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I share 7 cruise cost saving tips and watch-outs as cruises resume. As cruisers look at a cruising vacation, what are the cruise cost tips and watch-outs that you should consider to ensure a successful cruising vacation. I look at how to get the best deals and where, how to make sure you do not overpay if cruise fares fall after you book and budgeting and managing the costs of getting to and from the ship and once on board.
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Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 77 cruises at time of making this video.
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0:00
what are the crews budgeting and costs
0:02
you need to watch out for in a post
0:04
shutdown world
0:06
I'm Gary Babbage this is another of my
0:08
cruising tips for travelers as cruising
0:10
starts up again I think there's a whole
0:12
bunch of budgeting and costs that you
0:14
need to be aware of that are different
0:17
evolved or certainly you need to be more
0:19
cautious about cruising heads back out
0:21
after all of the shutdown so I'm gonna
0:23
share with you those things and I have
0:25
seven specific cost watch outs and
0:28
budgeting watch outs that you need to be
0:30
aware of the thing you need to bear in
0:31
mind with cruising is the way the whole
0:33
model works is the aim of the Cruise
0:35
Lines is to sail with ships that are as
0:38
full as possible and they do that by
0:42
offering attractive fares within the
0:44
marketplace depending on what the
0:45
competitions at the time to get people
0:47
on board once they're on board they then
0:49
work to make a lot of money with people
0:52
on board it's estimated in various
0:55
industry reports that have seen that
0:56
people spend between on average 50
0:59
percent and a hundred percent of their
1:01
fare once they're on board of the ship
1:03
so getting people on board is really
1:05
really important so as we look at some
1:06
of these costs watch outs and some of
1:08
things to budget for bear that in mind
1:10
that the aim is to get you to spend as
1:13
much as possible on board and that's
1:14
really an area that you need to focus on
1:16
not just the fair itself so let's take a
1:18
look at the watch outs the first step I
1:21
have is a really really important one
1:22
it's a really big important watch art a
1:25
lot of you are very eager and keen to
1:27
get back into cruising but you need to
1:28
be a little bit patient before you start
1:30
booking anything why do I say that what
1:32
I genuinely believe very strongly that
1:34
you're gonna see fares falling and
1:36
availability increasing at this point in
1:38
time it's not a hundred percent sure
1:40
exactly when ships are going to sell and
1:42
when they're going to be allowed to sell
1:44
of course there are startup dates
1:45
announced but nobody knows when that's
1:47
going to happen be patient and wait
1:49
before you book cruises wait until the
1:52
ships are actually definitely heading
1:54
out and selling and actually wait until
1:55
the cruising does start up again once
1:58
that happens the cruise lines will have
2:00
a much better assessment of what the
2:03
capacity they have to sell and also they
2:05
will have a much better sessemann of
2:06
what real demand is it is extremely
2:08
likely that demand for cruising is going
2:10
to be significantly lower than it was
2:13
in the run-up to the shutdown there are
2:15
a lot of people have been spooked and
2:17
put off by cruising other people of
2:18
course have come a lot of financial
2:20
pressure there is going to be a lot of
2:22
capacity and fares and I'm going to come
2:24
down and deals are gonna go up there's
2:27
gonna be lots and lots of things
2:28
available so my biggest tip my biggest
2:30
watch out is as eager as you are look at
2:32
what you want to do an only book once
2:35
cruising starts again and they are
2:37
really genuinely they know what they
2:39
have to fill at the moment of course
2:41
they are very happy to take bookings and
2:43
if cruises get cancelled of course they
2:45
encourage you to take future cruise
2:47
credit gets cash in but just wait and
2:49
wait and wait until cruises start again
2:51
that's a really really important thing
2:52
hold back and wait until the deals come
2:55
one of the great things to do if you are
2:57
keen is if you've got a cruise agent ask
2:58
them to keep an eye on deals and let
3:01
them alert you as these deals come in of
3:03
course what you can also do to get a
3:04
sense of the sort of pricing is there
3:06
are some sites out there that do really
3:08
focus on looking for deep deals some of
3:10
those sites include cruise ship calm
3:14
cruise deals calm vacations to go calm
3:17
so take a look at some of those sites to
3:19
get a sense of the sort of pricing and
3:20
deals that are going the other thing you
3:22
might want to think about is as you head
3:25
forwards in a post shutdown world is
3:27
booked last minute and the reason I say
3:30
that is I think you're going to find
3:31
lots of really sharp deals barring a
3:33
month at cruise ships do want to sell
3:34
full so they with capacity likely to be
3:37
available there's probably going to be
3:38
some really sharp deals in the 90 days
3:40
to 60 days I also think that's very
3:42
important because a lot of people booked
3:44
cruises way before this all happened and
3:46
they I think are they want cruise so a
3:49
lot of them will not pay that final
3:50
balance they'll try and fail find ways
3:52
of getting out of going on cruising and
3:54
I think that'll unlock a lot of capacity
3:55
at short notice
3:57
my second really important watch out as
4:00
you looking at budgeting and you look it
4:02
fares and looking where to book and what
4:05
to book is two things first of all focus
4:07
initially on the three big cruising
4:10
regions the Caribbean which is the
4:11
biggest cruising region the
4:13
Mediterranean which is the next biggest
4:14
cruising region and Alaska focus on
4:17
those three because those three are the
4:19
ones that are going to come up and
4:20
running really really quickly there's
4:21
good because they are just so important
4:23
to cruising also you have lots of cruise
4:25
lines operating there so
4:27
because on those three big areas as
4:28
you're looking for deals and looking to
4:31
get the sharpest prices the second thing
4:33
though when you are comparing prices
4:35
make sure you're comparing like with
4:36
like so what I suggest you do is if
4:38
you're looking at going on perhaps a big
4:40
mega ship and a budget type ship for a
4:42
more value type ship compare fares on
4:45
all those routes that you're interested
4:47
in between Royal Caribbean Norwegian
4:50
Cruise Line MSC Cruise Line and Carnival
4:53
so look at those four as a group if
4:55
you're looking at perhaps a more
4:56
traditional cruising experience then
4:58
look at the fairs across princess
5:01
Holland America
5:03
Cunard Pino Cruises if you're in
5:06
Australia or you're in Europe if you're
5:10
looking for a smaller slightly more
5:12
inclusive Cruise Line then what I
5:13
suggest you do is take a look at Azamara
5:16
Oceania and Viking and then if you
5:18
looking the very ultra luxury the very
5:20
premium and always take a look at
5:21
Seabourn Silver Sea region 7c as a group
5:24
make sure that you're not trying to
5:25
compare across those groups decide what
5:27
type of cruise you want and then look at
5:29
the fairs that are on offer in those
5:31
regions across those four or five cruise
5:33
lines in that particular area that's the
5:36
way you're going to be able to compare
5:37
and contrast and compare more like
5:39
with--like when you're comparing fairs
5:40
and deals the third tip I have and this
5:42
is a very very important one even more
5:45
so than it has ever been before
5:46
is once you've booked your cruise and
5:49
you have a fare is either you or get
5:52
your agent to keep an eye on prices the
5:55
cruise line if they cut their fares are
5:57
unlikely to tell you now there's been
5:59
some recent developments with Royal
6:00
Caribbean Group with our actually saying
6:01
if they drop their prices they're making
6:03
it very clear that they will find some
6:05
way of compensating you if prices fall
6:07
however what's really important is the
6:10
cruise lines will not come to you so if
6:12
they drop their fares on your particular
6:14
cruise in your particular cabin grade
6:15
they're not going to come and tell you
6:17
that what you need to do is keep an eye
6:19
on the fare if you see it go down get
6:21
hold of the cruise line either by your
6:23
agent if you book by an agent or
6:24
directly point out that you've seen the
6:26
price come down and ask what they're
6:28
going to do now in most cases they will
6:30
offer you an upgrade of some kind they
6:32
might offer you it's an extra onboard
6:34
credit or some future cruise credits but
6:36
it's really really important because I
6:37
do think prices are going to be very
6:38
volatile
6:39
as we look at the next year or two and
6:42
prices will be all over the place so
6:44
keep an eye on those prices and make
6:46
sure you know what your price is know
6:48
what the new prices are and if it goes
6:50
down contact the cruise line and find
6:52
out what they're going to give to you
6:54
there and I'll even give you money back
6:55
they're likely to cut your fare but they
6:57
will bundle much more in very important
6:59
now if you want those people that have
7:00
booked a cruise that has been cancelled
7:02
and have got a future cruise credit
7:03
rather than cash extremely important to
7:06
make sure that you keep an eye and you
7:08
know and dye arised or have some kind of
7:10
alert so you know exactly when that
7:13
future cruise credit expires some of
7:15
them have very short expiry dates for
7:17
example the time of quoting the Virgin
7:19
canceled cruises their expiry date is
7:21
only an April next-gen you have to
7:22
cruise to buy then I think that will
7:25
probably get pushed out other cruise
7:26
lines had at the end of 2021 others have
7:28
moved it to 2022 and it is constantly
7:30
evolving so make sure you know when that
7:32
future cruise credit expires and also
7:35
because if you booked a cruise near some
7:37
future cruise credit over when you need
7:38
to be able to use that before it expires
7:41
you're not just throwing money away so
7:43
do some sort of spreadsheet put stuff in
7:45
your diary which I don't put it alerts
7:46
uh my diary to remind me to keep
7:48
checking and thinking ahead so I don't
7:50
lose future cruise credit my fifth tip
7:53
is also very important when it comes to
7:54
budgeting a lot of people focus on the
7:56
fare they get very excited because
7:58
they've got a great fair deal however as
8:00
I mentioned earlier on you could be
8:03
paying anything between 50% and a
8:05
hundred percent of that fair again on
8:07
your cruise and that's just on the
8:08
cruise that excludes other things like
8:10
flights or transport to and from the
8:12
port transfers from the airport to the
8:15
port one of the things I recommend when
8:17
you look at budgeting and are you
8:19
comparing different cruise lines on a
8:21
particular route all time of the year is
8:23
think door-to-door so I think front door
8:26
to front door and all of the costs that
8:28
are involved very important we've seen a
8:31
lot of discussion with Airlines so
8:34
cutting capacity perhaps some airlines
8:36
going out of business less roots etc etc
8:39
so it's possible that air fares will
8:42
become increasingly more expensive and
8:43
possibly even availability to get to and
8:46
from cruisers becomes more challenging
8:47
which pushes prices up so do think
8:50
increasingly around that door-to-door so
8:52
as you're looking at fares
8:53
also take a look at what do you think is
8:54
gonna cost you to get there because it
8:56
may be a very different price - it was
8:57
in the past and again just think through
9:00
that whole process of leaving the home
9:02
on the ship what you're gonna spend on
9:04
the ship and once you get back home
9:06
think the whole process through because
9:08
it could be very different if you just
9:11
focus on the fares themselves that
9:14
brings me on to my next point the
9:15
onboard spend this is where you could be
9:17
spending a lot of money so as you're
9:19
planning and budgeting really important
9:21
to focus on this what we see
9:22
increasingly I think we're going to see
9:23
this increasingly is to sort of
9:25
polarizing things happening on the one
9:27
hand cruise lines are going to be
9:29
pushing really hard to get people on
9:31
board at the cheapest possible price and
9:32
to make as much money as possible on
9:34
board one of the things that we might
9:36
see happening is that the price of
9:38
things on board goes up so in its drinks
9:39
excursions Wi-Fi especially dining they
9:42
might stop pushing the prices of those
9:44
up to try and claw back some of the
9:46
money that they've lost through the
9:47
shutdown and lower fares the other thing
9:49
that I'm also seeing doing is they're
9:50
trying to incentivize people to book and
9:53
one of the ways of incentivizing people
9:54
is to reassure them about the overall
9:57
cost of cruising so I'm seeing more and
9:59
more deals which will bundle things in
10:01
so might give you a chance to choose
10:03
from four different things like
10:05
gratuities onboard credits and
10:06
especially dining or drinks for example
10:10
drinks packages so we've seen those two
10:11
polarizing things so as you look at
10:13
deals look and see increasingly whether
10:16
you can get those bundled in because
10:18
that is one way of minimizing and
10:20
managing your cost but when you plan and
10:24
when you budget there are a number of
10:25
critical things that you need to
10:27
understand and think about that could
10:30
add a lot of cost first of all
10:31
gratuities most cruise lines will auto
10:33
add gratuities or give you the chance to
10:35
buyer before that can cost you easily
10:38
across the seven day cruise 200-300 or
10:40
more dollars added on to your cruise
10:42
depending on the grade of cabin you're
10:44
in the second thing is drinks most
10:46
cruise lines are not include drinks and
10:48
they push very hard to drinks packages
10:51
personally I tend to shy away from
10:53
drinks packages you know anything the
10:55
cruise lines pushing really aggressively
10:56
you have to think well they're putting
10:58
it because it's probably very profitable
11:00
for them so try it and manage your whole
11:03
drink experience look really carefully
11:04
drinks packages perhaps just buy drinks
11:07
individ
11:07
because that's one way of course of
11:08
controlling and managing your budget
11:10
third big big cost is excursions this
11:13
can cost you a lot of money if you're on
11:15
a very port intensive cruise you could
11:17
be spending seventy five hundred or more
11:19
dollars per person per day on excursions
11:21
and that can be a big big slug one of
11:23
these always recommend is do lots of
11:26
research beforehand go to Port aux and
11:27
rely a lot on the hop on hop of buses
11:30
there can be a Coralie cost-effective
11:31
way what we don't yet know is whether
11:34
you will need to do more and more
11:35
excursions as a way of managing people
11:37
as they head back into ports as ships
11:40
and ports start opening again but do
11:43
Barry mind you could have a big cost on
11:44
excursions the other big cost is Wi-Fi
11:47
now of course you could stay
11:48
disconnected but Wi-Fi can easily add
11:50
another two hundred dollars easily onto
11:52
a week long cruise depending on the
11:54
cruise line that you're on the other
11:56
cost which could mount up is specialty
11:58
dining rather the cruise lines added
12:00
specialty dining venues to try and
12:02
encourage people to spend more money on
12:03
board that can be adding up again you
12:05
can be paying twenty thirty forty fifty
12:06
sixty or more dollars for specialty
12:09
dining experience so that's again decide
12:11
if you really want to do special your
12:12
dining and budget for it you could be
12:14
adding hundreds and hundreds of dollars
12:16
onto your budget on board when you go on
12:20
a cruise so be very careful that's why I
12:22
stressed again that point about the
12:23
door-to-door experience 50% to 100% of
12:26
your cruise fare you could easily spend
12:28
on board so think about that and have a
12:30
strategy or budget for those things
12:32
another really important tip is if you
12:34
are a shareholder in any of the Cruise
12:36
Lines your cruising with don't forget
12:39
that if you hold a hundred chairs and
12:41
most of the cruise lines no matter which
12:42
of the brands you're cruising on you can
12:44
apply for extra onboard credit a little
12:47
bit of paperwork involved once you've
12:48
paid your final payment but you can
12:50
often get a couple of hundred dollars
12:51
extra onboard credit so if you are a
12:53
shareholder
12:53
don't throw that opportunity away and do
12:56
send away for that as we head into a
12:58
post shutdown mode as cruising starts up
13:01
again the way that we budged the way we
13:03
think about cruising and costs and fares
13:05
it has evolved and changing ever so
13:08
slightly with some really important
13:10
watch outs
13:10
these are things I think you should
13:12
focus on I hope you found that helpful I
13:14
have loads more videos
13:15
packed full of cruising tips and advice
13:17
so why don't you watch another one of
13:19
those right now
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