Dude so glad you listed inside cabins as one way to save money. We always book inside cabins and then usually 8-10 weeks out we usually get an offer to upgrade to a Balcony most of the time for like $30 extra a day....
And I actually prefer interior cabins. I like to sleep in pitch black and interior rooms are great for that. Plus, I am out on the decks all day, I don’t find I need a balcony for the small amount of time I’m actually in my room because if I need outside time, I just get outside. I’m sure that’ll change as I get older but I believe saving half of the price of the cruise is worth it
@@xocaitlinnpattz I’m older. I still prefer inside cabins. I’ve stayed in balcony cabins and didn’t spent 15 total minutes out there. It’s a better view on deck
Cruise on an older, smaller ship, while school is in session. Bring your sodas in a 12 can pack with a bottle of wine. You can make a wine spritzer and carry it to the MDR. Big tip for coffee drinkers: Bring a large, Yeti type insulated mug, and when the boss sends you out for coffee in the AM, you only have to make one trip and avoid warm, room service coffee. Works for us!
One way I save money and still get a premium bang for the buck on Holland America is to book an inside cabin and then book a Retreat Cabana. The price is per cabana, not per person. there are two and four person cabanas. Each cabana has two paded lounge chairs a small table and fresh fruit every day. They offer butler service which allows for taking breakfast and lunch in the Retreat. Drink packages are also good in your cabana. Least I forget a bottle of Champaign is also served daily. They offer a good measure of privacy. I always book for the entire cruise as many times you will get a discount especially on longer cruises The price for this kind of service is way less expensive than paying for a balcony cabin with none of the perks.
On Royal, we always get the Key, because it includes internet, a Chops Steak lunch, priority embarkation, plus many other amenities. When I add all of that up, I think it as a good value. Also, I have had the Royal Caribbean Visa and use that for everything...love the double points on cruise fare and Sea to Air airline tickets. NY son does not use a credit card, so when he makes expensive purchases, I pay with the card AFTER he has handed over the cash for it! In 15 years, I have earned 4 free seven day cruise just with redeeming these points!.
I base drink packages on the number of sea days and port days. We don’t drink a lot of alcohol so for us on a 7 day cruise with a majority of port days a drink package is a big waste of money regardless of alcoholic drinks. Now, on a longer cruise say an 18 day that we have coming up with many sea days, yes, it makes sense to have a drinks package as we will be having many soft drinks, special coffees and a few cocktails. Thanks for your content!
On carnival if you don’t use all of your on board credits you can buy a gift card at cherry on top candy store and use it on your next cruise. Or you can apply it towards the cost of the next cruise.
We became aarp members and utilize the gift cards they sell. 10% discount on $100 and $500 gift cards and can be used for anything carnival sells. 5 year membership was $65 and we’ve received far more than that in discounts since last fall.
I would say go with a travel agent along with a group package. The cruise lines will give a better deal for larger groups than for smaller ones. Plus I've gotten a bigger onboard spending credit with a travel agent. Interior rooms or ocean view cabins are to me the best choice
Book last minute. You can often find great deals if you book after final payment date. They tend to jack prices down if they are trying to fill their remaining cabins.
Does this also apply to his tip of calling about the lower rate after booking? This kinda happened to my parents when they cruised, they ended up getting upgraded to a balcony room for the cost of their ocean view room
GREAT content!! Thank you! I have cruised before but so many extra tips on your channel that I’ll be using on my next in August aboard the new Carnival Venezia. Now even more excited!
If you're concerned about best value for your money, especially as a moderate drinker, I recommend getting the Refreshment Package and buying the alcoholic drinks a la carte. The Refreshmant Package is the name for Royal Caribbean's non-alcoholic drink package but most of the cruise lines should have something like it. The package includes all the non-alcoholic drinks in the Deluxe Package. It usually goes from $18 - $23. If you don't drink more than about four alcoholic drinks per day, every day, you'll end up saving a lot more than waiting for the Deluxe Package to get less expensive.
Even better, buy no drink package on RCL. I was very happy with the juice and lemonade available on RCL, and with dinner you can get any non-alcoholic drink you want. That's my plan for my next cruise.
that's a good idea. i will do that. I bought the refreshment package before and loved it. So on the my next cruise I bought the deluxe package for a nine day cruise and by day five I was forcing myself to drink alcoholic beverages. Needless to say, I didn't get my money's worth.
I book my trip about 18 months in advance . sure it maybe awhile to wait to vacation . but i can make monthly payments and as you said sometimes i lower price will come along and you can still get a better deal. I do like to book shore excursions but i found to save money that lots of them come with a meal say if you like a 6 hour one . just a thought
If you have a drink package, make sure you are getting bottled waters, or soda if that is your preference from the bar the day before a in port day. Place in fridge, and have cold water to go into port with the next day..
Book early and check prices often. We just saved. $1800 on our 2024 sailing. We took that savings and booked another 2k. We got an additional cruise for $200 out of pocket..lol
@@craigsouder9334 okay, I didnt know if there was a specific way you bring it up or if you just say hey price went down and I was wondering if I could get refunded since I paid more
On Carnival you can make a reservation for the steak house and other paid restaurants prior to departing for cheaper prices than if you were to walk into the restaurant or try to reserve a spot when you board
One more comment- we discovered that the Carnival Venezia (& Horizon) have Deluxe Oceanview. VERY good value apart from Interior cabin. It has 1 FULL bathroom & a 2nd separate bathroom with small bathtub & sink [no 2nd toilet though] ideal for families with young kids) we booked an ocean view for our 3 teens and my husband & I in an interior directly across from them. And we found it the BEST ‘price per day’ value & sailing for 10-days on this new Italian themed ship.
I didn't know this until my last vacation but Yankee Trails offers rides from their bus depot to your ship, and they pick you up when you come back! We got a ride from my mom to the bus depot and she picked us up when we came back on the bus. We saved a lot of money and a headache not having to drive to the ship terminal and figure out parking.
I like most all of this except the currency thing. Don't use credit cards. If you can't read peso or don't check things they can easily scam you. Friend of mine bought a $15 item and got charged an hour later for 165 and wasn't able to dispute due to signing
If your a smoker usually cigarettes are cheaper. I was able to get 4 cartons of cigarettes for $150. Which would have costed $320 to get the same amount of cigarettes back home.
Do not buy drink package. Order bottle water from cruise ship, pay as you go and order drinks of the day. Bring your 12 pack of soda and bottle of wine 🍷 on your embarkation day. Attend events at jewelry or spa that may offer you a free drink. Volunteer for hair demonstration specially on formal night. If you like a specific coffee, bring the small sacks (10 in a small box) and prepare your own coffee with hot water. This also applies to tea. You can also bring crystal light and have a different flavor each night with your water.
It can be a little rough. Royal Caribbean has a search for transatlantic/pacific trips. Others, if you select a ship you can search for its cruises. Then select departure ports and it will usually show only where that ship sails. It take a little work, but you can eventually find the cruise that leads from one port to the other.
Go to the Vacations to Go website and search for Repositioning Cruises. It is a separate category. Just I put the dates and areas you are interested in. We had a back to back cruise in 2019 on HAL Nieuw Statendam where we flew to Rome, did the eastern Mediterranean and did a repositioning back to the US, via the Azores. Great place to visit and the repositioning part was about the same cost as a flight home and more relaxing! No jet lag! Heartily recommend a Repositioning cruise!
@@migherbert441 They also have ship information on virtually every ship. Deck plans, photos, tipping criteria, etc. Just click on the cruise line, and find your ship and click on it.
Carnival Corporation (Princess, P&O, Holland America, etc) and Royal Caribbean Corp (includes Celebrity) also do this. The amount of OBC depends on the length of the cruise.
This was pretty entertaining I think I was on the ecstasy. Sooo that camera is pretty close. It almost feels 3D and your nose is extending 2 feet from the tv. And I have to walk around it instead of just walking past the front of the screen
When you pay by credit card and you have auto notification of what charge went to your card carnival cruise will charge you per day a certain amount but it actually does not charge to your credit card. I had this problem last year and I disputed the charges but they were never actually charged to my credit card Creating a false charge. But because of the pandemic I was never actually able to talk to anybody because everything was remote and they were not able to take phone calls only emails which I am unable to do. I’m new to computers anyways be aware if you get charged on a credit card it may not be a real charge but a hold on your credit card. FYI
