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A cruise offers lots of temptations in an attempt to separate you from your hard-earned cash. If you travel as a family, those costs can add up quickly. But I believe you can have a fabulous cruise experience without giving in to extra costs. How do you cruise on a budget? Follow my lead!
Cruise on a Budget: Food Options
Your ticket price includes all your meals. Most ships offer a variety of options – buffet, dining room, late-night snacks, all-day ice cream and pizza, etc. Food is available all day and night.
Cruise ships entice you to pay extra for their fancy restaurants, Chef’s table, or room service. Don’t do it! Plenty of fabulous food is served in the dining room. Want two appetizers? Three entrees? Four desserts? On our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean, the dinner menu featured exotic appetizers like escargots (don’t tell me you make those for yourself every night!) and staples such as steak. You won’t fit in your clothes but you can have as much or as little as you want. Enjoy it!
Cruise on a Budget: Beverage Packages
Your ticket price includes the basics – coffee, tea (including iced tea), water, and some rotating juices (orange, apple, etc.). The variety isn’t huge but the drink machines at various spots throughout the ship are available 24/7. You won’t die of thirst.
Need a little variety? Consider purchasing one of the beverage packages, and if you pre-purchase a package, you can frequently find it for 20% off. The lowest cost package features unlimited sodas for $8 per day (I want to say it was $5.95 per day if pre-purchased). On Royal Caribbean, you receive a cup that you can use on the Coca-Cola Freestyle — you select your mix. Machines were conveniently placed throughout the ship. I tried using one of the juice cups and they do not work on the coke machines (I’m guessing it has to do with weight or height of the cup).
For the middle of the road guest, a refreshment package offers soda, Starbucks (in case you can’t function without your Starbucks fix!), bottled water, and fancy juice drinks for $26 per day.
Want alcohol? You’ll have to upgrade, but the highest level includes premium and mixed drinks. The cost of the premium drink package on our June 2017 cruise on Royal Caribbean was $44 per day, which included all the lesser packages. Our group affectionately called this the “drunk” package. Consider that beers cost about $7 each and mixed drinks sell for $12 each. You’ll need to do the math to determine if a package makes sense for one, some, or all in your group.
Keep in mind that individual drinks can be purchased using your cabin card (assuming you’ve authorized charges). Drink packages purchased at least 48 hours prior to departure feature a 20% discount. Packages are only available on the first day or so of your cruise, so double-check the deadline if you’re unsure.
Drink packages work on the cruise line’s private islands – so consider getting one if you’re itinerary includes such a stop.
Cruise on a Budget: Internet
Can you give up the internet for a few days? If not, you’ll be paying a high price for WiFi. For an extra $8 per day on the premium beverage package, you can link one appliance to Royal Caribbean’s Zoom (Wi-Fi). Purchasing WiFi on Royal Caribbean was approximately $19.95/day once onboard. But coverage was spotty at best since it depended on a satellite. Most land destinations will have free Wi-Fi, say at a restaurant, so just wait for a stop to catch up on Facebook or your emails.
Cruise on a Budget: Research the Excursions
Cruise ships make a lot of money from selling excursions — aren’t you tempted with all the fabulous opportunities? I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), so this temptation was great for me. The advantage of booking through the ship is that they guarantee that you will be back before the ship sails or they will arrange for your return. The drawback is that you cannot get a refund if you change your mind.
Another option is to book directly with a tour company — you’ll risk whether or not they can return you on time. If you research, you can find reputable companies that offer cheaper alternatives. Just make sure there is a guarantee about what happens if you don’t make it back to the cruise before it sails away (because they will leave without you!).
But the true secret is that you don’t have to pay for any excursions! Yes, I said it! For most stops, you can wander into town on your own feet, with some port shuttle, or even taxis or local buses. Search the travel boards whether your stop is a safe place – for example, stops in Jamaica do not recommend you wander on your own. But if you’re in Nassau, Bahamas, you’ll be near lots of shopping, restaurants and tourist attractions just off the dock. Check out what we did in Nassau while spending very little.
Cruise on a Budget: Consider the Extras
Don’t blame the cruise company for trying to make a buck, but you can avoid giving them one of yours!
Those cute little shops? Don’t even enter them! Do you really need a fancy watch or sapphire earrings? NO! Duty-free liquor or goodies? NO! Cheap little jewelry or gold chain by the inch? NO! The best way to avoid all of it is to not even enter those shops.
Stay away from the casino! You know the house has the advantage, right? Make sure you have something to occupy your time so that you aren’t tempted to entertain yourself by gambling. There are free daily activities throughout the ship – participate in those.
And those photographers you see set up everywhere? Don’t pose for them! Yes, they’re unavoidable at times since photographers are always around, but if you don’t go look at them at the photo gallery, you won’t buy a $29 photo. Of course, if you do want to succumb to some of that temptation, consider pre-purchasing the all-included package at a discount that allows one person in the cabin to get all the photos that have been taken during the trip of your group.
A cruise is a great way to budget your vacation. Reservations usually require a minimal deposit as long as the balance is paid in full 90 days before sailing, allowing you to pay monthly or with other expected funds without going into debt. Pre-purchasing services makes the most sense if you do find you want a drink package or photos. Keep in mind that there is a daily tip charge on most cruise ships that will be charged daily, so you will have to pay for that on your trip. It is usually a percentage of your cabin rate, but they are clearly advertised on the websites. Make sure you plan for this expense if you don’t want to put it on your credit card. We even planned a cruise for our high school reunion.
A cruise is a great way to see several places without having to move and pack up, spend time with your family or friends, and budget for your vacation. You can see the full details of the cost involved with our Southern Caribbean Cruise. Just be smart about what you can afford and plan accordingly so that you’re not still paying for your vacation long after you return!
Happy travels!
Annick, The Common Traveler
Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. As an empty-nester, Annick enjoys sharing her tips for traveling for those with champagne taste and beer budgets.
I always spend extra on a good glass of wine. Make it a bottle! It’s fun to do it while on a cruise. Seeing the nice view with a nice glass of wine in your hand.
I love these practical tips. Makes me feel i might be able to afford a cruise trip after all. No point taking these luxury dinner on a cruise. I am happy with the luxury stay as it is. And paying extra forbeverage when free tea and coffee is available is just absurd.
Great tips. I’ve taken about 20 cruises and other than the destinations that are far from the ship, I tend to do my own thing on shore. Hop on hop off buses are great. And I agree about the beverage packages. Once you do the math, you’ll know if it makes sense.
I love hop on hop off buses too!
I have been to couple of cruises and totally agree to your post. These are some very practical and useful tips. I would definitely like to save on beverage packages and excursions.
They’re such a big expense if you don’t plan it right.
You have some great money-saving tips here! The beverage packages sure are a great way of saving some money but it’s even better if you could smuggle some drinks on board 🙂 It is good to know that there are lot of food options and some drinks included in your cruise tickets. Thank you for sharing these tips, it’s a great starting point for anyone planning to go on a cruise.
They make a lot of money from the drinks! And of course then you let your guard down …
Love a good cruise but the expense is just enormous once you add everything up. Want this? Add more? Want that? Add even more! But great tips here and its great if you’re on a budget. Love that they encourage drinking but enticing you with free wifi for 1 device! I’m a go with the flow kind of traveller so at port I always prefer to wonder on my own instead of jumping on a tour. And yes, stay far, far away from the casino!
So many ports can be explored on your own!
These are all fantastic tips indeed! The beverage packages offering can be a great way to save on alcoholic beverages. And oh yes – the excursions with the cruise ship are expensive and whilst they guarantee you to get back to the ship on time… there are so many great companies on shore that would have had the experience of doing tours with the cruise so totally agree with you to do research on this!
I’ve been on probably at least 10 cruises over the years, and I completely agree with your tips! The drink packages aren’t expensive at all, if you’re a big drinker, and if not, the individual drinks don’t cost any more than they do in any other big city in the US. And as for excursions, I love exploring the little islands and towns we dock at. My favorite way (when possible) is to rent a scooter and scoot around the island so I can explore more places than if I were on foot! Cruises are such an easy and relaxing way to vacation, and perfect for families that don’t feel like putting in the work to plan an entire trip!
Great tips on saving money while traveling in Cruise. It is good to know that there are lot of food options and some drinks included in your cruise tickets. A great tip on excursion about wandering on our own in safe tourist zones. I too love explore the places on my own. Also, I agree that those photographers always charge too high and we should avoid posing in front of them.
I have traveled on a cruise ship just once and must say the extras can really count up a few $$$$$. There are some great tips here that you have shared which should help in not spending too much . The packages to boost that extra special drinks is a helpful one to start with . As we all so hooked on to the internet these days an extra $8 per day on the premium beverage package, you can link one appliance to Royal Caribbean’s Zoom (Wi-Fi) is a great win I must say . Some great tips here thanks
You are so right. A cruise definitely offers many temptations. Alcohol is one of the biggest and was not aware that one could explore buying a package. Liked the tag you gave “drunk” package. Haha. Would definitely want to wait to get free Wi-Fi. That is another way to stay connection free and enjoy the cruise 🙂 Thanks for the tips about the shops and casinos. Yes, its always a good idea to stay away from these to save the money and manage the cruise budget. From this post, its does seem possible to avoid spending extra on a cruise.
These are great tips. Its crazy how much they charge for pictures or drinks and the wifi fee is ridiculous. I say you are on vacation disconnect and just use the free stuff like you suggested. Oh and I totally agree with the food there is no need to pay for any when so much is available that is already included. No one ever goes hungry on a cruise.
I’ve gained so much weight on cruises! Lol!
I’ve been on a cruise before and wish I would’ve read your tips back then, the additional costs can be really sneaky and trick first timers. I would probably indulge in the beverage package again, but thats about it – it’s nice to have a break from the internet during your vacation!
Yes, we enjoyed the break too!
I have never been on a cruise and had no idea how many additional costs were involved. The Wifi price alone is crazy! Thanks for sharing these tips, I guess planning ahead when you are cruising is the way to go. That way you budget properly and you don’t have unexpected fees that are more expensive on the spot. I would probably need to get the drink package haha and no one needs a 30$ photo! Crazy. Great tips for saving money on a cruise.
Knowledge is power in this case!
I can give up wifi while in a cruise! It is a perfect opportunity to enjoy the whole cruise and meet new acquiantances and possible new friends aboard. Use the smartphone for tons of photos!
I’ve been on more than 30 cruises and can vouch for every word in here. I see so many people, however, falling into the sales trap that is so easy to fall into! The only thing that I might add is that on some cruise lines (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity to name at least two), you can actually bring two bottles of wine on to the ship to drink in your room – they will even give you glasses! (As long as you don’t bring it to a public area to drink it, there is no corkage fee. Thanks for helping to spread the word … I’m sharing on G+ and Pinterest for you.
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