Did you know there are tons of ways to save money on cruises? When I took my first cruise a few years ago, I was shocked at how much it cost! I always thought cruising was a cheap way to travel. And the good news is that it can be if you follow these tips.
Consider the Season
Sure, you want to set sail during spring break or summer vacation. But so does everyone else, and the prices reflect that. If you have flexibility and want to save money on cruises, set sail during the off-season or the shoulder season:
| Cruise Destination | High Season | Low Season | Low Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | June July August | April October | May September |
| Caribbean | June July August December | September October January February | March April May November |
| Mediterranean | June July August | November December January February | March April September October |
But before you decide to sail outside the high season, make sure you know what you are getting into. For example, the hurricane threat is high in the Caribbean in the months of September and October. This is why cruise prices can be so low during this time. Make sure you understand how the weather during your travel month may impact your cruise. Just do a simple Google search with the terms “cruising [destination] in [month]” and see what pops up.
Book Early
You have probably heard you can save money on cruises if you wait until the last minute. And that’s true to some degree. If you are super flexible and can sail within a few days notice, then you might be able to book a cruise at rock bottom pricing. However, you will just get whatever cruise line, ship, cabin, and ports of call that are available when you want to travel.
It’s far better to book super early, right when the cruise line releases their schedules. This way you get your choice of everything at the lowest prices possible. Cruise prices goes up as inventory goes down, so booking early gets you the best pricing. And you just have to pay the deposit to lock in your cruise. Some cruise lines have refundable deposits or allow you to move your deposit to another sailing. But make sure you understand your cruise line’s policy before you book.
And the absolute best way to save money on cruises is to book your next cruise while you are on a cruise! Almost all cruise lines will give you discounts or perks when you commit to spending your future vacations with them. You can expect to get things like stateroom credit, reduced deposit requirement, cabin upgrades, reduced cruise pricing, etc. Better yet, you can book a specific cruise or just put a deposit down for an unspecified cruise in the future. You will get better perks for committing to a specific cruise. But book an unspecified cruise if you don’t want to tie yourself down. Especially if you know you want to cruise again.
Select an Inside Stateroom
If you really want to sail at rock bottom prices no matter what time of year, book an inside stateroom. I know, I know. The thought of a small, dark room is depressing. But it can save you hundreds of dollars, and how much will you be in the room anyway? Instead, use the ships’ public spaces for your views. Then enjoy the best sleep of your life in a room without any natural light to wake you up too early in the morning!
Select a Guaranteed Cabin
If you don’t care about where your room is on the ship, you can save money on cruises by booking a guaranteed cabin. You pay a lower price for a certain category of room, but you don’t get to select the location of your room. Instead, the cruise line will place you wherever they have room. But they guarantee that you will get the type of room you booked or something better.
So you if you want a balcony room, you can book a guaranteed balcony at a lower rate. Even better, you can book a guaranteed inside stateroom. Then you might get lucky and be assigned to an ocean view or balcony cabin.
This trick isn’t for everyone, though. If you suffer from motion sickness, you may want to select a cabin in the midship area rather than in the front or the back of the ship. With a guaranteed cabin, you have no say in the matter. You also might be placed in a guaranteed room near noisy spaces on the ship, so you have to be OK with that as well.
Watch Out for Add-Ons
Sure, that advertised cruise rate may look pretty cheap, but you need to consider what it covers. Most cruises include lodging; meals in their main dining room and buffet; tea, lemonade, water, and drip coffee; and on-board entertainment like shows, comedians, music ensembles, etc.
But many cruise lines have added a ton of extras you can purchase. There are specialty restaurants, drinks packages, special entertainment, and more that come with high price tags. And shore excursions are almost always not included. Know exactly what you are buying with your initial cruise fare. And avoid the temptation to add some of these extra things without carefully considering their benefit to your experience.
Do the Math on the Drinks Package
Most cruise lines only offer basic beverages such as water, tea, lemonade, and drip coffee as part of your cruise fare. If you are a soda drinker or like fancy coffees, the cost of these will be added to your bill. And if cruising to you is sitting on the pool deck sipping a frozen fruity alcoholic beverage, just know that each one will set you back about $12!
Alcohol Drink Package
You may wonder if one of the widely advertised cruise drink packages are a good deal. And they may be, but you must do the math. I know, math stinks, but it’s the only way you can really tell if you will save money, or at least break even. First, know that you will usually be required to purchase an alcohol drink package for every adult in the room, even if they don’t drink. And you are purchasing the package for the entire cruise, even days when you will be away from the ship for the entire day.
On cruises, cocktails are typically $12, house wine is $10, and beer is usually $8 per serving. So if you are sailing with another adult on a 7 day cruise and enjoy cocktails: $60 per person per day x 7 day cruise x 2 adults = $840. Then take the $840 total price / $12 per cocktail = 70 cocktails, 35 per person, 7 cocktails per day.
Will you consume at least 7 drinks per day every day of your cruise? Do you even want to? If the answer is yes, the drinks package will help you save money on cruises. If not, just buy the drinks you want when you want them!
Other Drink Packages
Cruise lines often offer a variety of other non-alcohol drink packages as well. Some simply include a just a certain number of bottled waters delivered to your cabin during the cruise. Others are soda-only packages. Still others allow you to get any type of beverage other than alcohol on the trip – that includes those fancy coffees, milkshakes, smoothies, mocktails, fresh-squeezed juices, etc. Cruise pricing for non-alcohol drinks are usually about $3 for bottled water, $4 for soda, $5-10 for specialty coffee, and $8 for mocktails and smoothies.
Whether this will save you money on cruises is questionable. Again, you will have to do the math on these. If you hate to drink tap water, drink soda all day long, and/or have a Starbucks habit, you may find these packages are worth the money. After all, it’s easier to drink a ton of soda and water than it is to drink a lot of alcoholic beverages. Here are some general rules of thumb for these packages:
- Water-only packages typically cost you the same as buying bottle water at the bars on board, so it’s wash. If you plan to buy water, then buy the package.
- If you drink at least 4 sodas a day, buy the soda package.
- If you think you will drink drink a fancy coffee in the morning, a soda with lunch, a few bottles of water during the day, perhaps a mocktail or two by the pool, and then another soda with dinner, you will probably benefit from the more comprehensive beverage package offered by the cruise line.
Bring On Your Own Drinks
One great way to save money on cruises is BYOB! Did you know that almost every cruise line lets you bring on a certain amount of your own drinks? This can be bottled water, sodas, and even alcoholic beverages. Here’s a basic rundown of some of the most popular cruise line allowances:
- Carnival – one 750 mL bottle of wine per person at embarkation; 12 x 330 ml cans or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages
- Disney Cruise Line – two 750 mL bottle of wine per person at embarkation and in each port of call; no limit for non-alcoholic beverages
- Holland America – unlimited bottles of wine allowed, but there’s a corkage fee of $20 per bottle no matter where the wine is consumed; 12 x 500 ml or 6 x 1 liter of bottled water is allowed
- Norwegian – unlimited bottles of wine (any size), but there’s a corkage fee of $15-30 depending on the size of wine; no non-alcoholic beverages allowed
- Princess – one 750 mL bottle of wine per person at embarkation with no corkage fee if consumed in your cabin; additional bottles are allowed with a $20 corkage fee no matter where they are consumed, no limit for non-alcoholic beverages
- Royal Caribbean – one 750 mL bottle of wine per person at embarkation; 12 x 500 mL bottles or cans of non-alcoholic beverages
Think Twice about Booking the Cruise Line’s Excursions
Cruise line excursions are often a lot more expensive than booking the same excursion from a third party provider. But people are often coerced into booking them because they hear that booking with a third party means that the ship won’t wait for you if there’s a problem getting back to the port before the ship sails way. And this is true – the ship won’t wait for stragglers. But what’s also true is that it is unlikely that the ship also won’t wait for stragglers booked on their own excursions. The guarantee is that the cruise line will get you to the next port. They don’t specify how they will do it. You are just as likely to have to take a flight or another ship to the next destination. It will be free, but just as inconvenient.
Instead, look for third party companies that also provide this same guarantee. Also read their Trip Advisor reviews before booking. I promise that if the company routinely missed the boat, they will be poorly rated and the comments will be scathing! And the benefit of going with a third party is that the group size is often smaller.
Make the Most of Included Food & Entertainment
Don’t think you need to spring for the specialty restaurants and entertainment on a cruise. If you aren’t really a foodie and don’t eat at a lot of fancy restaurants, you will find the main dining experience on most cruise lines quite satisfactory. You will get an appetizer, main dish, and dessert, and you can choose from a lot of options each day. And if you can’t decide, your server will happily bring you more than one selection in each category.
Most cruise lines have added all sorts of activities you can pay for, such as various types of classes, sports experiences, escape rooms, spa treatments, etc. But the free activity options will usually be just fine for most cruisers. This is especially if you have not sailed on that particular ship before. It’s all new to you! Make sure you carefully consider how the cost of the special activity will make your cruising experience better before you sign up
Book Extras During Specials
If you just have to book a spa treatment, cruise shore excursion, eat an a specialty restaurant, get a drinks package, etc. wait for sales. If your cruise happens after Black Friday, definitely check the cruise line’s website then for specials. They often offer the lowest prices of the year on extras during the annual Black Friday event.
Also know that you can book things, then cancel and rebook them when prices drop. It’s worth checking the cruise line’s website at least weekly between the time you book your cruise until departure to monitor prices.
It’s also possible that the cruise line will hold sales for certain activities during your sailing. These are common when things don’t sell as well as the cruise line would like in advance. So if you aren’t 100% sure you want to do something, it’s often worth waiting and possibly saving money on it later.
Budget for Gratuities & Insurance
The advertised cruise fare you see is not the final price you pay. The total price includes either pre-paid gratuities at booking or added to your account daily during the cruise. These gratuities are approximately $15 per person per day. The money collected is then distributed by the cruise line to cabin stewards, bartenders, baggage handlers, dining staff, and other employees on board.
To save money on cruises, you can ask to have these automatic gratuities taken off your bill. But remember that cruise ships are often registered in countries that have no required minimum wage. Cruise staff are likely far less compensated for their work than you think they are and certainly what they deserve. In fact, I always pre-pay gratuities then bring cash to give a little extra to those who go above and beyond. And that’s almost everyone! I advocate for saving money on cruises using the other suggestions in this post and giving extra tips to all the people who make your vacation enjoyable.
The other extra expense to consider is insurance. Most cruises are non-refundable after final payment is due 60-90 days before departure. And if you experience unexpected delays getting to the port, the ship won’t be waiting for you. Also, medical services on ships is expensive. And the need to be airlifted to a hospital from the middle of the ocean can be financially devastating to most people. So make sure to budget for insurance. And don’t buy the policy offered by the cruise line. That policy only covers you while one the cruise, not all the things that can happen while you make your way to and from the cruise port. Check out this page for a quick insurance quote.
Pack the Toiletries & Medicines You Need
On most vacations, it’s really easy to stop by a supermarket or drug store and pick up any toiletries or over-the-counter medications you forgot to pack. And you can usually buy anything you need on a cruise as well. However, those supplies come at a premium when bought on board! So double and triple check your toiletry bag and medical kit to make sure you have what you need. Also check out our posts on packing the best toiletry kit, a medical kit, and some specific things you need for a cruise.
Be a Joiner
Once you select your cruise, make sure that you have joined that cruise line loyalty program. Doing so might provide special perks like coupons for drinks or activities on your first trip. But even if it doesn’t provide perks from the very beginning, over time you will receive valuable rewards for sailing with that cruise line. Even if you aren’t partial to just one cruise line, join up. These loyalty programs are free to join and you never know when you might sail that line again.
Another thing to join is the Cruise Critic Roll Call for your particular cruise. This is your opportunity to meet and chat with other people who have booked the same cruise on the same dates as you. Being involved in a community like this will help you find new ideas of saving money on cruises. For example, I joined a small group tour of Pompeii with others in my Roll Call group at a much lower cost than the cruise excursion that would have been a much larger group. These groups are also a good way to hear about sales the cruise line is running on things like specialty restaurants, drinks packages, excursions, etc.
If you prefer to connect with other cruises via social media, there are definitely plenty of opportunities. Often someone has set up a Facebook group for your particular sailing – just search for the ship names and dates. Or you can join a general group for that particular cruise line, or that cruise line for departures in a particular month. There’s lots of ways to connect with others and share money saving tips.
Pay with Discounted Gift Cards
I love a good gift card hack, and this is one of them. Did you know that you can purchase cruise line gift cards and pay for your cruise with them? Better yet, did you know that you can often get these gift cards at a discount? It’s true!
Discounted gift cards are often available at Sam’s Club and Costco. But the biggest discounts you will find are available at AARP. You can get 10% off of gifts cards for several different cruise lines using AARP Rewards. You do have to be a member of AARP, but you don’t have to be old to be a member! Anyone at any age can join AARP for $16 per year. If you have a cruise planned on one of the lines with discounted gift cards in the AARP Rewards portal, it is certainly worth joining for a year!
Use a Travel Agent
You might think that using a travel agent will cost you more, but this is not true. One of the best ways to save money on cruises is to use a travel agent. You don’t pay a travel agent a dime when you book a cruise. Instead, they make commission from the cruise line directly. And you don’t pay less when booking a cruise directly from the cruise line. The line just pockets the difference. So you might as well use an agent!
But how can an agent save you money? They have access to special prices and can often provide you incentives to book with them. Agents are also a great source of information for shore excursions, travel insurance, cruise lines, staterooms, etc. They can help you make the most of the money you are spending to go on a cruise.
Looking for a travel agent who specializes in cruising? Look no further than our very own Cruise Expert Amanda Drum! Email her, or fill out this form to let her know what you are looking for. She can both help you save money on your cruises and help book the experience of your dreams!
