Ways to pay off most of cruise before we sail?

[maldenmusic]

1. Carry your soft drinks onboard with you then enjoy the free tea and lemonade. Save the $$ you would spend on a soda card.

 

2. Avoid the casino or only take a set amount with you. Don't use your S & S card to play at the casino-take $$ with you.

 

3. Shop around for excursions that you book yourself. They will usually save you $$ over what Carnival charges. Do your homework and make sure they are reputable and will get you back to the ship ontime.

 

4. Save all your loose change before you cruise...it adds up fast.

 

Take advantage of all the free things you can do on the ship...we are never bored and don't spend much money.

[Calico Jack Sparrow]

Arrghh.

Nothing puts a damper on that good feeling you've gotten from your cruise like a big s&s bill.

For our first cruise, I sold some stuff on Ebay; saved all my coin; accumulated a few visa gift cards, and basically squirrled away any "found" money as for the vacation fund.

 

In planning our second, I had more time to think about it. Luckily, I brought my bankroll home from Vegas intact. Took the cost of the cruise and laid my money down on an ES price. I got 50K bonus points from Amex which paid for our airfare. Now with 27 weeks to go, I have my cruise paid; airfare & hotels before and after paid; I just need to account for gambling, on board expenses and the balances on our excursions.

I am again selling some things on Ebay so, I should have more then enought to cover all that.

 

Wow! Might even be able to start putting something away towards the next one before we even sail. Sweet!:D

[Warm Breezes]

Ditto ... except that with our Chase Visa, we use our reward points to get $200 off the actual cruise price. They have a reward program that gives $200 off on either Carnival or Royal and with their 5X bonuses, it's really pretty easy to accumulate 20,000 points. I'd only recommend this if you use it for everything and then pay if off each month in full. We really use ours more like a debit card and not a true credit card, so it make sense for us. Our upcoming cruise was pretty cheap already, but with this $200 off and a stockholder $100 OBC factored in, our 7 day cruise will be just over $600 for both of us!:D Can't beat it!

 

Exactly. The cash is in the bank to pay off the bill as soon as it is due. I can't imagine doing things any other way...it would be like saying "no, thanks" to hundreds of dollars each year. I say "yes, thanks".

[PittsburghGirlee]

I know it was a fluke......but I put $20.00 in a penny machine on the Dream's POWER STRIKE machine and won $1689.54.:D:D.

No worries on Sail N Sign bill for me......

Best $20.00 I ever spent....

I am not promoting gambling, espically for those on a tight buget and I doubt it would ever happen again to me. I usually do not have much luck:).

[momonthego17]

Last Carnival cruise we ordered a bottle of Vodka and a bottle of Rum from Bon Voyage about 2 weeks before our cruise. We had in our carry-on a bottle of champagne per adult and a six pack of cranberry juice and a six pack of guava juice. This cut down our bar bill substantially and we brought our leftover booze home. Kind of nice to be able to make cocktails in your room and not have to go out to a bar.

[MissDiva1]

I know it was a fluke......but I put $20.00 in a penny machine on the Dream's POWER STRIKE machine and won $1689.54.:D:D.

 

No worries on Sail N Sign bill for me......

 

Best $20.00 I ever spent....

 

I am not promoting gambling, espically for those on a tight buget and I doubt it would ever happen again to me. I usually do not have much luck:).

 

LOL! And I love that you added the 54 cents:D Congrats! The most I won on a ship was $1,000 on a poker machine with a royal flush on the Glory last May.

[Shelli]

Like others here, we use a credit card with cash rewards-- that money goes to vacations, and we're disciplined enough to pay off our bill every month. I'm proud to say I have *never* carried a credit card balance in over 40 years of having credit cards.

 

Another thing I did before booking our last Carnival cruise (which was cancelled by them, so it didn't end up helping me) was to apply for a Carnival credit card. The link is right on the front page of the Carnival site. After your first purchase, you get $50 off (or $50 in OBC) your cruise price. Once again, you must have the discipline to ALWAYS pay it off every single month.

[Hotrocker2011]

Thanks for all the responses:)..To clear up any confusion I was asking for ways to to keep the bill down at the end of the cruise, not ways to pay the cruise off.... If i was worried about that I wouldn't have booked it yet.....But those are some very good ideas.....Can someone please explain the fun ship dollars, or point me in the right direction? I would like to use these epically if it will get me $400.00 bucks, but have know clue how:o.....

[Duncarob]

This won't help for your S&S card, but for vacations, I am in the habit of buying hotel and airline gift cards. I may buy a hotel (for example, Hilton, etc.) gift card for $50 each payday, or an airline gift card. That way when I get ready to purchase airfare or stay in hotels they are already partially (or fully) paid. If you haven't yet purchased airfare or if you plan on staying in hotels before or after the cruise, this is great way to pre-pay these expenses. You can also do this with restaurants or purchase discount restaurant certificates at restaurants dot com.

[Delta Dear]

I get a 25.00 funship dollar each pay- 3 pays each month- you have 5 months before yousail and that will give you almost 400. to spend onboard.

 

Carnival also sells photo coupons (which are dollar for dollar) it jsut prepays your photos.

 

 

OH, I didn't know about the photo coupons. I always buy the one as you embark, and maybe one or two others. I don't like the price but a coupon would make it less painful. Thanks, I'll check those out. The more paid upfront, the better.

[us2swingu]

We always work our butts off so that we can pay off the credit card and then put an extra $1000.00 on the card and we automatically have a $1000.00 credit we almost always come home with either a $100.00 credit or only owing $100.00.. I love it and works every time.. Good luck

:cool:

[texas greeneyes]

To order Funship Dollars (also called Onboard Credit or OBC), have your booking number (four numbers and two letters) and your cabin number (four numbers) available, and call (800) 906-7603.

 

To order bottle(s) of liquor to be waiting for you upon arrival in your cabin, call (800) 522-7648.

 

Hope this helps! :)

[us2swingu]

To order Funship Dollars (also called Onboard Credit or OBC), have your booking number (four numbers and two letters) and your cabin number (four numbers) available, and call (800) 906-7603.

 

To order bottle(s) of liquor to be waiting for you upon arrival in your cabin, call (800) 522-7648.

 

Hope this helps! :)

 

When you say order liquer, do you mean just wine or what ? I understand you can't buy liquer only wine...

[Hotrocker2011]

To order Funship Dollars (also called Onboard Credit or OBC), have your booking number (four numbers and two letters) and your cabin number (four numbers) available, and call (800) 906-7603.

 

To order bottle(s) of liquor to be waiting for you upon arrival in your cabin, call (800) 522-7648.

 

Hope this helps! :)

 

Thanks that helps a little....do you know how they work?

[Delta Dear]

The soda, photo and bar cards are easily found by going to Carnival.com, down at the bottom under,"Already Booked," click on Gifts and Services. Bar cards are now $23.00, Soda are $ 7.75 for four sodas, Photo cards for $15.00.

 

I never could find the Fun Dollars, so I put the word in SEARCH and it took me to the page. Those can be delivered OR somehow you can have them applied to you SS account ahead of time. I can't remember how I did that.

 

There is a phone # to call if you want help in ordering

1-800-906-7603. Good Luck !

[texas greeneyes]

When you say order liquer, do you mean just wine or what ? I understand you can't buy liquer only wine...

 

 

Thanks that helps a little....do you know how they work?

 

I mean liquor as in vodka, whiskey, tequila, etc. More for a bottle than on land, but less per drink compared to ship's individual drink prices. Just call 1 (800) 522-7648, if you have any problems post here.

 

BTW, another little-known fact is that you can also order a bottle of liquor from Room Service once aboard. ;)

[salty dingo]

You can do all the things already suggested, but I suggest a plain old envelope. When you get some money you can put toward the cruise, put it in an envelope, lick and seal it, and stow it away next to your passport. Not even a thought that it is there until it is time to pack!

[Durangler]

Thanks for all the responses:)Can someone please explain the fun ship dollars, or point me in the right direction? I would like to use these epically if it will get me $400.00 bucks, but have know clue how:o.....

Try this link:

 

www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=giftcertificates&pid=FSD

 

When ordering online, put your booking # and stateroom in the Address box on the form.

You may also want to state, "Please apply to On Board Credit", in the comment box.

You'll receive an e-mail confirmation. It's my understanding the credit will be applied about 2 weeks before you sail.

 

You can also purchase them by calling the Bon Voyage Dept at 1-800-906-7603.

 

Call the same number to order liquor and mixers as well.

[MissDiva1]

You can do all the things already suggested, but I suggest a plain old envelope. When you get some money you can put toward the cruise, put it in an envelope, lick and seal it, and stow it away next to your passport. Not even a thought that it is there until it is time to pack!

 

Way way way too logical.......

[Del306]

I have a separate savings account that I put a certain amount of money in each paycheck. When I get back from our cruise, I will pay off the credit card with money from that account. Anything left in the account goes to the next vacation, and I will keep saving. That account is hands off to anything except vacation expenses.

 

We do the same thing. It may be too late for you to do this, but this is how we'll roll from now on.

 

We automatically have money drafted into a special savings account every two weeks. We book the cruise on a credit card and then pay it off within 30 days. Then, we use the same credit card on board (my husband and I are good at controlling our expenses) and pay it off within 30 days of returning home.

 

We learned our lesson after it took us nearly 2 years to pay off a cruise when we were in our 20s (we're only in our early 30s now).

 

When we buy "frills" (vacations, televisions, computers, etc.) we only make the purchase if we have enough cash up front to pay for half and we can pay it off entirely within 30-60 days. That way you don't feel guilty about spending.

 

For this trip, try carrying cash if you're booking excursions in port. Some countries (Canada, Bermuda, Bahamas, etc.) accept American dollars. You'll end up with some charges on your Sign & Sail account, but you can minimize charges by enjoying FREE stuff onboard.