December 9, 2019 • 5 mins
Sophisticated cruisers know that you have to shop around to get the best cruise deal. But saving money when you book your cruise is only part of the equation. It also pays to be smart with your money during your cruise vacation as well. We’ll be talking about how to save money onboard your cruise in this CruiseCompete Cruise Bite.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, Bob Levinstein here with the cruise compete
cruise bite.
Sophisticated cruisers know thatyou have to shop around to get
the best cruise deal, but savingmoney when you book your cruise
is only part of the equation.
It also pays to be smart withyour money during your cruise
vacation as well.
We'll be talking about how tosave money on board your cruise
(00:36):
in this cruise compete cruisebite right after this cruise.
compete.com is a simple concept.
We give you the tools to findthe perfect cruise and request
quotes.
Independent travel agents canthen see your requests and they
respond with the best customcruise offers they can all
competing to offer you the bestdeal.
(00:56):
You compare these offers in oneconvenient place along with
consumer ratings and reviews ofthe agencies as only the best
agents survive in thiscompetitive environment.
You'll have some great optionsto choose from you then remain
anonymous unless or until youdecide to contact an agent by
phone or by email to askquestions or to book.
(01:17):
Find out why more than a millioncruisers are members of our free
unique service and start savingboth time and a significant
amount of money on your cruisevacation via cruise compete
today.
(01:45):
One of the great things aboutcruising is that your cruise
fare includes your cabin mealsand a tremendous variety of
activities and entertainment allfor one price.
However, that doesn't mean thateverything on the ship is free.
Here are some tips on savingmoney and avoiding unpleasant
surprises when you close outyour ship port account.
(02:06):
The biggest revenue generatorsfor cruise lines on boar are
alcoholic and premium drinks,which are usually specialty
coffee drinks and sodas, shoreexcursions and casino gambling.
Add in spa treatments andshopping on board and in port,
and these make up the lion'sshare of a typical cruise
vacation or spend before yousale.
(02:27):
Set budgets for everything andkeep track of your spending once
on board.
The goal is to find a balancebetween being in vacation mode
and just indulging in everythingyou want and pinching pennies to
avoid overspending on gambling.
The easiest thing to do is justwin, but if you can't count on
that set limits on both the timeand the money you plan to spend
(02:49):
in the casino onboard.
Spa treatments tend to be prettyexpensive, so do check prices
online before you sale and havea realistic expectation of what
you want to spend.
You can sometimes find specialdeals on spot treatments at less
popular times, especially whenthe ship is in port.
Alcohol is one of the biggestonboard revenue sources for
(03:10):
cruise lines, which is why theydon't let you bring your own
liquor on board.
Yes, a bottle in your luggagethat doesn't look like a liquor
bottle is likely to make it toyour cabin, but I don't
recommend doing this.
The carnival owned lines,including carnival princess and
Holland America allow you tobring wine and champagne on
board to enjoy in your cabin.
Personally, I recommend wine ina box.
(03:33):
Yes, some box wine is, well,let's face it, some box wine is
vile, but there are certainhigher end brands that have a
quality product.
A box allows you to get theequivalent of several bottles in
a corner of your suitcasewithout the added weight or
breakage risk of glass.
And since the dispenser doesn'tlet air into the wine, it keeps
the wine fresh longer.
Once opened
Speaker 2 (03:54):
[inaudible]
Speaker 1 (03:54):
most cruise lines offer beverage packets that can
potentially save you money ondrinks.
Soda packages for kids often payoff, but as far as alcohol goes,
really think through how muchyou plan to drink, especially on
a port intensive sailing yourbreak even maybe seven or eight
drinks in a day, not that muchfor a day by the pool, followed
by a night out, but maybe a bitmuch seven days in a row,
(04:18):
especially when you're spendinga good chunk of the time in
port.
Speaking of port, you can save alot on shore excursions by
booking through a third partyconsolidator rather than through
the cruise line.
Cruise compete offers excursionsthrough a partner that can not
only save you significant money,but will also avoid the crowded
cattle calls that you often getwhen you book through the cruise
(04:39):
line with everyone else.
Our partner also guaranteesshe'll be returned to the ship
on time or they will pay to getyou to the next port call.
Finally a word on souvenirsbefore you buy anything, picture
where you would display it inyour house or how many times
you'd really wear it.
What we've all felt the euphoriaof a great day and an exotic
(04:59):
place and what it's somethingtangible to remember it by.
Keep in mind it's not a bargainif you don't want it when you
get home.
I'm Bob Levinstein and this hasbeen a cruise compete cruise
spice.
Hi, Bob Levinstein here with the cruise compete
cruise bite.
Sophisticated cruisers know thatyou have to shop around to get
the best cruise deal, but savingmoney when you book your cruise
is only part of the equation.
It also pays to be smart withyour money during your cruise
vacation as well.
We'll be talking about how tosave money on board your cruise
(00:36):
in this cruise compete cruisebite right after this cruise.
compete.com is a simple concept.
We give you the tools to findthe perfect cruise and request
quotes.
Independent travel agents canthen see your requests and they
respond with the best customcruise offers they can all
competing to offer you the bestdeal.
(00:56):
You compare these offers in oneconvenient place along with
consumer ratings and reviews ofthe agencies as only the best
agents survive in thiscompetitive environment.
You'll have some great optionsto choose from you then remain
anonymous unless or until youdecide to contact an agent by
phone or by email to askquestions or to book.
(01:17):
Find out why more than a millioncruisers are members of our free
unique service and start savingboth time and a significant
amount of money on your cruisevacation via cruise compete
today.
(01:45):
One of the great things aboutcruising is that your cruise
fare includes your cabin mealsand a tremendous variety of
activities and entertainment allfor one price.
However, that doesn't mean thateverything on the ship is free.
Here are some tips on savingmoney and avoiding unpleasant
surprises when you close outyour ship port account.
(02:06):
The biggest revenue generatorsfor cruise lines on boar are
alcoholic and premium drinks,which are usually specialty
coffee drinks and sodas, shoreexcursions and casino gambling.
Add in spa treatments andshopping on board and in port,
and these make up the lion'sshare of a typical cruise
vacation or spend before yousale.
(02:27):
Set budgets for everything andkeep track of your spending once
on board.
The goal is to find a balancebetween being in vacation mode
and just indulging in everythingyou want and pinching pennies to
avoid overspending on gambling.
The easiest thing to do is justwin, but if you can't count on
that set limits on both the timeand the money you plan to spend
(02:49):
in the casino onboard.
Spa treatments tend to be prettyexpensive, so do check prices
online before you sale and havea realistic expectation of what
you want to spend.
You can sometimes find specialdeals on spot treatments at less
popular times, especially whenthe ship is in port.
Alcohol is one of the biggestonboard revenue sources for
(03:10):
cruise lines, which is why theydon't let you bring your own
liquor on board.
Yes, a bottle in your luggagethat doesn't look like a liquor
bottle is likely to make it toyour cabin, but I don't
recommend doing this.
The carnival owned lines,including carnival princess and
Holland America allow you tobring wine and champagne on
board to enjoy in your cabin.
Personally, I recommend wine ina box.
(03:33):
Yes, some box wine is, well,let's face it, some box wine is
vile, but there are certainhigher end brands that have a
quality product.
A box allows you to get theequivalent of several bottles in
a corner of your suitcasewithout the added weight or
breakage risk of glass.
And since the dispenser doesn'tlet air into the wine, it keeps
the wine fresh longer.
Once opened
Speaker 2 (03:54):
[inaudible]
Speaker 1 (03:54):
most cruise lines offer beverage packets that can
potentially save you money ondrinks.
Soda packages for kids often payoff, but as far as alcohol goes,
really think through how muchyou plan to drink, especially on
a port intensive sailing yourbreak even maybe seven or eight
drinks in a day, not that muchfor a day by the pool, followed
by a night out, but maybe a bitmuch seven days in a row,
(04:18):
especially when you're spendinga good chunk of the time in
port.
Speaking of port, you can save alot on shore excursions by
booking through a third partyconsolidator rather than through
the cruise line.
Cruise compete offers excursionsthrough a partner that can not
only save you significant money,but will also avoid the crowded
cattle calls that you often getwhen you book through the cruise
(04:39):
line with everyone else.
Our partner also guaranteesshe'll be returned to the ship
on time or they will pay to getyou to the next port call.
Finally a word on souvenirsbefore you buy anything, picture
where you would display it inyour house or how many times
you'd really wear it.
What we've all felt the euphoriaof a great day and an exotic
(04:59):
place and what it's somethingtangible to remember it by.
Keep in mind it's not a bargainif you don't want it when you
get home.
I'm Bob Levinstein and this hasbeen a cruise compete cruise
spice.
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