Cruising on a Budget

[sexyaznboy]

Hey I'm a new cruiser, and could easily become addicted! :p

 

I can't afford to do the whole balcony upgrade thing and spend tons of money on tours. Maybe one day I will. How many people cruise on a budget, look for the lowest prices, do the inside cabin thing and are just happy to be able to go on a cruise and experience a different world? It seems many on the board are seasoned cruisers and can afford to do one or two cruises a year, sometimes I do get the feeling on the boards that you aren't really cruising properly if you aren't in the penthouse suite. I don't want to miss the experience of cruising just because I can't do it in "A" list style.

 

Any other Cheapie Cruisers like me? :D Am I "cruise challenged"? LOL

[madjohn]

hey i am with you. i am going on the Regal Princess this summer and my wife and I are booked for an inside room. My mother and a friend are also going and my mom will not go unless she has a balcony. Now she can afford it and the real reason she wants it is to have a smoke first thing in the mornting and last thing at night. I feel that I am getting the same exact cruise as some guy spending 10 times what I am. the only thing I do in my cabin is sleep, shower and you know... My wife likes to sleep and last year she was a bit bummed when they upgraded us to an outside window, you know all that light comes in the morning. Why spend a lot. same boat, same food same fun and a whole lot less. I get real happy when I can get my cruise for under a 100 a day per person, I almost feel that i am stealing something. have fun, your not alone:rolleyes:

[vowsatsea]

We are definitely on a budget also. My boyfriend and I have been dating almost 3 years, and this is the first vacation we've been able to afford. We decided that a cruise would be the best vacation were you can get the most for your money. We booked an inside cabin, can only afford maybe one shore excursion (if that), and will limit ourselves to spending $500 onboard for the week. So, yes...you're definitely not the only one on a budget (and a tight one, too!) :D

[NavySis]

I am another budget cruiser. I don't think I could afford a vacation if I didn't take a cruise. I also book an inside cabin. I don't see the point of getting a more expensive cabin when all I really use my cabin for is to seep and shower. If it was a special occasion I might upgrade depending on the cost. I would rather spend the money on shore excursions or gifts for my family.

 

NavySis

[OceanDreamin]

I'm also a budget cruiser. We booked an inside guarantee, off-season, to get the lowest possible fare. Reading these boards I found out about a sale Carnival was having over the holidays, and I was able to drop our fare an additional $150 and got bumped up a full category to a 5A. I would have been just as happy in our inside, bottom deck cabin. Just get me on the ship!:D Saving the additional $150 was awesome though.

 

One of the reasons I love cruising is I feel like I am pampered and really get first class treatment, even though I am usually in the cheapest cabin on the ship.

[PhoneGoddess]

We're budget cruisers! We have a great TA who finds us the absolutely BEST deals! We learned early on that an inside cabin is fine for us. We barely spend any time in the cabin anyway. We rarely do shore excursions. I do a lot of research on the ports and find plenty of things for us to do on our own. We don't buy any photos and rarely pay for anything extra other than alcohol. Because of all of this, we're able to go on 3 cruises this year!:D

[buddyjo143]

We are definitely on a budget also. My boyfriend and I have been dating almost 3 years, and this is the first vacation we've been able to afford. We decided that a cruise would be the best vacation were you can get the most for your money. We booked an inside cabin, can only afford maybe one shore excursion (if that), and will limit ourselves to spending $500 onboard for the week. So, yes...you're definitely not the only one on a budget (and a tight one, too!) :D

 

It's all about priorities. What will you purchase for $500 on board? If you scale back a drink or two on board you can afford a cab ride to a beach at Nassau. If you wanted to gamble in the casino, again, scale back and you can eat in a restaurant in port.

 

Eat your meals on board or bring a (legal) snack from the buffet and you can explore a port for the cost of a bottle of water:p.

 

It can be done on a budget but it takes knowing what you want and setting your goals.

[sexyaznboy]

Thanks for the replies! And also making me feel better that I'm not a "bad cruiser" for doing an inside cabin. It makes me kind of self conscious on a newer ship like the one I'm going on, Celebrity Summit where 80% of the ship is either outside or balcony. I could hold on and wait to save enough money to do a nicer cabin for paying 50% more than I'm paying now, but I'd prefer to use that 50% to save for my next cruise!

 

:D Happy cheap cruising to my frugal colleagues!

[DeeT]

I'm with you as far as cruising on a budget. We also booked a guaranteed inside cabin on the Miracle. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't complain if I got an upgrade but I'm so excited about our cruise, even if it's a year away! My DH and kids couldn't care less which cabin we're in. :p

[CaptData]

Although my next cruise (a B2B) is in a JS, I normally go with an inside. I need an H/C and a dark room during the day. I have never been upgraded because H/C always sell out fast. I can afford a larger room most times but preferr the inside. It is cheaper when you travel by yourself. I am for saving money.

[thawan]

I agree. I would rather go more often in an inside, There are so many places to go on a ship. :D

[jasmine3407]

My last two cruises were 4 and 5 years ago, and we really went all out at that time because we were in a much better financial position. When I think about how much needless money we spent on those cruises, with balconies, and expensive shore excursions, I almost cringe. Of course we had a great time, but it didn't need to be so extravagant.

 

Now, I am booked in an inside cabin for next month and it took me a few days to process that, LOL. I can only do 1-2 cheap shore excursions at the most, and I won't even allow myself to dine in the steakhouse, when there is free food everywhere. I am still very excited about the cruise, because it's a cruise afterall! But I hear you on the budget. I'm in a different place in my life now, and I'm glad to be able to just go on cruises again after such a long hiatus. It will be just as fun, I think!!!

[cruisinbuddy]

I budget for two years and then go on a cruise. I save as much $$ as I can and then there's no worrying when on board if you're going to run out of $$. This happened to us once and I won't let it happen again. I have to really budget now b/c Jan. '09 we're planning a b2b and will be booking it by Jan. '08.

[Sea Hag]

My husband and I haven't gone on as many cruises as many people here on the boards have; our upcoming is our 10th. I've always shopped for the best possible price, we've had inside cabins more often than not, and we don't go all out on shore excursions. We have done a few, special expensive shore excursions, but mostly we just get off the ship and take off on our own. I don't feel deprived at all!

 

It's not only possible, it's absolutely joyful to plan your trip budget and stick to it, knowing that you're not running up charge card bills it'll take months to pay off. Or dipping into savings. Or whatever. Plan what you can afford, stick to it, and enjoy it.

 

Over the years, I've talked to many like-minded people aboard ship on our cruises.

 

I think there're lots of us "cheapies" out there.

[LadyV_39]

No you are not a bad cruiser for going on the cheap:)

 

On my upcoming cruise (my fourth one), I'm going solo. Because of the darn single supplement, the only way I could afford to go was to get an inside cabin. Since I won't be in the room all that much except to sleep and shower, it'll be fine. You don't necessarily have to do shore excursions, but in my case, this is where I spend the most money besides the cabin, since I like to see and do different things. I also get bored if I go to the beach and/or shopping every day:) I try to book shore excursions privately, using the recommendations on this site, since the comparable ones on the ship are crowded and are often twice as much money, so that is one area where you can save money. I've never spent a lot of money on the ship, either. I don't drink that much, I don't gamble except for bingo and I don't use the spa, so my bill at the end of the cruise is really low-usually less than $300. Most people on this site will tell you to plan on spending $100 per day on the ship, but that's about half to a third of what I spend on the entire cruise. I'm astonished at the people who have a $3,000 bill. But then, it's about priorities.

 

In the end, you'll be using the same facilities on the ship and receive the same service as the people in the penthouse, so it dosen't matter where you stay. Enjoy yourself.

[boatgas]

Nothing wrong with saving money! Although I'd like to try the balcony stateroom, I have no problem with an inside cabin.

[sharecruises]

Good for you....I would not even pay any attention to some of the balcony/suite advice given here!

 

You can save a lot of money on private shore excursions, check the port boards. Can also walk around some ports and have a bite of local food and shop etc. I like to buy a cheap water color of each port, others like to collect fridge magnets or christmas ornaments. I have never bought any "jewelry" besides costume/fun jewelry and I am always amazed at people who have some burning desire for "tanzanite" overtake them when at sea LOL

 

Enjoy :)

[mousetravel]

Our biggest money saver is to take your own sodas onboard. We pack ours in a carry on bag and once we empty it, we can use the extra bag for souvenirs, etc. Also agree with the cabin advice- No need to splurge on a big fancy room to only sleep & shower in.:)

[tip]

The One Who Must Be Obeyed and I have been on fifteen cruises. We have never booked an outside view or a balcony. What we have done is book a "guaranteed" inside. Several times now we have been upgraded to a port hole or an outside window (including a HAL cruise last month). Even if you are in an inside, you are entitled to the same food and entertainment as everyone else. You won't be forced to wear a Scarlet "I" on your clothes!

[Jhawktraveler]

We're going on only our second cruise in May and have booked an outside partially obstructed view. We had this same setup on our first cruise and liked it because we had a window, which helps with my motion sickness, but it wasn't much more expensive than an inside. I'm leary of guaranteed rooms only because I'm a little particular about wanting to be on a low deck and in the middle of the ship to cut down on movement. Without those considerations we'd probably do the inside guaranteed as well since we are only in there to dress and sleep. We do splurge on shore excursions but don't spend a lot on the ship (casino, drinks, spa, specialty dining, etc.) so it works out pretty well. I'd love to live closer to a port so we could invest the money we spend on airfare on more cruises (we live in northeastern Kansas so ocean access is at least 800 miles)!

[kruisecat]

Our first 2 cruises were both in inside cabins and we were 100% fine with it! Our third cruise was in an outside because the price was so good that we couldn't resist. And we did all of our excursions on a budget.

 

This upcoming Alaska cruise is a completely different story however :o . We did book an outside because I felt with all the great scenery and the long hours of daylight I just didn't want to miss a thing and we've booked just about every expensive excursion there is :eek: but this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and we've decided to "go for it!". I will say this though, my BIL and family are also going and they insisted on a balcony. Their balcony price for 1 person is the same as our outside for 2!

 

But our next Carrib. will be budget minded again! I love vacationing for $100 or less per day.

[Jimsgirl]

I cruise solo, so always have to pay the "supplement" I always book least expensive inside cabin. Spend most of my waking hours in public areas , but if I do want to take "40 winks" mid afternoon , it is great NOT to have the sun shining in or the people on the verandah next door talkingand laughing.

Lot to be said for being thrifty (NOT cheap thrifty)

I am a senior so do not spend on shore tours , limit my drinks to a glass before dinner (which I sit over from about 5.15 -6.15p.m). Do NOT buy diamonds, etc on board or anywhere else. STAY AWAY from the so called Art Autions, they are a rip off anyway. Stay away from the one arm bandits in the casino, watched one idiot spend over $200 on these playing 4 at a time!!!!

Try to get a ship that has areas where you can get "freebies" to taste or "nibble" (not all ships have these on some it is pay for this and pay for that.

 

Best tip I can give you is , get a PRINT OUT of your account every third day or so, that way you can see exactly what you have spent , where and when.

 

Have a great time

[cntrydncr1]

Last year we totally splurged on our Alaskan cruise....balcony...excursions in every port..2 specialty restaurants...land package afterwards. This year we are going totally budget. We can only cruise in the summer so unfortunately rates are a little high but we found good rates for an inside cabin through *****. Our ports are good beach islands so we probably will not do an excursion. We have a family reunion to attend in Florida so we are taking the cruise the week following the reunion so we can save the cost of one airfare. And....$500 for onboard???? WOW that would be a major splurge. We will most likely only have our tips on that account as we are not drinkers and carry some soda and crystal lite onboard with us. We don't normally even bother to have the pictures taken as know we are not going to purchase them. So you can still have a great time and not spend much more than the cost of your cruise.

[DeeT]

The One Who Must Be Obeyed and I have been on fifteen cruises. We have never booked an outside view or a balcony. What we have done is book a "guaranteed" inside. Several times now we have been upgraded to a port hole or an outside window (including a HAL cruise last month). Even if you are in an inside, you are entitled to the same food and entertainment as everyone else. You won't be forced to wear a Scarlet "I" on your clothes!

 

We are also booked in a "guarantee' inside. I was wondering the chances of actually getting some sort of upgrade and when can we find out what are cabin assignment is? We're crusing April 2008.

[sexyaznboy]

The One Who Must Be Obeyed and I have been on fifteen cruises. We have never booked an outside view or a balcony. What we have done is book a "guaranteed" inside. Several times now we have been upgraded to a port hole or an outside window (including a HAL cruise last month). Even if you are in an inside, you are entitled to the same food and entertainment as everyone else. You won't be forced to wear a Scarlet "I" on your clothes!

 

I love the Scarlet "I" post! :D Yeah sometimes when on cruise critic too much I feel self conscious that I'm not good enough sailing inside. In fact I've spoken to a work colleague and friend of a family who shook their heads in disbelief I would even think about doing an inside like there was something wrong with me! They even gave me that "poor you" look :( I guess that's why I started this post, didn't expect so many nice responses! Of course it would be nice to be rich and afford the penthouse suite, but I have to save a long time for a decent cruise even on the inside, I do my best and love to get away once in a while...that being said, I'm looking forward to my inside, maybe I'll be the "small shack" in a neighbourhood of "mansions" but I'll do my best to have fun! I just hope I don't get attitude from the other cruisers on board and that look of pity!:eek:

 

Happy cruising to all my cheapie cruiser friends on here! YAY! :p