Money saving tips for family travel!

[Cshgrand]

Hi guys,

We are in the last year before our son (3) starts school next September and in order to make the most of off peak travel we have a whopping 24 nights at sea booked between January and May, 4 night Bahamas, 7 night western Caribbean and a 13 night transatlantic all with Royal. Stuff we won't have time for or be able to afford in school holidays.

 

So please share your tips for travelling with your little ones and trying not to spend a small fortune...for example I carry a re-sealable bag of mini m&m type things (we call them smarties in the uk) to put on my sons free ship ice cream rather than shelling out for Ben and Jerry's....It's no different to him!

 

Look forward to hearing all your suggestions.

[Mom2B&Z]

We actually spend less when the boys are with us :) I think you have the right idea by bringing things that are familiar from home, that definitely helps my boys feel comfortable when away from home. Otherwise we set limits: no "fancy" drinks (that's usually the fresh squeezed juice from the buffet), we eat only at the restaurants included in the cruise fare, and we try to do at least one self-guided walking tour as our port excursion. We always try to eat on the ship, even if it means going back to the ship then leaving again. I watch the fees for including children in the activities carefully, there are many excursions where the children get the same experience as an adult paying full fare.

It's an interesting question, I'm curious to see what others suggest!

[Essiesmom]

Drink whatever is free, forget the soda card. If there isn't anything your kids like to drink, bring single serve packets to add to water. In the US they are Crystal Light, kool aid type things.

Take a wide mouth sports bottle to fill with water on the ship, don't buy expensive bottled water to drink onboard or take on excursions. EM

[Woodmnky]

Even before kids we always brought packs of sealed crackers and other foods that we could take off the ship in port so that we didn't need to buy food. It was always enough to tide us over until we got back to the ship.

 

Also if you want to do souvenir shopping one parent can go into the store while the other one plays outside with the child so that you are not constantly being asked if they can have something.

[just_us]

We have three children and as you can imagine, the prices for excursions can be astounding! I did find some where my younger two can participate at no additional cost. And we book our excursions on our own, not through the ship - so we save even more money.

 

I'll be lugging along some snacks and some dollar tree items to keep them appeased.

[luvhubandbabys]

I havent cruised in 6yrs but we have our first family cruise booked next year. Here is our plan:

 

Limit soda or dont drink it at all ( its extra right). If you drink alcohol limit how much you drink. We dont drink very often so this is not a problem for us. Besides with my kids Im so exhausted drinking would just put my old lady butt to sleep. LOL.

Our cruise has 4 ports, we decided we will book excursions on two of the port and just wing the other two. Hopefully something that includes a lunch or brunch of some kind.

 

Eat at the places that are free: dining rooms, room service, buffets. Especially with kids you just never know if they will participate and you wont be called out during a dinner that you pay extra for. :eek:

 

I basically try to only do the stuff that is included in the cruise fare to begin with. The extras can be nice but there is so much to do that its normally not an issue.

[williamson_ja]

We don't drink or gamble. That saves money right there. Then, I try to get the cheapest possible rate on the cruisefare itself. We've done kids sail free cruises in the past. This time, we just found a really great rate. Fly with Southwest. They let your bags fly free and actually feed you quite a few snacks on board. That saves me quite a bit of money, too.

 

Things I do on the cruise to save money: bringing my own soda onboard if it's a line that doesn't include free soda. My kids don't get spending money from us. They all earn their own money to spend on trips. It makes them understand the value of money and they are very careful what they spend money on that way. We also don't spend money on food from specialty restaurants. You can get all the food you need for free. No need to spend extra there. Don't book your excursions through the ship. If you are booking excursions at all (we do 1/2 this way) book through a private company.

 

I'm sure there is more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head. We have 7 kids and it can be difficult. good luck

[chipmaster]

Life and money is all about choices, but I'm surprised that "24 days" and worrying about cost are in the same post:confused:

 

Oh I get it that is a serious chunk of change being spent on cruises so it is possible to seriously need to save every euro/pound for the extra stuff :D

 

On a serious note, avoid the for pay stuff be it drinks, activities, photos... But with 24 days I could see the free stuff not being enough too.

[Cshgrand]

Life and money is all about choices, but I'm surprised that "24 days" and worrying about cost are in the same post:confused:

 

Oh I get it that is a serious chunk of change being spent on cruises so it is possible to seriously need to save every euro/pound for the extra stuff :D

 

Yeah, I take your point. In my family we use the saying "look after the pennies, and the pounds look after themselves". I had it drilled into me growing up!!

 

Besides my husband pays for the trips while I am responsible for spending money and planning our ports etc and I like to get a good deal (or at least feel I'm getting one) when I spend any hard earned cash.

 

Its interesting to hear other people's take on it all, I am a sucker for the photos though so going for a pre-paid deal for two of the trips so I can take care of it in advance.

[Onessa]

We always are among the first pax off the ship at port -- up early, breakfast on ship, off early to avoid the crowds, back to the ship mid afternoon for lunch - then you only need snacks in port (much of which you can bring with).

 

Plus we continued to travel during off peak times (during the school year) -- DD's school has many three to three-and-a-half days off school holidays (Fall break, American Thanksgiving, Winter break) so we plan trips to coincide with those -- it minimizes her time missing school but still does not cost an arm and a leg.