Do you buy some stuff in advance?

[sassafrass]

Such as drinks, photos etc. I see you can get coupons on the Carnival site and I am a photo junkie! You can buy a $15.00 photo coupon from the website.

[mom2bcr]

I looked at that - I believe, if I read it correctly, that is was simply $15 off the price, which isn't a deal at all. You are still paying the full price for the picture - you just paid $15 of it ahead of time.

[sassafrass]

yes I know it's not a deal I just thought if I start buying funship dollars or photo certificates now a few a month before our February cruise I should have alot saved up!

[Forchunut1]

I think it's a great idea to do that ahead of time. That way when you get on the cruise you don't have that little nagging voice in your head thinking about how much you are spending. You can really enjoy yourself and really feel like you are on vacation. You'll be able to do more/get more and not feel guilty about it.

[cruise.freak]

I buy the photo and drink coupons and the funship dollars. I like having most pf my trip paid for before I go. Makes the vacation that much more enjoyable.

[cuyahoga11]

This is just my opinion, but I dont pay anything in advance. If for some reason I have to cancel I dont want anything that I cannot get refunded for. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

[VICKIVICKI]

i would like to but a carnival funship barbie before the cruise and have it waiting in my granddaughters cabin, but i can't find it anywhere.

[Catrin]

Vicki, there are about six listed on Ebay - not a bad place to start!

 

Cathy

[honeydog714]

I always do, I start buying credits about six months out, it takes the sting out of the final bill (our bar bill that is) TA always gives us something too so that helps. Whenever I have a little extra cash I buy something for one of our cruises. DH does not understand it as he says I am just giving our money away early but I look at it as I would spend it anyhow might as well have it with them where I know I am going to rack up a bill:D

[Sirwinston]

I really like that I can do this with Carnival. I buy onboard credit / Funship dollars. I also buy wine and drink tickets, also prebuy the shore excursions. That way I can just relax more and not have to worry about a huge bill at the end of the cruise. On my Paradise trip I actually got a small refund check. You can buy funship dollars and have them applied as on board credit. Just put in your booking number, sail date, ship, and cabin as the address. To me it is being honest with yourself about what a cruise really costs. Pre pay is the way to go...

 

Tom in Long Beach

[cruisinbuddy]

For my last cruise I bought the Anniversary Gift Package; A bottle of wine, 2 etched glasses, 2 pocket t-shirts, 2 sun visors, a beach towel 4 drink coupons and a coupon for $15.00 off in the photo shop for $78.95, if you add up the value of all of these things I believe it's @ $125.00. Now here's something, when I went down to get our embarkation photo I took the coupon with me of course. Not only did I get the value of the coupon I also got a free picture frame. Now I believe everyone get the frame with the embarkation pic. So something to think about

For my next cruise I plan on buying a bunch of drink coupons ahead of time.

[Knights on the Beach]

Nope, I like to hold onto my money as long as possible. :p

[rdrseller]

We always pre-book our excursions. This trip we have added the drink coupon and some stuff for the room!

 

I like knowing that the cash that I had with me is for spending on shopping, etc. Everything else is paid for and no large S&S at the end of the trip.

 

I try to keep the S&S below $300 for the entire 7 night cruise!

[Carolinamamasita]

I prepay everything I can in advance.

Right from the prepaid tips all the way to the drink coupons !

I like to have everything paid for before I go. :cool:

That way I know I dont have to worry about doing something I cant afford !

And if I want to splurge on souvenirs or extras ... that money is available on my S& S card.

Vey Good thinking in my book !

[hockeymom97]

Nope - I keep a separate savings account with ingdirect.com that I use only for our "cruise" money. I am constantly stashing money in there and if I have enough time before the cruise I'll put the money in a CD to earn even more interest. I don't make my final payment until I have to and I wait until a week or two before the cruise to put money on S&S card, prepay tips, etc. That way the money is in my account earning interest to help pay for another cruise!:D

[MamaParrotHead]

is just put $ on my S&S account ahead of time. No screwing with coupons, just having the money THERE is nice. Last time we only paid $47 over what we had put on our account ahead of time.

[neverpar]

I've been buy funship dollars every payday......and then have it applied as a OBC.......By the time my cruise rolls around in October...well I will have plenty there and won't have to worry about my bill after the cruise!

[shargurl]

Question - what do you do with the funship dollars and how do they get them to you? Are they received in the mail before your cruise, or are they in your room when you get there? How do you apply them to OBC? Do you go to the pursur's desk when you get to the ship and apply them that way?

 

This sounds like a good way for us to get ahead of the game on our cruise expenses, since I do spend a lot on the ship...:o

[mrdood]

Whether you spend $100 90 days before you cruise on pictures or the last day of your cruise you are still spending $100. This does not "save" you any money. I guess those that want to "pretend" they spent less can, and those that are not able to save money can minimize the one time impact of the bill by spreading it out. Interesting approaches...

[Taleci]

I have fun sending "gifts" to myself and DH ahead of time. For our next upcoming cruises, I have already purchased a bottle of wine to be delivered each night. With each bottle, I added a special note to DH.

 

While it isn't saving any money, if you are a person that compartmentalizes their money, it does help to budget if you prepay some of your expected expenses.

[sassafrass]

I don't think I am saving any money in the long run. It's just a good way for me to save up and not dip into the money. Different strokes for different folks I guess. If it works for YOU I guess do it.

[momofzeke]

I like to prepay the gratuities, and any Carnival excursions I'm going to take.

 

Last cruise, I bought Funship Dollars ~ I just called Carnival and told them I wanted to buy Funship Dollars and have them applied directly to my S&S account. They charged it to my credit card and emailed me a receipt for the credit on the S&S account. When I got to the ship, the credit was waiting for me on the S&S. :)