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Cruise Vacations and Travel: How to Afford a Family Cruise

Cruise Vacations and Travel: How to Afford a Family Cruise

Cruises are one of the most underrated vacations for families. Most people assume that they are simply too cost prohibitive to consider. You may be surprised to learn that in many cases a cruise is actually more affordable than a land based vacation. The upfront cost is what detracts most people. Spending a thousand or more dollars per person can seem out of reach. But some consideration should be taken to what you really get for your investment. There are also many ways to ensure your cruise is less expensive.

When you book a cruise the price is quoted per person. If you have young children the cost is typically less than that of an adult. The price covers your sleeping cabin, most food on board, and most activities onboard. Additional costs can range from alcoholic beverages, shore excursions, and extra hours of babysitting or dining in an onboard specialty restaurant. All of these things should be taken into consideration.

In order to get the best deal on your cruise here are some helpful things to consider;

Book Early

It’s not uncommon to book cruises as far as 18 months ahead of the actual sail date. If you’re on a tight budget this is one option you’ll want to explore. One of the best things about cruising is that you can put a deposit on your reservation and then typically have until 60 days before sailing to finish making payments. You pay as you want with no additional interest. There are few vacation offers that allow you to do this! So when you find a great deal, lock it in and make payments as you go. Subscribe to cruiseline email newsletters to get notice of when there are special deals like kids cruise free or extra onboard cash.

Think Outside the Box

A big expense along with the actual cruise is airfare to get to the cruise port. Many cruises to the Caribbean leave from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. These are two expensive airports to fly to. You may discover that cruises departing from Puerto Rico are less expensive and airfare to Puerto Rico can cost less than to Miami. Or why not consider an Alaska cruise in the fall? Or Europe in winter? These may not seem like the ideal times but traveling off peak can save you a lot of money!

Avoid Costly Shore Excursions

You’ve paid for the cruise and airfare now you’re on board and deciding what to do in port. If possible book and prepay your shore excursions so that you don’t have any unexpected costs while on vacation. You aren’t required to book a shore excursion, you can simply get off the ship and explore on your own or book an activity directly. Instead of doing an activity at every port, choose to take a shore excursion in just one port.

Bring Drinks On Board

You can get hammered with the cost of drinks onboard. If you’d like to have things in your room pack them in your suitcase and bring them onboard. Most cruise lines let you bring a reasonable amount of non-alcoholic beverages onboard. You can also purchase a drink card for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. This can save a lot of money over purchasing individually.

What are some of your best tips to affording a cruise?