Dave

Lots of people like to spend tons of money on a cruise, so for those people, they should stop reading right now and do not bother replying to this.<BR><BR>For the rest of us, why not list some ideas on ways to save a few bucks on cruises?<BR><BR>I will get the ball rolling:<BR><BR>Smuggle a case of soda on board with your suitcase. Your investment - $3.00. Factor that against the price the ship charges for soda, and you can save a good $20.<BR><BR>Any other ideas?

Amy

Great idea for a thread!! <BR><BR>How about bringing your own mini-iron. That saves on the cost of getting dress clothes pressed.

Rick

Leave the kids at home with a friend/relative/sitter.<BR><BR>That has got to save hundreds - not to mention the reduced stress.

Nancy

We bring our own camera to dinner and have people take our picture. That saves on the ship's pictures.

carol

Get on everyones mailing list and compare prices, especially those with the discount cruise agencies. You will be mailed discounts for future cruises. Watch out for last minute discounts. Do not pay brochure prices.

Lenore

Look into booking shore excursions yourself, instead of through the ship. Also, try to avoid the spa treatments since they are generally overpriced and never as good as you can get at home.

Patty

Bring water bottles and fill them up on board to take ashore. And like Lenore said, avoiding the overpriced ship's excursions is probably one of the biggest money savers.

Calvin

Here are some tips from this site, http://www.fodors.com/features/nfdis...uisewaystosave

Dave

Calvin and Carol both are off track. <BR><BR>Clearly the thrust of this thread is about saving money while you are ON the cruise. There are plenty of postings about saving money by choosing a certain type of cruise (inside cabin, flexible dates, etc.).<BR><BR>Thanks for the ideas, but let's just focus on tips to save $ when you are already on the ship.

carol

If you save money before your trip as I do, then you don't have to worry about spending too much on board the ship. Filling your water bottles should save you about $8 for all your trouble!

o.k

1. Avoid taking cruise's shore excursions - they are way overpriced!<BR>2. Avoid taking taxis on the pier - they charge more.<BR>3. Besides soda (if you drink any), "smuggle" beer or wine onboard - it will be much cheaper than buying it there, and often better quality.<BR>4. Avoid using photographer's services onboard.<BR>5. If you _absolutely_ _must_ send an e-mail note to your friends and family from the ship, write it in advance, save it on a disk, and you will be using Internet for less than 3 minutes to send it! Internet tends to be _very_ expensive.<BR>6. Don't use a phone while onboard. Better to buy a telephone card in a port and use it there. If you still have minutes on the card left, give it to the ship's staff - they will use it on their next trip.<BR>7. Don't use a salon onboard - I had the worst manicure done which cost 7 times the regular price!

maryann

We wasted more money buying lunch on shore until we started bringing ziplock bags and an insulated, collapsable lunch bag.<BR><BR>The room service food or whatever you feel like from the breakfast buffet is much better than you get on shore.<BR><BR>I love the different foods of the countries, so try some in some ports, but for beach days and/or long tours, it's great to have your own stuff.

Katie

How about the most obvious. Book the cheapest room. I have recently booked a cruise and was looking at the room photos on-line and the cheapest room is the same size and layout as those several categories above. The only difference is location and lack of porthole or picture window. I'm told if the ship is not full, we may very well get a bump up anyway. But if not, it doesn't matter. We plan to use the room only for sleeping, showering and dressing.

yoda

Bring your own wine to dinner. Make sure to buy a really big bottle so you only have to pay corkage once. And don't share it with anyone on your table.

beenthere

Bring your own bottle of rum onboard as well as insulated mugs. At the pool during days at sea you can fill up your mug with the self serve fruit juice they offer and you have yourself an instant and cheap rum punch!!!!

Cathy

Here are some more:<BR><BR>1. Avoid the casino - usually very tight.<BR>2. Bring your own snorkel equiptment. You know that it is clean and saves you on rental fees, etc.<BR><BR>3. Research shopping prices before you go - then you will know where to get the cheapest island souv.'s and the best buys on duty free. <BR><BR>4. Avoid all other attempts the ship will make to seperate you from your money, such as art auctions. Resist impulse buying on the ship as well as land. Buy ship t-shirts on the last day when they go on sale.

Carolyn

Here's my two cents:<BR>1) definatly look at booking an inside room - especially if you have any problems with motion sickness. My husband & I both think like Kathie, we only use the room for sleeping, cleaning up & changing clothes - we usually save $$ this way so that we can spend alittle more on food or gifts.<BR><BR>2) definatly take your own sodas on board along with some snacks. I was needing a ginger ale or 2 everyday to help with some motion sickness (at $1.25 a can - you get my drift)<BR><BR>3) We always try to arrainge our tours or site seeing so that we can reboard our ship for lunch - We have already paid for 3 meals a day, we better eat the 3 meals! <BR><BR>4) We have found that unless a tour offered by the cruise line is something different or special - we will spend our time seeing the sites on our own. The cost of even the cheapest tour runs about $45 per person! I can walk for cheaper & get excercise at the same time.<BR><BR>5) Definatly stay away from the Spas - photo gallery & casino -- a big waste of $$. <BR><BR>6) I usually wander through the gift shops for several days & see what's there - then look for the same or similar item on land. Usually I can get the item for less or same. Otherwise wait till the last two days of the cruise & you can sometimes get good bargains. (like a downfilled microfiber coat w/fake fur trim for $25 - needed it in Alaska!)

Harry

Simply avoid the impulse to spend:<BR><BR>No Bingo<BR>No Casino<BR>No Spa<BR>No Frozen Thingees and other drinks<BR>No Art Auctions<BR>No portraits<BR>No cruiseline shore tours<BR><BR>Bring your own disposable camera, bottle of wine, liquor, water, soda<BR>Use the self-serve laundry<BR><BR>Avoid the onboard sales on t-shirts, waters, inch of gold,etc.<BR><BR>Tip the waiter, asst, and the cabin steward. Don't let the line persuade you to tip salaried employees like, Maitre D., Chief of Housekeeping and everybody else's mother

joanne

This idea was already mentioned, but it is the best one we do. We always book the least expensive cabin. Usually it's an inside which my husband likes for his afternoon naps. We have quite frequently been given an upgrade, even to a balcony on the Radisson Diamond and Navigator. <BR>We look at what the ship is offering for tours and then use the local public transportation or taxis. The local buses can be a wonderful way to interact with the people and are a lot less money. Once shared a truck/taxi with a pet monkey in Indonesia. <BR>We don't bring sodas or booze aboard. Plain water is what we like at home. But we do attend the Cocktail parties and have a complimentary mixed drink then. On most ships during lunch and dinner, the sodas and iced tea are complimentary. Check it out.<BR>I sometimes splurge once each cruise for a massage. It is pricey, but I deserve it.<BR>Have been on almost 50 cruises and by economizing in these ways, I can cruise more often. Check my e-mail address, it says it all.<BR>Bon Voyage Joanne<BR><BR><BR>

joanne

One more thing. Regarding lunches while ashore. We just ask the night before for a packed lunch and pick it up in the dining room at breakfast time. Consists of a drink, sandwich, fruit, desert(cookies). Quite adequate and we can picnic on the beach or in a plaza. What we don't eat, we can give to the children who always appreciate something from us foreigners. In fact, once in Yalta as I was returning to the ship, I encountered an elderly lady who had been badly burned. I gave her some fruit and she was so happy that I went back to the ship and loaded up on tea bags, afternoon tea sandwiches and more fruit to take back to her. Luckily, she was still there and we both had tears in our eyes as I left my small donation with her. An encounter I never would have had on an organized ship's tour. <BR>Well, I see I got off the original subject. Forgive me. <BR>Joanne