Thread: Cruising on a Shoestring

All good ideas and on our last cruise took many suggestions from CLF with me. We do formal every other cruise. This last cruise was formal and decided to buy a tux for DH. Got a great deal on eBay and he will never have to rent again. Long term savings and he couldn't believe the deal. I only buy my clothing on sale. Shop year round like many of you and it's always a surprise when I start to pack!! Love that. My new approach to packing. We have an empty bedroom so I started staging in late December for our April cruise. Oh boy was I organized and I cut luggage down by one bag. When I came home anything that I used has a home in that bedroom. Anything I didn't use was ouster from the "cruise room". Home to cut one more bag with next cruise in August plus now I'm all organized!! One last thing, need a couple of new pieces of luggage. Got a great deal from Overstock.com. No shipping fees and had it three days after ordering. Recycled my gently used bags to my son who is always looking for a bargin of free!!

Pre-vacation I have an extra 100 per month taken out of my check for taxes and when I get my tax refund it goes for the vacation.

Buying my airline ticket 2 oneway rather than R/T can saves me money.

Buy summer cloths in winter and winter in summer.

No overnight stays in departure port.

This year I will purchase stock which should get me a 200 OBC next year.

Pre-cruise research on public transportation in ports of call.

Read all the posts on sites like this. Real people, real advise.

We really don't cut back when we cruise.We save up all year for it. It's the one time of the year when we feel it's ok to spend what we want. Now we don't go hog wild or anything (I think the only "jewlery" we've ever bought was a pucca shell necklace from a vendor) but we still have a good time none the less

On port days we try to have a really good breakfast so that we only need a small snack at lunchtime when we're away from the ship.

The most important thing I do to save money is use a packing list. If you are travelling to a place like Chicago and you forget something, you can buy it there for the same cost as home. If you forget to pack something and you try to buy a replacement on the ship, you are talking about an EXPENSE.

Luckybluesman, if you can drive to the port, or it is a short flight away, I can see not spending a night in the departure port. But if you have one plane change, you are taking a chance of missing the cruise!

When we cruise internationally, we always go at least 1 day before. We want to make sure we make the ship AND we want to make sure our luggage catches up with us in time! We were on one cruise where a couple's luggage did not get to them until almost the last day. They were both very tall, so nothing in the gift shop fit them, even though the ship had been very generous about how much they could spend. You never saw anyone more miserable, outside of a funeral.

How to find a good hotel which fits your need.
Start Google Earth and visit the place where you like to stay.
Get as close as possible to the area where you like to book a
hotel and check the the little red beds to see details of this
hotels, if you find your hotel which fit your needs in price
and quality, write down the information of this hotel and contact
your travelagency to book or book this hotel by yourself.
This is a very easy and quick way to find the right hotel.

Do I need to pay tips in Europe, yes or no ?
In Europe we not have a system of pay tips except if some one do something very special for you.If you take an organize excursion, the prices are quit high so their is no need for a tip.But sometimes if we take a tour bus and the driver just do the extra mile, we go around with a cap and collect. In Europe it's not because the money but more about the compliment you make to the driver.Well, how much the tip depending on how many people enjoy, for example if you go with about 20 people then 1 Euro p.p. should be enough but again you don't need to pay tips and no one will blame you. The same in restaurant's no tips needed. On board of the ship is another story, first of all you pay already $10 p.p. p.d.so it's included but here the salary of most crew members are very low and a little tip will make them happy. You don't need to pay the whole day tips but just only in some moments if they do some extra for you or if you like some one.
I would say, keep your money in your pocket and buy you an deliciously ice cream.

Excursion should I do it ?
With Google Earth you can find out many information about the ports you going to visit. Before your cruise start it's good to take a look with Google Earth and zoom in the ports of visit, many times you will see that in fact you don't need to book for excusion because the distance are so little that you just want and can walk easy. It's different if you wish to visit a place more deeper inland, but keep in mind that you have a time limit and you have to be back atleast one hour before the ship leave the port, calculate then how much time left for the visit and will this be a rush or easy trip before you book and spend much money for such excursion.Take it easy and relax and not some rush excursion just because you can say I was there, than you will not see anything.
Relax and enjoy your visit, that's the way getting the max. out..

Originally Posted by MCcruiser

The most important thing I do to save money is use a packing list. If you are travelling to a place like Chicago and you forget something, you can buy it there for the same cost as home. If you forget to pack something and you try to buy a replacement on the ship, you are talking about an EXPENSE.

Luckybluesman, if you can drive to the port, or it is a short flight away, I can see not spending a night in the departure port. But if you have one plane change, you are taking a chance of missing the cruise!

When we cruise internationally, we always go at least 1 day before. We want to make sure we make the ship AND we want to make sure our luggage catches up with us in time! We were on one cruise where a couple's luggage did not get to them until almost the last day. They were both very tall, so nothing in the gift shop fit them, even though the ship had been very generous about how much they could spend. You never saw anyone more miserable, outside of a funeral.

I agree with you on this one. There is no doubt my idea will save some money if everything goes well, but if there is a problem with you flight this can really backfire. As a general rule it is better to book a room and enjoy the port of departure. We would all hate to miss the boat.

Nedstar2,
Boy do I agree with you about Google Earth. It lets you see the places you are physically going to and get a much better lay of the land. We did that before our London trip and partially chose our hotel based on how close it was to the tube. We ended up going everywhere by subway. It was amazing.

want to save money on a trip? get a group of friends or family to travel with you and use a travel agent who will give you a free cabin for every 8 or whatever that cruiseline allows for a group sailing.

I am a good shopper...shop at wrong times of year, lol

Summer clothes when they are giving it away... I typically like Macys, now that Filene's is gone, lol... sometimes Nordstroms... 75% off plus additional 20%, always have a coupon!

I do have my bling, but at bargain prices... LOL, just ask Sue, my topaz necklace, my ruby necklace, lol

I am frugal onboard, but if I want an adult beverage, I buy it, lol... I don't buy art, or play bingo, Casino rarely...