Cruise Bug Chatter » tips

13 Ways to Save Money on a Cruise?

Cruise Bug — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:13:17 +0000

On Wednesday, January 23, Carnival is having a sale on 3-7 day cruises from the West Coast. Get a good fare and possible onboard credits as well. Book early for best selection of cabins.

A recent article article on CNN lists 13 suggestions for saving money on a cruise. These tips were offered by experienced cruisers and travel agents. Some of the tips make good sense and seem reasonable, but the validity of others needs to be questioned.

My suggestion is that some of these need to be qualified or totally ignored. You need to refer to the article to understand my comments.

#2 – In most cases this is correct and the agent rightfully states that just because you are buying air travel through the cruise line, doesn’t necessarily mean that the ship will wait for you if your plane is late. This is a common misconception that you should be aware of if you book your flights through the cruise line thinking that they will wait for you if you have a delay. If a flight is several minutes late and there are many passengers on the same flight, the ship might wait. But, what if you are delayed for 10 hours? The ship has a schedule and can’t delay departure for late arrivals. They will take care of getting you to the next port if you booked through them. On some itineraries, the next port could mean missing a few days of the cruise.

There are times when having the air travel included is a deal, such as when you book late and airfares are high anyway. The cruise line might have a better fare. Cruise fares that include free air might also work out cheaper. So don’t totally rule out buying the air travel with the cruise.

#7 – Private tours usually do save you money and we usually choose this option. Keep in mind that if you arrive back to the dock late, you may see the shipping sailing away into the sunset.

#9- Huh? Why does a VIP need an upgrade to start with? Wouldn’t they already be booked in the highest category cabin? I am certain that agents and cruise lines will love all the requests for upgrades from every VIP and his brother who took this tip to heart. Then again, the veteran cruiser says it works for him. Maybe it’s a coincidence. We have been upgraded a few categories when booking both guaranteed cabins and the cabin of our choice. I suspect that there could be another reason for these upgrades. All cruise lines know for a fact that if a passenger likes the cruise, they will cruise again. They don’t need an agent to tell them this.

#11 – The price of soda packages varies from one cruise line to another. Figure out how much soda you drink and what that would cost buying individual cans.(The soda package usually gets you soda from a fountain, not cans.) You might find that you actually spend more with a soda package.

#12 – We found low-end wines on our Monarch cruise priced in the low $20′s. If you like better wines, you may be better off bringing some from home and paying the corkage fee. (If you are flying, remember that you aren’t permitted to pack this in your carry-on.)

On that same Monarch cruise, we had the tequila and beer that we had purchased in Mexico on the cruise immediately preceding this one, quickly confiscated as we went through security. It was held and returned to us on the last night. If you read the fine print on Royal Caribbean, you will notice that violating their “no booze” policy could be reason for denied boarding.

I agree with the other suggestions offered and will add a few of my own:

-If you are tight on money and get along well with your friends and/or family, book a room that can hold four people. There are often specials for 3rd and 4th passengers and sometimes kids sail free.

-Check fares on a regular basis. Amazing fares come and go. Last fall, I found a fare of $99 for two weeks on NCL in South America. Too bad that I had already made final payment for another cruise.

-Gather a bunch of friends and family to qualify for a group fare and free berth. Spread the savings amongst the group or take the free berth yourself.

Do you have any money saving tips?

Sail Away

Tips for a Cruise that visits Mexico

Cruise Bug — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:19:44 +0000

Our last three cruises all included ports in Mexico, a place that we love visiting. We have visited Mexico arriving by cruise ship, plane and bicycle. We learned much from these experiences, and we are offering some tips for making your visit to Mexico a memorable one.

We recall our first visit to Mexico and all the horror stories that we heard. We were warned of the dangers of traveling there; the food, the water and of course, the banditos. Many people who warned us had never even traveled to Mexico, so their tips were simply based on hearsay. Nevertheless, we proceeded into Mexico cautiously. If you take common sense precautions as you should whenever you travel, you will have an enjoyable trip.

A restaurant in Ensenada.

A few tips for visiting Mexico

Learn a few words of Spanish – please(por favor), thank-you(gracias), hello (hola), how much (cuánto), where (dónde), I’m sorry (lo siento), excuse me (perdóneme), I don’t understand (no entiendo)

Eating yogurt daily before a trip helps prepare your system for foods it isn’t used to. We enjoy trying local dishes and wouldn’t go to Mexico and not eat the food. But, you should do what you feel comfortable doing.

Don’t drink the tap water. Always drink bottled water.

Don’t flush paper down the toilet. Use the wastebasket next to the toilet.

Bargain on prices, but don’t rip off vendors. Remember that the typical daily wage is similar to the minimum hourly wage in the US. Some things really are cheaper than K-Mart.

Don’t panic when you see that lunch will cost you $150. That is pesos, not dollars. The sign for pesos and dollars looks the same.

Be aware that sidewalks are often in disrepair. Pay attention to potholes and broken pavement.

You must ask for the check at restaurants – la cuenta (quaint-ah) por favor, when you eat out.
It’s considered rude to bring it to you as may be customary at your local eatery.

Don’t wear bathing suits or beachwear when not at the beach.

Ask the price of cab fare before entering.

Be sure to have some pesos for using local buses.>

Many towns have tourist police who can answer your questions and help with directions.

If you plan on visiting a church, dress appropriately. Shorts and bare shoulders are not allowed.

Visit the mercado where the locals shop.

A fish market in Ensenada

Greet shopkeepers when you enter

Different regions of Mexico have their own special arts and crafts, food and beverage.

Be careful what you purchase – animal skins, fruit, plants are not permitted to be taken into the US and Canada. Don’t purchase anything that looks like a weapon. Even plastic pirate swords will be confiscated by the ship. Shops will take great care to wrap your breakables and may even ship them home for you.

Ladies, don’t even think about going into the local cantina with the swinging doors.

When you change money, get small bills. Many smaller establishment refuse to accept the $500(pesos) bill.

Decide before you leave the ship whether you will give money to the panhandlers. Don’t be surprised to see mothers or grandmothers with babes and young children begging on the street. Mexico does not have the same social welfare services that other countries have.

You will have ample opportunity to buy a lifetime supply of Chiclets from very young children.

Kids selling Chiclets

What are your Mexico cruise travel tips?

Sail Away

Fun New Year’s Resolutions

Cruise Bug — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:06:48 +0000

Win an MSC Cruise. Visit the MSC site and look at the top right hand corner for your chance to win a cruise or other prizes.

Lose weight. Exercise more. Earn more. De-clutter. Repair those broken things around the house. The typical New Year’s resolutions rarely involve anything fun; they usually amount to drudgery. It’s no wonder that so many people quickly abandon their resolutions. So what are the alternatives? Scrap your boring resolutions right now and replace them with these fun cruising resolutions.

Don’t scrap your exercise resolutions. There’s a gym on the ship.

Try your first cruise.
I haven’t forgotten my initial feelings about cruising. Certain that I would be herded around, following an intense schedule, which would include daily bingo, I never had any desire to cruise. I enjoy my freedom and free time and didn’t want anybody telling me what I should do during the day. And being confined on a ship with a thousand or more other cruisers. No thanks. But then I had a chance to sail on the now defunct Renaissance Cruise Lines in French Polynesia no less. I decided I could have an itinerary, I would sit through bingo and be a part of the big crowd on the ship. I could suck it up and suffer through this.

Much to my surprise my impressions didn’t mirror reality at all. I could play bingo if and when I wanted. I could set my own schedule. And those 1000 other guests really weren’t all that noticeable. I got hooked.

Others have delayed cruising because they worried that they would get sea sick. Ships are more stable these days and there are medications, patches, pressure bands and herbals like ginger that decrease the likelihood of getting sea sick. In addition to the prophylactic treatments, several other factors can reduce your chance of sea sickness:

Choose a lower, midship cabin. There isn’t as much motion here.

Choose an itinerary without a lot of sea days. Since most ships sail during the night, you will be lying down for a good part of the trip, which helps a bit.

Choose an itinerary that cruises amongst islands, which offer some buffering from the sea. A Caribbean itinerary, is a much better choice than a North Sea itinerary for someone who suffers from seasickness.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the medications available. Be sure to take them at the first sign of sea sickness. The medications may not help at all if you wait until you are in the throngs of seasickness to take them.

If you are on deck – and remember to stay low and amidships- look at the horizon.

If somebody near you is getting sick, get away. The power of suggestion and the smell of vomit can take you totally over the edge.

If your seasickness memories are from you childhood, keep in mind that children are more likely to experience seasickness than adults. You have likely grown out of that.

If you have tried medications, accupressure and all the products to prevent seasickness and still get sick, then you should definitely chose another vacation option.

If you worry about seasickness, think you will be bored or have another reason i for not cruising, consider taking a 2 or 3 day cruise just to try it out. Several cruise lines and ports offer these shorter options, which are often a very good value as well. You may find yourself wishing that you had booked a longer cruise.

Next resolution: Try a different cruise line.

Sail Away