Welcome to Tightwad Cruising - What Do You Do?

[Jetswdo]

I recently purchased a small portable laundry dryer. It collapses, doesn't weigh very much and will fit in your suitcase. It is handy for drip dry light weight things like underwear, bathing suits, tees, light dresses, shorts and pants. The key word being lightweight. The next cruise I am going on does not have self service laundry, and I refuse to pay $$$ to have my clothes washed and dried. It has a 3 hour timer, but I found it takes about 9 hours until all items are dried. It is european, so I had to get from Radio Shack the little converter to make it fit in regular American wall socket. Hang drying clothes in the small bathroom area takes forever to dry. This gadget speeds things up a bit. I figure I'll turn it on while in cabin each night before sleeping and in the cabin in the am. You can email me directly for info about it. Anita

[CanWeGoYet?]

 

6. As a shareowner in Carnival Cruise Lines I'll get $100 shipboard credit on the 2 day trip.

 

 

I believe it's $50 OBC for a cruise less than 7 days. If you can string 2 short cruises together, that would get you $100 total.

Edited July 9, 2012 by CanWeGoYet?

[paul929207]

I believe it's $50 OBC for a cruise less than 7 days. If you can string 2 short cruises together, that would get you $100 total.

Yes, it is $50 for cruises shorter that 7 days, $100 for 7 to 13 day cruises and $250 for 14 day or longer cruises. It is a great eal if you sail with any of the cruise lines owned by Carnival Corp.

[operabob]

Thanks

[knittinggirl]

I recently purchased a small portable laundry dryer. It collapses, doesn't weigh very much and will fit in your suitcase. It is handy for drip dry light weight things like underwear, bathing suits, tees, light dresses, shorts and pants. The key word being lightweight. The next cruise I am going on does not have self service laundry, and I refuse to pay $$$ to have my clothes washed and dried. It has a 3 hour timer, but I found it takes about 9 hours until all items are dried. It is european, so I had to get from Radio Shack the little converter to make it fit in regular American wall socket. Hang drying clothes in the small bathroom area takes forever to dry. This gadget speeds things up a bit. I figure I'll turn it on while in cabin each night before sleeping and in the cabin in the am. You can email me directly for info about it. Anita

 

Have you done a practice run at home? We used to wash underwear in the cabin, and if we washed it the first night, it was dry by the end of the cruise. We usually had a day or two pre-cruise nights, so we had several pieces by the time we hit our stateroom. Now, quick dry moisture wicking is a completely different story. I wash them in the sink, wring them in a towel, let them hang, and they're dry the next day. But we usually give them an extra day to be safe. I love the idea of a portable washing machine!

Edited July 9, 2012 by knittinggirl

[iluvsunandsand]

for us, we won't have much of a tab bc we don't drink, don't do art auctions, don't drink sugary sodas and book all our excursions off-ship

[iluvsunandsand]

since buying photos are onboard are so expensive, why not just take your own? I never understood buying photos on-board

[cruisingnana87]

If you take medications daily.vitamins in a separate bag for each am.( also have strip to write on them.) also it saves room and no rx bottles for wasted space.

 

IT makes it easy to carry a small zip bag in your evening bag instead of the bottle.

 

I found these small bags at my local drug store. similar to the ones that extra buttons come in when you get a new blouse.

Edited September 24, 2012 by cruisingnana87

[HImom]

We & our friends took A LOT of photos. We also got two of the photos taken by the professionals--one was a gift from another traveler, one was in exchange for a bottle of wine the cruise gifted us with (we don't drink much and had already drunken the bottle of wine our travel agent gave us at the Crown Grill). It was nice getting the two photos and knowing we have dozens that we took ourselves.

 

We didn't buy any sodas or coffees or alcoholic drinks, as none appealed to us and there was plenty we could have that was already included in the price of the cruise. We used the ship's laundramat on Golden Princess, as H wanted to wash clothing before we packed it (I would have been fine without doing laundry). It was very reasonable -- $2 to wash $2 to dry and $1.25 to purchase detergent from the machine.

 

Did a lot of walking, which allowed us more leisurely views of each of the ports than taking a tour. Did a few tours as well, all of which we booked ourselves. We did leave the prepaid tips, plus gave extra tips to our waiter at the Crown Grill, our head waiter and helper at the traditional dining room, and our room steward for our room.

Edited September 25, 2012 by HImom

[Miss JAD]

Sail--I agree with you. A vacation is a time to kick back and relax---not to spend every waking minute trying to fiqure out how to do it cheaper. I would rather stay home than do a vacation "on the cheap". Much better to look back and think about how much fun we had rather than how much money we saved.

 

I want to enjoy my holiday and have experiences (tours, fine dining, spa, etc.) However, there is some really good advise on this thread.

 

Is there really free champagne at the art auctions? Princess ?? If so I think I will start to have an interest in going to those :)

[askimdog]

3 more ways we save:

 

ONLY leave from ports where we know people..staying on couches or floors of friends, not having to pay hotel fees.

 

Wander ports and haggle for a personal guide, if we get one we do, if we don't...oh well. Never pay for an "excursion".

 

Use local buses as much as possible avoiding cabs

[Cee Jewel]

Thanks to all of you well experienced cruisers, I have learned so much. We went on 1 Caribbean cruise and my husband bought the soft drink package. I went on a pay as you go. Had planned on buying a package for our 18 day repositioing cruise in April from Sydney to Honolulu. I now realize I could not possibly drink what a package would cost! I love the on-board seminars.Did a jewelery info seminar, a wine seminar - but did not buy. Did the art auction, but had no intention of buying anything. Did not buy the pictures they were not good enough. Bought a necklace on an island in a ship guaranteed store not on ship and the ship liaison was very helpful. Ship guarantee for the jewels was important to me and proved out in the end.

 

As our April cruise is an 18 day cruise, we feel we have to have laundry done - the Solstice does not have self use laundry facilities, at least it did not when we took it on our 1 and only cruise. With the severe weight restrictions on the flight we can't pack for that long without doing laundry. I am interested in learning more about pre-paid tips. Do not know anything about the what and wherefore for these.

 

On our previous cruise we took ship excursions because we felt they were dependable and did not know if we would get taken advantage of or be safe if we booked locally. Need convincing here.

[MrsPete]

since buying photos are onboard are so expensive, why not just take your own? I never understood buying photos on-board

Keep in mind that I teach photography, but most people don't take good pictures. I'd rather pay for a photograph than have only pictures that're poorly centered, have the top of heads chopped off, or are over/under-exposed. I'm always surprised at the people who are satisfied with poor-quality photographs.

 

Having said that, I DO take excellent photographs, and I don't care for the staged "It's formal night" photos, so I don't pay for photographs. But I do understand why other people do.

Wander ports and haggle for a personal guide, if we get one we do, if we don't...oh well. Never pay for an "excursion".

I disagree with you on this one. Some of our best cruise memories are from excursions. I don't want to spend more than I need to spend, but I also don't want to come away from the cruise having just wandered about here and there on the islands. The goal isn't to spend the least amount of dollars -- it's to get the most value from each dollar spent, and to spend your dollars where they matter to you.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I disagree with you on this one. Some of our best cruise memories are from excursions. I don't want to spend more than I need to spend, but I also don't want to come away from the cruise having just wandered about here and there on the islands. The goal isn't to spend the least amount of dollars -- it's to get the most value from each dollar spent, and to spend your dollars where they matter to you.

 

With you 100%. If I have been to a port several times before then a specific excursion may not be necessary. But generally I'm going to some place new, don't know when I'll be back again & it was a big investment to get there. I don't want to leave it to chance whether I'll see something worthwhile.

 

On my bucket list transatlantic / trip to Europe (first time) a very cheap ex boyfriend actually advised me to be careful because excursions are expensive. But that I could always just sit on the beach for free. :confused:

 

I am going to go half way round the world, paying thousands in my travels, but once there find a beach......I guess I could have at Normandy but not much of an option in London or Dover. Can't imagine missing Dover Castle & the underground war tunnels, the royal opera house & Royal Ballet, or Santiago de Compostela, Rouen & Notre Dame cathedral; these were the highlights of my trip.

[MrsPete]

With you 100%. If I have been to a port several times before then a specific excursion may not be necessary. But generally I'm going to some place new, don't know when I'll be back again & it was a big investment to get there. I don't want to leave it to chance whether I'll see something worthwhile.

 

On my bucket list transatlantic / trip to Europe (first time) a very cheap ex boyfriend actually advised me to be careful because excursions are expensive. But that I could always just sit on the beach for free. :confused:

 

I am going to go half way round the world, paying thousands in my travels, but once there find a beach......I guess I could have at Normandy but not much of an option in London or Dover. Can't imagine missing Dover Castle & the underground war tunnels, the royal opera house & Royal Ballet, or Santiago de Compostela, Rouen & Notre Dame cathedral; these were the highlights of my trip.

Yes, you've captured my thoughts exactly.

 

 

Also, one more note about photographs: If you want good pictures of the ship, consider buying post cards to put into your scrapbook. They're less expensive than photographs, but they're better quality photography than most people will obtain, especially with a little point-and-shoot camera.

[Alex71]

Great advice in this thread. Here's what we do:

 

- Choose a line that let kids sail free

- Pre-plan what we want to do in port. Use public transport where possible. That's great way to really connect with the place we're in and riding trains / metros is usually a lot of fun for the kids.

- Get the house wine by the caraffe. Found them to be good quality and excellent value.

- Don't buy any sweets / ice cream. We consume enough sugar with the deserts anyway.

- Don't get any sugary sodas. We will buy bottles of carbonated water though.

- Pick departure ports we can drive to so that we can avoid the cost of airfare.

- Pre-order the drink packages we want (water, beer) online for additional discounts.

- Limit the onboard shopping to a few small souvenir items

- Limit the amount of photos we buy

- Don't do bingo / casino / speacialty restaurants and any of the other money traps

- Buy OBC on the ship for our next cruise

- Compare princing in different countries. Pricing can vary quite a bit and it is often more cost effective to book through a TA in another country. For our summer cruise we got a great price from an online TA in the US, For our fall cruise, we got a great price through an online TA in Germany.

Edited October 13, 2012 by Alex71

[lindfaz]

Why go on a cruise if you have to skimp and not do anything? I go on a cruise because I have saved all year for this cruise and I am definitately not going to skimp.

 

1. We go to the specialty steakhouse one nite. It is a very special time for us.

2. We book our excursions with Carnival. It is worth it and gives us peace of mind.

3. We shop at the ports and shop on the ship. What fun!

4. We hit the casino every night.....always find it entertaining.

5. We love the desert bars and coffee bars.....the food and coffee here is always outstanding.

6. We have at least 2 drinks of the day, wine with our dinner and after dinner drinks. Hey we are on vacation, aren't we?

7. We tip extra, they deserve every bit of it.

8. We don't bring, soda, wine or water with us. Who wants to lug all of that around, when you can buy it on the ship?

[tip]

Although this is pre or post cruise and not the cruise itself, we have found that the Travel Zoo web site has some good deals on attractions in the various home ports. We bagged a "two for one" special for the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi just last week.

[knittinggirl]

Thanks to all of you well experienced cruisers, I have learned so much. We went on 1 Caribbean cruise and my husband bought the soft drink package. I went on a pay as you go. Had planned on buying a package for our 18 day repositioing cruise in April from Sydney to Honolulu. I now realize I could not possibly drink what a package would cost! I love the on-board seminars.Did a jewelery info seminar, a wine seminar - but did not buy. Did the art auction, but had no intention of buying anything. Did not buy the pictures they were not good enough. Bought a necklace on an island in a ship guaranteed store not on ship and the ship liaison was very helpful. Ship guarantee for the jewels was important to me and proved out in the end.

 

As our April cruise is an 18 day cruise, we feel we have to have laundry done - the Solstice does not have self use laundry facilities, at least it did not when we took it on our 1 and only cruise. With the severe weight restrictions on the flight we can't pack for that long without doing laundry. I am interested in learning more about pre-paid tips. Do not know anything about the what and wherefore for these.

 

On our previous cruise we took ship excursions because we felt they were dependable and did not know if we would get taken advantage of or be safe if we booked locally. Need convincing here.

 

We've invested in some quick dry shirts and underwear. So each night, I wash the underwear, and they're dry late the next day. We've invested in three sets of underwear: One to wash, one to wear and one for emergencies. We also invested in some quick dry shirts for the same reason. Haven't found any quick dry pants/slacks yet. So, we take two or three pairs and wear them move than once. We started washing our Thorlo socks, and were shocked how fast these thick socks dry compared to my thin gold toe white cotton anklets (which took a week). We pick up some individual tide packets at the Grocery store. They are the perfect size to wash your laundry in the sink, and you don't end up with suds saturated laundry which used to happen when we brought bulk tide. On and 18 day cruise, you may still need to do laundry, but this should cut down the amount you have to pay extra for.

< br /> For excursions, we opt for the cruise sponsored ones for the reasons you mentioned. Also, we've arrived late from a cruise sponsored excursion, and they hold the ship for you. With our stop in Portland, we took the Mt. Washington Cog Railroad, and our tour guide gave status updates to the ship on the way back.

[Alex71]

Why go on a cruise if you have to skimp and not do anything? I go on a cruise because I have saved all year for this cruise and I am definitately not going to skimp.

 

1. We go to the specialty steakhouse one nite. It is a very special time for us.

2. We book our excursions with Carnival. It is worth it and gives us peace of mind.

3. We shop at the ports and shop on the ship. What fun!

4. We hit the casino every night.....always find it entertaining.

5. We love the desert bars and coffee bars.....the food and coffee here is always outstanding.

6. We have at least 2 drinks of the day, wine with our dinner and after dinner drinks. Hey we are on vacation, aren't we?

7. We tip extra, they deserve every bit of it.

8. We don't bring, soda, wine or water with us. Who wants to lug all of that around, when you can buy it on the ship?

 

Good for you, but I don't think the purpose of the thread was to brag about all the things you can afford / blast out money for. The purpose was to give people some helpful hints on how they can save some money.

[lanceholt]

We don't drink at all, nor do we gamble. My dh goes to the art auctions for entertainment, not purchasing. We take individual crystal lite packets and like them for beverages. We book a year out so that we get the best price and keep an eye on it so that we can get credit for any price decreases.

 

We too have invested in travel underwear, shirts and slacks. Easy to do laundry in the cabin every other night.

 

We cruise NCL only so that we now are platinum latitudes members and each of us get free laundry, free specialty dinner for two, free behind the scenes tours for two, several different cocktail parties with officers etc, priority tendering, etc. We also book a mini suite or if we can get a good price, a penthouse suite. We find that this is really a good deal when it comes to enjoyment of the overall cruise.

 

We mostly do our own thing in the ports, but do pay for private guides in places like St. Petersburg, Ephesus, and others. If we take an excursion it is for a specific reason so we always feel it is a good value...for example in Rome, we took one that just dropped us off and picked us up outside the Vatican leaving the day to enjoy ourselves with no worries about being late to the ship. Peace of mind has a lot of value to us.

 

We have a lot of airline mileage so that we fly for free to the European embarkation points and use our Marriott points to stay the night before the cruise for free. Takes a lot of planning to accumulate the right amount of points/miles in the right accounts.

 

Bottom line, is don't pay for what doesn't mean a lot to you....and what means a lot to a person is really an individual thing. We have loved every day of every cruise and make a point of not sweating the small stuff.

[lola4795]

Good for you, but I don't think the purpose of the thread was to brag about all the things you can afford / blast out money for. The purpose was to give people some helpful hints on how they can save some money.

 

I agree! If someone disagrees with the spirit of this thread, they can start their own thread on ways to spend money extravagantly!

[lola4795]

Good for you, but I don't think the purpose of the thread was to brag about all the things you can afford / blast out money for. The purpose was to give people some helpful hints on how they can save some money.

 

I agree! If someone disagrees with the spirit of this thread, they can start their own thread on ways to spend money extravagantly!

 

I promise not to chime in and pompously proclaim that I go on my vacations and look for ways to save money.

[wallygator]

We cruise NCL only so that we now are platinum latitudes members and each of us get free.

 

 

 

Just how much free laundry do you get each?????

[lanceholt]

We each get the laundry special...$25 for a filled all you can bag...for each cruise. On a back to back, we each would get 2 of these laundry specials. Prior to that we were gold latitudes and got 25% off the bag laundry special.