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Welcome to Tightwad Cruising - What Do You Do?


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Are you a tightwad cruiser too? If so, what do you do

 

We kind of have to be tightwad or we wouldn't be able to afford the cruise. We do a lot of the same things that you do. We don't buy drinks or drink packages. We use the one free drink that we get on the ship from our VIFP club. We never dine in specialty restaurants. We will normally splurge on one excursion, but if there's a good local excursion company with good reviews, we'll use them. Much cheaper. So far we've been lucky.

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Perhaps this is off the mark - but I think those of us who like to get the most value for what we spend will appreciate this - I do a lot of shopping (booking hotel rooms, car rentals, clothes shopping etc) online - and am always on the lookout for great deals. I signed up for EBATES a year or so ago because you earn cash rebates (paid quarterly in the form of a check) for shoppng at all of the places I was spending money already. So, why not get some of it back. Right?

 

I have made a number of reservations for rooms at Marriott, Hilton and Best Western Hotels for a variety of trips - as well as a car rental from Enterprise - and am getting rebates for each of these transactions. So, in addition to getting my best prices and loyalty points, I get some money back.

 

If you aren't familiar with EBATES - and do "shop" online, you might want to check it out. If you decide to sign up, you could use a referral code and get a $10 bonus for signing up and making your first purchase. The code is here: ebates dot com/r/JSWOLF?eeid=29041 (replace "dot" with "." and don't forget the "www." at the front)

 

Hoping no one minds me sharing this information. After all, we can all learn from tips on this thread.

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Perhaps this is off the mark - but I think those of us who like to get the most value for what we spend will appreciate this - I do a lot of shopping (booking hotel rooms' date=' car rentals, clothes shopping etc) online - and am always on the lookout for great deals. I signed up for EBATES a year or so ago because you earn cash rebates (paid quarterly in the form of a check) for shoppng at all of the places I was spending money already. So, why not get some of it back. Right?

 

I have made a number of reservations for rooms at Marriott, Hilton and Best Western Hotels for a variety of trips - as well as a car rental from Enterprise - and am getting rebates for each of these transactions. So, in addition to getting my best prices and loyalty points, I get some money back.

 

If you aren't familiar with EBATES - and do "shop" online, you might want to check it out. If you decide to sign up, you could use a referral code and get a $10 bonus for signing up and making your first purchase. The code is here: ebates dot com/r/JSWOLF?eeid=29041 (replace "dot" with "." and don't forget the "www." at the front)

 

Hoping no one minds me sharing this information. After all, we can all learn from tips on this thread.[/quote']Does EBATES send commission or pay checks to countries all over the world or only North America?

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

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Does EBATES send commission or pay checks to countries all over the world or only North America?

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

 

I found this in their T&C. I have also sent them a message asking whether individuals who live outside the US can join ebates and receive rebates. Will post the reply once received.

 

In the meantime, my reading of this section suggests that folks outside the US can join and participate - but will be waiting to receive their official word.

"

  • Receiving Payment

9.1. Requirements. As a condition of payment of accrued cash back or other rewards, you must establish and maintain an Active Account (defined below) with the information necessary to process your payment: a valid email address at which you are able to receive email, a valid postal address at which you are able to receive mail or a valid Paypal account, your first and last name, and a password to protect your Account. If you elect to receive payment via Paypal, you must not use a Paypal account associated with another Ebates Account. A single Paypal email address cannot be connected to multiple Ebates Accounts. Also as a condition of payment, you must not be a resident of a country subject to economic or trade sanctions by the U.S. State Department or U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) or be listed as a “Specially Designated National,” a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” a “Blocked Person,” or similar designation under the OFAC sanctions regime. You further agree to provide additional information we may reasonably request to verify your identity as a condition to receiving payment. The minimum payment amount is $5.01. Balances below $5.01 remain in your account for potential payment during the next payment period.

9.2. Payments. Ebates pays members in U.S. dollars via check, Paypal, or other payment options as Ebates may make available from time to time. Members may select or change their payment options in the account settings through the Ebates Properties. Ebates typically pays its Members accrued cash back and other rewards every three (3) months in accordance with the current payment schedule set forth at https://www.ebates.com/help/article/getting-your-ebates-cash-back-payments-115009255748..."

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Does EBATES send commission or pay checks to countries all over the world or only North America?

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

 

I have received a response from Ebates. The rebates are paid in US $ only. They will mail checks or submit rebate to a Paypal account. They indicated that they have mailed checks to addresses outside the US. I suppose the only way to know for sure that you can receive the rebates is to sign up and see whether your account information is accepted upon joining.

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Groupon and Livingsocial (taken over by Groupon) give genuine discounts on almost everything, including restaurants and sightseeing tours in almost all the major cities of the world.

Groupon even gives you $10 Groupon bucks for each referral, when the newly referred member buys a discounted item or service of $10 or more.

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

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Groupon and Livingsocial (taken over by Groupon) give genuine discounts on almost everything, including restaurants and sightseeing tours in almost all the major cities of the world.

Groupon even gives you $10 Groupon bucks for each referral, when the newly referred member buys a discounted item or service of $10 or more.

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

 

Groupon is a good place to shop for all types of "stuff" - restaurants, hotels, beauty services, recreational activities.

 

Good post!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Isn’t the cocktail party for returning guest?

 

Hi

The Captains Cocktail Party is a perk of doing 2 or more cruises on Princess Cruises, other lines may do it as well, maybe someone could elaborate on that.

You automatically join the Captains Circle Club on your 2nd cruise, the levels go, Gold, Ruby, Platinum, and then Elite. each level has more benefits, like free internet minutes, free laundry, free mini bar.

 

On Princess they throw a little cocktail party during each cruise, and on longer cruises on each leg of the cruise.

They close one of the lounges and invite all gold cards and above to free drinks and nibbles, usually around 6:30pm or 7pm I think. If there are a large number of Captains Circle Members then they sometimes split it Gold/Ruby one night and Platinum/Elite on another. At the party all the drinks are free, some times they run an open bar!

Definitely a Tightwads joy!

Regards

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am looking for a coupon/promotional code for Spencer Ambrose Tours in St. Lucia, where we will be cruising to in Feb. 2018. On the tour website when you try to book, there is a spot to enter a coupon/promotional code. Does anyone know where to find one?

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  • 1 month later...

I consider myself a tightwad but on vacation, we like to relax and have fun. We always buy the drink package, but we always pre-pay it in advance, it's a little cheaper and I just like having it paid for prior to the cruise. We purchase discounted gift cards, or from our grocery store when they do 4x fuel points to save a little extra. We always book in the "off season" for cheaper fares. We don't buy pictures, well, I usually buy one of the kids. We don't use the spa. We do go to the casino, but we take cash to gamble with. We book on our rewards credit card to get rewards. We do specialty dining once usually, but again, budget for it ahead of time.

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  • 1 month later...
We are definitely tightwads. We have cruised 7 times and we have never spent more than $1500 total for two of us for up to 8 day sailings. That includes cruise fare, port fees, gratuities, taxes, and onboard spending. I fully realize that the extremes we go to are not for everyone, but it has allowed us to take a cruise about every 18 months. Some of you will look at our profile and immediately think there's no way we cruised to Hawaii for less than $1500. That one was free because my wife won an internet contest on Norwegian.

 

Here are some of the things we have done to save money...

1) Book cruises in the off season. Weather is still good and a 7-day cruise can be had for less than $450 per person.

2) Book an inside cabin. We had a balcony on our Hawaii cruise and we loved it. But now that we are paying for it, we book as cheap a cabin as we can because we don't spend enough time in it to pay the extra. We actually have booked 1A cabins on Carnival. The bunk beds are not worth it, but 2 lower beds have worked for us.

3) We find the cheapest cruises on sites like Orbitz and Travelocity, but then look for discounts on those cruises by using Discover card credits.

4) We sign up for credit cards (i.e. Southwest Airlines and Marriott) and use the points to get free airfare and hotels. Southwest has non-stop flights for us to Fort Lauderdale. We usually fly in the night before just to make sure we don't have a delay or cancellation.

5) Discover card has a $40 credit for $20 on Alamo rental cars. You have to add taxes and fees of another $15+ but for less than $40 I rent a car to get us from FLL to MIA. Alamo has a free shuttle from MIA to the cruise port. It does take awhile to make the transfer and they stop running the shuttle in the early afternoon.

6) We plan our own excursions. Usually we rent a car and drive to a secluded but safe beach. I do a lot of research on CC for this. Renting/Driving a car in a foreign country can be a challenge. US ports like Hawaii are easy (except the road from Hana when you think you're going to be late for the ship). Puerto Rico was okay, St. Thomas (other side of the road) was nerve racking.

7) We have taken the local bus (Grand Cayman, Antiqua, St. Maarten). Not for everyone, but worked for us.

8) We walk to the beach (Junkanoo in Nassau, Browne's Beach in Barbados, Viggie Beach in St. Lucia) and walked around town at Old San Juan and Key West. Not for everyone.

9) We choose free activities where possible (usually a beach).

10) We don't eat or drink in port. We take a bottle of water with us. We are not usually hungry after eating on the ship and it lessens the chance of Montezuma's revenge.

11) We research where there is free wifi and call our kids when we find it. I found it once on park bench at Junkanoo beach.

12) On the ship we take advantage of free activities. We don't drink. We seldom shop or gamble. Main dining room and Carnival comedy works great for us.

13) We love free ports like Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

14) I carry a 12 pack of Coke on board.

15) We bring our own snorkels. We snorkeled with dolphins in Hawaii (a tremendous blessing that we didn't plan), turtles in Barbados, and fish in Grand Turk.

 

And we still try to see the best of every port. Takes a ton of planning, but I don't mind the research and once on board, we relax and enjoy knowing we will be back in a year or two.

 

Which cruise line will allow you to bring soda on board? I've only been a royal cruiser only.

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In the past my wife and I have traveled in two different categories, Ocean View and Balcony. We have decided that an Ocean View is perfect for us. Insides have no natural light and balconies are used sparingly on most cruises. You also sometimes have to put up with people smoking and/or chatting loudly until all hours in the next balcony. If we want fresh air we can go out on the deck at anytime. I would never pick a guaranteed cabin under any circumstances. The luck of the draw will have you in a badly positioned cabin wherein you may not get any sleep. I don't have to pay to be irritated.

 

I find an excellent way to save quite a bit of money, besides being naturally frugal, is to book private excursions with other couples or even two other couples. You see what you want to see at 1/3 the price.

 

In our house we have plenty of room and an acre of property to stretch out and roam about all year long. Why in the world would we want to spend double, triple, or 4 times the amount for sightly larger cabins for a few days on a ship? We can do with a normal sized cabin quite well since the bulk of the money you spend on the ship is for the cabin.

 

I guess it's each to his own and that's what makes the world go around.

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  • 1 month later...
We are yjour original skinflints. That's why we own 100 shares in the line we patronize, bought at a good price. Since we prefer long cruises, we always get a hefty bonus of onboard credit. As a result, our final bill is next to nothing since we don't drink or gamble.

 

What perks do you get when you own stock (discounts on cruises, OBC, extras on board)? Is there a minimum number of shares to get the perks?

 

Thx!

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What perks do you get when you own stock (discounts on cruises, OBC, extras on board)? Is there a minimum number of shares to get the perks?

 

Thx!

You need a minimum of 100 shares of Carnival to get OBC, which varies according to the length and price of the cruise.

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

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Not because the economy is "weak" or gas prices have "skyrocketed" - most of which has been conjured up by the left-wing media - but we tend to cruise on the cheap. We search for off-season or repositioning cruises and then set our sights on a balcony stateroom with the cruise fare saved. We book the next cruise while on-board the current cruise for an OBC, use our C&A benefits for a discount, and use our RCCL stockholder benefits for an additonal OBC. When we have enough RCCL Visa card points accumulated, we cash them in for another OBC. Then, while on-board:

 

We don't buy the over-priced weak drinks in the smokey bars - but once in a while we'll order the drink of the day - or two - before the show.

 

We do not buy the art at the auctions - but do sign up and drink the free champaigne.

 

We don't buy a soda card - but do drink coffee, tea, and juices for free and even make our own "Cafe' Diablo" using their hot cocoa mix, coffee, and creamer.

 

We don't buy a wine package - but do use our C&A coupon for a free wine tasting.

 

We don't use any spa "treatments" but do occasionally sign up for a free lecture/sales pitch.

 

We don't use the laundry service - but do wash out our own quick-dry travel clothing in our cabin.

 

We don't use the high priced/low speed internet service on-board - but do use our own mobile web service when in port and cell phone service is available.

 

We seldom use specialty dining - but do order room service dinners or breakfasts and eat on our balcony where it is much quieter.

 

We DO try to book an excursion or two on-board so that it'll be charged to our sea pass - the one already front loaded with a bunch of OBCs.

 

The result? Most cruises we have a very small balance on our sea pass at the end of the cruise, and sometimes even have a credit.

 

Are you a tightwad cruiser too? If so, what do you do

 

 

 

You must be a real barrel of laughs on holiday, but it’s your holiday. You could spend even less by staying at home! [emoji23]

Why would you seriously want to tell the world how much pleasure you get from being so miserly!

 

 

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You must be a real barrel of laughs on holiday, but it’s your holiday. You could spend even less by staying at home! [emoji23]

Why would you seriously want to tell the world how much pleasure you get from being so miserly!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Some people are proud of being miserable.

 

 

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Some people are proud of being miserable.

 

 

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Come on guys, give the OP a break!

He has some unique ideas. Besides his ingenuity, he has attracted 313,000 views and 674 comments. And his thread is running for nearly 10 years!!!

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