5 ways I’m saving money on a cruise in 2025
Beyond the usual cruise tips for saving money, I think these are the 5 best ways to get a good price on a cruise in 2025.
MEI Travel link I use: https://www.bookmeicruise.com
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34 Comments
Cant believe this guy trying to tell you Baltimore cruises are cheaper than Miami. Sad.
I never buy specialty dining. The included food is more than enough for me.
The MEI link is missing. 🙁
As a cruise gambler, there is so much emphasis on you have to be careful when gambling, on or off the cruise. I can't count how many times people have lost so much money in such little time. It's so easy to let it get out of hand.
Ships get bigger and costs go up so they can pay off the cost it took to build it
The 7th oasis class ship should be named pearl of the seas, I feel like it fits it very well
With the casino points… couldn’t you just keep playing roulette in such a way as to not lose anything? Go with your significant other and one of you bets on red and one bets on black (it would look weird if you bet on both yourself). Keep doing that repeatedly.
I’m sure its not that easy, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
The major cruise lines charge between $16 -$20 PER PERSON – PER DAY in auto tips. This will ADD HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS to the cost of your cruise. TIP WHO YOU WANT – WHEN YOU WANT. Turn OFF the auto tips and tip in cash. You can do this simply by going to the customer service desk near the end of your cruise and telling them to turn off the auto tips and to reverse any charges they made and provide you with paper envelops so you can cash tip. Auto tips are used by the cruise industry to pay all sorts of people you will NEVER SEE on your cruise – because the cruise industry is using your auto tips to subsidize their extremely low wages they pay.
The only possible way to actually save money on a cruise is not to tip for anything. Now before anyone even tries to argue with me on this I suggest you read this outline very carefully, especially number 6
1. you're not obligated to pay them
2. The cruise lines nickel and dime everything and still attach tips on top of tips
3. The cruise lines rake in billions of dollars every year so they can afford to pay for their employees wage
4. An employer has no business passing off it's responsibility onto the customer
5. saying tips are mandatory or included in the price of the cruise means they aren't tips, it now becomes a service charge
6. Above all any attempts by anyone to guilt shame a customer into tipping is the worse customer service which negates anything good workers do a customer is supposed to be made to feel appreciated, not ashamed and like crap which is what guilt shaming does. You cannot argue a customer should be tipping with argument that they go above and beyond (Which BTW is their job) without giving them bad customer service and once you give bad customer service how dare you ask for a tip.
Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs explains this perfectly (Just search Reservoir Dogs tipping scene on the channel Peacock) it's about 4 minutes long
I don't tip anywhere for anyone just because someone is doing their job and there is no argument anyone can make to say otherwise.
2:13 – Wagering $5000 (incrementally of course) just to get 1000 point from Royal Caribbean is ridiculous. I just can't see the risk/time/reward working out, but if you're a gambler you're good to go I guess.
"the law of averages says you'll eventually win something". No that's not how the law of averages works in a casino. All the games are made so the odds are slightly tilted in favour of the house. The longer you play, the more STATISTICALLY likely you will lose. This is bad advice. NEVER go to a casino expecting to win even SOME of your money back.
Get a cruise partner that will pay their half
4:06 Thanks for the clarification. The rewards should say "Slot machine players", not Casino game players. There's a huge difference.
Definitely use a travel agent if you a not a US resident. Booking "directly" with RCL flicks your booking to a partner travel agent in Florida who don't support or even recognize foreign travelers.
I keep saying it, but I wish I would’ve taken advantage of the casino when I first started cruising! I started gambling on cruises in 2023. Last year prime (2500pts) cost me about $1200. My boyfriend became prime at around the same time as me, and we were able to go on 5 comped cruises last year. Right now I’m at 1800 pts and it only cost $500. We already have 8 comped cruises booked this year. If you live in Florida and love cruises you should definitely take advantage of the casino program
Always book early with my travel agent to get the bucket list destinations I want. I price watch but rarely goes below that initial price.
As we love sea days more tan port days. We save by doing transatlantic cruises.
Book early! My cruise coming up ocean views are going for more than what I paid for a junior suite
How we save money on cruising as a couple:
– always 1yr+ in advance
– split up remainder of payment each month up until final deposit (usually about $200/mo)
– use airline miles for flights
– we never pick our own room location (only category guarantee)
– skipping the drink pkg to bring our own wine
– no excursions thru RC (we are pretty experienced travelers, however)
Cheers! 🎉
Does everyone feel having a travel agent handle everything is worth it? And if so, why?
So excited! Just paid the reservation for a caribbean cruise on the icon next year!
“Number (1) Book early”.
So what about last minute deals and free cabin upgrades because the ship is still half empty?
Given the pricing and crowding, the best way is to not go until prices realign.
Booking early, going in offseason like Nov, and using a travel agent early. Travel agents get all price changes and can apply them when it happens.
FWIW, Group Rates only apply to balcony and below categories. Not for any suites. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've never seen any group rates for JS- and every travel agent I've contacted have the same price for JS and up. (and that includes Royal's agency)
As for the best rate. if you don't include all of the travel costs, you can end up paying more for the remote ports overall- which matters if you have to fly to the port. San Juan has cheap cruises but the total sum of the cruise may be the same as Fort Lauderdale when flying is factored in. Cruising shouldn't be seen as an isolated thing- it's part of a total vacation.
Hit 220k today. Appreciate you for all the knowledge and nuggets you had thrown my way over the last months. Started with 34k in November 2024,
We booked in 2024 Black Friday sales. We have booked icon for 2026 and odyssey booked for 2027 both were very cheap. Now we have to book flight from Australia to USA can’t wait
Galveston is rarely cheaper than Florida on my preferred cruise line. Double check me when it comes to RCCL, but I can use airline miles to fly to Florida and cruise cheaper, which is a real disappointment to a Texan. With increasing competition In Galveston, I do hope this changes.
Have you seen the huge price increase on everything? It's was like 25% increase.
at this point im just priced out of cruises. they used to be a great way for my family to get a little taste of everything for a great value. we just settled on avoiding cruises now unfortunately.
The way we have saved is to cut down to one cruise say every 18 months instead of annually.
Do you get loyalty points if you casino offers?
Let's be fair, you aren't saving money by gambling at the casino, you're losing money.
I'm saving money by not going on a claustrophobic cruise with a bunch of people.