offer another opportunity to save with advanced planning. For your convenience cruise lines offer the option to book excursions through their website, but with an additional fee for the service. Some excursions you can book on your own through the operator’s website, others you can find a cheaper alternative for. The internet is an invaluable resource that can help you discern legitimate tour operations who take you to something you want to see or do, from those that just take your money. Finally, with enough research you can ditch the tour guide all together, and go sightseeing on your own. All of which is much cheaper than what the cruise lines offer. It leaves you more money to spend on board, or on whatever you want.
On Board
Aboard your ship the same convenience for a cost principle applies. Often, you’ll be able to save by simply finding out where the appropriate venue is, and taking yourself to it. After midnight both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines charge for room service. Those that find themselves afflicted with the midnight munchies can save themselves the fee by making their way to one of the all-night eateries. Drinks delivered to you cost more than the same drinks picked up at the bar yourself. There is also the added benefit that the ability to make it to the bar serves as a handy test to decide whether or not you should have another.
Recommend 
