Planning for all cruise costs makes a more enjoyable trip

In making your cruise plans make sure you budget in and plan for all costs. You can jump on line and find great advertised cruise deals all day. At first glance that 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise for $389.00 looks like a killer deal. If you can go in September after the kids are back in school, I have found that this is a killer month to go. Go on-line and make some comparisons between August and September. Its a big difference in cost.

However the intent of this blog is to give first time cruisers a good overview of other costs they will have to deal with and also some proven strategies for saving a buck or two.

First and foremost, don't totally eliminate the idea of using a travel agent. Often there are amazing group discounts available. That does not mean you have to have the whole group personally, but travel agents often are given a bunch of cabins to fill for a group rate. So decide on your cruise then look around and ask some questions from some agents and see if there is a group rate. Often times this includes a discounted airfare as well.

You can put together a killer package yourself, just consider all the costs. First decide where you want to go. If you are able to drive and you don't live too far from the port this can save you some big bucks. If flying I recommend flying in the day before in case of any unforeseen flight delays. Port Of Los Angeles has hotels near by some as low as 50 or 60 dollars a night that will let you park your car free, provide you with a free breakfast and shuttle you to the cruise line and pick you up after the cruise, and take you to your car. Even with hotel costs this is a much more convenient and cheaper alternative than parking your car at the cruise port.

If you are flying, many of these hotels will provide free transportation from airport to the hotel. If this is not available then check out the ground transportation. Make sure you get on the web and check around and find the lowest fare you can. I have seen fares range from $12.00 per person up to $30.00 per person. Some will even take young kids for free. You can reserve this transportation, but usually not necessary, just be familiar with the name of the company. There are hundreds if not thousands of these transportation vehicles driving by the airport all day.

There is an opportunity to pay tips wherever you go. All of these modes of transportation that you will experience it is customary to pay a tip. Well use common sense, if I am riding from airport to hotel and paying for my ride, I will throw down a couple bucks for a tip, not too much this guy is making a decent hourly wage already. However as I head out the next morning on my free shuttle ride to the airport from the hotel, this guy relies more on tips from his income than his wage. So I will throw down a couple more dollars. A dollar a bag is fairly common.

Then once you get to the cruise line there are stewards running to grab your bags and take them to the baggage area for you. You don't have to let them, you can haul them yourself. The expectation is to pay another tip at this point. I like to jump in and help out a lot with baggage handling and work off part of my tip, just makes me and my pocketbook feel a little better.

Its finally time to get on the ship. The tips don't stop here, however most are suspended until the end of your cruise. The majority of workers on cruises are foreigners. After inquiring on several cruises, I was told because they will work harder and put up with bad attitudes much better than Americans.

Most of there money comes from tipping. No need to go into how it is all broken up. This will be explained on your cruise. It is just helpful to know that customary average is about ten dollars per day per person. One other tip charge to be aware of is if you drink there is a gratuity automatically added to every alcoholic drink you order.

If you order room service it is customary to give them a couple bucks. So again when planning your cruise, be sure to plan in a few hundred dollars for tips. It is not mandatory that you pay tips on the cruise ship, but everyone does. The ten dollars is a suggested amount. However, when my son went on a cruise and there was a family of 8 with 6 of them being little kids, he did not pay a full 10 dollars per person per day. Each will have to do what they feel is best for there situation. Pay more pay less or if you are a real tight wad don't pay any. That is an option, although it is not real ethical.

There are lots of other optional costs that you have to decide weather or not to budget for. All cruise ships have a casino. People that smoke plan ahead and buy cartons of cigarettes. The price is generally about 50 percent less than what yu pay at home.

An internet cafe is available. Standard price is about $30.00 for 30 minutes. There is no guarantee or no money refunded for dropped service. Last time I went on a cruise out of 30 minutes I was able to utilize maybe half of it. Royal Caribbean will give you a $5.00 token refund but that is the max.. Basically what I am saying is that the internet on-board a ship for passenger use is not really perfected yet and is very expensive.

Now of course standard spending money for when you leave the ship at the different ports. You are so used to eating free on the ship that when you dock , remember you have to pay to eat on shore. Lots of people will time there shore activities so they are close to the port, and ru back on the ship and eat and then go back to shore. This is personal preference, but if you are on a tight budget, is another way to save a few more bucks.

I learned by trial and error after a couple of cruises, and not really planning a budget. I wish I would have had a detailed blog like this to inform me about all the exta costs that are involved. Stay tuned for continued blogs about cruising tips.

As Usual, Bon Voyague and Happy Sailing Fellow Cruisers.

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