Thread: Money Saving Tips...

Just a quick note to the "pack a lunch" suggestion:

please remember that most of these ports have restrictions about bringing foods from the ship that are not factory sealed. (especially no fruits) It is against the law.

Currently, Cozumel is trying to combat the Red Palm Mite. I had never heard of such.

I would change that suggestion to boxed cereals, granola bars, candy bars, factory sealed chips...none of which would be violating the port restrictions.

The cruiseships used to be very vigilant about checking for this, however, the ships are so large now....a person can carry anything off without being stopped.

However, as cruisers, we want to be respectful of the ports we visit and we certainly don't want to do anything that would damage what small livlihoods they have.

We have taken sealed snacks before, and it was nice to be able to go to the beach and have chips or cookies or goldfish to snack on.

These days you can also get individual packets of powder to add to bottled water. you can get: Kool Aid, Crystal Light, Propel, and Gatorade to name a few. These are light weigh and you can add them when you like, whichever flavor you are in the mood for. It's a nice way to turn any bottle of water in to something with flavor.

Hi this is my first post!

We recently cruised on the Dawn Princess in a balcony cabin on Aloha Deck (mid-ship Cabin No. A515) from Sydney to San Francisco and absolutely loved it. Actually, loved it so much we have now booked the Madeira Suite (if anyone has been in this suite I would love to hear from you) for a cruise around the Pacific Islands in May 2010. We booked a suite mainly for the size of the balcony. We have also booked a cruise of NZ on the Diamond Princess in December 2010 and have registered our intention to cruise on the rugby world cup cruise of NZ in October 2011 - you could say we are hooked!

My tip would be in relation to washing - I took a portable clothes line purchased from a $2 shop - it is about 15" in diameter and has quite a few pegs on it and a hanger. It was especially great for underwear (but also used for tops I didn't want in the clothes drier). I washed in the tiny bathroom basin, pegged it on my contraption and hooked it over a chair on the balcony or on the balcony door and clothes dried quickly. I also had a fold-up clothes basket which was absolutely fantastic - also purchased from a $2 shop. Our cabin steward, Albert, claimed the clothes basket when we got off in San Fran and a fellow passenger claimed the 'clothesline'.

My other tip would be to go straight to the Pursers Office on embarkation and get rid of the tipping. Not only did we get charged $10 per day, per person, we also got charged 15% on drinks and then we personally tipped our cabin steward and our dining attendants. All in all, I think we paid about $700 in tips.

Originally Posted by Dizzie

Hi this is my first post!

We recently cruised on the Dawn Princess in a balcony cabin on Aloha Deck (mid-ship Cabin No. A515) from Sydney to San Francisco and absolutely loved it. Actually, loved it so much we have now booked the Madeira Suite (if anyone has been in this suite I would love to hear from you) for a cruise around the Pacific Islands in May 2010. We booked a suite mainly for the size of the balcony. We have also booked a cruise of NZ on the Diamond Princess in December 2010 and have registered our intention to cruise on the rugby world cup cruise of NZ in October 2011 - you could say we are hooked!

My tip would be in relation to washing - I took a portable clothes line purchased from a $2 shop - it is about 15" in diameter and has quite a few pegs on it and a hanger. It was especially great for underwear (but also used for tops I didn't want in the clothes drier). I washed in the tiny bathroom basin, pegged it on my contraption and hooked it over a chair on the balcony or on the balcony door and clothes dried quickly. I also had a fold-up clothes basket which was absolutely fantastic - also purchased from a $2 shop. Our cabin steward, Albert, claimed the clothes basket when we got off in San Fran and a fellow passenger claimed the 'clothesline'.

My other tip would be to go straight to the Pursers Office on embarkation and get rid of the tipping. Not only did we get charged $10 per day, per person, we also got charged 15% on drinks and then we personally tipped our cabin steward and our dining attendants. All in all, I think we paid about $700 in tips.

On Princess and many other cruises with autotipping, removing the autotip and then directly tipping the cabin steward and waitstaff will actually result in lower tips for these crew members. This is why: When you hand cash to a crew member, he or she is required to write down your name and cabin number on the envelope and hand over to their supervisor. Your name will be checked against a list of those who have removed the tips. If your name isn't on the list (that you haven't removed the tips), the cash will be given back to the crew member.

But if you have taken off the autotip, the money is put into the tipping pool to be shared among all the members of that pool. So if you gave $20 to the cabin steward, he will only get some of that money.

If the crew member holds on to the money in secret, he risks termination if discovered. And the crew members share very close quarters with several other personnel.

Sorry, but that is the way it's handled.

Thanks for the tips, I will bring my own ponchos and thermos on my next cruise, don't know why I didn't think of it before.

Always ask the crew where they shop when on shore, they know where the best deals are and will help you avoid some of the high priced stores recommended by the cruise line.
I always take a case of bottled water on board.
On one cruise we bought an internet package and shared it with another couple cut the cost in half.
Always negotiate the price when booking with private tours on the dock.
You don't have to drink the whole bottle of wine at dinner you can have them cork it and bring out again the next night.
We alway bring a sports bottle and fill it with ice and water before we leave the ship for the day. Geat a cheap one before you board the ship and you can leave it on board when you leave at the end of the cruise.
I always bring a small flash light.

these are great tips, thanks for sharing

Thank you very much for sharing the brilliant idea

This two and year old post still has valuable advice for today's cruises. It just goes to show you that good advice never grows old.

Originally Posted by lady_cruiser

This two and year old post still has valuable advice for today's cruises. It just goes to show you that good advice never grows old.

That is the truth! Good advice in 2007 and good advice now.