The great thing about cruise travel is that booking a room is often very cheap. You can travel around the world for a low price if you get the right itinerary! However, those low prices can sometimes be deceiving. Yes, the room may be affordable, but the other expenses can sneak up on you. Before you know it, you’re paying way more than what you originally intended to! This is a common story, and we’ve all been there before. There are a few tricks that can help you save a few bucks, though. If you want to be the savviest shopper you can be, here are three ways to cut down on cruise expenses.
Book with a friend
Perhaps the most important way of saving money on a cruise is booking with a friend rather than booking alone. Most cabins are priced for two people, so booking one just for yourself pretty much doubles the listed price. That’s no good. If you’re in a couple, this is something that’s easy to accomplish. It’s never too hard to convince your significant other to go on a beautiful cruise vacation! If you’re single, though, we still recommend trying to convince a friend to come with you. Not only is it fun to share the cruise experience, but it will also save you a lot of money.
Skip the shore excursions
Paid shore excursions can be a really fun and convenient way to explore a brand new location. They allow you to arrive at a new port and immediately have a scheduled tour that will let you see all of the coolest stuff. But what if we told you that paying for shore excursions through your cruise line was actually a bad idea? Okay, it’s not terrible, but you can definitely save some money if you book excursions with other companies. It’s easy to find deals if you shop around, and many guided tours that you can find will be just as good as the ones that your cruise line offers. And you can always just explore on your own if you don’t find any cool ones.
Rough it
Cruising is a very comfortable way to travel, and most travelers decide to make the experience even more comfortable by purchasing all kinds of extra packages. If you really want to make your trip more affordable, however, we recommend avoiding all the add-ons. Cruise lines are able to offer rooms for cheap because they expect you to buy all the extra amenities. If you can stand going without Wi-Fi and unlimited drinks for the trip, you can definitely cut down on the cost.
Oh, and let’s not forget that the best way to save money on a cruise trip is to use a travel agent! You can read about the benefits of travel agents over here.
