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Legitimate Ways to Save on Carnival

Daisydaisy20

By Daisydaisy20,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Daisydaisy20

Daisydaisy20

Posted
Posted

I'm interested in the best value for my dollar while having a good time and NOT breaking the rules. Examples: I'll mix my own drinks with alcohol from Bon Voyage but I'm not the type to sneak it on the ship. I won't get one soda sticker and share it among 4 people but I will set a budget for the casino. I'm not interested in removing the automatic gratuities. I'll take old beach towels from home that we won't miss and won't be charged for losing if we fail to bring them back to the ship. What are your tips to get the best value for your vacation dollars without losing your integrity?

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Daisydaisy20

Daisydaisy20

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I'm not sure, but it seems to be a big concern with some people on this board. We aren't veteran cruisers, and we're traveling with children. I honestly don't know what to expect. From what I read here, I have the idea keeping up with the ship's towels was a headache I don't need to have. You must have another perspective?

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gizzer

gizzer

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Daisy, I never found it a headache to keep track of towels. As long as you're conscientious about keeping an eye on them, it's not a big deal. I agree with cb at sea - save that weight/space in your suitcase for something else.

 

I think some people leave their towels on deck chairs to "save" them and that's how they "lose" them. But you aren't really supposed to "save" chairs anyway unless you're there using them at the time.

 

Anyway, that's just my two cents. :)

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Colorado Kat

Colorado Kat

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We also bring our own beach towels. We cruise Carnival, and their towels are big and bulky, and annoying to carry three for an excursion. Our towels are smaller, and old, kid's beach towels. Adequete for drying off, but thin, and easy to carry. If they ever got taken from a beach chair while we were snorkeling, no big loss.

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forgetmeknot

forgetmeknot

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What I take camping or snorkeling is an "absorber" chamois. See link below. It works like a charm and can be rung out and used again immediately. I love them for camping. Light small and never gets too wet to work no matter how many people share it. It doesn't feel like a cotton towel, but it does the job. I've had mine for 15+ years and it is still going strong. Around $10 at Walmart. I have seen generic's even cheaper, if you wanted to take a chance and save some more cash. Just giving an alternate idea for people to consider as opposed to multiple beach towels.

 

http://www.cleantools.net/WebSite/inner.aspx?pg=../productDesc.aspx?pid=3&desc=../website/htm/the_absorber.htm

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gail811

gail811

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Taking the Carnival towels on excursions can actually help insure your driver takes you back to the right pier.....flash your Carnival towel and they know exactly where to drop you! Even though Carnival clearly marks their tender lines, I remember making it back to tender to the ship in Grand Cayman and it was immediately obvious which line to stand in by the towel color; yellow towels were going to a celebrity ship, blue to Carnival.

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LemurCat

LemurCat

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I've never found "keeping track" of the ship's towels to be an issue. It's a towel. It's not like it's a puppy or a small child.

 

As for saving money, avoid Bingo. You're better off taking your money and tossing it over the rail. Also, avoid the coffee counter and the pastries there. You get free coffee and goodies from room service or the Lido deck.

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Uncle Doug

Uncle Doug

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Things we do to save money on cruises;

 

 

  • Book early saver rates, save 25-30% then check rates for upgrade or OBC

 

  • Book cheapest inside cabins

 

  • Book cruises for off season lower rates

 

  • Use Future cruise certificates to gain OBC

 

  • use CCL stockholder to get OBC

 

  • Pack soda's and bottle water in an extra suitcase (legal) use the extra suitcase to haul home all the stuff bought or dirty clothes.

 

  • Use Platinum free entry to blackjack tournament to win $500, has worked twice so far.

 

  • Use Platinum free laundry service.
  • Drive to port to save money

PS, in 20+ cruises we have never lost a ships towel.

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mrsbean1990

mrsbean1990

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Take your own pictures and avoid the ship photographers.

 

Buy souvenirs in port, rather than on the ship.

 

Book your own excursions, but do a lot of research, and leave yourself plenty of time to return to the ship before departure.

 

If you're happy with water, iced tea, and lemonade, there's really no need for a soda card. You also get juices in the a.m.

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sailor_jimc

sailor_jimc

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While this topic was intended to cover more than just towels, it seems to be the most discussed... I'll add this on taking your own towels- IF you were to lose a towel its $22 (maybe its $25) If you are flying and pack 4 towels you probably end up with another suitcase which will cost you $50 in baggage fees. So I would risk losing the ships towel. We have sailed on many cruises and used the ships towels. Never have lost one yet. You don't need to bring them up on deck as you can get one up there. Don't save a seat with them and then you are safe there. Also, if you bring your own, they are good for one port day/use before they are wet and or sandy. In the Caribbean humidity, you will be hard pressed to get them to dry out. With the ships towels, you come back from your port day, chuck them on the bathroom floor and that evening your steward drops off clean, dry replacement towels... no fuss. Its really not worth dragging your own towels on the cruise.

 

As far as non towels related savings- DON'T buy every picture they take. If you can do without any pictures then even better. But if your fall into the trap of buying one from each port, one or two from formal night..etc etc.. you end up having 10 pictures at $14 a piece....

 

Definitely do the bon voyage thing for a bottle or two of booze and do your own mixing.

 

Other than that, avoid the charge items (spa treatments and photos and steakhouse) and you will minimize your spend.

 

But so far the BEST money saving thing we have found is to simply book Early Saver and use the farechecker website to watch your price. We have saved $700 on our cruise so far. Then we used Future cruise certificates to save another $100 (actually $200 because we booked 2 cabins and used one for each) And we have stock holders OBC so we have $620 total in OBC before we even get on the ship... you just need to know how to work the system :)

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elcuchio24

elcuchio24

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Listen, as far as alcohol goes, allot depends on how much you drink. DW and I are in our late 20's. We enjoy drinking, but aren't going out to get hammered every night. Now this is what we do on a typical cruise as far as drinks go on a 7 nighter:

 

A liter of gin from BV, carry on a couple big bottles of tonic water.

 

Two bottles of wine brought on per CCL's policy.

 

Free drinks at the past guest party one night.

 

Free drinks at the farewell party on night.

 

We usually book at least one excursion that has free drinks.

 

So that's 3 days with all you can drink drinks for at least an hour or more. Plus a couple dozen gin and tonics from the BV bottle. Plus 10 glasses of wine from the 2 bottles you brought on board. I mean, we still have cocktails from time to time, but seriously, for us the list above is ALOT of booze for a week! We just got back from a B2B and we were both totally drinked out!

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tattoos

tattoos

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We always pack our inexpensive ($5) beach towels and take them on all beach/water excursions, they're really thin and lay flat on the bottom of our suitcase. If someone steals our towel, no big deal and we don't have to pay Carnival $25 for a replacement. When we took an excursion to Dunns River Falls, we had to leave all of our personal belongings on the catamaran while we climbed the Falls. Upon our return, quite a few people were missing towels and were upset that they had to pay for a replacement. Maybe some people forgot to bring a towel from their room and grabbed one from someone's elses pile of belongings. You can't keep your eyes on your Carnival towel 100% of the time.

 

It amazes me how much alcohol people try to sneak onboard. When I book a cruise, I factor in all the ancillary items I need to expense for, i.e., gambling, alcoholic beverages, tips. My cruise doesn't revolve around how much alcohol I can drink...too many other great things to do. I can drink anytime at home, I can't enjoy the total cruise experience if I'm planning where my next drink is coming from and how much it's going to cost me. For me, it's not worth the trouble, chance of breakage and possible confiscation to try to sneak alcohol and mixers in my luggage. We order from Bon Voyage and the bar venues on the ship (already bugeted for).

 

Purchase soda cards? never. The free cold beverage options on the ship are adequate and healthier...water, lemonade, juice.

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girlscruise2011

girlscruise2011

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You can buy them on the ship. They will charge you credit card seperately.

 

Some ships do not sell them. I was on the Imagination and Sensation and they do not sell them. There are a few more but I don't know which ones....anyway, if your ship does not sell them. You can call the Promotions Department within one week of debarkment and order them. I was off the Imagination on Monday and called yesterday to order 2 of them. Can't wait to use them. :D

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parrothead74

parrothead74

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Some ships do not sell them. I was on the Imagination and Sensation and they do not sell them. There are a few more but I don't know which ones....anyway, if your ship does not sell them. You can call the Promotions Department within one week of debarkment and order them. I was off the Imagination on Monday and called yesterday to order 2 of them. Can't wait to use them. :D

 

What is the advantage of purchasing them? Is it like $50 for a $100 certificate or something, or is it more of that you have already spent so it will cost less when you book?

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