Cruising on the Cheap

[Bevv]

I cruise on the cheap by starting with the price of the cruise. With Carnival we book Military rates.   We cruise at off times to get the best cabin rate. We have tried Ocean views but they did not fit my needs so we do balconies. 

 

American Express has a deal about once a year that gives 100. off of 500. cruise booking so I start there.  The rest of the cruise fare is paid with Carnival Gift Cards from AAPR... at 10% discount if we are sailing Carnival.

We also use gift cards for gratuities, excursions and bottomless bubbles.  We do not do spa, specialty dining, photos, large purchases

 

Our TA refunds about 7% of the cabin cost in either OBC or store credit. We have Carnival stock so get 50. to 250. per cruise in OBC. If we cruise Princess we also get the same amount in Military Credit.

 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, D&L Thomas said:

...

 

I had to chuckle at the lobster. Living in New England I wouldn’t dream of ordering lobster on a cruise ship. 🦞 

You rarely get real (Atlantic, cold water) lobster on a cruise ship - just frozen rock lobster tails from Africa - hardly worth chewing those rubbery things—— still, a lot of cruisers seem taken in by the idea.

[Texas Tillie]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

You rarely get real (Atlantic, cold water) lobster on a cruise ship - just frozen rock lobster tails from Africa - hardly worth chewing those rubbery things—— still, a lot of cruisers seem taken in by the idea.

 

You do get the real thing on the luxury lines (I know Crystal flies Maine lobster all over the world), but then again, you are paying for it! 😱😏😎

[navybankerteacher]

15 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

You do get the real thing on the luxury lines (I know Crystal flies Maine lobster all over the world), but then again, you are paying for it! 😱😏😎

I recall when Zuiderdam stopped at Bar Harbor, ME on our Quebec-New York sailing they took on a lot of lobsters for dinner that night- but it is a rarity on mass market lines.

[XBGuy]

Typically, our "on-board spend" runs about $1000/7 days of cruising--and I am including the daily gratuities in that.  Interestingly, the final bill for the last cruise (which was 7 days) was substantially less than that ($350). 

 

• We took no excursions  (In fact, we never left the ship.)
• One of our restaurant dinners was complimentary 
• We pre-paid about $175 worth of stuff because we wanted them scheduled ink
• The promotion under which we booked included pre-paid gratuities.

When we cruise we, definitely, want to pamper ourselves.  So, we tend to dine in the specialty restaurants more than most.  On Princess we enjoy the Ultimate Balcony Dinner and the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast.  I will bring some of my own wine on board because I like to drink my own wine.  I am very OK with the $15/bottle corkage fee that Princess charges.  However, if I take a bottle of red wine to a restaurant, and Mrs. XBGuy wants white wine (actually only happens on days ending in "y"), we will order a bottle of white for her.  If our clothes need cleaning, we will send them out rather than messing with the self-serve laundries.

 

Again, that is the great thing about cruising.  The individual gets to customize his/her experience to fit their expectations.

[MicCanberra]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

You rarely get real (Atlantic, cold water) lobster on a cruise ship - just frozen rock lobster tails from Africa - hardly worth chewing those rubbery things—— still, a lot of cruisers seem taken in by the idea.

Best thing about the lobster is the garlic butter.

[h_blond2]

Our bill is usually around $100 for the two of us. We aren't big drinkers and don't shop much on board.

[iancal]

We typically book inside the the final payment window.  We have a target price for a balcony cabin.  When it hits we buy. We are not married to any one cruise line.  We always buy from a TA who provides us with a rebate in the form of OBC.  Anywhere from 6-12 percent of the commissionable fare.  We also shop the cruise with TA's in other countries.  Pricing is not always the same from country to country.

Edited March 26, 2019 by iancal

[gymbomb]

On my last cruise the bill was $650, but we took home $1000 worth of future cruise credit. Our bill included those cruise deposits, shore excursions at 2 ports, daily service charges, and gratuity at a couple of specialty restaurants.

[MicCanberra]

Now that may make your next cruise cheap.

[dreadpirate3]

We prebook the non-alcoholic beverage package when it's on sale, so we usually just have gratuities plus any dining or alcoholic drink charges. Last cruise, we had less than $100 non-gratuity charges for a 9 day cruise.

 

The only time prepaying saves you money is if the cost is greater to buy it on board. Drink package sales over Black Friday or lower cost of gratuities before a rate hike are two examples.

 

Our prior cruise on Freedom, we got a refund because we spent so little.

[sydbarrett]

I've done it, and it wasn't fun!! LOL. For my next cruise I plan to save on-board by not drinking much (a few beer on sea days are a must!), bringing the 2 bottles of wine they allow, taking an inside room, and not doing the activities that cost extra on board. I have booked a lot of independent excursions with the cash that I'll save from scrimping a bit on ship. 

[MicCanberra]

I may watch my spending so it is not wasteful but I do not scrimp on holidays.

[Warm Breezes]

Ours would be our Carnival Fantasy Cruise that we booked at a low Casino Rate and came off with more money than we took plus a Tanzanite Ring and free drinks courtesy of Fantasy's casino.  They kept me occupied while DH was down with a sore back most of the cruise.🤑

[iancal]

We do not scrimp.  We buy, consume and enjoy whatever we want.

 

We do however want the best price we can get on the cruise itself.  To that end we are not loyal to any cruise line, we usually book inside the final payment window, and we deal with a good on line TA who provides us with OBC's.    Our perspective is that the cruise itself is a commodity product.  It does not matter where (what country) we book or who we book it with other than understanding the booking rules.   The product will be the same-only the bottom line price, net of OBC's will be different.