Budget Criusing Tips - Part 2

We're talking about cruising with summer right around the corner. We talked about how to save in my last post, but how do you pick the right cruise and cabin and all that other good stuff? I'm about to give you some help! 

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

What to Consider

There are a lot of factors to deal with when booking a cruise, so don't just close your eyes and point at something, because that probably won't go well. My first cruise was on a very small ship and it gave me a good bout of cabin fever. The ship seemed bigger when looking at everything online, but in reality, it was fairly small compared to all the others out there. I learned for next time. 

• Decide how much you want to spend. This is always number one. If you don't know, perhaps look around at cruise deals to figure out what sort of budget you'll need. Keep in mind what is included – cabin, food, beverages, most entertainment, kids club (most of the time), room service – and what's not – some activities, shore excursions, alcohol, soft drinks (usually), fancy coffees, specialty dining, childcare, tipping, spa service, casino, shopping, personal trainers and exercise classes. Gratuity generally adds about $10-15 per person per day to your cost, which will add to the posted cost. In fact, the posted price is always going to be less than what you will actually spend.
• How long do you want to be gone? As a first-timer, I wouldn't suggest anything longer than 7 days, but it also depends on the itinerary you choose. If you're unsure how you'll feel about being on a big ship, maybe pick a shorter cruise to start off, and if you like it, you can plan a longer cruise in the future.
• Where do you want to go? This is usually the first thing I think about and then figure out how I can make it work with my budget. It also depends on what time of year you can go what's available. Most cruises don't sail year-round. 
• Who's going with you? Some cruise lines are more suited to families than others, which cater more toward grown-ups.
• Are you cool with crowds? It's simple math. The bigger the ship, the larger the crowds on it. If you want a more intimate experience, go for a smaller ship. If you don't care and you want a long list of available activities, then a large ship is where it's at.

Really just want a good cruise for your first time without all the effort? Then check out Cruise Critic's list of 12 best cruises for newbies. They are also a great resource for researching all ships and itineraries.

Choosing the Right Cabin

I'm not big on staying in my room, whether I'm on a ship or in a hotel. I mean, I like to be comfortable, but I tend to be out more than I'm in on almost all my trips. That said, you may end up in your cabin more than expected, so picking the right one for you can make or break your trip.

• If you get seasick and are planning a trip on a smaller ship, choose one that's in the middle of the ship for the least amount of rockage. That said, you probably won't feel any rocking at all, no matter what ship you choose, unless the weather is pretty iffy. 
• If you like to sleep and enjoy your blackout curtains, go for an inside cabin. This is also great for those that just want to enjoy the ship and ports and want to save as much money as possible. Keep in mind, if the lights are out, even if it's the middle of the day, your cabin will be pitch black. 
• If seeing the outside world is important to you, or you just need sunlight to feel like a person who doesn't live in a cave, choose an outside cabin. If nothing else, it'll have some portholes that will let light in, so you'll at least know if it's daytime or not. Those higher up on the ship will have larger windows.
• Some people value their connection to the sea and want to experience it 24/7. This is when you should get a balcony, or at least a Juliet balcony (which offers a sliver of standing room outside your sliding floor-to-ceiling window. 

Extra Tips

Staterooms on ships are not the largest. The bed takes up most of the space, so you’re going to want to hang everything you can. 

• Bring some magnetic clips to keep stuff organized that you can stick to your cabin walls (because they’re magnetic!). 
• Pack a cloth shoe organizer to hang in the closet to stash things that you don’t usually hang up, but don’t want to have to keep on the closet floor or wrestle out of your suitcase each time you want to use it.
• Keep your dirty clothes separate from your clean ones by bringing along a mesh, pop-up hamper. I tend to take mine down to the laundry to clean everything before I leave so I don’t go home, or to my next destination, with a bag full of dirty clothes.
• Pack a small power strip, because like hotel rooms, staterooms are woefully lacking in outlets. I like this one from Belkin and have one in my travel bag at all times and two at home.

Some cruise lines try to dupe you into paying more for less. I mean, it's like Vegas. Why not charge for everything when you still have money in your pocket? Here are some things to watch out for:

• Check the room diagram (and reviews). Some lines are claiming rooms are suites when they really are not. A suite should be more than one room and a few are offering one room separated by a curtain, and some not even that.
• A balcony should be able to hold a few chairs, at least. Watch out for those that claim you get a balcony, but it's either the smallest standing room or a sliding door where you're basically standing in the doorway to be "outside".

Now you're practically an expert on all things cruising. You can pick the right ship, the right cabin, the perfect excursions on your own and even save money once onboard. The only thing that's left is to pack and put on your sunglasses! And if you want packing tips, make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter, as my next one will have exclusive packing light tips specifically for cruising.

If you've been on a cruise, where did you go and what was your favorite thing?

Budget Criusing Tips - Part 1

Cruising is unlike other travel. Most people book through a travel agent, because it’s so foreign and they are afraid of making a bad decision or getting a crappy deal. The thing is, you don’t need an agent, you just need to know-how to do it right, even if it’s your first time cruising. Unlike booking a hotel or a plane ticket, you’re stuck on the boat and in your cabin for three nights to three weeks (depending on your itinerary) and there’s really nothing you can do if you hate your boat or your room.

Photo by Peter Hansen on Unsplash

So, how do you figure it all out and still save money? It’s really not that difficult. You just need to do a bit of research and planning. This is the time to make sure to check out previous cruiser reviews.

How to Save Money

There are a lot of ways, big and little, that can help you save on your cruise. Some are no brainers (to me, anyway) and some are little known.

• Book your cruise early. Unlike airfare, you can really save a lot of money if you book your cruise far in advance. I’m talking a year out, maybe more. Cruise lines lure you in with the promise of incentives like beverage packages, free gratuities, onboard credits, free upgrades and much reduced rates. 
• Book your cruise late. If you don’t like to plan ahead (or that far out), look for last-minute cruise sales where you can get similar deals to early-booking. You may not get your first choice of cabin, but you’ll save big time on those that need to be filled before sailing.
• Sail in the off season. When you can, choose off-peak times to cruise to get a better deal and possibly a less crowded ship. Obviously, prices are lower for the less desirable cruise times, like hurricane season (which rarely sees a hurricane).
• Tip strategically. Most gratuities for services on the ship are included, which you’ll see on your receipt when you sign for them to charge them to your room. Unless your service was over the top outstanding, don’t double tip. In fact, if you go to check out your bill before debarkation and you feel like your gratuities are…uh…gratuitous, you can certainly dispute this to change them. And the reverse is also true if you want to add to your total.
• Book your shore excursions separately. I can’t tell you how much cruise lines mark up excursions. They make tons of bank on people who either didn’t know they could book independently or were too lazy to do it. You can save an average of 50% by doing it yourself, even through the same companies that the cruise works with. Just make sure to check reviews to see what others had to say.
• Book a package. If you know you’ll want to drink a ton of soda (or anything other than tea, water and coffee), purchase the beverage package and save yourself some bucks. If you want to spend time hitting up the specialty dining on your ship, look into the dining packages. You may save quite a bit by doing these instead of paying every time you decide to go “off menu”. 
• Skip the spa or book on port days. You’ll probably be so busy doing other stuff on the ship that you won’t have time to get pampered at the spa, but if not, know that you may end up paying twice as much for services as you would on land. Prices drop significantly if you book when the ship is in port, since most people will be out and not interested in staying on the boat.
• Save your drinking for port days. I know most people get super excited to sit by the pool and drink their days away. By doing this, you’re spening way more on booze than you need to. Instead, do other things on the boat and then drink for much less in port. If you must drink while cruising, here are some ways to do it for free or cheap:
• Keep an Eye out for BOGO Deals - Okay, so you aren't getting totally free drinks this way, but some of the bars on board will offer specific hours where you can buy a drink and get one free. Take advantage of these times.
• Check out some art - Every cruise wants to part you from your money. If you're willing to spend some of your free time sitting in on an art auction (whether or not you are actually planning to buy any), you will be gifted a glass of champagne or sparkling wine just for showing up.
• Go to the Captain's reception - Everyone's invited to this party and drinks (alcoholic and non) are free. You just need to put on something other than your bathing suit to look presentable.
• Say goodbye with free booze - The day before you head home, there is usually a party to thank you for cruising. Free drinks are served, though they may not be the best options. I had some really weird alcoholic beverages at ours, but there was also entertainment and dancing. 
• Attend duty-free tastings - In the first days of your cruise, the duty-free shop will usually offer free tastings from what they have for sale to entice you into making a purchase. If you don't make a purchase, it's fine. If you do, know that you're still paying approximately double the price you would pay off the boat for that same bottle.
• Link your cruise card to cash instead of a credit card. This is a new tip I just learned. In order to combat overspending, which is super easy to do when you just hand over your stateroom card for everything, head to the purser’s desk and give them half of the cash you have allocated to spend onboard on the first day of your cruise instead of linking to your credit card. Halfway through, give them the other half of your cash. One, this eliminates the willy-nilly spending for things you don’t need. Two, this allows you to have cash available for excursions instead going broke before your trip is over.
• Book your next cruise while you’re on your cruise. This is more a tip for potential second cruisers, but you can do it while cruising for the first time. Cruise lines give deals to loyal cruisers with significant discounts, onboard credits and more.

Okay, so now that you know how to save on your actual cruise, you need to know how to pick a cruise. But you’ll have to wait for my next post to learn more about how to be awesome at cruising. And if you're in need of packing light tips for cruising, make sure you're receiving my newsletter, as that will be a bonus exclusively for subscribers.

If you've cruised previously, what are your best tips for saving on one?

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

In just a few days, the world will be overcome with green: Green beer. Green shirts. Green beads. Green hats. And corned beef and cabbage. What? Don't ask me. I've never heard of anyone eating corned beef and cabbage outside of an Irish restaurant or St. Patrick's Day. I'm not sure it's for me, but I made colcannon, which is basically mashed potatoes and cabbage, and I liked it, so maybe I should give it a try. Anyway, back to St. Patrick's Day - the celebration of St. Patrick driving the (non-existent) snakes out of Ireland, by drinking green beer until you can't see straight. Why? Because that's how Americans celebrate almost everything. 

While you can probably find that old Kiss Me I'm Irish shirt in your closet and hit up your local parade, a change of scenery may not be a bad thing. Maybe you're traveling over the holiday and are looking for something fun. Here are some of the best celebrations around the world:

photo credit

Bueno Aires, Argentina

Argentinians love to party and they have the 5th largest Irish population in the world, so not getting in on this celebratory time is simply crazy talk. The parade and a ton of activities, food stalls and more go one throughout the day. Because it's not an official holiday, it's celebrated on the Saturday closest to St. Patrick's Day (this year the 18th), so you can actually celebrate twice if you want, or spend the actual day going to church and the traditional things one would do on Friday, which I'm sure many of the 500,000 Irish in Argentina take advantage of.

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Chicago, Illinois

The city is famous for turning their river green each year for St. Patrick's Day. Once the Chicago River has been colored, it's time for the festivities to start. The parade takes place on the Saturday nearest the 17th, but there is a second celebration that takes place in the city as well. The South Side Irish Parade takes place the day after the downtown parade, so you can make a weekend of it. There are also many Irish pubs around town to indulge in some beer, music and food.

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Dublin, Ireland

The ultimate place to get in on the festivities is where it all began. Well, not the parties. The holiday was quite religious and secular in Ireland until fairly recently. The first festival to be held in Ireland didn't occur until 1996 and it was only one day. Since then, it has grown into a week-long celebration of all things Irish that draws hundreds of thousand of visitors every year who come to party, join parades, watch concerts, witness fireworks, attend sporting events, take in theater performances and, of course, to drink beer.

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Montreal, Quebec

Who knew that there was a place in Canada that was like being in a little version of Ireland? Despite being in the heart of French Canada, you can find a selection of Irish pubs and a St. Patrick's Day parade that's like the US Postal Service. Whether snow, rain, sleet or hail, the parade must go on. It always takes place on a Sunday and is surrounded by an Irish Film Festival, charity ball, luncheon and more. 

photo credit

New York City

There's no surprise that a city built on immigrants has a large population of Irish and makes their celebrations its own. The city still has one of the largest concentrations of Irish in the world and their history can't be forgotten. New York's St. Patrick's Day parade lasts nearly 6 hours, and if you can't make it there, or hate crowds, you can watch it online. If nothing else, you won't be surrounded by a bunch of drunks, as alcohol is strictly prohibited. 

These are just a few of the places that throw a great bash. It's by no means a complete list, as you can also find wonderful celebrations in Boston, London, the West Indies, LA and possibly even your own city. You won't catch me at pub chugging a green beer, wearing shamrock sunglasses, but I might be quietly sipping a Guinness and watching a local parade on TV or watching others celebrate in Dublin on Earthcam like I did last year.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?