Legitimate Ways to Save on Carnival

[elcuchio24]

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?

 

What it is is $100 deposit on a future cruise within the next 2 years. When you book that cruise, the $100 is put towards the cost of the cruise PLUS tou get $100 OBC on the cruise you use the FCC on.

[SadieN]

We are big soda drinkers & one thing we have done to save money is to wait until the 2nd day to purchase our soda sticker. Saves $6 per person that way.

 

Wait until the ship leaves port, you will save sales tax.

 

What it is is $100 deposit on a future cruise within the next 2 years. When you book that cruise, the $100 is put towards the cost of the cruise PLUS tou get $100 OBC on the cruise you use the FCC on.

 

$50 OBC on the shorter cruises

$100 on the week cruises

$250 on the two week cruises

[MissyMac13]

1. We brought three 12 packs of soda on our last two cruises and didn't drink much soda at all. I was taking soda off the ship after the cruises were over. I plan to bring some on our next cruise in November, but probably only two 12 packs for 3 of us.

2. DH and I each brought a bottle of wine but didn't drink it. This time, our CC group is planning a wine tasting so I am hopeful that the wine will be consumed!

3. Excursions - We try to pick just one instead of trying to do something in every port. We also pick the ones that include a meal and beverages.

4. As someone else mentioned, check the Fun Times to see where the free events are. Tea time is one of our favorite things! Delicious treats and different teas and you meet terrific people! On our last cruise, they had a free scrapbooking event and I attended, even though I don't scrapbook. They were giving away pages and stickers for photos and I used those to display photos of our daughters from the cruise - after making the pages, I framed them. We also got free clothes for my daughter's Build A Bear when we were on the Paradise in February. She was one of a few kids who participated in this and for $20, got the stuffed animal and 6 changes of clothes.

5. Attend the past guest event. Even if the drinks are watered down and you don't like some of the appetizers served, you'll find something you like and meet some great people.

6. Laundry - On our last cruise, I was determined to do laundry as we were cruising for 5 days and had traveled 3 days prior to get to Galveston. By the time I was ready to do the laundry, the ship was offering a special to have a huge bag full of laundry done for $10. I figured that this was a better deal for me than spending my vacation doing laundry. I did bring change and some laundry sheets with the detergent and softener combined, so if laundry needs to be done, you can do it yourself.

[DEL67]

A couple of other ways to save money on any cruise.

 

- Excursions - Research ports so you can do it on your own or look into private excursions. Your roll call is often a good source for saving money by sharing private excursions. For example, this past summer in Europe, we did not take any ship excursions. We went by ourselves using public transportation in all ports except one where we shared a private excursion with others from our roll call - at 1/3 the cost of the similar ship excursion. We had a great time and saw things that others did not.

 

- Most Carnival ships have coin operated washers/dryer so you can save by washing your own clothing if you need to. However, over the last few years, we have bought quick dry clothing. You can rinse out the clothing in the sink and it will dry overnight as long as you wring it out well. This can also help save on luggage fees since quick dry clothing usually weighs less and fold up smaller than regular clothing.

[Tucker in Texas]

Another reason to bring your own beach towels, besides having kids that would lose their heads if they weren't attached--that be mine, is that if you never check one out, the odds are better they won't show up as not returned on your shipboard statement even though you returned them.

 

Sometimes, the towel charge does not show up until after you are home and notice that your total charges are different from the one on your final statement. When you inquire why, it is for non-return of a towel. It boils down to "they said,you said" and "they said" holds the trump card.

 

Husband had to wait in a long line on disembarkment day over another matter and said there were many people in line were complaining about erroneous towel charges.

 

You can pick up a beach towel for a buck at most thrift stores and leave it when you get off the ship. On some ships, you can go to the gym and get a towel there. Won't be as nice as the ones by the pool but it will dry you off and two will cover your lounge.

 

Tucker in Texas

[H82seaUgo]

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?

 

one should not cut corners when they vacation, nor sacrifice what they do freely.

[RenoNanaOz]

I agree with the poster who said to bring your own bottled water. We always do this and it comes in handy in the middle of the night. The Stewards bring us a big bucket of ice the first day to put it in and they keep it full. DH and I love to drink wine with dinner so we always get the wine package. It's a better deal if you are going to drink wine with Dinner. We almost always book our excursions from independents, that include food and drinks. We enjoy the morning discounted Mimosas or Bloody Marys. We love the pastries at the Coffee Bar but only get it once or twice on a 7 day. Mostly we try to just relax and enjoy and not think too much about what we are spending once on the Ship.

[jmcancruise]

SEt a budget precruise for things like the casino, pictures, alcohol etc. Stick to it. Perhaps try to go without for the first couple of days of your cruise and save for later. I find there is so much to do and see the first couple of days that you don't really need to spend any money to have a great time.

[LemurCat]

If you're a beer drinker, the ship will often let you bring a 6 Pack of local stuff back with you from the ports and not hold it until the last night of the cruise. Good way to keep the beer budget in check. Just don't abuse it.

[okgirl]

Here is my suggestions.

 

1. Don't buy your soda card(s) until the ship has set sail so you don't have to pay tax on them.

 

2. Go to the Past Guest party (if you are one) and the Fun Farewell Party, the former is well advertised the latter not so much.

 

3. Go to the art auction just for the bubbly.

 

4. I take an insulated mug that I refill every morning with the melted ice water from my bucket. I think that water tastes more filtered than the tap water. But even the tap water with ice in it doesn't cost anything, and tastes okay.

 

5. Order your cappucino's or espresso's with breakfast or dinner or lunch in the MDR they are free at those times.

 

6. Research online for walking tours in the various ports you are visiting.

 

7. There are lots of nice backdrops (not the professional ones) to have your picture taken. I'm always more than willing to do so for fellow passengers.

 

8. Walk by the bridge a few times a day and if an officer is coming or going from there engage them in conversation, ask if you can just peek inside. They just might invite you in.

 

9. I make it a habit to find out the casino hosts name in advance. I introduce myself to him as soon as I'm on the ship, engage him in conversation everytime I'm in the casino and in general just be very friendly. I've gotten many drinks, totebags, t-shirts, cards, all kinds of stuff.

 

10. I do the same thing when I meet the officers at the Captains cocktail party. I try to already know what their names are (the senior one's pictures are hanging in the lobby) I always introduce myself, ask to have a photograph taken with them and engage them in a short conversation calling them by name. It's amazing to me how many people treat them as annonymous individuals. People like to have their names used and generally like to talk about themselves. In return, I'm often treated to a coffee or a drink when I encounter them again in the Lobby bar or the Pastry shop.

[timetogosoon]

I don't know if you plan on cruising again, but DH and I bought US Divers snorkels sets off Amazon. They weren't bad ($40 each) and we've tried them out and they are actually nice. That will save us a lot with excursions etc. Plus I really don't wanna use a used snorkel. So, that would be a way to save money, but only if you plan on using them for more than one cruise. Its about $20 to rent.

[cambio]

On port days, we do most of our drinking on shore. It's often quite a bit cheaper.

 

You guys are doing the right thing though. Lot's of pre-cruise research means that you get the most out of your vacation.

[sealpup]

I agree with doing research here on CC for shore excursions, you can save alot. If nothing intrest U most of the times you an walk around port safetly. I bring little packets of Crystal light and a larger glass or water bottle to carry around.

[MSRussell]

On my first few cruises, I bought the Internet package. The service is very slow on board.

Last time, I used the Currently Onboard Forum on Carnival's funville site, which is free to use.

I didn't buy minutes last time, but did research and used the Internet Cafes at each port.

 

My souvenirs are cheap ones. Every ship sells a rubber magnet with the name of the ship on it. At each port, I buy a magnet that has the port name on it, and put them on my fridge, under the ship magnet.

 

I take a bottle of water on board, and refill it on the ship. I don't drink beer, etc., but bring on board a couple 20 oz Cokes with me. When I get to the port, I get more.

 

[lillian marie]

I bring my own towels for my kids especially if we are going on beach excursions. A friend had 2 towels that her sons had lost or taken at the pool and she had to pay for them.

[larkz]

I don't think these have been mentioned yet.

 

 

1. Review your expenditures several times during the trip to make sure you're not overspending. It's easy to lose track and then find your Sail & Sign balance is higher than you expected.
   
2. In addition to avoiding unnecessary expenses, make sure you're not, er..., inadvertently charged for anything. Check every tab that you sign.
   

[italianfemmy]

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.

 

 

Is your siggy photo from Boca Tabla in Curacao? Sorry to butt in for a non related question :-)

[ccruisequeen]

But then you get to use it one less day...

 

so, bring your own sodas for Embarkation!

 

Pose for photos, but don't buy any.

 

Win games & save the money you'd spend on gifts!

[5waldos]

How do you get future cruise certificates?

 

You buy them onboard. Most ships have them- they are $100 which you can apply to a future cruise plus you get OBC- for a 7 day cruise it is $100, shorter cruises it is less, longer cruises more. Very good deal if you will be cruising again.

[5waldos]

Another way of saving money is to check out the airfares before you book the cruise. All the money saving in the world will go down the drain if your airfare is high. I have forgotten this twice, and paid very very dearly for my lapse. I now book cruises largely dependent on the airfare. Or at least do a complex comparison of cruise cost, airfare cost, hotel cost, and cost of getting to the port itself.

[kingoftheicedragons]

How do we "save" money on Carnival?

 

By living the same way we do on land. Much of what Carnival charges for isn't stuff that we would do if we were at home or even on a land vacation, so why pay for it on a cruise?

[wentworth]

Bring your own over the counter meds; aspirin, cold med, sunscreen, anti

diarrea, exlax, femine hygene prod etc. These are very expensive in the ships store.

[matj2000]

We are big soda drinkers & one thing we have done to save money is to wait until the 2nd day to purchase our soda sticker. Saves $6 per person that way.

 

Why don't you wait until the 3rd day and save $12?

Or better yet, wait till you get home and save $85 and give your kidney's a vacation also...

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

How and why would you lose towels or "fail to bring them back to the ship"????? Save that space and weight and use the ship's towels!!!

 

The rest of your plan sounds good to me!

 

Let me tell you personally why this is a good idea. Twice I have been on land vacations, in St. Marteen & Grand Cayman both times people who were on Carnival cruise ships left towels on beach chairs when they went back to the ship. My girlfriends & I gathered a few up took them back to the condo where we were staying to wash them and take them home with us. So now I never take a Carnival towel off the ship.

[TheCalicoCat]

I only read the first page & did not see what we do so...

 

Buy fun ship dollars before your cruise. (You can also buy drink coupons.) After we finished paying for the actual cruise (incl. gratuities) we started to buy fun ship dollars - now we have several hundred, hopefully when we leave the ship, we will not owe anything on our s&s card - because we pre-paid through fun ship dollars.