Cheapanista Cruise and Travel Tips - Please Share!

[Mmketeer]

My husband makes fun of me because I do this.

 

LOL! Mine too and I usually end up going alone. I don't care one way or another I then get my glass of wine even if it's just before or after dinner without paying 5.95 or more!

[mek]

One rule that has allowed me to travel all over the world at fantastic prices is to never have my heart set on a particular location, itinerary, ship, cruise line, or travel date. I have a "bucket list" of places I want to see and when a really great deal pops up, well that is my next vacation. There are such great bargains out there if you can be flexible. I realize I'm fortunate because I have a generous amount of vacation time and only a few times during the year when traveling conflicts with my work schedule, so I have a considerable amount of freedom to practice what I preach.

[LaShelle2]

Unfortunately, I have been the only income in my household. Therefore, I must budget with taking all the kids. Now that my children are grown things haven't change to much because I have trouble finding someone to travel with that will pay for themselves. Therefore, I come out of my pocketbook once again.

 

One of the things that wasn't mention that I picked up from previous CC members was go for the free drinks. Why pay when you just need to go to a art show and get it free or view jewelry and get free drinks.

 

 

True, although they are not usually as good as the ones at the bar, but free is free. I know you can get free drinks the following times... am I leaving anything out?

 

Champagne at Art Auction

Past Guest Celebration

Captain's Party

Embarkation (NCL)

Sail Away Party last night of cruise (CCL)

BOGO coupon in C&A coupon book

Thimble sized sample at Liquor sale in gift shop (not worth the lines)

 

I had not heard of free booze at jewelry sale. Will look for it in the compass!

[LaShelle2]

I would rather stay home if I have to budget on a cruise. I like an expensive room, exciting excursions and the specialty restraunts. I will only budget at home so I can spend on the cruise.

 

 

I disagree :( sorry. We will continue to budget travelers with a few splurges here and there to mix things up a little.

 

Keep in mind we do lots of land based trips too. DH is in a Corvette Club and rides Harleys. There are some months when we don't get a full weekend at home.

 

He retired last May, and my thrifty spending allows us to still enjoy life and I get to be a stay at home travel companion :p

 

Bing on a budget was new for DH when we met. He thought I was psycho. Now, I catch him clipping coupons and comparing prices. It's actually kinda fun!

[mrpayroll]

We use a certain credit card that enables us to fly from Michigan to Florida round trip for two for $10.00. We can do this twice a year which makes the overall trip a lot less expensive.

[luvstwocruise]

For those that have to fly to port - you can set up alerts online that will email you the daily prices for your flights. As soon as i'm contemplating cruise I throw the dates in +/- a day. Many times it's been significantly cheaper to fly in 2 days early rather than just the day before (even after factoring in a PL/Hotwire hotel & rental car). When the price is good... book! Don't wait for it to go lower if it's a ~pretty good~ fare... it probably wont :(

 

Also, check multiple travel sites for airline prices. One time I was purchasing a flight and 5 different websites had different prices... some were within pennies but one was over $100 cheaper for the exact same flight... and it wasn't the airlines website! I booked the $100 cheaper one :)

 

I also always book a rental car pre/post cruise so I have the flexibility to do what I want when I want since FL car rentals are very cheap... I have a midsize for $11/day next month... less than the price of a taxi from a hotel near the port to the port! The rental car also gives the flexibility of going further away from the port/beach area therefore much better hotel rates... I can't imagine paying more than $65/day for a 3.5* hotel now.

 

Watch the cruise prices... i've snagged price drops that only lasted hours... even if it's only $20... that's 2 drink of the days LOL

 

I always book with a next cruise certificate as well... it's $100 free money on a 7 night cruise... who doesn't like free $$$???

 

I also have a cruise 'box' (aka Rubbermaid tote) that throughout the year I toss all the free sample sized items I get into it and just go shopping in the tote when it's time to pack... last year I got tons of them online so i'm well stocked for my next few trips... about dozen bottles of Pantene, sunsreen, 3 or 4 gilette razors, shaving cream, contact solutions, more toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss than I can count... it's great :)

 

Can you please give me some scoop how to set up flight alerts? Ive never heard of that.

Thanks Much

[Daisyloo]

We discovered we can save alot on airfare if we cross the border and fly to Florida from Buffalo instead of from Toronto. This past November it saved us over $800.00 for our family of four. I know that it won't be possible for everyone, but as southern Ontarians it works for us.

Also, this coming cruise we are trying an interior cabin for the first time. It saved us a bundle, and if we like it it'll save us lots in the future.

[wwjd1947]

We did a 35 day cruise last year to Australia/New Zealand. We researched all the port stops and ended up renting a car in almost every port except the big cities. We loved the freedom that a car provides. We paid less than $50 per rental and ended up splitting that with table mates who asked if they could join us on our excursions. Most rental agencies were within walking distance of the port and a few even drove the car to us at the port and dropped us off at the end of the rental. Another advantage to renting a car is if you change your mind you are not out any money as most agencies do not require any kind of prepayment.

[derrick22]

I use the RCCI Visa card and redeem it for free cruises.

Best bang for the buck.

 

Two years ago and next month we will have cruised for just port fees.

 

I use the card for everything and pay it off at the end of the month.

[LESLIEKURZ]

Ok, so let's saw we agree only take off non perishibles, like granola chips, crackres or whatever. Let's stay on track and not make this a taking off forbidden foods thread.

 

Right... sorry... packaged stuff is an excellent way to save some cash on food. Also, as an added bonus it's great for food allergy people like me who don't always get correct ingredient info in foreign countries. Two birds with one stone.

[clean1owner]

Good thread! From 2008 lol.

 

One thing I see most cheapanistas have in common is not drinking too much, and not gambling.

 

One point I failed to mention thast I see is skipping the ship's laundry service. I have discovered Downy Wrinkle Release Spray woo hoo. It really works.

 

Also I do not use the onboard internet or phone service. I use an internet cafe in port or take my laptop ashore and get free wifi somewhere if I must check email. Usually there is nothimg thst cant wait til I get home though.

 

And I do tip! I wonder if the non tippers are true tightwads or people that have overspent on booze and such and don't have the funds leftover for tipping? I guess thats another thread huh?[/quote]

 

 

 

DUCK!

 

There may be some incoming shrapnel.

 

 

[clean1owner]

I think this is a key point. We live modestly at home too, bargain-hunting, using coupons, etc.

 

As well, we try to drive to the embarkation port instead of flying (save a bundle on airfare that way, especially since we're 4 people)

 

 

 

If you're lucky to live close enough to the port. Unfortunately, no ships depart from Duluth, so we are forced to fly. With the price of gas and hotels, we can fly to the port for about the same money as driving, and not add an extra 5 days to the trip.

 

Even with all the fare watcher services available, I still check airfares at least 2 times a day. If I can get a decent fare sale, I book the flight, then shop for a cruise to match it. Kind of a backward way of doing things, but it actually works quite well, as bargain flights have more restrictions that bargain cruise fares.

[clean1owner]

Can you please give me some scoop how to set up flight alerts? Ive never heard of that.

Thanks Much

 

 

Several of the travel websites will allow you to set up a fare alert service. You enter a list of itineraries, and perameters that trigger a notification (price raises of lowers by xx amount of $$, price drops below $xxx..xx, or others), and they automatically send you an email when the event happens.

 

For example, I have flights from MSP to MIA, FLL, PBI, RSW, TPA, and MCO that drop below $250.00 as an alert trigger. So whenever one of those itineraries drops below $250.00, I get an email. If the fare is good for dates I can travel, I book it, then start shopping for a cruise.

[Pushka]

I would rather stay home if I have to budget on a cruise. I like an expensive room, exciting excursions and the specialty restraunts. I will only budget at home so I can spend on the cruise.

 

Me too. I scrimp at home to save up for holidays where I don't have to. Also, no food, perishable or not, should be taken off the ship. Besides, I love enjoying local produce.

 

The tips look good other than that they are more relevant to USA cruises than other locations for some of them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[read52]

We live about 40 min. from the port of Baltimore so to save money on parking we have our daughter drop us off.

 

I have been an extreme couponer for almost 40 years. So a few years ago when we won a free flight to anywhere (from our local tv station), we tried a cruise. I love cruising because you can pay on price for most of what you need. If you have extra money, you can do the extra things.

[Crew Wolf]

Hi to all
I like to share a link with you that helps crew members around the ports. Maybe this will help you two
[URL]http://crew-center.com/crew-maps[/URL]

[suekay]

[quote name='Crew Wolf']Hi to all
I like to share a link with you that helps crew members around the ports. Maybe this will help you two
[URL]http://crew-center.com/crew-maps[/URL][/quote]
That's a great site. Thanks for posting:)

[SargassoPirate]

In addition to using many of the great money savings ideas already posted, here's how we do it:

We worked hard, saved hard, lived below our means, and now that we are both unemployed (retired) we travel hard. Three to four cruise a year, a long motorcycle trip for me, one or two girlfriends trip for DW, and even a road trip or two on the "blue highways". That being said, we play the credit card/loyalty card/Crown and Anchor games shamelessly.

We use a credit card tied to a major hotel chain, meaning as our points build up we can stay in world-class hotels for "free". Our time share points are connected to the same credit card so that we can occasionally convert our timeshare points to credit card points and use them for free hotel stays worldwide..

We use that credit card for all of our grocery purchases at a grocery store with a loyalty card. We get credit card points for the credit card and gas reward points for the stores loyalty card. 100 points gives us ten cents off a gallon or 500 points gives us 50 cents off. At Christmas we managed a trifecta. We bought some $100 restaurant gift cards for ourselves for $80 at the grocery store using our credit card. We got hotel points on the credit card, gas points on the store card, and $20 worth of free food at the restaurants.

Oh yeah, we only charge what we can pay off each month so that we don't pay any interest.

[co2stay]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Blue"]Wish we had started the credit card game years ago. Right now, hubby is traveling a lot for work. That made our airfare free (business there and first home) for Europe. When he travels, he racks up hotel points. We are staying at those properties post cruise for 1/2 the trip. We did get a cc for the airline and that paid for DD international travel so 4 of us and 1 airline ticket. The flights are way more than the cruise so airline miles are more valuable to us than cruise points.

While we could fly more going coach all the time, this is our trip of a lifetime - total of 3 weeks with one week being cruise and we are picking and choosing where to save money. The hotels and B&Bs we are staying in, recommendations from trip advisers and far less than name hotels. We have GS but DD and SIL have inside to save money. We DO drink and gamble etc, but we do not utilize spa services, mix on excursions - sometimes just walk around the port, others use a ship excursion and others private tours. We will train through France post cruise and are bringing a travel picnic set so we can eat local but on our time on the train and not pay for the meals on the train. In a number of cities, the hop-on-hop-off buses are the least expensive way to see the town and we plan to do that where we can.

We are on the side of we save while at home, enjoy vacation without breaking the bank. CC ALWAYS paid off monthly and we prepay as much as possible before we go to ensure we can stay in budget. As an added bonus, pre buying and pre paying keeps the excitement going in the year of planning cruises.

This year, we are also traveling a lot, week in California, 5 days in Washington, 4 days in Missouri, 4 days riding harleys with my brothers in Colorado mountains (neither of bros in CO) and 4 days in New Mexico. Generally but not this year, we also spend a week at the beach in Mexico (time share). Our vacation dollars go far but we do what we want (within reason).[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]