8 Things Definitely Worth It On a Cruise...and 3 Places to Save Your Money

What you pay for your cruise is much more than just the cruise fare. There are all sorts of extra opportunities to spend money on your trip. The good news? Many of these extras are worth it... but not all.

I dive into what's worth your hard-earned money on a cruise, along with a few spots where I think you're better off saving money.

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[BobBob-wict]

We always book thru the cruise line. Had an excursion return 3 hours late once and the boat waited for us. Definitely worth the money.

[tysonh]

You can always purchase the drink package at the bar on the cruise and bypass the BS of having all adults in your room purchasing one. I did this as my wife was pregnant while on our cruise. Also, they have great deals during the end of longer cruises.

[exiledking]

The one thing I really appreciate is having a Case of water pre delivered to my room. Especially since I do buy the unlimited drink package and I definitely need to rehydrate at night so I can drink and hot tub again the next day.

[lizlet]

One of my go-to extras for a cruise is port parking, as I drive to the port city, instead of using questionable parking lots within the city spring for the parking at the cruise terminal. The time and ease are worth the slightly more expensive cost.

[CapitalG]

Greetings

The fact that the Drink Package made both the Pros and Cons list was impressive. I absolutely agree. I appreciate the honesty on that call.

[t-yoonit]

Don't doubt the smaller and older ships. We cruised the Carnival Fascination multiple times before the shut downs. The ship was in great shape. Sure, you could tell it had been scaled and repainted multiple times outside, but overall it felt very confident and the decks were still really nice overall. I was surprised to find out only a couple years after our last trip that it was up for scrap! Nothing about that ship alluded to it being set for a junk yard. Even a couple years before it was set to be junked, it was still a great cruising experience.

[aprillewis]

I personally don’t think the beverage package is worth it but it also depends greatly on the length of your cruise. I mainly cruise on Carnival and I get specials where drinks are on Carnival when I’m playing in the casino. And I don’t drink a lot during the day plus I bring my own sodas with me and pre purchase water and they deliver it to my cabin before I arrive.

[kathryncashner]

"Worth it" is always an individual matter...and will also depend on the cruise line (and sometimes the grade of cabin that you've booked). A prime example is the drink package. If you are the person who has a glass of wine at dinner, the drink package will be a waste of money. You can buy that glass, or a bottle, for far less than the $60-100 per day cost of most drink packages. Several cruise lines include sodas, juices, etc. in the cruise fare, and you can always bring a refillable water bottle. Balcony...if I'm with my family, I'll get the balcony. If I'm cruising alone, I'll save money, get an inside room, and got to public locations to enjoy the breeze. Speaking of solo cruising, look at lines that offer solo cabins==far cheaper than paying for a double occupancy cabin or paying a single supplement! Age of ship...if you are young and healthy and will use the water slides, car race tracks, etc. then go on a newer ship that has these features. If you are not physically able to enjoy these features, look for a well maintained older ship which has not devoted a huge amount of valuable real estate to thing that you can't or won't use. You are paying for those things in your cruise fare, whether you use them or not. Same for ships with great kid programs, but you don't have any kids. On some lines, the fares charged for the 1st and 2nd passenger are very high, in part to underwrite the cost of those kid programs (and people can book that 3rd/4th passenger at a much lower rate). Bottom line, think about that you will use and what you will enjoy, then look for cruises that meet those needs.

Shuttles--look at what you get and what it costs. You can research the typical cost of Uber, Lyft, or private shuttles on line before deciding whether to book transportation thru the cruise line. I've had situations where Lyft was 1/2 the cost of a shuttle, and others where they were the same. The cruise line shuttle might include the cost of luggage handling (will they put your claim numbers into the computer and you'll not see your luggage from check in at your home airport till you arrive at the cruise cabin? That might be worth a few extra dollars). Normally private transportation, whether Uber, Lyft, or whatever is a better deal, but it is worth checking.

[carolhether]

Well if you are Canadian you might save hundreds on liquor! Lol
We are in awe of the prices you pay as our government gets more than its fair share in taxes. We always take liquor home from trips whether we need it or make a pretty mean rum cake 😋 and what is Christmas without Baileys. Can’t wait to start traveling are getting short on rum 🤣

[silviaeaston]

We are in "different worlds" I cruise once a month... 85 cruises so far... I enjoy what the basic price gets me. period.

[ivryknight]

Greetings, Recently found your sight and find it quite enjoyable and informative. Reference the cruise shuttle. We recently returned from a cruise, while on board the shuttle was to be $25 per person, as we disembarked and got outside, they told us it was $25 dollars for the two of us. We went ahead and took that offer. The shuttle dropped us off right at the baggage/flight check in at Miami. In this case, it was worth it. We would have passed on a $50 trip though.

[GAMOM]

We took the carnival shuttle from Ft lauderdale airport to the Miami port. The benefit was that there was a carnival desk at the airport and they checked us in there. When we got to the port terminal we bypassed the line and boarded.

[alanhui]

I had a balcony room before. I spent 10 minutes there for the entire cruise. Not worth the 50% premium.

[kenmorefield]

I disagree as far as shuttles. It may depend on the port. I spent 3 1/2 hours after de-embrakation at Port Canaveral because there were no taxis available and Uber had "surge pricing" asking for $70 (per passenger) for a 4 mile trip. Better to park at the port, but if you are flying in, I'd definitely book a shuttle through the cruise.

[Malkier]

Some things I agree with but a couple I couldn’t disagree with more.

Specialty restaurants were worth the up charge when they were $20, now some of them are $50, $60 or more. That’s a lot of money when you have already paid for your meal

Shore excursions yeah maybe if it’s going far from the port and ending close to departure time but if you do your research you could do the exact same excursions (literally sometimes) for as much as half off.

Newer ships are nice but don’t pay the premium for the new’est’ ships. A brand new ship in the same class as a 2 or 3 year old ship can be a lot more money and will be not much different.

Letting the cruise line choose your cabin can be a risky move, yes you can end up in a great cabin but you could also end up in a terrible one. I’d only do that if there was a huge savings. There are a lot of bad cabins you can end up in. Above or below the theater, under the upper deck (where they drag the chairs out every morning) or in the very bow at water level where every wave hits the hull and you feel like you are sleeping inside a giant drum (been there). Best to pick your cabin and it be mid ship with other cabins above and below and on either side of you. Reasons to want to be midship, everything is only half a ship away plus you are on the pivot point so you feel less of the motion in rough seas.

As he said use the drink package calculator but remember it’s not several drinks you have to drink per day it’s typically 6 or 7 before you are breaking even and that’s every day. Spend the day in port and you have to drink 7 drinks that night on the ship or 14 the next day, for some people that’s doable for most it’s not. I used to try and budget my drinking because it’s so expensive then I did a drink package and kept my receipts and added them up at the end of the cruise and it was not worth it. Next cruise I did I told myself I’m gonna drink like they are included and at the end of the cruise my bar bill was less than the drink package. Non alcoholic packages are usually a better deal if you drink a lot of soda.

Buy your duty free alcohol early in the cruise and they deliver it to your cabin the last night, wait till the afternoon early evening of the last day and a lot of times they let you take it with you so you can drink it that night.

[PrinceZiim]

I’m young, booked an interior wit my gf for 8 days, we barely are gunna be in the room, I figured I’d save the money instead of purchasing a balcony

[sharonla]

It's important to know what's included in your drink package. On Princess, special coffees like cappuccino were included but on NCL's free at sea they weren't. I also learned that, if you get free at sea and don't drink much, you can have the huge drink gratuities removed. They can be hundreds of dollars.

[MightyBiffer]

Funny list. Balcony upgrades are like throwing money in a fire place to heat a room in the winter - a decent concept but a major waste of $$$. Buying duty free bottles saves around $4 at most but then you have to lug the thing in your luggage. Alcohol drink packages are a tuff sell unless you drink a lot every day. The non-alcoholic packages are worth it for most people. Eating in the specialty restaurants is worth it only if you don't care about throwing $50 a person away. For the uber-rich it is a good deal for the rest of use the free dining is excellent and enough.

[katmoonspeaks]

Yeah well Norwegian has more of an all-inclusive option which would come out cheaper than paying separately on Royal Caribbean for those things like the drink package and Wi-Fi

[thatskelvin]

I agree with cruise lines shuttles! He has a great point. You can Uber for half the price of everyone and still get the same amount of people to set destination!!