Over 21 million people go on a cruise, or cruise vacation, every year, and many still pay top dollar for a cruise. Cruises are an excellent way to travel and see many exotic ports. A good way to describe a cruise vacation is to say you basically take your hotel with you. However, bringing your hotel with you is not always cheap even though it is a convenient way to travel. You can save money on a cruise, and with a little bit of savvy, you can save a lot of money on your next cruise. But you do need to know, what the top tips are for saving money on your next cruise?
How to Save Money on Your Next Cruise: Become a Flexible Cruise Passenger
If you have some time on your hands, you can easily save money on cruises. It is important to be flexible on both the itinerary of your cruise, and the timing of your cruise. Most cruise passengers have a certain itinerary in mind. You may want to see the Greek islands before you cruise on to exotic locations such as Israel and Egypt. But, you often find the cruise company will run a return cruise. Guess what? The return cruise to the port you wanted to start your cruise from may be cheaper. Does it really matter? You will still see and experience the same things, but you could save yourself a couple of hundred dollars. Isn't it better to save money???
Timing is important when it comes to taking a cruise vacation. If you don't mind cruising out of season, you can save a lot of money. You may think that August is the perfect time to visit European capitals, but in fact it is often too hot to walk around at this time of the year. Aim for a cruise vacation slightly out of season. Your travel agent may tell you that you get a lot of storms in the Mediterranean then, but that is not true. You get can get storms or high winds any time of the year in the Mediterranean, but surprisingly September could be the worse month.
Should I Book My Cruise Vacation in Advance or Wait for Late Availability?
Late bookings on cruises can be great value for money, the only problem is that the best cabins might be sold off. Start checking out the cruise companies that you would consider going with in advance. Take a look and see if there advance booking discounts that are as good as their late booking deals. Often advance bookings deals are better, and they may even include little extra benefits such as drinks or excursions packages.
Do a Deal with Your Cruise Company
Do you book through a travel agent or directly with the cruise company? Some argue it is better to book with a travel agent for peace of mind, but I am not sure that is true. Travel agencies do have special offers, but you can probably get a good deal by booking direct. As a matter of fact, don't be frighten of asking for a deal. Ask the representative on the phone, if he or she can give you a special deal if you book TODAY. Remember they want to fill those ships, both for their own sake and the staff that work for tips only, so getting passengers on board is vital. TODAY is the operative word if you want to get good discounts, and does not only work when you book your cruise. Try it when you are out shopping, and you will see that little five letter word, can get you mazing discounts.
Sign Up For the Weekly Newsletter
Cruise companies love sending out newsletters. The more newsletter you sign up for with cruise companies direct, or their agents, the likelier you are to get a good deal on your cruise vacation. Shop around still and make sure you are comparing apples with apples. If that the same cruise, or similar cruise, is available with an other cruise company, go for that one instead. Loyalty does not always work, but make sure you are not missing out on things like drinks packages. Get to know the value of drinks packages, and make sure the complete cruise saves you money.
Cruise Lines Loyalty Programs
Most cruise lines have loyalty programs, but they all work slightly differently. The best cruise lines loyalty programs are the ones which give you discount off your next cruise vacation and some special benefits as well. Check out the following cruise lines, and compare their loyalty programs.
MSC Cruises
Carnival Cruises
Princess Cruises
The three cruise lines cover slightly different cruise destinations, but they all have good loyalty programs. If I am completely honest, I have saved a lot of money with the MSC cruise loyalty program.
Smaller Ships – an Insiders Tip
Getting money off your next cruise can be done in all sorts of ways. I will let you in on a little secret that I have discovered in the cruise industry. Get to know the fleet of the cruise lines you would like to travel with, and you will soon find it is cheaper to travel on the smaller ships within the fleet. Princess cruise cruise line is the perfect example. They do a lot of cruises in and around Japan, and their smaller ships are always cheaper. You may have to get from Tokyo under your own steam, but you even save money after having bought a ticket on the bullet train.
Would You Like to Go to Europe for the Summer, and back Home for the Winter?
In that case, check out repositioning cruises. I spent four months traveling around the Southern US States after finding a repositioning cruise into Miami. It was great and guess what I did on my way back to Europe – I caught another repositioning cruise. Not only did I get two days in New York on my way back, but I got to see the Azores on the way out. It is expensive to travel to the Azores, and I would not have gone otherwise, but the repositioning cruise made it possible. Most repositioning cruises are great value for money as they often include drinks packages and even free excursions.
Organise Your Own Excursions
When you are on a cruise, it is easy to organise you own excursions. Read about about your destinations before you get there, and then visit locals attractions on your own. Your first stop when you get off the ship should be the local tourist office to pick up a map. But, I have also found the app Pokemon Go is a great way to find exciting places that are perhaps a little bit tucked away.
Cities such as Split in Croatia, Malaga in Spain, Venice in Italy and Lisbon in Portugal, are great places to walk around. If you don't want to walk, check out local hop on and hop off bus services. I used one in Rome, and it was fantastically cheap. If I had gone on the ship's tour around Rome, I would have paid a lot more. Now I saved $80 and could afford to splash out on ice cream by the Trevi fountain.
Finally, don't forget to download some fun apps to play with while you are on the cruise ship. Spas on cruise ships are normally expensive, and you can only make so many paper flowers. Also, your feet may be tired after a long day exploring, so you don't fancy the gym. But on a day at sea, make the most out of all the free activities.
Can you make money from cruising? You certainly can make money from cruising, and you going on a cruise vacation, and even make some investments which will pay out, but that is a different story... By the way, don't forget to check out prepaid debit cards before you go.