A cruise vacation can be a wonderful, relaxing, nearly
all-inclusive experience (getting all of your onboard meals, accommodations, all
onboard entertainment, and transportation to various ports of call included in
your cruise fare) – but unless you have booked on a luxury line (a la Seabourn,
Oceania or Regent Seven Seas), do keep in mind the key word NEARLY, as each of
the other lines do charge for various experiences and add-ons that are not
included in your cruise fare. Today we’ll
take a look at just a few of these items, and how you might save money with
each one while onboard the ship.
Once onboard, you’ll find that ships today have a wide
array of add-on or “plussing” that you can do to enhance your vacation
experience. Whether that includes
shopping, dining in specialty restaurants vs. the traditional dining rooms,
enjoying alcoholic beverages, shore excursions or playing your favorite games
in the casino (for those ships that have one)… saving money onboard really
boils down to what YOU deem to be necessary or not to the betterment of your
vacation experience.
Generally, the following categories, while nice
enhancements to your fun – aren’t very good overall values onboard, and could
save you a lot of money if you avoid them.
However, if you absolutely cannot skip them – there are a few tips in
each one that might help you at least improve the overall value for you, and
reduce your personal expense.
1. Onboard Photographers
In the days before digital cameras, onboard photography was
a huge money maker for the cruise lines, as they would each staff their ships
with multiple roaming photographers, capturing the crowds every night, and then
printing out every decent image putting it on display in their photo galleries
for all to see and peruse. Many guests
would then buy multiple shots to take home as souvenirs from their cruise
experience. But with the advent of
digital photography, not as many guests are buying the photos any more, despite
the cruise lines still printing them and putting them on display. The cost of each print has risen through the
years, with the average cost of an 8x10 image hovering around $10. Nevermind that guests can take very similar
shots of their own with their own cameras, and then print them at home at their
local drug store or big box store for around $1 each – or less, depending on
the size. Guests can very easily take
hundreds, if not thousands of their own photos.
The packages on board aren’t worth the extra cost, in my opinion. Selecting one or two images from the onboard
photographers can still make for a nice souvenir memory, without breaking the
bank.
2. Casinos
Playing a slot machine every now and again can be a fun
way to spend a few dollars, but beware, onboard casinos generally do not pay
out as handsomely as land-based casinos do (but then, Las Vegas doesn’t even
pay out as much as it once did). While
it can be said that some people in the past have succeed in winning big
jackpots onboard ships, most of the time it just doesn’t happen. If you choose to partake of the gaming
opportunities onboard, set a very strict limit for yourself, and do not exceed
it. Determine what you are willing to
lose before you ever step foot onboard, and then if and when it happens, don’t
let yourself be disappointed. However, if
you then decide it’s okay to exceed your pre-determined limit, you will a) be disappointed
and b) start to rack up extra costs that you did not budget for in your
vacation calculation, and you will be spending more than you bargained
for. The best way to save money onboard
a ship with a casino, is simply to not enter the casino in the first
place.
3. Gratuities
Just as they are on land in table service restaurants and
so many other places, gratuities and service charges are a part of cruising.
You should pay the recommended daily amount and no more or less. Every single drink
and specialty restaurant meal that you sign for already includes a service charge
added to the price. Unless you
absolutely feel that an extra tip is warranted, don’t write in an extra amount
in the space that you will see for an additional tip. You have already paid the
service charge, so there is no reason to pay an additional tip. If you do want to give a crewmember a special
tip you should hand it to them in cash very discretely. Any gratuities that you give by signing a tab
or charge slip will most likely be put into a pool and shared by all the people
in that department. Even though
pre-paying your gratuities is not saving money, in doing so, you are lessening
the outlay that you must make while onboard ship. Since all cruise lines require full payment
about 60 days prior to departure (a few are 75-90 days), your vacation is essentially paid in full
months before you even leave port.
Anything that you do onboard then is extra and must be paid for prior to
disembarking the ship. It is easier to
just pre-pay the gratuities, funding that cost with the overall cruise fare,
and not having to worry about an additional outlay while onboard ship.
4. The Spa
The Spa is a wonderful place for an indulgence; however,
we must recognize that cruise ships generally charge higher spa prices than
many of the tony resorts and spas on land, and much higher prices than some of
the newer massage franchises like Massage Envy. Expect to pay as much as $125
for a 60-minute massage, two to three times what a professional massage
therapist will charge on land.
To get the most out of your spa appointment we suggest
booking a morning appointment. Most masseuses onboard work all day, and they
get tired. Because of their busy schedule they also do not work as hard as many
land-based massage therapists. The standard massage treatment on a cruise ship
is a "Swedish Massage," also known as "classic massage."
You should know that Swedish is a style of massage that does not necessarily
focus on deep tissue work. It involves long, flowing strokes, rubbing and
kneading. But if you have a knot in your neck or under your shoulder blade what
you need is deep tissue work. If you
want a therapeutic massage its suggested that you ask for a deep tissue massage.
A great way to save money is to schedule
your massage for a day when the ship is in port, as many cruise lines discount
the spa services on port days – sometimes as much as 50% vs. sea days.
Another aspect of cruise ship massage sessions is the hard
sell at the end of the session for additional products and services such as
lotions, bath salts, and more. There is
no stopping this, so there’s not need to be upset by it. Simply be polite and let them know that you
understand it is their job to offer these products and services, but let them
know that you won’t be purchasing them… you’ll just be enjoying the afterglow
of your massage, and then be on your way. Then thank them and leave. Also be sure to watch out for available
services such as “fat burning wraps” that claim to take off inches from your
body immediately, at very high prices.
They don’t work, and you’ll be burning the money in your pocket faster
than the wraps claim they can take fat off your body.
5. Beverages –
Both Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic
While onboard ship, many people enjoy partaking of a few
drinks, and the cruise lines certainly do make it easy with multiple bars and
lounges scattered about, and wandering servers carrying trays of beverages just
waiting to be purchased. Add in the “drink
of the day” that the ships offer, and wham, the availability is very
prevalent. But be warned…drinks onboard
ship can be very expensive, and your bar bill can add up very quickly if you
are not careful.
Some cruise lines do allow you to bring your own alcohol
onboard – but you must know the rules in order to be successful with this. For example, Royal Caribbean will allow you
to bring one bottle of wine or other alcohol onboard to be consumed in your
room. Disney Cruise Line will also allow
you to bring it onboard to be consumed in your room. As will the ships owned by the Carnival
Corporation – Carnival, Cunard, Princess, Holland America & Costa). Each line will have a corkage fee if you take
the bottle in to the dining room for dinner.
No lines allow you to consume alcohol that you bring onboard in public
spaces (other than the dining room).
Many cruise lines offer drink packages where you can drink
as much as you want for a set amount per day. Some of these packages are for alcoholic
beverages, while others are for non-alcoholic beverages such as soft
drinks. Each line is different in what
they offer, but if you consume multiple beverages in a day at a la carte
pricing, you will very likely save money by going with the offered
package. With the exception of the
luxury lines, Disney Cruise Line is the only one to provide soft drinks
included in the cruise fare.
Be advised that it is not wise to attempt to skirt the
rules regarding bringing prohibited beverages onboard ship. Luggage is x-rayed prior to embarkation, and
the cruise lines will remove any contraband beverages that they find, holding
it in the ship’s storage, until disembarkation when you will receive it back
again.
6. Internet Access
Internet access is by far the newest money maker for the
cruise lines, as more and more people who go on vacation, are unable to
completely disconnect from their lives at home.
From the vast array of electronic goodies that people use, and all of
the demands from home, remaining connected is very important to a large number
of travelers. And the cruise lines know
it, and charge handsomely for the luxury or remaining connected – often as much
as 75-cents per minute of connectivity. Truly the only way to save money
onboard is to simply log off. However,
if you cannot do so, here are a few tips regarding onboard electronics &
connecting to the internet:
- iPads…you can use your iPad on a cruise ship, but keep in mind you do not want to stay logged onto your account while typing up an email. iPads are generally designed to be used only while connected to the Internet, using your webmail instead of an email program, for example. The same is true of workstations in a cruise ship's Internet center.
- Laptops… these will give you the ability to sign on only long enough to pick up new email messages. You can then compose your replies offline and then sign on again long enough to send them. Laptops also give you a place to offload your digital camera pictures in memory so you can shoot more pictures.
- Cell phones… if you take a cell phone onboard never use it to access the Internet. You will have to pay a data roaming charge that will generally cost about $5 per megabyte. Your cell phone should have an option to disable "data roaming" which you must use. The best thing to do with your cell phone, is to turn it off once you set sail and don’t turn it back on again until you return to your home port. Once you leave port, even before getting to international waters, you will be roaming, and international roaming is very expensive with the various cell providers. If you must have cell phone access while onboard – it would be cheaper to invest in an international cell phone, and simply keep it for all trips that take you to international destinations than to use your regular cell phone.
- Texting… here is another warning regarding text messages. Even with data roaming turned off be very careful of incoming text messages. If someone sends you a picture by text message and you open it, you will be charged the data roaming rate even if you have data roaming turned off; the cost of data roaming on a cruise ship is $25 per megabyte or higher.
Be sure to check with your individual cell phone provider
regarding their charges and policies before setting sail. Ask them specifically about the charges for
the countries that your itinerary will be visiting, and what the charges are
for roaming services. Then you can make
an informed decision and better understand what your costs will be when you return
home once more.
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