So, you want to get your feet wet in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean or the calm seas of Bahamas or the beautiful coasts of the Mediterranean, but are on a strict budget? Then read on to understand how you can pinch those pennies and yet set sail for a great destination by planning a budget cruise.
Bookings
The very first key to saving on your cruise is to book it well in advance. Just like flight tickets, you can get great deals if you book for the cruise much prior to your date of travel, even if it is more than six months before. Also, cruise prices are higher during the holiday season, that is, around Christmas and New Years. If timing is not an issue for you, you can save a lot by taking up a cruise off-season. Inform your travel agent that you are interested in good deals for a good cruise few months down the line and be specific if you are willing to cruise off-season. In the mean time, subscribe to the newsletters or offers of the cruise lines that you are interested in. At times, the cruise lines come up with sales or heavy discount offers only for subscribed customers.
Also, you can opt out of the excursions at the ports of call and save quite a lot. And even if you feel like taking them up, do so when you are there. This way you will mostly have to pay less than what you would have paid during the bookings. Some cruises or some packages provide door to door service for the cruise, check up if it costs more if you travel by yourself and if you can opt out of it.
Your cruise price will include the food, but will not include alcoholic beverages. To put a tab on your drinking on board, opt for a soda drink pass as this will steer you off the cocktails since at the back of your head, you will know that you have paid for it.
On the Cruise
If still you give into the temptation of alcohol, be sure to buy the in-house brands. These usually costs much less than the others.
Hold on to your wallet while passing the on board stores. Many of us (and mostly our wives) can be lured in by the magnificence of the store displays and their look and feel and make compulsive decisions of adding them to our shopping cart. Also, it will be wise to keep a low count on the souvenir. If you have to shop or collect souvenirs, do them at the ports of call as these usually have lower prices and yet sometimes have abundant variety.
Lastly, if attending events is going to cost you, relax and don’t feel bad about not being able to attend them. At the end of the day, you are on the cruise to enjoy, there is a lot more you can do. And even if you feel bored by that stuff, you can choose to take a walk, visit the gym and do some pushups or catch up on a book you wanted to read. After all, what would be the use if you have to spend energy in planning everything; vacations and especially those on cruises should rightly be about relaxing.
