What do you guys do to cut back on $$$?

[firefly333]

Oh, and we also have a group Cocktail party that is already paid for and we'll be attending the Past Guest party too...

 

Hi .. dont miss the farewell party. Its the one no one seems to attend and they sure pile on the drinks on our table. Im sure the pro you are, you wouldnt miss it anyway.

[riverside75]

How do you prepay for tips? The Carnival site is so hard to figure out! I'd love to have everything pre-paid up front. TIA

[Equest]

I keep every receipt and total my amounts spent nightly. It isn't a matter of staying in budget for me, just knowing what the final bill will be. Rarely, if ever, am I out more than $500...and that's for a 10-day!

That sounds like work

[In2why]

Do not pose for pictures. If you take them you will find one you love and then spend the money.

 

Shop for your excursions before getting on the ship. The same excursions are much less expensive and better than the crowded ship offerings.

 

If you aren't a true foodie, skip the specialty dining room. I planned on going and money wasn't the issue, I just didn't want to spend that much time on a dining experience and cancelled our reservation so we had time to do other things

 

Stay out of the Casino. The house always wins, and slots are boring yet addictive. Even when I was winning it wasn't much fun.

 

But the real place I spent unexpected money was before the cruise. Since I was brand new to cruising, I purchased a lot of little things that I really didn't need. I bought new clothes, and I didn't need them, and in fact didn't even wear some of them. I bought extras of shampoos, conditioners, lotions, first aid stuff....the list goes on and on. Next time I will shop my own closet, bring conditioner, but use their shampoo, and bring my regular lotions and what nots. I also bought new suitcases, snorkeling equipment, travel DVD player, and too many snacks for the ride. I am glad I bought some of it, because it is waiting for our next trip, but if I needed to cut costs I would borrow the suitcases, and skip the snorkeling gear and use the gear provided. That was the largest place I could have cut costs.

[In2why]

I'm not a big spender in real life, but when I go on vacation I'm not going to worry about every little penny. I use a cc to set up my acct and pay it off in cash the last night.

 

 

I don't spend with wild abandon on a vacation, but if I couldn't go on vacation without worrying about every cent I spend, I'd stay home. Having to watch every penny would be stressful to me and that defeats the purpose of the vacation.

 

 

I used to feel this way too. But we enjoyed being on the ship and our vacation so much that now I would rather take 2 or 3 cruises a year on the "cheap" instead of one where we go all out. For us the enjoyment comes from being stressfree, together, the balcony, the weather, the service, not having to worry about putting food on the table, camp carnival, watching the kids play, and on and on. The only thing that is non negotiable, is having a balcony. That is such a huge part of our enjoyment that it is priceless.

[Rena921]

Of course Christmas is almost here and we cruise the first part of January so I'm in panic mode - what do you guys do to conserve your $$ while on a cruise - do you cut back on your excursions? Do you not get adult beverages on board??

 

I want to do everything because I always think well we don't have big family vacations very often but then again I don't want to break the bank either.

 

Any money saving ideas that you have used?

 

Thanks

 

If you have time before your cruise, buy Drink coupons and and other items from Bon Voyage with each paycheck prior to your cruise. It really helps witht he S&S bill at the end of the cruise. ;)

[trk3]

I plan on bringing 3 bottles of wine (having our friends bring one on). I am the only one who drinks wine. Then bringing on 12pk coke for DH and buying a bottle of rum from bon voyoge. That is about $40, but I figure DH can have 2 drinks a day and it will still only come to about 3.00 each (including the cost of the coke).

 

We are also driving to the port and staying in a hotel that has a cruise and park option. We stay overnight, they keep our car for the week (no parking fees) and we take a shuttle to and from the ship. We were going to stay over anyway since we live 6 hours from the port, so this saved us on the parking.

 

Another idea would be to ask family and friends to give you drink coupons for your holiday gifts. Or buy them yourself first to help you limit your spending. They could also purchase photo coupons too so you have something to bring home.

 

If you set up what you want to spend ahead of time, and both stick to it, you won't be surprised with a HUGE bill at the end. On my last cruise, I would have loved to see some of those bills. Buckets of beer were everywhere. That adds up quickly.

 

You can have a great time and still limit the extras!! That way you can save some for a future trip:D

 

Hi, could you tell what hotel that is that you are staying/stayed at? If you already stayed there how was it? Thanks so much!

[Rena921]

and leave the kids at home :D

[Mybearsbaby]

I agree with those who said it is important to set a budget and stick to it!!! This is hard for me, especially in ports, so this time I came up with a system...I took envelopes and wrote a port name on each one. I then put a set amount in each envelope. On port days, I grabbed ONLY the envelope, and made myself stick to it...it worked great to keep me from too many impulse buys in port :)

[velotaco]

Easy.

 

Bring your own adult beverages on board.

 

Stay away from the casino

 

Opt out of the optional "tip"

[lptazbear66]

a bit late but still wanted to add.

Alcohol--I bring a bottle of vodka in luggage. We buy a miller lite when we get on board and after drinking we rinse out then put the vodka in it. We found that the lemonade mixed with vodka is pretty darn good so we just carry the "beer" around and make our own drinks. Of course I have frufru drinks too.

Excursions--we set up once in port and you can bargain those prices down too.

[mcwebber]

Also, I will be bringing my own wine on board and paying the corkage fee ($10.00) to have it with my dinner, less expensive than paying by the glass.

 

If you ask your cabin steward to bring you red wine glasses you can avoid the corkage fee as well and just bring full glasses of wine to dinner. The red wine glasses hold more.

[mcwebber]

 

Also, avoid the casino, not worth it, you lose the house odds are hugely stacked against the passenger.

 

I keep reading this over and over. The odds at blackjack are the same as any other casino in the world. (That hits on soft 17.)

Whether you know how to play and when to press your bet, or think you can guess what card is coming next as many on the ship seem to do, is another matter.

[richstowe]

I keep reading this over and over. The odds at blackjack are the same as any other casino in the world. (That hits on soft 17.)

Whether you know how to play and when to press your bet, or think you can guess what card is coming next as many on the ship seem to do, is another matter.

 

It not a question of if Carnival casino has worse rules then other places. It's just that

if you spend enough time in a casino you will lose. Any casino!

 

Easy.

 

Bring your own adult beverages on board.

 

Stay away from the casino

 

Opt out of the optional "tip"

 

I'm betting you just want a nasty reaction. Good for you.:mad:

[proudpatriot07]

I always do private excursions, which are usually cheaper, and a lot of times are the same excursions sold on board.

 

Also, I take my digital camera and take a lot of pics, so that I don't have to purchase the cruise line ones. I bought a cruise line one last cruise, because I liked it, but now I can't even find a frame that fits it :(. Guess that's how they get you to buy their frames on the ship. Also the pics you take can basically be your souvenirs.

[mcwebber]

It not a question of if Carnival casino has worse rules then other places. It's just that

if you spend enough time in a casino you will lose. Any casino!

 

That's actually not true. The people who don't have the bankroll and the patience lose. Blackjack is a game of streaks. If you are willing to ride it out and know when to press your bet when the streak is going your way you will win. The people who bring $200 and leave when they lose that will always lose.

[richstowe]

That's actually not true. The people who don't have the bankroll and the patience lose. Blackjack is a game of streaks. If you are willing to ride it out and know when to press your bet when the streak is going your way you will win. The people who bring $200 and leave when they lose that will always lose.

Oh my, the casinos love customers like you. Good luck.