Cruises: Vacationing on a Budget

A budget alternative to going on a honeymoon is to go on a cruise.

The best thing is that you can choose from different cruises that have one or more stops and visit different places.

This type of vacationing also makes it easy for you to customize your experience. You can choose to do activities on board (i.e. contests, trivia, shows in the theater, relax by the pool, relax throughout the ship, eat, shop, etc.), at the ports (i.e. shopping, be at the beach, eat, different classes, and sightseeing, etc.). Cruises have a little for everyone!

Cruise lines are always having sales, especially those like Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, and Carnival. Here is an article by Cruise Critic, a website all about cruises, to help you find the best cruise for you!

Some of the deals can go as low as about $100 per day. Try to book off-season or shorter cruises to get the best prices.

The good thing about choosing a cruise for honeymoon is that you have food and board included and the only thing you will have to spend extra money are the excursions and some activities if you choose to.

Royal Caribbean

I personally have experience traveling through Royal Caribbean. They constantly have sales going on and the staff is amazing!

Here are some general tips if you are taking a cruise through Royal Caribbean (and most tips apply any other cruises):

• As soon as you enter the cruise ship, head over to the main dining room and reverse your dinner table and times.
• Make sure to download the Royal Caribbean app to keep track of the activities and keep track of time (if going into a different time zone).
• You can always bring some food to your room. I brought back food and small snacks to eat in between meals.

• It's OK to have a basic room; unless you are planning to stay long in your room, the upgrade cost is not worth it.
• If you are stopping at at least one port, make sure to go back to your ship with enough time to spare. Even better if you are early. You will have to get checked to into the ship again, and so if you wait till the last minute, there will be a huge line. If you miss the boarding time YOU'RE CRUISE WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU! 
• Go to a few activities on the ship. Keep an eye on the activities, because most the activities are to make you spend extra on drinks, photos, or buying the item/service that they are sampling. Be conscious of this. We mainly went to the couples' show and trivia games.

• Make sure you have your Royal Carribean card with you at all times! This will be your access to everything (i.e. boarding, identification, and room key)! It can even be connected to your debit/credit card and be used to make purchases on board the cruise ship.
• Have some cash on you for the ports and to tip the people on service on the ship, especially at the end of your cruise. Although tipping is optional, the staff really goes above and beyond, making it hard not to tip and thank them for their excellent service.

Some of their packages start at only $366 and they usually have sales (i.e. BOGO, 50% off, etc).

Here are some tips if you are on a tight budget while on your cruise:

• Skip the upgraded drink and food packages. You are always allowed to bring in two bottles of wine per person, so if you want to have some wine while on board, you can always just bring your own.
• Go to the activities and sampling, but do not buy the item/service unless you can afford it.
• When you get to the port, take some water, and just sightsee around the port area. On the port, we got into the ocean in a small area off the ship and just wondered around. We bought a souvenir and snacks. We came on to the ship early and ate there (with much fewer people!)
• Double-check on room service. For us, room service was extra, so we just brought some snacks from the buffet restaurant to have throughout the day.
• If you want to do exercise while on board, skip the classes (they cost extra $$) and just go to the gym (machines). 
• Keep the above point in mind when you see other activities on board and looking if there are hidden fees.
• If you want to shop some cruise souvenirs wait until the end, that's when mostly everything goes on sale!
• Skip the internet package and just wait to post/work till you get back home from your amazing cruise!

Here is an article they have on their blog that highlights some of the activities at the different ships.

Above all, remember to enjoy your cruise!  Have fun and relax!

Stay tuned for the next post the following week to find out all about vacationing resorts!

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