Top 10 Ways To Stretch Your Onboard Spend
That’s not to say that there are not a whole host of added extras that can be purchased onboard your chosen ship, but by doing so the overall cost of your holiday can rise sharply.
Thankfully there are a number of ways that you can enjoy lots of what is available onboard without paying over the top for the privilege.
This list is in no particular order of importance with the best saving been from taking advantage of as many as possible.
Our Top 10 Ways To Stretch Your Onboard Spend
Stick To Included Food and Drink
Whilst enjoying a meal in an onboard speciality restaurant can make for a great night out or sipping a cocktail around the pool can make for the perfect day at sea, both come at a cost and depending on the cruise line you are sailing with, it can get very expensive, very quickly.
The majority of cruise ships will have tea, coffee, water, and juice self-service machines in the buffet and elsewhere around the ship and of course food and drinks are included in the buffet and main dining rooms so you don’t need to spend extra on food and drink if you don’t want to.
Wait For Special Offers
If you are wanting to visit a speciality restaurant onboard, visit the spa or enjoy any of the other great onboard activities available to cruisers nowadays, you can usually save a decent percentage of the cost by waiting for sales to be offered.
Sometimes these are as soon as they open for booking before your cruise, sometimes they are in the last few days before your cruise and sometimes they are offered onboard, so patience is often the key to getting the best deals.
Book Dining Packages For Speciality Restaurants
If you have missed the special offer period for speciality restaurants or if you prefer to get everything sorted well in advance and don’t want too hang around for offers to appear, there is another option to save on dining opportunities onboard.
That is by taking advantage of dining packages where you book usually 3, 4 or 5 meals in different restaurants onboard as one package to receive a discount.
This is ideal for those wanting to eat at a number of restaurants anyway.
Dine At Lunch Time
If you have missed any offers on dining and are not wanting more than 1 meal or if you are only wanting to visit one speciality restaurant onboard, there is another option to save money.
That is by visiting a speciality restaurant at lunch time instead of at tea time or on a night.
Not all lines offer this option and most of the time restaurants will only open during lunch time on sea days but for the restaurants that do, you usually get the same or similar menu for a much lower cost.
Visit The Spa Whilst In Port
The onboard spa is a mainstream for all cruise lines as not only is a great money-maker for them, but it is also popular with cruisers.
It is also one of the most expensive extras for most holidaymakers on a cruise but there is a easy way to save some money and that is by visiting the spa whilst docked in port.
Not only do you usually get a discount for visiting on a port day but it is usually quieter as well which allows you to make the most of your time in the spa and to really get your money’s worth, which makes it a great option for those visiting a port that they have already visited and that they have little interest in seeing once more.
Don’t Tip Twice
The majority of cruisers will either pay a set fee in advance for their tips, or gratuities as most cruise lines call them, or they are included in the cost of their holiday but despite that, some will still tip bar tenders, stewards, or any other member of staff that they have interactions with.
If you are on a tight budget or simply don’t want to over spend on holiday, don’t feel like that is something that you must do as you have already paid your tips.
If a staff member onboard does go over and above what you would expect, feel free to tip them or even better, visit reception and tell them about the great service and ask for it to be sent onto the crew members boss.
Laundry
If you want to take advantage of the onboard laundry service offered by most cruise lines, it can prove to be a great time saver but it can quickly get costly.
Thankfully, if you wait until well into your cruise, often around the halfway point, most lines will offer a sale on their laundry services allowing you to do more for less.
Save Your Wine
If you order a bottle of wine in any onboard restaurant or bar, make sure that you ask for any drink remaining to saved.
Onboard prices are often inflated, especially if you order by the glass, so if you enjoy the same drink every night, save money by ordering a bottle at the beginning of your cruise and asking the waiter/server to put a cork in it until the next night.
Stay Disconnected
Even if you are the type of person who can never be too far away from your phone or tablet, no matter if you are at home, out and about or on holiday, try to avoid it on a cruise holiday as the cost of surfing the web and using your favourite apps onboard can get very expensive very quickly.
If you must connect when on holiday, save it until you arrive in a port and find the nearest coffee shop with free wi-fi.
DIY Shore Excursions
If you were fortunate enough to have been given some onboard credit, you may want to put it towards a shore excursion once you get onboard, as it tends to be the biggest costs aside from your cruise fare.
We would always recommend either doing it yourself if you are comfortable travelling around new destinations or choosing a local company for an organised tour.
That is because cruise lines will always charge much more than you can do it yourself and normally you get a much more personal service with a smaller group rather than on an excursion that fills up coach after coach on ship tours.
