Is anyone else a "Cheap Cruiser" who doesn't buy all the extras? Tips?

[mrsbreezer]

fl-girl, you are not the only one! We try to do exactly as you are saying to save money...including driving from MA to FLA to save a gazillion on plane tickets!

 

 

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[Rewind]

I'm one of the cheapskates! At least most of the time.

 

I book an inside room at a cheap rate, I check prices almost daily and call if there is a price drop. I will upgrade to an ocean view after final payment if the rates are good (you know, an extra $50 total for a full week). But we are happy enough to stay in an inside to save our money for another cruise later.

I don't drink alcohol and rarely drink soda so I get by perfectly well with lemonade and water.

The wife rarely drinks but might get a cocktail once or twice during a week.

The MDR has pretty decent food most of the time (I admit that I won't eat their lasagna anymore) but don't feel the need to pay for specialty dining.

We always use a TA and get some form of OBC or other incentive.

My favorite souvenir is a pin from each port stop and they normally run about $5 each. Might also pick up a Christmas ornament.

If we like the pictures, we might pick up one or two.

We normally do self guided excursions or independent vendors in ports.

 

Now with all that being said, our next cruise is to Alaska - booked a balcony without flinching. Granted I still watch the prices like a hawk and have already saved money with price drops.

[tazntom]

Well you're all making me feel a lot better. Phew! Thanks!!!!

don't let the hype get to you, the meals in the dinning room are as good as any restaurants, there are a lot of people who want to be seen in pricey restaurants(you paid for food with trip then pay for same meal again) as for ports depending where you're cruising to if it beach area ask the crew for closest beach. Also if you do chose to have a meal outside the dinning room a place just a short walk from the terminal will usually have good local ambience at a reasonable price. Happy sailing and impress no one except yourself! :cool:

[kelleigh229]

I've never done a specialty restaurant and never done a drink package. We do have some drinks, but not enough to justify spending all of the money that a drink package costs. We have booked shore excursions through the cruise line and on our own. We do have our tips charged to our seapass. And we do get a picture or something to take home, but we just don't spend a lot. Yes, we have a bill at the end, but I also usually have on-board credit, so that helps. There are ways to not spend a ton of money on a cruise and still have a very enjoyable time.

[Yorkvillain]

Check out the great reviews by "harryfat1" aka cheapodad. He knows how to have a great time on vacation while keeping the costs down.

[live2cruise2011]

We don't do the drink packages or specialty restaurants. Normally if I want a tour I will find it in port when we arrive and negotiate a good deal or share with others. The trick we did learn last time was to book your next cruise on board as you can pay little deposit and take it as an immediate on board credit and yes if you need it during the next summer you can book 1 sometimes 2 summers out

[bananawindnj]

I'm going on my first RCI cruise in June and I'm a pretty new cruiser. I've only been on two short cruises before - on Carnival and Norwegian. I am reading everything I can on these boards to learn what I can about how to do this upcoming 7-day on the Harmony right, but I'm surprised at how much money everyone seems to spend!!

 

 

 

Are we the only cheap cruisers out there?

 

 

 

The price for 7 days for 4 people was a ton - granted we had to book when the kids were out of school, so the prices were up but I expected that. So we don't intend on eating at any of the on-board restaurants that cost money when we can eat for free in the main dining room or buffets. We aren't foodies at all, so I don't want to pay for food when our ticket price includes food. We have 3 ports on our cruise and we only intend on doing an excursion at one of them and walking around on the other two (for free). I doubt we'll purchase any drinks packages since you get free juice on board, from what I read and my hubby and I aren't big drinkers at all and rarely drink soda.

 

 

 

I really feel like we're the only ones on these boards who are trying to keep the budget down on the cruise. Are there any other budget cruisers out there who have tips and ideas for saving money? I just feel like these pricey summer cruises are "all inclusive" but by the time you add wifi, drinks, alcohol, excursions, restaurants, etc. it's not so "all inclusive" after all.

 

 

The reason you feel that way is that a large majority of the CC members here are repeat cruisers and have the resources to get the high end balconies and suites. They like to eat at specialty restaurants and have drink packages. Many people won't go on a cruise if they don't have a balcony or higher. I would rather take 3 or r 4 cruises a year, than only two with hi end cabins.

 

 

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[Merly]

I have never been on Harmony so don't know if they have the self serve ice cream ( frozen 🍦 Yogurt) as on other Royal ships. But if they do it will most likely be in or near the Windjammer or on the pool deck. You can have it in a bowl or cone. Great anytime. You can usually buy Ben and Jerry, but I never do.

[Woodmnky]

We are a budget cruising family. I figure the less I spend on extras, gets me that much closer to my next cruise. We do specialty restaurants only when we get a meal included from our Travel Agent, otherwise I am happy with the food that is included. We avoid the Casino like the plague (we are not gamblers and hate cigarette smoke). I enjoy the lack of internet. We don't drink enough for a drink package, so we bring our bottles of wine and maybe buy 2-3 drinks each during the cruise. I take our own photos, so no need to spend a lot on theirs. We have been to all the ports before and now we just choose one excursion per cruise. I have no use for more of the same bad souvenirs that are sold on ship and at each port. My son & husband usually each get one t-shirt per vacation.

 

We prepay tips and usually have $100 in OBC on our account. Last cruise, I had to buy an extra drink on the last day just to use up all our OBC because it was non-refundable.

[Rogueperson]

Personally, I'm a cheap cruiser, but not because I'm cheap, per se. Its because I've done the specialty restaurants before and many of the excursions. I'm a non drinker and my drink of choice is iced tea and coffee. Souvenirs are now boring to me because they are just cheap junk with the name of where I went on them. I've done 17 cruises now.

 

My last cruise, I came off with a 0.00 balance because everything I was going to pay for, i prepaid already. Tips and my internet package (which i needed to stay in touch at home). I was not with my wife last time, so I felt the specialty restaurant didn't have same allure for me alone. However, when i'm with my wife, we almost always do chef's table and have been very impressed with it each time.

 

That being said, I would also add, that you shouldn't be cheap just to be cheap. There are some wonderful experiences if you budget them into it. Chef's Table, as I said, has impressed me every time i've done it, so i will continue to do it each time. It continues to be an extravagant amazing event each and every time, and I have done it 4 times already. Excursions, is the other half of cruising.

 

I will use Disney as an example. Yes, you can go bare bones Disney by staying at a off-site hotel and paying for tickets to visit the park, but you miss half the Disney experience if you don't try some of their other venues, like their restaurants, or Cirque du Soleil, or their water parks, or even take time to visit and explore their other resort hotels. Disney adds a lot of great perks for staying on resort (Magic Mountain at 3am!!!)

 

If you add a little more to your budget, you can make your experience that much more rich. Is it necessary, no, of course not, its your vacation, but sometimes, the extras turn a good vacation, into an amazing vacation. In my opinion, part of the vacation is not worrying about your expenses. You do that, by planning and budgeting appropriately. Over budget even. The trick really is to design your vacation to what you enjoy most.

[Maraprince]

Food served in the Main Dining is included in the price of your cruise. So, unless you are celebrating a special occasion, no need to book any of the extra charge speciality restaurants. MDR can arrange to serve a cake to celebrate the occasion with the waiters singing (not to be missed since they come from different countries and not all can actually sing!)

 

If you are not a drinker of alcohol or sodas, no need to buy drinks package. Pay for what you actually drink.

 

In prior years, there were no specialty dining or drinks packages and taking a cruise was just as much fun.

 

I would encourage you to also check into private tours in the ports especially if you can get a group together from some of the other passengers. There are things you can do in the ports on your own at little or no cost. With at least 3 people, it may be more advisable to take a taxi instead of using local transportation. Any time we have visited Canada, we either take the local bus or a taxi.

 

You will enjoy your criuse without having to spend a small fortune on extras.

 

MARAPRINCE

[johnt83]

You'll come to know that many cruisers are just like you! We've been on 7 cruises and have never bought any specialty dining package, beverage package or anything of that nature. Sure we buy a few excursions here and there but it's because we want to experience that. You can make the cruise as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. I personally don't think we will ever get the drink package, cuz 5-6 drinks a day for 7 days in a row #drinkfatigue. Will probably stick to 2-3 drinks a day and that would be my choice, not because I am trying to break even. :)

[grandgeezer]

We are not budget cruises, we are value cruisers. If we enjoy it, and think it's fairly priced, we do it, no matter what the cost is, if not we don't. We book balconys, not insides because we like them, cost isn't a factor. We don't buy drinks or eat in specialty restaurants because we don't don't see the value for the money. In the last 13 years we've done 39 cruises, with 440 days at sea and have to fly to and from every one of them and we don't have a budget for any part of them. If we like it, we pay the price. Don't see many cruises in the future though.

[squadron]

Bring your own case of water,Water on ship is fine but I prefer bottled ,You can also carry that off in ports

 

 

Instead of lugging a case or water on board - just buy a bottle or two and same as soda when you are in port. I find water on board is just fine so don't bother with either option.

[legaljen1969]

 

That being said, I would also add, that you shouldn't be cheap just to be cheap. There are some wonderful experiences if you budget them into it......

 

I will use Disney as an example. Yes, you can go bare bones Disney by staying at a off-site hotel and paying for tickets to visit the park, but..... Disney adds a lot of great perks for staying on resort (Magic Mountain at 3am!!!)

 

If you add a little more to your budget, you can make your experience that much more rich. Is it necessary, no, of course not, its your vacation, but sometimes, the extras turn a good vacation, into an amazing vacation.....

 

I would agree with this post. I know I have shortcut Rogueperson's answer, just to hit a few points.

 

If you have OBC, that's a good way to "pay for" something extra you might not have considered or might not have wanted to put money toward.

 

I couldn't care less if we never went to a specialty restaurant. My husband wants to hit them all, and some more than once. I just don't see the big thrill in it other than having the wait staff have a smaller venue where they don't seem quite so rushed and frantic. But I am fine with eating in the MDR or Windjammer every night. I am all about utilizing what is included, and there is plenty that IS included with your cruise fare.

 

Join your roll call and see if there is anyone who might be working on doing a private tour that would like to have a couple of more people join their group. It might reduce the costs for all, and give you an opportunity to do something you might have overlooked. Go to the Meet & Mingle for your cruise if there is one set up. Find out what people on your roll call are doing. That's usually a great place for me to get ideas for ways to save or things I might want to spend.

 

If you booked through a travel agent, see if there is any extra OBC or other incentive you can utilize. As someone else said, if you are really wanting to take advantage of WiFi or the like, just wait until you get in port and find some place that offers free WiFi. Enjoy the time to be wireless and unconnected from the world. On that same note, make sure that if you are planning to use your phone while out of the country that you have your account configured so that you don't get a lot of extra roaming charges. We typically put an international package on our plan for the time we travel and then discontinue upon return (but you have cruised before and know the deal with cell phones and computers and tablets I am sure).

 

Anyhow, you can keep it on the budget friendly side without sacrificing all of your fun (or even most of it). There is so much "free" stuff to do, I forget all about the super spendy stuff. Plus if you are going to ports where you have been before, you may want to spend the day aboard rather than doing an excursion.

 

Some of what I was going to say about Rogueperson's Disney answer was that I highly encourage all Disney goers who are active duty or retired military to check the benefits available to them in the way of tickets or lodging. Disney used to be a very expensive proposition. Then we discovered the great cost savings through our military benefits and now we go almost every year.

[TC1957]

Psst...OP...you are not cheap, you have a propensity to frugality. :D

[TinyPinkBug]

We don't spend money on the extras either. Always amazes me how many people think nothing of paying some of the prices they charge for things, like $20 to rent a single floating beach mat for a few hours. We travel with my mother in law who has been on 30+ cruises in the past 10 yrs or so, our last cruise was the first time she has ever eaten in a specialty restaurant and that was only because we had a free meal from our travel agent. She has never done an excursion, but will this upcoming cruise for the first time. And has never purchased a single drink on-board because she believes they are an overpriced rip off. Moral, you can certainly have a good time over and over without buying all the extras.

 

It is worth noting as others have that cruises do become less and less inclusive and more a la cart, which is unfortunate because the inclusive ease of a cruise is what has always made cruising appealing to me. Like the recent $7.95 charge for room service. We usually only order room service once per trip so it isn't as if it is going to make or break our vacation. But this year it is a room service charge, next year it could be a sit down meal charge for the MDR or kids club charge. In 10 years time, cruisers like me will be priced out with all the a la cart charges, which is the direction most service industries are going in. Serving less customers with more disposable income is more profitable right now than serving more passengers with an overall less disposable income. This trend has been seen industry wide including airlines and theme parks. In fact it is directly credited to the reason Delta and Disney have been seeing record profits.

[cleophus12]

Which islands are you planning to walk around? Someone here might be able to give you some good ideas for excursions that will cost much less on your own than through the ship. We never do ship excursions. Can't remember the last time I did one. Always able to do things on our own for much less.

[scienceteacher]

I'm going on my first RCI cruise in June and I'm a pretty new cruiser. I've only been on two short cruises before - on Carnival and Norwegian. I am reading everything I can on these boards to learn what I can about how to do this upcoming 7-day on the Harmony right, but I'm surprised at how much money everyone seems to spend!!

 

Are we the only cheap cruisers out there?

 

The price for 7 days for 4 people was a ton - granted we had to book when the kids were out of school, so the prices were up but I expected that. So we don't intend on eating at any of the on-board restaurants that cost money when we can eat for free in the main dining room or buffets. We aren't foodies at all, so I don't want to pay for food when our ticket price includes food. We have 3 ports on our cruise and we only intend on doing an excursion at one of them and walking around on the other two (for free). I doubt we'll purchase any drinks packages since you get free juice on board, from what I read and my hubby and I aren't big drinkers at all and rarely drink soda.

 

I really feel like we're the only ones on these boards who are trying to keep the budget down on the cruise. Are there any other budget cruisers out there who have tips and ideas for saving money? I just feel like these pricey summer cruises are "all inclusive" but by the time you add wifi, drinks, alcohol, excursions, restaurants, etc. it's not so "all inclusive" after all.

 

You are not the only ones. My husband and I rarely buy any of the extras and we still have fantastic vacations. I occasionally buy a drink or two during a 7 day cruise. Do not give in to those who say negative things about the free venues. Take a vacation from WiFi. You will not regret it. I know you will have a lovely vacation.

[Tedw]

You are not alone. My wife and I are frugal in that we only buy extras that we see as a value to us. No drink or wifi packages. No cruise line excursions, we do research and book private excursions when we do them. We do tip extra when we get great service. I buy maybe 2-3 drinks on a week long cruise. My wife likes to buy a picture if there is one that she really likes. When we get OBC from the cruise or travel agent we first apply that to our gratuities.

 

My goal is to sail unobstructed balcony for $135 pp per night including fare, taxes and gratuities - less OBC. We have never not been able to do that. We plan our next cruise to be a 10-12 day southern caribbean intinerary and it may be harder to get to our $135 goal. Our most recent cruise last Feb was on an Oasis Class, balcony for what worked out to be a net cost of $880 for 7 nights. Just do what works for you. This is what works for us.

[ducklite]

On the mass market cruises we've taken we've had large folios at the end. Drinks, meals, excursions, spa treatments, the list goes on. On the small ships our folio at the end is quite low.

[martincath]

Are we the only cheap cruisers out there?

There's an entire board all about saving cash on your cruising right here. Kinda surprised nobody has already linked it by page 3 of this thread!

[navybankerteacher]

It is like anything else - you can always buy extras to enhance an experience, or you can live with the "basic package". Think of how many people buy over-priced drinks, candy and popcorn - sometimes doubling their basic "fare" when going to a movie.

 

Because we usually have wine with dinner at home, we see that as routine, and not an extra, when cruising - but that's about it. Of course, there is always the small extra expense - when at home or cruising or on a land vacation, but it never adds that much to the cost.

[iancal]

We do not buy a lot of extras. We would never consider having the gratuities reversed. We provide additional cash gratuities for service that is over and above the norm. Usually it is wine and a few drinks. We typically pass on cruise line transfers, hotels, excursions, etc. Don't bother with on board internet since we do not need it. We often try out the specialty restaurants. More so lately as the quality of food, preparation, and service in the MDR's seems to be on a constant slide downwards.

 

Our our Feb. Princess cruise DW told me they wanted $75 USD. plus S/C to cut her hair. She usually pays $25 Cad at home, $18USD so she gave it miss. Plus she said that she did not have to sit through the sales pitch for a load of overpriced hair care items that she did not want or use. Had it cut to her satisfaction for $10 in Chile.

Edited April 3, 2017 by iancal

[DirtyDawg]

If i was, I'd disavow all onf the aboveCruise ships are theultimate caveat emptor.

Overpriced drinks,

Overpriced specialty restaurants,

Overpriced excursions,

Obscene prices on Spa services,

Obscene prices on 'art'

Etc., Etc., Etc.

Good rule of thumb. After you pay your cruise fare buy nothing extra from the cruise line!

 

Luckily you can cruise very nicely without buying any of those things.

 

P.S. As you might have figured out by now, I am not a shareholder of any cruise line.;)