Stretching your Cruise dollar - Travel Tip Tuesday

Travel Tip Tuesday - May 18th, 2010

Many people who cruise choose this form of travel for several reasons. One usually being it's one of the most economical ways to travel for what you get.  Another way you can make your dollar stretch on a cruise is by eating free the entire trip.

If your planning your schedule for a day at port, think about meal times when booking excursions and tours. We try to have breakfast on the ship, schedule a tour or do our own thing in the morning and be near the ship to hop back on for lunch. And depending on how long the ship is in port, we head back to town for the evening and back in time for dinner. Now you can't always plan around meal time, but we have been able to do it on most of our cruises to at least save money on several meals off the ship. If your worried about getting hungry while your walking around port, grab a banana or snack from the buffet that will last in your pack during the day. It'll keep you from drowning your hunger in that delicious looking ice cream at the stand on the corner of "tourist have extra money to waste town"!

Secondly, limit your casual alcohol drinks to maybe "one fun night of drinking" and stick to the free juices, milk and water the ship provides. Or if you must have soda, buy the unlimited card they offer at the beginning of the cruise.  Alcoholic drinks can definitely add up if you don't pay attention to your shipboard account...just wait for that jaw drop when you see the bill at the end of your cruise!

Thirdly, don't waste your money on the paid dining.  More cruise lines are offering "extra special" paid restaurants or even a Johnny Rockets hamburger shop on Royal Caribbean cruise lines - but really people? There is so much gourmet food on a ship in the dining rooms and buffets that paying the extra money isn't worth it! 

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