Money Matters - Finding a Deal

Money Matters
Talking about money is always tough, right? Whether we’re talking about how much money we’re spending or how to manage the money we’re making, it’s not usually an easy topic of conversation. The reality is, cruising isn’t cheap and having a system in place to manage how much you’re spending (or going to end up spending) is really important. Without it, you’ll most likely end up looking back and realizing that you spent more than you feel comfortable with. There’s a lot of different financial aspects about the cruising from finding the deals to planning your payments to budgeting for the shore excursions and trinkets. With any luck, I’ll be able to cover those topics and provide some tips to help the planning process go more smoothly. If a system that I suggest doesn’t work for you, I’d encourage you to still find one that does.

Finding a Deal:

Cruise lines are almost always going to advertise some type of sale. That being said, most “sales” aren’t really deals since they’re occurring all of the time. From time to time, however, there are offers that I would consider to be cost-saving and worth jumping on. One immediate cost-saving deal is a reduced deposit sale. All cruises require a deposit to book and hold your spot, and the amount of those deposits are contingent on the length of the cruise and sometimes even the destination of the cruise. Finding a reduced deposit sale is exciting since it feels a lot less scary to book a cruise for $100 dollars down compared to $500 upfront. Below is a chart from Carnival’s website (as of April 2018) to give an idea of what those deposits look like. The 7-day cruise I just booked at a discounted rate with a reduced deposit of $50 per person was a steal!

Carnival-specific note: Some rates have non-refundable deposits, which typically means that if you cancel the cruise, you can transfer the amount of your deposit (minus $50 per person) to a new cruise within 24 months. For example, you pay a $500 deposit for two people but need to reschedule your cruise. Most (but not all) rates will allow you to keep $400 to put towards a new cruise deposit if you sail within 2 years.

Other deals that are typically advertised include BOGO sales such as Buy One, Get One Passenger 50% off. Those deals can be good, although I have seen that the base cruise rate is elevated for those sales so you’re not saving as much money as you assume you are, and so that the cruise line can still make a large profit even with a sale. Other sales advertise fares as 30% or 35% of normal prices, which again, may or may not be true due to elevating prices before a sale starts.

Another deal I’m also a fan of is Onboard Credit included. The amount of OBC is usually dependent on what type of room you book, but free money is always wonderful. Alright so it’s not totally free, but if you’re going to book a cruise anyways and they throw $50 at you, who would refuse?! Typically interior rooms will get the least amount of OBC, while balconies and suites will receive a higher amount due to the price of their room and amenities. If you book a rate with OBC included, you’ll be able to see this reflected on your account within a day or two of boarding and when you make charges to your cruise ship card, the OBC will get used first before racking up money to be charged to your credit card. Most of our cruises have included $50 OBC, and it’s always really relaxing to know that the first 5 or so drinks are totally free (Thanks Cruise Lines!)

Mess around with a mock-booking to hunt for the best deal (especially true when you have 4 people in your party such as a girls trip or family vacation). For those not familiar, a mock booking is pretending to pick out a cruise without actually paying for it. Through a mock booking you'll pick the itinerary you want, the week you want it, what room you want, and in what location. You'll be able to see the price with savings and bonuses included, and as long as you don't put in your credit card number, you won't have spent any money to find out that. The reason it's important to mock book and explore the rate options is shown in the follow example based on numbers pulled today:

Say there are 4 best friends looking to take a 7 day cruise together. They automatically assume they'll just book one interior room so they can save money and will deal with being cramped. Their cruise fare is $3,476 total, or about $869 per person. If they had done a mock-booking to explore options, they would've seen that for an extra $2.50 per person, they could get two interior rooms, spread out a little bit to get more space in the rooms, and pay a total of $3,486. Is it worth $2.50 to me for extra space for a week long cruise? Sure is. Four adults in one room might be tight, and playing around with room options can show a possibility that wasn't previously considered.

One Cabin:

Two Cabins:

Norwegian Cruise Line note: NCL advertises a lot of sales with Free Offers included. Long story short: it's not free. I will explain the long story as well. Say I'm taking a 7 day cruise that costs $2,598 for two people, and I get excited about the unlimited drinks and the WIFI, so I select those as my two free offers included with my sailing. I'm now paying $2,847, which is $249 more than I originally would've paid. Put simply, those free offers aren't free, they make you pay taxes and fees on those services. Sure, you are probably going to save some money by including an unlimited drink package, but be aware that "free" is not what it seems. (Based on numbers pulled today from a mock-booking)

Key Takeaway: Cruise lines are almost always running sales and deals. If you’re contemplating booking a cruise, keep an eye on sales for a handful of weeks before booking, if possible. Complete a mock-booking and collect some baseline data about how much your desired cruise costs right now, then check again once there’s a new sale running. Chances are, you’ll be able to find a good sale within a few weeks and can jump on it as a more educated buyer. Reduced deposits and onboard credit deals are my favorite, and anything with a percentage off is also a bonus.