Cruising on a Budget... Second in a two-part series.
Now that we have saved for months and made final payment on our dream cruise vacation, we should continue our saving efforts to cover some other expenses that exist when taking a cruise. These extra optional expenses include:
Shore Excursions Alcoholic Drinks Spa Services Photos Casino and Bingo Specialty Restaurants Specialty Coffee and DesertsPotentially the largest of these added expenses can be the Shore Excursions. As appealing as it may sound to be zip-lining over the jungle canopy or swimming with dolphins, shore excursions come with a hefty price tag. Shore excursions are an optional expense.
In many of the ports visited by cruise ships, it is quite easy to embark on your own walking tour of the port area and window shop. You can come and go from the cruise ship as often as you like. Stroll through the port town visiting historical sites in the morning then make your way back to the ship for lunch and head back out after lunch for some window shopping. It is very easy to do in many ports.
If you are considering a shore excursion, the cruise line will have a link on their site to the available tours offered for your cruise and the prices for each tour. Knowing the cruise line pricing you can then shop around the internet to compare pricing for tours offered by independent operators. Generally, there are some nice cost savings by booking through the independent tour operators than by booking through the cruise line.
If you find an adventure that you absolutely can't miss and you choose to book an excursion the most important issue to consider is whether you book through the cruise line or directly with an independent tour provider. When you book directly with your cruise line, in addition to the usually higher price tag, you also have the assurance that if, for any reason your cruise line excursion does not make it back to the pier in time for the ship departure, they will wait for you or make arrangements to get you to the ship in the next port (rare).
When you book directly with a tour operator, the cruise line has no idea where you may be or when you may return to the ship. If your private tour fails to return to the pier in time for the ship departure they will not wait. Catching up to the ship or returning to the home port will be on your dime. Yes, you can save a nice amount of money booking an excursion independently but if you do, you need to make sure you give enough time to get back to the ship perhaps with an extra buffer in the event something goes wrong.
Do some internet research of the tours available in the ports you will visit. Some tour operators make a guaranty that guests will be returned to the ship in time. However, if you are hesitant in any way you probably should book with the cruise line. You're on a dream vacation. No room to add stress about missing your ship.
Alcoholic Drinks are likely the second largest added cost behind shore excursions. The bar tab can sneak up on you if you are not attentive to your purchases. The pricing is very similar to your local bar at home and buying a drink here and there along the length of your cruise could suddenly add another $100 or more to your final tab. Granted many will say you don't need to drink to have a good time which is so true, however, a specialty cocktail on sail away here and there is part of the cruise experience. Sitting on a lounge chair enjoying the view and sipping an umbrella shaded tropical concoction is an image that many who dream of cruising associate with cruise relaxation.
If you do decide to have a few drinks, there are ways to lessen the overall cost. If you are beer drinkers and will consume a few beers over the course of the day, many cruise lines offer a bucket of beer (4 - 6) for about $0.50 off of the single beer purchase price per bottle. On many lines this bucket is only offered at the pool side bars but you can ask that the bar wait staff only open one beer at a time and keep the others on ice in your bucket. If you don't finish the bucket before you need to return to your cabin you can bring your bucket with you. The cabin steward will refresh the ice in your bucket if asked.
Another way to reduce your beer bar tab is to take advantage of the bars at the ports of call. The large chain bars do not offer as much of a cost savings as a smaller local bar would. On your way back to the ship, if you have given enough time, stop in and pay $2 for a beer rather than $5 to $6 on the ship. After a day of window shopping in a tropical climate it can be relaxing to just sit and people watch over a cold beer.
The specialty drinks are more difficult to save on. Occasionally one of the ship bars may have a "Drink of the Day" special for a dollar off but it is not usually advertised. Some ships may have an unpublished happy hour in the lobby or atrium bars that offers an afternoon special for an hour or two. Mixed drinks can also be found with much better pricing at one of the port bars if you have left enough time to sit and enjoy on your way back to the ship.
If you enjoy wine, some cruise lines allow passengers to carry-on one or two bottles per adult. Be aware though that if you bring the bottle to the dining room they may want to charge you a corkage fee, usually around $15. No worries, your cabin will be equipped with a couple water glasses. Pour your own glass and carry it with you to dinner.
The SPA Services such as a massage, skin treatment or nails treatment all come with additional cost. While they may be nice services to indulge in, plan to spend as much as 50% more than the same service at a high quality salon in your home town. If you are patient, many times these services will have specials on days that the ship is in a port or for certain times during sea days when they need to drum up business.
Another alternative is a beach massage. Some ports in Mexico and the Caribbean have people who set up for massages at the more popular beaches. If you come across these the prices are substantially lower than a similar massage on the ship and you can negotiate your price.
There will be cruise line Photo personnel ALL OVER the place especially on formal/elegant nights. On many ships the photographers set up a gauntlet that guests have to navigate to get to the Main Dining Room (MDR) on the formal/elegant night. Have fun with it and have a lot of pictures taken. It costs nothing to have the pictures taken. There will be a gallery set up on the ship where you can view the photos the next day. The frame sized picture will cost you about $22 to purchase. Honestly, if it is the first cruise ever, you may want to purchase one picture, possibly the embarkation photo but beware of all the other photos and the cost to purchase them.
The casino and the bingo games certainly can be exciting but they also can cost you quite a bit. The casinos make it very easy to simply tap into your on-board account to play these games. Twenty here and twenty there you can easily be in the hole for $100 before you know it, chasing that next winning slot pull or that next big hand at cards. So many more people lose than win at any casino and the odds are no better at sea. Bingo is seemingly a simple game but will cost you up to $25 per play. Some cards have three games on them depending on the cruise line. Yes it can be fun but the odds are against you winning.
Very common in today's cruise industry is the Specialty Restaurant. Your cruise fare pays for all your meals in the buffet and the MDRs but does not cover the Specialty Restaurant ($25 to $35 per person). These restaurants, similar to a fine restaurant in your home town offer a full five course meal that is a notch above the best that the MDR will offer. If you do choose this added cost, check with the cruise line about reserving your spot. Occasionally, some cruise lines will offer a complimentary bottle of wine for reservations on the sail away night. If you are going to do it, you may as well get the most out of it, right?
Another common feature lately is the Specialty Coffee and Specialty Desert shops. These specialty coffees and lattes and what have you with an assortment of specialty desert items are another added cost, like the local Starbucks. Smells good, looks good, but do you really need it? Some coffee drinkers state that the regular free coffee available in the buffet and the MDR is not very good while others say that the coffee is decent. It is a personal opinion of the coffee drinker.
As you have seen, there are many opportunities for the cruise lines to tap into your budget when you are on your cruise. Once your dream cruise has been paid in full it is possible to NOT INCUR ANY added costs if you choose not to indulge in these extra offerings. On the contrary you can also see how your final tab can add up to be quite a hefty bill if not watched closely. If these add-on costs sound like things that you may want to have when on your cruise, continue your savings plan all the way up to your embarkation. You can have that dream cruise of a lifetime and you do not have to go into debt for years to pay it off when you plan and save ahead.
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