25 RIDICULOUS Money Mistakes All Cruisers MUST Avoid!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- If you're going on a cruise, you don't want to waste money & spend more than you should! These 25 money wasting mistakes are pretty avoidable, if you know these tips & tricks!
In this video I share money mistakes not to make on a cruise. If you're a first time cruiser, or haven't been on a cruise in a while, these cruise tips will help you to avoid these costly cruise mistakes.
I've also included cruise travel tips that will help cruise passengers to save money on a cruise. From simple cruise hacks to more advanced travel tips, you'll avoid these extra expenses on your cruise vacation.
These tips will work for every cruise line, from Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean. Princess Cruises and more!
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ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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This is our third cruise. This time, it's not with extended family and my siblings. Just the two of us. We're going premium rate because it's a once-in-a-lifetime probably due to my wife's health. This means WiFi and drinks, plus special dining included, the latter just once. Sometimes, just the once, you splurge and make it memorable.
Fabulous! Enjoy every minute
I hope you & your wife have the trip of a lifetime. My dad always said, it only takes a few more pennies to go first class. Enjoy!
Wishing you the best trip ever. In Feb. We took my hubby's parents on a cruise to the ABCs. We flew first class. It was probably the last one for them. We hope not but, we did try yo make it memorable for them. As it was on NCL, we had the free at sea package so drinks, specialty dining and wifi were included.
Hope u and your wife have the best time ever, hope her health gets better soon 🙏😊
@@bitterspice5525i
One way to avoid ATM fees is to go to the casino. Use your card to withdraw money from your account. Print the ticket and go to the cashier and cash it out. No fees, and if you used your credit card for your account, no cash advance fees. I learned this from a crew member.
This may not always work after the first time. On royal Caribbean, you will need to play at least half of the amount in any slot machine before you can cash out the ticket.
My credit union refunds a specified number of ATM fees each month; I've never seen a bank offer that option.
I will be cruising soon. I have on board credit after booking with my travel agent. How do you use the on board credit. Do you just mention it while booking a spa service?
This is brilliant. Is this on all cruise lines?
@@maryhartsock7792good question. It will appear on your onboard account and you can use as you please. If you go over your credit card or method of payment will be charged
If you like snacks. Bring little baggies from home. Then go to the buffet and get cookies, gapes etc then you will have snacks for later
Is it allowed?
My wife and I bring zip loc bags with us every cruise. She is borderline diabetic so I try to keep some lil things in the cabin in case she has a problem. And we have never been told we can’t or to not do it.
I think they need to be more flexible with the drink package. When they make the entire room pay for a drink package, but some people in that room don’t drink alcohol. It’s a waste of money. They should offer the drink package and let each person choose which package from that room they want.
I’m just going to live on ship water and the included food, no specialty restaurants. I travel dull. All I need is a deck chair to use while reading. That’s all I really plan on doing. Nothing fancy at all.
I know many that feel the same way. Personally I have pets at home with a caregiver but I couldn’t relax if I didn’t check on them.
I always put a reminder on my phone calendar at 3pm the day of embarkation. Put phone on airplane mode.
I swear, it's a lifesaver.
Great idea.
We are going on our first cruise in November
The phone charges really worry me.
Can i still use the ship app on free wifi in airplane mode?
Thanks👍
I was charged for photographs that weren’t mine on NCL. When I went to the desk to clear it up, the cruise employee was very arrogant and insisted he had a receipt that I signed. When I asked to see it, I found it was a name that wasn’t even close to mine. They immediately removed the charge. I was glad I consistently checked my cruise charges.
Just got off NCL Epic and had a horrible experience with them and their customer service!
I always use my phone to keep up with what we sign for and then compare and total it up on the last night. It is a good way to keep the cruise line honest.
@@scottyphillips7799😢...😅😅😅
Don’t forget you smart watches with cellular, need to be put in airplane mode as well!
Another mistake is not buying discounted gift cards if they’re offered for your cruise line. For our latest cruise we bought Carnival gift cards from AARP and saved 10% on just about our entire cruise cost: cruise fare, specialty dining, wifi, in-room beverages, excursions, and even estimated what our bar bill would be and purchased extra gift cards to put on our S&S cards when we boarded the ship. We saved about $450.
Travel insurance is NEVER an unnecessary expense. Spend the money!!!
We always get it now that we're a bit older. I got COVID on my last cruise and the travel insurance refunded me the cost of 4 days of my cruise (the time I was in quarantine). MORE than paid for the cost of the insurance!
I totally agree with purchasing travelers insurance. We did this for my husband , myself, and 3 kids under 20 yrs old when we went to a 7 days Eastern Caribbean cruise. Thank God I did because my 15 year old scratched his eye while taking off contact lens, he had a corneal abrasion and it was extremely painful! He couldn’t open his eyes, he stayed in the cabin for 3 days of the cruise, we went to see the doctor on board. Then we couldn’t dock in Miami at the last day of the cruise due to a storm so the ship had to extend the cruise for an extra day. We obviously missed our flight back home, had to rent a hotel for a night, get airline tickets for 5 people, pay for meals, and rent a car. All these expenses were refunded to us by the travel insurance! It took 6 months to get everything back. Keep all receipts and get a copy of the medical records and bill from the doctor. You have to file the claim online , which can be time consuming but worth getting your money back.
One of my things to do right before a cruise is to go to my bank, withdraw $100 inside, and get it all in fives. that pretty much covers cash tips, porters, small purchases at ports, etc.
They have lap/pole dancers on cruises? ;)
Don't ask how I know 5s are how you tip lap and pole dancers
@@FD2003Abc I don't judge. ;)
Check reviews before signing up for excursions...
Good one
Where can you see reviews on excursions?
On the website where your cruise is located. Find your cruise, select shore excursions (I do it by day) and there are usually reviews for each excursion (unless new like I found on one of my upcoming cruises). Very helpful. It is hard to leave a review once you return, at least what I have found.
As for the ATMs, you can avoid that altogether on most cruise lines. I haven’t tried this, but Emma Cruises mentioned it in a video a long time ago. Instead of using the ATM, go to the casino, load the amount you want to take out onto a slot machine, cash it out, and take it to the cages. Free withdrawal.
You can do it but I know for sure RC will lock you out from getting any more unless you play the money you withdrew. Do it all at once!
We sail with Princess and book with the Princess Plus package for $60.00 a day which includes drinks up to $15.00 plus unlimited coffee, soft drinks, bottled water and Wifi and gratuities which includes the gratuity on beverages and 2 casual dining, two specialty desserts a day and 2 exercise classes. You don't need to drink a lot of alcohol to come out ahead.
Not only putting phone on airplane mode - also other devices having SIM card or E-SIM like laptop, ipad etc.
We ALWAYS buy the deluxe beverage package. It is worth it to us because people forget that it isn't just alcohol in the package. It also covers soft drinks, bottled water, smoothies, specialty coffee and teas, fresh squeezed juices, wine, beer, cocktails, shots. Everything. It adds up fast, so for us, it is worth it.
This is so true. Especially when packages are part of a bundle
I did not get the drink package on my current cruise because my travel Partner does not drink. I calculated how many drinks I would need to have daily to make it worth it for me. I just could not drink that many drinks.
The drink package is a total waste for us. I don’t drink alcohol, soft drinks or coffee. My husband only drinks occasionally. They always have free tea, coffee, lemonade and sometimes ice tea.
We get the non alcoholic drink package because I'm the only one that drinks, but nowhere enough to justify the cost. I prefer the way Virgin does it with the shared bar tab.
I don't get it because that's lots of excess calories on almost all of that I don't need.
We didn’t check our account on one cruise because we didn’t do anything that we thought was adding charges. Turned out that the sommelier at dinner had been charging us for bottles of wine despite that same wine being included in our drink package when served by the glass. Pretty shady but we learned our lesson.
Ohhh I'd be mad!!
Good afternoon, Ilana. We never buy any of the packages - drink, internet, specialty dining. We cruise to unwind, so internet is not important to us. We don't drink specialty coffees, and fresh squeezed juice is not important, the free stuff suits us fine. We are ocassional drinkers, so paying al a carte for alcohol works for us. Just returned from an 11 day cruise to Alaska and our bar bill was $64 for 5 drinks. Even with Princess' Plus package @ $60/day/person, we wouldnt have gotten our value from the package, and they have some of the best pricing. On our upcoming RCL cruise in January, we've been getting drink package offers of buy 1 get 1 half off, but that's still $128/day just for drinks. We did take advantage of a Princess offer on this past cruise where we could pre-order bottled water for $7 for 12 bottles to be in your cabin when you arrived ($0.85/bottle). We felt the pricing was good and convenient to take on our shore excursions. They had a similar package for soda that worked out to $1.35/can when pre ordered.
Agree with all your other suggestions, especially using the "convenience" store on the ship. If we do find we forgot something, unless it's an emergency, it's usually cheaper to pick it up in your next port.
Sunscreen that you bring from home needs to be "coral reef safe" if you are going to swim in the ocean in areas with reefs. Generally, the sunscreens sold on the ship meets these requirements. So if you're not sure how to select one without the problematic ingredients, buying on the ship is a good option for the future of our oceans.
If you forget to bring things like sunscreen or over the counter medicines, or run out during your cruise, you can often be better off buying it at your next port... even the convenience store right next to the port is going to be cheaper than buying on board... but if you can make into the the port town itself you'll find regular shops that are far far cheaper eg local supermarket or chemist
Thanks so much for this VERY helpful video, Ilana! I would have not known about re-faring a cruise, but was able to see a decrease of over $700 when I re-fared our cruise just yesterday! Thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear! I love when a tip actually gets money saving results quickly 👏👏
Never thought of having a cruise re-fared. ❤
I learned the tip about discounts at spa from my sister ! Great idea on embarkation day. No one is there and there is a discount!!
For my husband and I, we have found longer cruises (TA and repositioning cruises) with lots of sea days, it's to our advantage to have a drink package. On port heavy cruises, we don't use it as much.
Great point
Don’t forget Stock Perks. Many cruise lines offer onboard credit to those who hold a number of shares of their stock. This credit amount will be determined by the number of cruise nights. This is a good way to save some money. Thanks for your tips.
Yup I got $250 on my Holland American this summer.
we got a $ 250 credit on Holland America in January
Good point!
Great advice there. I always apply for the shareholder credit. It may not be a lot, but it's better than nothing.
Don't be swept off your feet by the jewelry sales, many times you can do just as well at home. If there is a particular piece of jewelry that you are looking for, check the price at home before the cruise.
So true. Always compare prices. The only advantage to buying it on ship might be saving the taxes.
Yep. Ive been at stores on board and in port that wanted crazy high inflated prices for things. Um yea you won't get this person. I'm no sucker....
Especially on Carnival the Invicta watches are a ripoff. You can get them so much cheaper online. Only things we get is the free bracelet for my wife and maybe the gold by the inch for the kiddos a lil necklace or bracelet.
This is where having wi-fi is an advantage as I can price check a piece of jewelry before I buy.
For those who don't like the tap water on a ship. Buy flavoring that comes in a small bottle. You will have to put it in your liquids bag if you fly. It only takes a squirt or 2, depending on the size of your glass or bottle. There are several brands and lots of flavors.
I did this last time and it worked great. And sometimes the drops are a lil healthier than the powders they sell in stores.
You can also buy the powder packets and not have to worry about liquids or leaking
I booked with a travel agent and she was able to get a $250 on board credit for the cabin that I couldn't. Well worth it.
What's the best way to pick a good TA??
@@tb985 I don’t really know. Only second time I’ve used one. She was the closest one to me and there really weren’t many choices.
@@donkitterman1940 Do you mind sharing the contact information or website for your travel agent? Thank you!
We’ve learned to check the speciality restaurants for Day 1 specials. We’ve gotten free glasses of champagne and a discount on dinner and most recently received 50% off each person for dinner on Day 1.
Just been on my first cruise. I am so thankful to you for your advice. I used the information from your website and we had a wonderful Alaskan cruise. My steward laughted when I told him I had your advice and I was able to have a bed topper, so comfortable. Thanks.
Another way to earn onboard credit is with a cruise line credit card. I got an offer from Princess that gave me $200 of onboard credit if I charged $500. I'm using it until the cruise (3 months) to accrue more points. I think I'll likely have $300-$400 before I sail. Then I'll go back to my Southwest card for free flights.
Just a quick add on on to the BYO snacks, they have to be unopened. The family in front of me of me going through check in, like me, had drove to the port and had opened most of the snacks on the drive down, the security lady was so apologetic as she dumped about $30 worth of chips and cans and crackers. Meanwhile my unopened buc-ees nuggets made it through with just a quick glance
What cruise line? NCL Epic let my daughter through with an opened bag of Chex mix.
@@83kellylove carnival. He picked the bag of nuggets up and looked at the seal, then tossed the empty M&Ms bag in the trash for me (in the same shopping bag)
We don't drink enough to warrant buying the drink package. We usually only spend $100 or less on drinks and coffees.
That’s my wife and I, we might get coffee in the morning and maybe two drinks a day. We have learned to bring a 12 pack of soda each on board and the carry our Stanley cups.
@@scottyphillips7799 yeah, we brought a 12 pack of soda onboard once but my hubby didn't even finish them. I don't drink soda. It works for us; sounds like y'all too!!
@scottyphillips7799 Would love to be able to do that. What cruise line did you do this on? We are going to Alaska in 3 weeks. All I drink is soda (not healthy, I know) my hubby just drinks water, so even the non-alcoholic pkg is not worth it, because you have to buy for each of us.
We almost always go on Carnival. You can carry a 12 pack of soda (12 oz.) each in carry on or free carry. You can also take 1 bottle of 750 ml of wine per person. @@caribbeanlvr7929
@@caribbeanlvr7929 we travel on carnival. We love it never have issues and always have more to do than we can do. Would love to do an Alaskan cruise one day.
Bring snack bags and sandwich boxes to raid the buffet for foods to eat off the ship or at night in the room. Bring your own bottle to fill with ice and juice.
Another reason to check your onboard account early on the cruise is if you have a credit. My husband and I each received a credit when we booked the cruise, but my first charge was against his account. It was much easier to add my credit card to my account and only have to move one charge early in the cruise than to wait until many charges had to be moved, let alone later on, when everyone else was trying to correct their accounts!
Thanks for sharing!!
My wife and I booked a NCL cruise for next year. We are both Veterans and we're able to get a small discount on the cruise package. We have cruised with NCL in the past and we're not aware of this discount. We had to verify our Veteran status which was pretty easy. The person at NCL was very helpful and informative when booking the cruise directly with them. Your videos are very informative. Thank you.
Thanks for your services. We hope you have fun cruising.
Oh dear, we spent a month on NCL in February and it wasn't a great experience, despite the huge cost
I particularly hated the excursions and the misleadin(?) information provided
John, I too, am a vet. Our last NCL cruise, I was given a package that included an NCL challenge coin, orders to have an enjoyable cruise, and an invitation for my wife and I to attend an informal meet and greet with other veterans. It was all in all, pretty cool. We’re tentatively doing another NCL cruise in February. I’m excited to see if they still have this nice little veteran recognition.
Cheers.
@@peterdodgesr1576 That's pretty cool. I always enjoy meeting and talking to other Veterans. It's nice that NCL does this. Enjoy your February cruise!
Along the lines of paying extra for things that are included on a cruise; I feel that way with the speciality dining. Some of specialty restaurants you can eat for free at lunch time on sea days, depending on the ships! No reservations are needed either!! I don’t buy the drink package but I’m not a regular drinker.
Yes! So many people don’t realize the lunch options in the specialty restaurants for free. On Carnival most everything other than the Steakhouse has a free lunch menu
I started using the Beverage Card instead of the Drink Package. Lately I’ve been cruising with my Mom. She doesn’t drink much except for an occasional mock tail. For me this was the best deal to cover all types of drinks including specialty coffees and sodas. I also don’t need to worry about going over budget. $400 - $500 should be sufficient.
What exactly is this new to cruising?
That’s awesome! What cruise line has beverage cards?
@@LifeWellCruised Holland America Cruise ….. I saw it when I was searching for bundles.
@@Taf-vc2dy I never knew there were Beverage Card available to purchase instead of the Drink Package.
What happens if all funds are not used?
I just got off my first cruise yesterday with my father, we got out drink and internet package bundled through our cruise agent so it was cheaper.
We also accidentally paid a bit extra on the first sit down dinner meal as all the wine they had listed on the menu was above the basic drink packages so we paid the difference, the waiter then informed us they actually have wines that are covered by our packages but are not listed. make sure when ordering any food you drink you check if it's included or if there is an alternative that is covered.
I don't drink enough alcohol (basically I will only have a cocktail with my dinner) for the deluxe package to be worth it. Instead I get the refreshment package and then take a little bit of money from each paycheck leading up to the cruise and put it into my "cocktail fund". I then put this money into my onboard account and use it to pay for my dinner cocktails. This way not only am I not paying for something I might not have but most of the time I save up more then all of my dinner cocktails will cost me (I check the drink prices a day or to before embarkation) so I can grab another cocktail here or there if I want one or I can splurge on a nice item for myself from one of the shops.
Great way of thinking
Yes, check your account daily. My nephew had the same name and city as another passenger. He ended up towel charges on his account.
The NCL free at sea drink package (bundle) is a good deal for us. Drink packages as extra does not work as we dont drink a lot.
Instead of using the atm charge the amount to your room at a casino machine then save it to your casino bank and then cash it out at the cashier. Save the fees
Great tips Ilana!!! I'd have to say booking as far in advance as possible. I'm shocked how full cruises are now and the prices almost never seem to go down. By booking 2 yrs out for the cruises and any add-ons as soon as they are released has saved me thousands. You can always reprice... but that just doesn't seem to be necessary these days.
Totally agree - unless you’re super flexible and can pick up any cruise and live near a cruise port - not most of us 😂
Excellent reminders, thank you!!
We usually add up what it would cost us to buy alcoholic beverages, specialty water, wine at dinner, specialty coffees, etc. and it’s usually better for us to get a drink package. Don’t really want to stress out and keep track of what we’ve consumed.
I and my gf each have 2 or 3 drinks per day. Some days a bit more or less. Buying the drink package for us would be a waste of money. I totally understand those that drink pretty much every day at home to buy it. In our case, we never have alcohol at home.
2 to 3 drinks could easily cost $30 to $45, wifi is $25, and gratuities are $16 to $18 per person per day. That adds up to minimum $71/day, and just as likely $86/day. For $60/day on Princess you get all that plus two special desserts, or ice cream, room service, two exercise classes, soft drinks as many as you want, same for bottled water and two specialty meals, (not in the premium restaurants). I may be forgetting some items, but it looks like a good deal, and in the end your final bill is very short and easy to review.
This would probably be considered a money waster for most people but not for me. I order fresh flowers to be put in my cabin on embarcation. They last a week and are worth every penny. I'd rather give up something else like casino, spa or wifi.
Some really helpful tips Ilana. Yes buying a bundle of specialty restaurants before hand does save some significant money. Also it helps in getting the dinner times you want. Also, we always schedule our spa visits on port days. These services have gotten expensive especially when gratuity is added so saving on port days specials.
Yes small bills are a must. There are times when you want to tip someone and if you you don't have some small bills hard to get change in most ports or on the ship.
Happy cruising Ilana!
As a couple neither of us drink alcohol so we always opt out of the drink package. I appreciate that we get the option to opt out (on NCL at least). I have no desire to drink that much pop or specialty coffee to justify it so it is an easy choice for us. I can definitely understand how for some it would be worth it even just to know that it is already paid for.
I do not take a drinks package because on the cruise line I travel with, I would need to drink between 11 and 15 drinks a day to make it worthwhile, and I don't drink that much.
Makes sense
Ya sound like a Carnival Cruiser. We feel the same. We only pay as we go for drinks which at most is 1-2 drinks a day.
@@TheRecon1a Yes, you are right. They are Carnival Corporation companies like P&O Princess and Cunard. because they sail out of Southampton all year round so it's easier for me to use such Cruise lines,
I learned that the hard way with "Free at Sea" from NCL. I didn't begin to consume enough to justify it.
I have been on about 30 cruises and there are always things I can learn. You do a great job at adding value to my cruising.
Many places now require that sun screen is environmentally friendly specifically places that have diveable reefs.
Only booking cruiseline shore excursions. Independent excursions can be cheaper for the very same excursion and there are usually excursions that the cruiseline does not offer. For example I will be doing a lobster boat excursion in Portland, Maine that NCL does not offer.
Always pack a thermos. If you have room you can pack a water bottle too, but remember that a thermos can be a water bottle or you can grab some hot water from the buffet or take coffee back to your room or to the pool. You can also now buy an insulated water bottle. If you are flying to your port, you can pack instant oatmeal packets or soup mix and get hot water from the flight attendant for free. I like to drink coffee during a flight, and I found that since most people don't drink coffee, the flight attendants will be throwing the rest of the pot away and have always been nice about giving me refills for free.
We made a few mistakes.. like the casino one.... but we did sit and figure out the plus package last year. I havebit all written out. But here is the list of it:
$60/day - $25/d for internet = $35/d - crew appreciation $16/d = $19.. now we did not factor in the desserts, fitness classes. If alcohol drinks are about $8-$10 each.. that is 2-3 drinks. Now coffees, water, teas, sodas etc.... you only need 4 ta make it pay. The other way to look at it is $60/d is only 6 alcohol drinks or a combination of 12 other drinks.
Great tips and your channel is very helpful. We are going on our first cruise next month. Thank you for your advice.
I always bring a reusable water bottle . going on NCL next summer for first time - drink package yes, water not included. another good tip- use the chat app available on the ship. example- on Mardi Gras 2 years ago and we used the chat with our teen kids and it was worth the 20 dollars for the week (5 dollars per person for the week)
Please tho, don't put your bottle over the water dispenser nozzle, that's not sanitary and too many try to do that in the buffet. Take water in the glass and fill the bottle at your table
Fabulous 👏
Thanks for the update with these great tips! I enjoy your videos.
I'm still amazed a lot of cruisers are even able to find the ship.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you. Wonderful tips
Heaps of great tips, as always! ❤
Hello, we are going on our first cruise in a month. This and the others of your videos that I’ve watched are really helpful.
Gary Bembridge gave you a nice shout-out on his live today!❤
I really like his channel too.
I noticed that too! 😊
In terms of drinks packages, it definitely pays to consider that you have to purchase the same package for everyone in the cabin. The calculation becomes a lot less clear when you have one person (me) who will drink wine with dinner and spirits afterwards and would otherwise be buying smoothies and speciality coffee regularly, and another person (my husband) who won't (in his case, being a diabetic, he cannot drink alcohol, non-diet soda, fruit juices, etc unless he wants to spend the entire cruise miserable at best). Then it becomes whether paying for BOTH of us for only me is saving money versus me paying for each drink separately. Though on the plus side, it does encourage me to drink less, which probably is not a bad thing.
Side note: I understand why the policy is that way and why the customer service folks cannot really hand out exceptions (imagine the look of asking people to prove their medical conditions or the abuse potential of just taking people's word for it). But it is a consideration on budgeting.
I've never found day one specials on specialty dining, nor discount on specialty dining in bundles beforehand. Most cruise lines probably don't have to.
On Carnival you get a free bottle of house wine in the steakhouse on evening 1.
Be sure and use airplane mode even if on a ferry. I did not do this on the ferry to Guernsey and paid the price for it. Just letting you know...
Thank you for the fantastic information. 🇬🇧👍
Great video!
Great tips. 😊
We always bring water shoes and snorkel gear for those types of cruises😊
We buy the drink package. That way, we can have a drink before a meal, with a meal, or after the meal, plus the bottled water and special coffees. The drink package also includes wi-fi and the gratuities.
January will be my first cruise with a balcony. I'm certainly planning to utilise Princess's free continental breakfast and take it out to that balcony.
I’ve only been on Disney Cruise Line and Viking so far. DCL didn’t have drink packages you would only pay for alcoholic drinks (if you are concierge, then they have a concierge room that has free alcohol so before what I did is got my drink in the lounge and brought my drink to dinner). On Viking, there were drink packages but at lunch and dinner you could get a glass of wine, or a beer, or a tea, or a soda at no extra charge so my dad and I didn’t buy the drink package (on Viking, try the peach tea it is delicious). My dad and I are going on our first Holland America Line cruise in December and we did buy the have-it-all package; for our sailing it includes two cruise excursions a piece, two speciality restaurants reservations, Wi-Fi, and the elite drink package. I guess we will see if it is worth it or not.
We always buy the drink package. It is worth it as we also like specialty coffees and get the water bottles for the excursions. It’s great for sea day mimosas with fresh squeezed
OJ too!
So funny Ilana. Very good point….My transatlantic cruise is 292 days away….I have booked my 2 airfares one to FLL and one back from Rome, i also have booked my hotel. The video was spot on thx🚢🙂
I have yet to find anyone who can tell me if the right people actually get the money or if corporate just keeps it
I agree with you.
I feel sure it’s hierarchical system, but no one is going to tell you that.
We give money to our regular crew who have looked after us onboard.
A question I’ve been asking online since thinking about cruising, & still no good answer. (Haven’t been on a cruise yet!) One vid I saw for Seabourne (I know, whole other situation) had an option to contribute to an all-crew fund. Not cash for them, but perks for everyone, which sounded nice. Still, feel generally one ought to leave extra tips, even on a fully paid cruise…
Amazing video as always. It's funny because on the weekend my wife and I bought Goggles and snorkel and water shoes before seeing this video. Great minds think alike!
I just came back from a Viking cruise to Alaska. My roommate does not drink and Viking offers beer or wine at lunch and dinner. I had the odd pre-dinner drink but found the meal drinks all that I needed
Great video! I agree 100%! We've learned through our many cruises to check all of the free things the cruise offers to us. Status growth on a line can get you many helpful things like access to the thermal spas, sweets and champagne given for free, one free specialty restaurant dinner and on-board credits just to name a few. We also found on msc if we move our cabin to aurea we get this "experience" and it includes access to the yaught club sun decks and daily use of the thermal spa! That was amazing for my husband and I and made our cruise feel luxurious and so relaxing! It's sometimes the little things that can make your cruise feel so special. ❤ we now love to book on-board for such great deals, on-board credits, sometimes "all inclusive" drinks and wifi and the flexibility if you have any changes or questions they are so helpful! Happy cruising!
On our last cruise our travel agent did not come up with all the perks she promised so we are looking for a new travel agent
Some Cruise Lines will give you some Onboard Credit for owning Cruise Line STOCK. We do it on Carnival for example.
We are about 6 weeks out to a cruise in Alaska with Royal Caribbean. We booked the cruise a year and a half early and paid it off after 6 months to include prepaid gratuities only to have the cruise line increase those gratuities and we all had to pay the increased amount as well. Just something to keep in mind when prepaying gratuities....
We took the entire family on our first cruise last year. Before we left home, I contacted our cellular provider and asked if there was anything I could do to avoid charges. Maybe someone would forget to put their phone into airplane mode, or cancel it (deliberately or inadvertently), or need a connection while in port. Yes, they had several options. It's worth contacting your carrier (and your bank and credit card company) to let them know you'll be on a cruise; they should know in case they have to approve a charge made from a foreign country.
Great to know
I managed to bring a case of soda onboard as I had four in my party. I made sure it was the competitors product too, Pepsi vs Coke or visa versa. Saved a ton of money
SPA TREATMENTS - I booked on a port day and payed nearly half price for a wonderful massage.
Regards to the drink package. If you have someone that wants the drink package but have someone in your cabin that doesn’t want the package and are going with kids and you have multiple rooms then try putting a kid as your passenger that is getting the drink package even if the kid isn’t actually staying with you
We have only sailed MSC and always do the drinks and wifi for roughly an extra $250 per person, which we feel is a great deal. Also, if you need cash, go to the casino and charge it to your room, hit spin once or twice, and cash out.
Wife and I are Diamond and only sail on Royal. We also are light drinkers, so our 4 free drinks per day are good enough for us. No Drink Package required.
Regarding drink packages....we usually purchase cruises that include wine/beer during lunch and dinner. But, we enjoy breakfast mimosas (or 2!) plus wine throughout the day. When we do the price comparison, the upgrade is usually about $20 per person per day, so definitely worth it, without being total luches...LOL
Great Cruise 🚢 News . I Never Purchase The Drink Package.
One thing that no one takes into account for is the piece of mind. The drinks package gives you.
Great video Ilana. My wife and I have had charges to our account that were not ours. They were removed and since then we check our account every evening. The specialty dinning packages are not worth purchasing prior to the cruise. For example, with Celebrity you can purchase a 3 night specialty dining package which allows you to try 3 specialty restaurants. However, you cannot make dinner reservations for those restaurants until you board the ship. The problem is that the time slots you may want may not be available by the time you board the ship. We have been in the Retreat Lounge when someone had complained that they couldn't book a good time slot for any of the specialty restaurants even though they pre-purchased a dinning package. I would stay clear of the dinning packages and just book each restaurant you want to try separately prior to sailing if you are sailing with Celebrity.
I realize this is a cruise channel but the advice you gave for not just checking discount cruises goes for hotels as well. We once stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for less than the price at the Holiday Inn.
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing - even though we focus on cruising booking hotels for pre and post is an important part of cruising planning too :)
Neither my wife or I drink Alcohol, Tea or coffee so taking the drink package is quite an expensive waste of money. I do order bottle to keep in our fridge because I like really cold water. We also prefer inside cabins because we're only in our rooms to sleep and shower.
We only use Viking and Oceania. Viking includes beer and wine with lunch and dinner, and my wife drinks very little, so a drink package makes no sense for us. Both lines include soft drinks for free, and there is no charge for specialty dining.
Good point to put your phone, iPad, etc., in airplane mode once you cannot connect with shore phone services.
We seldom gamble and Viking does not have casinos or children under 18 on their ships.
My last weekend cruise, it was more affordable to budget for drinks and not get the drink package. We also were able to take three bottles of wine with us which worked out great. I also put money on my onboard account when I arrived which helps to not overspend.
# notification Squad ….
Happy Sunday Elana
You too! Glad you’re here 👏
I used the drink calculator by cruise mummy...def. buying the drink package.