7 Best Things You Can Get Free On Your Cruise. If You Ask

I guarantee there are loads of freebies and free stuff you, and other cruise passengers, are missing out on your cruise. Free Things you can get on a cruising vacation simply by asking for them, or just by doing something simple. No matter how often you go on a cruise ship, there will be some free cruise stuff you did not know about in this video!

ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 90 cruises I have done to date.

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00:00 Start
00:35 Free Gifts
04:30 More Free Food
08:35 Free Drinks
10:44 Free Surprises
11:33 Free Treatments
12:07 Free Upgrades
13:23 Free Benefits
14:56 Free Cash

[tiiuvanwinckle]

On my first cruise on Holland America, many years ago, I got 5lbs of Dutch roasted coffee for free. At the time, I worked for a Dutch company running one of their farms in Canada. Getting extended time off was almost impossible because of it being speciality livestock and skilled workers were hard to come by, but I was given my 3 weeks off. My dutch Operations Manager loved his coffee and when I found out that at the time Holland America imported their coffee from the Netherlands, I figured this was a great way to thank my boss. So I contacted the restaurant manager in hopes to purchase some coffee from them. I explained the reasoning for it and he told me to come back later in the day.

I returned a few hours later and was handed a 5 lb bag of their coffee and was told no charge, from one Dutchman to another. My boss was thrilled when I returned home and presented it to him, I also gave him a cigar to sweeten the deal. After that, I was his favorite barn manager.

[tuvia]

Great info Gary, remember, if you don't ask questions, people generally are not going to tell you. (a little sidebar here: you mentioned getting a free comb, hmm)

[mariareyes-ku]

At one of my cruises with Carnival, I received a free hairdo just by volunteering to be a model and they also did my makeup. It was formal night and I was ready to go and did not pay anything. It was awesome.

[sharongunsher]

I’ve always seen the spa raffles on the first day and have never gone. But, after watching this video, I gave it a try. I won a $150 credit. Four names before mine were called, but none of them were there. Thanks for the tip.

[andreagriffiths]

One thing these videos have taught me is to ask. I was having trouble with a pillow in a hotel and it would never have occurred to me to ask for a firmer pillow before watching all the cruise videos because I was brought up with ‘you get what you get and you don’t get upset’ and ‘put up with it and shut up’. But the brilliance of leaving housekeeping a nice note and a thank you for a firmer pillow got me a much more enjoyable stay. I haven’t quite reached the level of being able to ring and ask housekeeping yet, that’s way too daunting for my anxiety but maybe in the future I’ll be able to.

[katdodd]

I don't consider it free if I have to listen to a sales pitch to get it on while on vacation

[ianward]

Great advice mate. I did my first cruise for my 50th with Carnival and let the cabin stewardess know about it. I got $50 voucher for a massage, birthday cake for my table, a special cake towel animal and they decorated my cabin on the day. Made my trip go from great to awesome.

[MelvisVelour]

You bring up a very good point on the vegetarian/vegan options. A friend of mine was finally having her first cruise and was chatting with one of the Indian chefs who found out she was vegetarian and also loved Indian cuisine and she got something special for every meal that wasn't on the menu and, they didn't dumb down the flavors so she got to enjoy it as they would at home.

That happened to me as well when I was talking to one of the chefs and mentioned how much time I spent in India and loved the people there, he smiled, winked at me and voila! A Kerala style prawn kadai that was world class as opposed to an insipid chicken curry he was churning out appeared on my plate. I definitely made sure to become friends with the rest of the chefs and on our last day, they gave me a tray of spices that they used for staff meals which were out of this world!

[chrisweaver]

I discovered a free service on a recent cruise that goes to your point, no matter what happens, ask.
The sole on my daily wear shoes had come unglued, with nearly have the sole flopping about. Trying an earlier recommendation I asked my cabin steward if he knew any members of the maintenance crew that might have some glue I could use and he referred me to guest services that had a standard waiver for making repairs. After signing off that I would not hold them accountable for making things worse they took my shoe and it was delivered to my room the next morning looking new for no charge.

[Kayrenar]

Great tips! Hubby and I volunteered for the Love & Marriage game show on the Carnival Pride and we won a bottle of champagne, a set of bamboo towels and a ship on a stick! And we made more memories. ☺️☺️☺️☺️

[larry]

This one might be obvious to many of your loyal followers but I'm always amazed to find out how many people don't know about the free room service continental breakfast on major lines like NCL and Royal. They usually charge for room service around $8-10 plus gratuity, which can seem like a frivolous expense when one can just walk up to any included restaurant and get free food. But the continental breakfast is free, and usually includes hot coffee/tea, fresh juices, cereals, pastries, yogurt, fruit, etc. There's also no limit on how much you can order. Since many rooms do not include coffeemakers, and I can't even walk out of my room without already having had coffee, I find that even just ordering coffee and juice is a great way to start the day. It's usually delivered at the exact time I request. A cash tip is really the only cost.

[alabamaal]

It's all quite well to try to get as many perks as practical, but for some of them you have to continuously jump through hoops to get them. For example, the free prizes in the ship's jewelry shops. If you can be there for the drawing and deem it worthwhile, fine. But the odds of actually winning anything in a drawing is still usually at best 3 or 4 in 75 or so. Plus you have to usually hang around the shop for at least 15-20 minutes before the last prize is awarded. During this time you may be late for dinner, can't go early to a show and get a good seat, miss a show altogether, or miss out on something else (see the sun set, for example.) In other words, there is usually at least an opportunity cost for the "freebies."

[andrearheintgen]

As an American growing up, I knew nothing about afternoon tea or high tea until travel to Hong Kong. I absolutely love it and was spoiled! Holland America looks nice from your video's - it's such a lovely experience. I prefer a proper breakfast and dinner.. lunch can be too much so that tea time is perfect 🥰

[jencra]

The egg crate on the mattress is a must know. No need to suffer on a stiff bed on vacation

[KateandBree]

My mom and I cruised over our collective birthdays (our birthdays are 10 days apart.) When Gary says they make a fuss, they are not kidding. The chef at Prime 7 and all of the waiters came out and sang us happy birthday while holding this giant platter which had Prime 7's specialty - 14 layer chocolate cake. Mind you, we all ready had 3 courses and we kept thinking, "How are we going to fit cake?" Never mind how we fit cake, we did. It is the specialty for a reason. Our suite had a giant towel cake and balloons taped to the ceiling. We had no idea our travel agent made it at the steakhouse. It was so much fun.

[zhuangcorp]

I've heard that you can also ask for dishes from what the crew is eating, like Filipino or Indonesian dishes.

[hettytravels]

So timely…I won a raffle ticket giveaway last week and it was a really nice parka from the Shops of Princess. Wow, I couldn’t believe it—it sells for $35 and I used it on the cruise too! Also received the charm bracelet from Effy with one heart charm…gave that away to a crew member.

[poorwotan]

On Silversea, I had steak & eggs for breakfast but had to ask for it the day before. Now, this was 3 years ago so I don't know if that can still be done today (and it was on the small ships where staff knows you after the 2nd day...). Steak & eggs might not be a thing for others but it is the one decadent thing I crave on any vacation - lol.

[janetkruth]

Slightly off topic but best free service I got was on a transatlantic HAL trip. The sole of my walking shoe detached - took it to customer service and got it back well repaired.

[redhatbear]

Several years ago I asked why water bottles weren’t given to us. The only hedging I remember was keeping them clean and using them at the dispensers. Since then I’ve learned that stains and other cleaning can be done with denture cleaners! It works quite well!