Cruise ships offer various stateroom categories, including inside, ocean view/outside, balcony, and suite. The cheapest cabin selections are usually the most expensive. To budget for a cruise vacation, it is essential to research the cruise line, book early, get the best fare for a flight, and pre-book a reasonably priced hotel or room for the night. Cruises can be budget-friendly vacations if you are savvy, as the cost of a cruise includes lodging, meals, snacks, activities, and entertainment.
Using a cruise budget calculator can help you estimate the total cost of your cruise, considering factors like off-season travel and discounts. Use this calculator to estimate your cruise’s cost by entering expenses for flights, cruise fare, and excursions. Establishing a budget is the first step in planning a cruise, as costs vary based on factors such as cruise line, travel off-peak, booking early, or 90 days before considering older ships.
To plan a cruise on a budget, consider planning ahead, upgrading your room after purchase, signing up and booking it (for less), and flying in early. Book interior or ocean view rooms, as they are the most affordable option. While some prefer ocean views, interior rooms can also be booked.
Budgeting for a cruise vacation involves planning ahead, upgrading your room after purchase, signing up and booking it (for less), and flying in early. By following these tips, you can have your best cruise vacation without breaking the bank.
📹 How much will your Cruise Really Cost? | Budgeting for your Cruise
Sharon and Jamie break down the real cost of cruising. Travel Insurance video link…
Is food free on a cruise?
Cruises offer delicious food in large dining rooms, buffets, and snack stations by the pool. Complimentary food is included in the price, along with tap water, juices, and iced tea. Coffee and tea are complimentary, but specialty coffee beverages are usually charged. Live music, crew performances, Broadway-style shows, and musical revues are generally free, although some may charge extra for certain shows. Children’s clubs with supervised activities are often included in the overall cruise fare, but in-room babysitting is extra.
How to afford to go on a cruise?
To save money on a cruise, consider using a travel agent, booking early or last minute, traveling during off-peak seasons, booking an inside cabin, joining a cruise loyalty program, being cautious with onboard credit, and bringing your own beverages or purchasing a drink package. Sign up for Travelex’s newsletter for travel news, tips, and stories. Remember to consider a cruise loyalty program for the best deals.
Is a 7 day cruise long enough?
Carnival offers a variety of cruises, including short and long cruises, to suit different preferences. For a short weekend, a 3-day cruise is ideal, while a 5- or 7-day cruise is perfect for a family getaway. For those with more time, a 10-day cruise offers an incredible experience. Carnival’s sailing itineraries vary by port and date, but some examples include 2-5-day cruises, which are short but filled with adventure both onboard and in port. Examples include sailings from Long Beach to Baja Mexico and Miami to The Bahamas or the Caribbean.
Can you do a cruise on a budget?
To reduce expenditure on a cruise, it is advisable to consider seasonal discounts, particularly those offered during the shoulder season, at the commencement or conclusion of a cruising season. Such offers are typically the most cost-effective for those with a specific destination in mind.
What month is the cheapest to take a cruise?
The best time to book a cruise is typically from January through March, as demand decreases after the holiday season and industry-wide promotions, known as “wave season”, can significantly lower cruise prices. This is also a good time to find promotions like free upgrades, prepaid gratuities, or onboard spending money. While there is no “best time of the month” to book a cruise, monitoring fare changes over several weeks can help spot price drops.
Cruise prices fluctuate frequently based on availability, demand, and special deals. The best day of the week to book a cruise is not a fixed schedule, as fares don’t rise and fall on a set schedule. Some experts argue that the data is constantly fluctuating, so tracking fares throughout the week is the best bet.
How much money should I have to go on a cruise?
Most guests bring $50-$120 cash per day for daily purchases during cruises, including duty-free goods, shore excursions, local souvenirs, casino games, and spa treatments. They can charge these items to their shipboard account or pay with a debit or credit card for in-port purchases. During port visits, guests should carry cash for smaller purchases like transportation, tips, gifts, food, and shopping.
United Cruises offers great fares and valuable benefits, including exclusive bonus offers, qualifying cruise line offers, and loyalty program benefits. Booking with United Cruises offers more benefits than booking directly with the cruise line.
Which cruise line is most affordable?
Carnival Cruise offers a variety of affordable options, including the Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Horizon, while Royal Caribbean is another excellent choice for budget-conscious travelers seeking competitive pricing.
Why are cruises so expensive for 1 person?
Cruise prices often include an asterisk indicating double occupancy, indicating that the single price is often double the published price. This is common in hotels, where a typical cruise cabin can accommodate two or more people. However, Celebrity Cruises is charging solo travelers well over twice the double occupancy rate. For example, on an 8-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Reflection, the price for a double occupancy guest was $1, 461 and $4, 346 for a single, resulting in a solo traveler paying $1, 424 more than the total paid by two guests, nearly three times the normal rate.
How much should I budget for a 7 day cruise?
The cost of a solo cruise varies based on the duration, cruise line, ship, duration, cabin type, and specific itinerary. A three to four-night cruise can start at $200-$300 per person for an inside cabin, while a seven-day cruise can cost between $500-$1500 per person. Longer cruises may cost $5000 or more per person. Caribbean cruise prices can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per person, with the lowest rate for Liberty of the Seas starting at $77 per night.
In 2024, the cost of a 7-night cruise can start at $32. 71/night(s), but prices can vary widely, and luxurious or specific itineraries may have higher costs. For detailed pricing information, check out CruiseBooking’s website.
Do you have to pay for every meal on a cruise?
The cruise includes meals from various onboard venues, including the Main Dining Room and the Windjammer Café. It should be noted that reservations are required for dinner. Please be advised that a service charge is levied by Chops Grille and Johnny Rockets, and that prices are subject to change.
📹 How to Cruise on a BUDGET
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Agree with you on all points. We try to purchase everything before the cruise. Our last get off the ship bill was $0.00!!!!!!!😮 The one before that was a creditback to our credit card!,,😮 We get the wifi, prepay tips, and bring cash for additional tips. We are Dimond, so we don’t need drinks and book excursions beforehand. We cruised a lot so we don’t need more photos. Once in a while, we go to specialty restaurants. Pay all that up front t, no surprises 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I am with you! Interior cabins are awesome for cruising more often! We don’t spend our time in the cabin and the service is still as phenomenal at any cabin level! We have stayed in all cabin types and enjoy the value of cruising! Agree….stay off the 3 day cruises especially for those who have to pay airfare, no value in the end! Older ships are lovely and new to us if we haven’t sailed on them! 😊cheers and happy cruising!
We are only cruising on older ships, not necessarily because of the sometimes – not always!- lower prices, but because of the for us “better feeling” on board. We had cruises on ships of 5000+ passengers last year…. Thinking “oh a new ship, this must be great” No it was not. We hated it! Everywhere too many people and all the things from food to entertainment had to be planned quite in advance – just to find yourself again within fully packed venues. No. We will be doing a b2b end of March, altogether 3 weeks on the Jewel otS, and are so much looking forward to it! This will be the first of several cruises in 2024, with Iceland and Scotland coming in July and another b2b in October All on ships that new cruisers do not make a thought of. Great!
You want to save real money and have a great time. Go on an off season transatlantic on a slightly older ship, like coming back from Europe in the fall. The are basically giving the cruise away and you can get it for as under 100 dollars a day all included. And you get Europe and it only costs you a one way fare and this will be discounted. Plus you will get at least one of the Atlantic islands and of course Barcelona or Rome. Either city is fantastic. How do we know? We have taken five now. And you will meet a lot of people and be able to take advantage of the ship and what it offers. Like food demonstrations, enrichment, the full complement of entertainment like double or triple shows into the night. All the exercise options and fun options too. If you havent done it, you should.
I agree with your upsell of the packages, I did Alaska last year did not buy the drink package because I only want one glass of wine with dinner, but I also was able to bring a bottle in my luggage and we could have a glass before we even went to dinner, and if I did want a specialty coffee, I’ll go buy one but I don’t need to spend all that money on a package when I don’t plan on drinking 15 beers at the pool. And we also spent money on the extra spa and I only went twice. Also, the excursions and other activities on the ship just didn’t leave money for a midday change my clothes, go to the spa come back, take a shower, redo my hair, so I just didn’t go.
My preferences: repositioning cruises in inside cabins, no drink package (and no alcohol), no photos, no shopping onboard. I may, depending on the ship, do some specialty dining if it looks attractive. The only extra I plan for is internet. I also book early. For cruise lines owned by Carnival I own 100 shares of stock which gets me onboard spend. I think your advice for short cruises misses the point unless one lives close to a cruise port.
Royal Carribean is cheaper when a one week cruise is $500 for two people. Thanks to the casino! If you spend some money, in my experience you will get the money back. And I love Port Canaveral. For instance Wonder (the second largest ship) wants to charge $9,000 for a junior suite during the holiday weekend. But through the casino even if I lost $5,000 dollars, I still am saving money which makes cruising more affordable. If I want free beverages (I prefer non-alcoholic drinks), I just go down to the casino lol. So each year bring a few thousand to circulate through the casino. For a lot of people it pays for itself.
Shorter cruise might be cheaper overal, but how about on per day basis. Of course even that is not always true. We are going to 9 night crusie for mother’s 60th birthday but same ship would have had 12 days same month that was actually cheaper in total price (before gratuities etc.). Then there are fixed costs like flights that cost the same regardless of cruise lenght.
Wife and I are retired and you can’t take it with you. Hard to put a value on something you like for someone else. We made our reservation for Icon 14 months before cruise date (to have time to pay it off). Had a large balcony room (Feb 10), absolutely loved our trip! Going on an older ship next Feb. Adventure of the Seas. Already have our reservation in for Star of the Seas (Feb 2026). You can’t take it with you, the market will always determine cost of something. Every person will have to weigh what they want and what they can afford.
We live in the Midwest try to cruise once a year only and prefer Spring late April or May then late October/early November normally less crowded, a little less on cost & we prefer older, smaller ships. We’ve traveled on Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival & October 2024 we sail on Celebrity! Definitely things have changed since Covid, especially with the “drink” packages. We’re to the point if not included in a promotion for the price of the cruise we’re not getting! Loved the article
New subscriber. Great article. We started cruise after our son started college and being flexible with time is a blessing. Our first cruise was on my birthday in Jan and the pool deck was covered with snow, but by the time we got south the weather was great. We prefer cruises over 12-days and traveling during the shoulder season makes it affordable.
I only drink a few alcoholic beverages, but the drink pkg is worth it for all the wine, specialty coffees and San Pellegrino I consume in a day. I love the Enclave but will only purchase it when I’m on a sisters/cousins cruise. We use it at least daily, some days multiple times a day. Hubby doesn’t like it, and I want to spend time with him on our cruises, so I won’t purchase it when it is just the two of us.
There’s nothing you said that I do not agree with and I’m glad you brought up that thermal package because I’ve been thinking about doing it but the cruise lines are out pricing themselves now it is cheaper now to just go to an all-inclusive on land then it is to cruise a lot cheaper I’m rethinking my strategies. I have already five cruises planned for this year and one for next year but if this madness doesn’t stop, I’ll be doing land vacationsand I do not spend any extra money on a cruise ship they don’t like me
As a teacher, I was stuck booking prime times. Saved lots of money…70-80% off…booking guaranteed category cabins. I can honestly say I never got a bad cabin. Maybe just lucky, but cruised often over decades. Not for those who need a specific cabin. Also, when the Euro rate was high, I booked dollar ships which made Europe travel much cheaper. MSC yacht club is a nice way to go. Wishing all happy travels.