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Cruise Hacks

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Deal Addict
Apr 21, 2014
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Alberta

Cruise Hacks

Hi all. Going on a cruise in November and was wondering if there were any 'hacks' or tips people had. I have a couple

1) On large ships (oasis class on RCCL) you can reserve your entertainment before the cruise begins online.
2) We have two rooms and two kids. So we have registered 1 adult and 1 kid per room. If we want to book a deluxe beverage package, instead of having to pay for 2 packages (each person in the stateroom over the drinking age has to have one) we can just buy 1 and share it with the spouse.
3) Allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom in carry on luggage

Any other tips. We are going to be on the Symphony of the Seas.
55 replies
Deal Fanatic
Aug 29, 2006
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We got a coffee package on P&O (LOVE that line) and it was shared between my wife and I, too. Awesome to use for at sea days, getting a cappuccino or two for reading by the pool.

If the internet is paid by day for 24 hrs, we would start later in the evening on the night before the at sea day. This way, we get to use a bit of it at night in the room and almost the whole at sea day. Cause otherwise, if you start the morning of the at sea day then you will lose the time in the next morning when you are probably on the way off the boat or getting ready for excursions.

Download movies and bring it on a tablet so you will have something to watch for at sea days or in the evenings and not have to pay for a movie rental.

The other stuff is just picking the time to book, like when there a discount on the cruise as well as extra onboard credits / free upgrades, etc...

Similarly, try to stick to the same cruise line as much as possible so you get more discount or perks on the cruise with loyalty class.

In the old days when they still print all the photos out and put them in the gallery, you used to be able to go on the last day and bargain for a discount before they just box them out for the trash. Is harder now since they know people may do that so they would close the store for good at random times or they are on digital now so it doesn't hurt them as much to just delete the files for the next bunch.

Oh, don't if RCCL is still doing it on their cruise but in the past, I had been on one where they would have physical activities you could join and you get a credit coupon after, like sign up for an hour of yoga or walking on the running track for 30 mins, etc. Then at the end of the cruise you could trade in those coupons for real RCCL products. I think I got about $30~40 worth of stuff that I would never pay with my real money but they make for nice souvenirs. Not bad for killing time with activities that were actually kinda fun, too.
The Devil made me buy it - RFD. :twisted:
Deal Fanatic
Feb 15, 2006
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With a number of cruise companies, you can buy 100 shares, and get OBC when you take a cruise. This works for Carnival, RCCL, and Norwegian.

For Carnival (CCL), it works with any of the lines under their banner: Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard, P&O, Seabourn, Aida.

For 7 days, get US$100 OBC. Book 2 weeks, get US$250.
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Jan 15, 2013
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With RCCL, a photo package is tied specifically to each cabin. Essentially, you pay for 2 photo packages if you're a family of 4 with 2 cabins (even though you've paid for both cabins). You can bypass this restriction by including at least one or more person(s) from the other cabin in the photo and providing your cabin number.

The other way is to speak with the rep in the photo department and ask, very nicely, to link the cabins. This worked for me on our last 2 cruises.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 11, 2004
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It's pretty easy to smuggle booze on board in ports if you stick to plastic bottles only. Stick with 26 oz bottles since they look more like water bottles. Then you can just buy the pop package, order mocktails or whatever and mix in the booze.
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Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2011
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1 premium drink plan is enough, as making friends with the bartender or server, will allow you to order more than one "specialty" drink at a time.
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Sep 1, 2005
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Pack a night light....it's pitch black in there
Pack a power bar to charge your electronics.
We're all bozos on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves...

Failure is always an option...just not the preferred one!
Deal Addict
Apr 21, 2014
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vkizzle wrote: 1 premium drink plan is enough, as making friends with the bartender or server, will allow you to order more than one "specialty" drink at a time.
Unfortunately cruise lines are aware of this, and if 1 person in the cabin gets a premium drink pacakage the other person (as long as over drinking age) has to get it as well.
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Aug 22, 2011
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abc123yyz wrote: Unfortunately cruise lines are aware of this, and if 1 person in the cabin gets a premium drink pacakage the other person (as long as over drinking age) has to get it as well.
Ah, this was back in 2015 when we sailed with Celebrity Cruise.
Deal Expert
Feb 7, 2017
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abc123yyz wrote: Unfortunately cruise lines are aware of this, and if 1 person in the cabin gets a premium drink pacakage the other person (as long as over drinking age) has to get it as well.
This.

And in some cases, if you are caught abusing the pkg (sharing) they’ll just RENEG / CANCEL the booze Pkg entirely ... in which case you’ll be paying FULL PRICE FOR.EACH.AND.EVERY DRINK the rest of the cruise for BOTH of you

Having a Booze Pkg as a Pkg, is a real privilege / perk... not so long ago these did not exist. And it wasn’t unusual for drinks on board when all tallied up (Booze, Pop, Bottled Water, Starbucks Coffee etc) to equal as much as the cruise fare (or more)

People really should be more mindful that this is a NICE BONUS PERK offered by the Cruiselines now... and not abuse it / eff it up for the rest of us (nothing says they have to go on offering Booze Pkgs ... they could just as easily go away from the AI concept they’ve had the last 5+ years, and go back to ala carte)
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Sep 13, 2003
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sandav wrote: With RCCL, a photo package is tied specifically to each cabin. Essentially, you pay for 2 photo packages if you're a family of 4 with 2 cabins (even though you've paid for both cabins). You can bypass this restriction by including at least one or more person(s) from the other cabin in the photo and providing your cabin number.

The other way is to speak with the rep in the photo department and ask, very nicely, to link the cabins. This worked for me on our last 2 cruises.
I don’t quite understand how this works. So you just buy one photo package ? What do you mean by including at least or more person form other cabin in the photo ?
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Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
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Arrgh wrote: With a number of cruise companies, you can buy 100 shares, and get OBC when you take a cruise. This works for Carnival, RCCL, and Norwegian.

For Carnival (CCL), it works with any of the lines under their banner: Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard, P&O, Seabourn, Aida.

For 7 days, get US$100 OBC. Book 2 weeks, get US$250.
That sounds like a really neat perk - are you aware of other companies that offer shareholders perks?
(I'm not sure if you know this because of your interest in stocks or interest in cruises)
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Feb 7, 2017
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TrevorK wrote: That sounds like a really neat perk - are you aware of other companies that offer shareholders perks?
(I'm not sure if you know this because of your interest in stocks or interest in cruises)
It’s a well known thing amongst frequent cruisers

Here’s the data for RCL Group ... 100 Shares
OBC Shareholders Perk works on all THE MAIN cruise lines within the Group except Silversea & Celebrity Xpedition Cruises

https://www.rclinvestor.com/faqs/
2. What is the benefit?

$250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights.
$200 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 10 to 13 nights.
$100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6 to 9 nights.
$50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less.
Applicable on any eligible Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises or Azamara Club Cruises sailings. (excludes any charter sailings or Celebrity Xpeditions sailings)
One can claim it everytime they Cruise.

Current value of 1 Share = $ 116.54 US
100 Shares = $ 11,654 US

https://www.rclinvestor.com
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Jan 15, 2013
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aquariaguy wrote: I don’t quite understand how this works. So you just buy one photo package ? What do you mean by including at least or more person form other cabin in the photo ?
If your children are in their own cabin, any pics of them are considered as a separate photo package so you have to pay for theirs separately from your own.

If however one or both of them join you in the same pic, it becomes part of your photo package because you're in it.

I know, the explanation is a somewhat convoluted but hopefully you get the gist.
Deal Guru
Dec 20, 2018
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PointsHubby wrote: This.

And in some cases, if you are caught abusing the pkg (sharing) they’ll just RENEG / CANCEL the booze Pkg entirely ... in which case you’ll be paying FULL PRICE FOR.EACH.AND.EVERY DRINK the rest of the cruise for BOTH of you

Having a Booze Pkg as a Pkg, is a real privilege / perk... not so long ago these did not exist. And it wasn’t unusual for drinks on board when all tallied up (Booze, Pop, Bottled Water, Starbucks Coffee etc) to equal as much as the cruise fare (or more)

People really should be more mindful that this is a NICE BONUS PERK offered by the Cruiselines now... and not abuse it / eff it up for the rest of us (nothing says they have to go on offering Booze Pkgs ... they could just as easily go away from the AI concept they’ve had the last 5+ years, and go back to ala carte)
I don't see how offering expensive drink packages is a "perk", it's just to drive up revenue and forcing everyone in a cabin regardless if they drink or not to get it for entire duration not a perk, it's an abuse.

They're too lazy to enforce it so force everyone in the cabin to get the same drink package for entire duration of cruise. How do you call this a perk or privilege? Lol

Do you think paying for room service for same food that was free is also a perk and privilege ? Lol
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Sep 1, 2005
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Don't just buy the stock for the Onboard credit...the stock itself is a great investment. Cruising is growing exponentially with the cruise line companies adding a lot of new ships. Demand is not stopping. In times of fear....BUY the stock.

FYI if you bought RCL during the financial crisis (2009) you could have made 15 to 20 times your investment ten years later. Stock then traded as low as $6 and today traded recently around $120. RCL also pays a 2.4% dividend which is in line with GIC's so you get paid decent return while you wait. A $10k investment over the ten years would be worth $200k....and this doesn't include the dividends.

Enjoy your cruise OP.
We're all bozos on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves...

Failure is always an option...just not the preferred one!
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Feb 15, 2006
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StatsGuy wrote: I don't see how offering expensive drink packages is a "perk", it's just to drive up revenue and forcing everyone in a cabin regardless if they drink or not to get it for entire duration not a perk, it's an abuse.

They're too lazy to enforce it so force everyone in the cabin to get the same drink package for entire duration of cruise. How do you call this a perk or privilege? Lol

Do you think paying for room service for same food that was free is also a perk and privilege ? Lol
If you don't agree with their rules, then don't get that perk - drink package. Pay for each drink.

Many cruiselines are now charging for room service, because it costs them extra staff to be packaging and sending food to your room. Nothing wrong with that charge. If you don't agree with it, don't order room service. If you don't agree with how the cruiselines are charging, don't go on cruises.
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Feb 7, 2017
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StatsGuy wrote: I don't see how offering expensive drink packages is a "perk", it's just to drive up revenue and forcing everyone in a cabin regardless if they drink or not to get it for entire duration not a perk, it's an abuse.

They're too lazy to enforce it so force everyone in the cabin to get the same drink package for entire duration of cruise. How do you call this a perk or privilege? Lol

Do you think paying for room service for same food that was free is also a perk and privilege ? Lol
Cruiselines are free to structure their fares however they like

I have been cruising for awhile... BEFORE & AFTER Drink Pkgs

The Drink Packages (especially for Alcohol) are a relatively NEW feature, to put cruising head to head with land based AI vacations.

So ya, it’s a perk in that it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than how it used to be when everything was ala carte... at Hotel Resort Prices for Bottled Water, Pop, Starbucks Coffee, Beer, Wine, Spirits & Cocktails (EVERY.SINGLE.ADD ON at at least + $ 3.00, and the average alcoholic bevvy at $ 7.00 +)

And, I would not say that cruising has gone up dramatically ... in any sort of way to accommodate
(Taking into account the blip caused by the US Recession when prices were frozen or went down for a year or two just to keep things afloat financially... so you cannot compare today’s base fares to that timeframe)

A drink package adds less than $ 20 a day to cruise... whereas ala carte, one could easily spend that same $ 20 by mid afternoon (1 Starbucks, 1 Pop, and 2 Beer)... Even the non drinker often would burn thru $ 20 or more a day.

So ya, abusing it is dumb. Enough people abuse it (by sharing) and the Cruiseline could most definitely cancel the privledge of being able to buy these pkgs.

As for FREE Room Service...
@Arrgh
Has already addressed that. It was a nice perk too.
Gone now (or limited conditions) on many lines now.

I am sure there are lots of folks who miss it... the way it was
Considered part of the Basefare Cruise Experience

But times change, cruiselines gotta find ways to keep Basefares down
And Customers relatively happy

If they deem the AI Drink Experience isn’t Breaking even
I can assure... they’ll go back to ala carte

Then those of us who enjoyed the $ 20 a day AI perk
Will not be happy when enjoying the same items more than doubles... per person

That’s the definition of an expensive extra... something that is paid for at cost vs discounted substantially
The perk of paying a discounted price in advance
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Jun 11, 2005
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PointsHubby wrote: Cruiselines are free to structure their fares however they like

I have been cruising for awhile... BEFORE & AFTER Drink Pkgs

The Drink Packages (especially for Alcohol) are a relatively NEW feature, to put cruising head to head with land based AI vacations.

So ya, it’s a perk in that it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than how it used to be when everything was ala carte... at Hotel Resort Prices for Bottled Water, Pop, Starbucks Coffee, Beer, Wine, Spirits & Cocktails (EVERY.SINGLE.ADD ON at at least + $ 3.00, and the average alcoholic bevvy at $ 7.00 +)

And, I would not say that cruising has gone up dramatically ... in any sort of way to accommodate
(Taking into account the blip caused by the US Recession when prices were frozen or went down for a year or two just to keep things afloat financially... so you cannot compare today’s base fares to that timeframe)

A drink package adds less than $ 20 a day to cruise... whereas ala carte, one could easily spend that same $ 20 by mid afternoon (1 Starbucks, 1 Pop, and 2 Beer)... Even the non drinker often would burn thru $ 20 or more a day.

So ya, abusing it is dumb. Enough people abuse it (by sharing) and the Cruiseline could most definitely cancel the privledge of being able to buy these pkgs.

As for FREE Room Service...
@Arrgh
Has already addressed that. It was a nice perk too.
Gone now (or limited conditions) on many lines now.

I am sure there are lots of folks who miss it... the way it was
Considered part of the Basefare Cruise Experience

But times change, cruiselines gotta find ways to keep Basefares down
And Customers relatively happy

If they deem the AI Drink Experience isn’t Breaking even
I can assure... they’ll go back to ala carte

Then those of us who enjoyed the $ 20 a day AI perk
Will not be happy when enjoying the same items more than doubles... per person

That’s the definition of an expensive extra... something that is paid for at cost vs discounted substantially
The perk of paying a discounted price in advance
Just like everything else in live, people abuse the perk and it gets removed so we all pay in the future.
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Sep 13, 2003
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And just like everything else, prices go up, services decrease, and prices go up up and awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
One blind human - a tragedy
Ten blind humans - a disaster
One million blind humans - a statistic

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