Road & Travel Magazine's Blog

Cut the Cost of Your Next Cruise

Cruise-related expenses have the potential to bust your budget, from the flight to your embarkation point to drinks on the cruise to shore excursions. Add-on expenses can equal or exceed the cost of your cruise if you're not careful.

To keep your spending under control, follow these tips:

1. Book your own flight
Most cruises offer a complete package including airfare. While packages offers the convenience of not worry about how to get from the airport to the cruise ship, it comes at a cost. Cruise lines buy airfare in bulk from the airlines a year in advance, so the airfare price never fluctuates. You’re a most likely able to find better deals.

2. Look at nearby ports
The days when cruise ships only sailed from Florida and California are long over. Other embarkation points include Galveston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. Flights to those and other less well-known ports may be cheaper than other more well-known ports such as Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Vancouver.

3. Check up on shore excursions
But by doing some homework before you leave, you can figure out exactly what you want to do when you're in port and book your own shore excursions for considerably less by cutting out the middleman — the cruise line.

More Tips to Cut Cruise Costs.

Insider Tips for Booking Your Next Cruise

From big ships to little, pricey to over-the-top posh, here is the ultimate, inside ship seeker advice to help you choose the best stateroom to fit your needs.

1. Each cruise line has its own theme, charm and character. Find one that most closely matches your personality.
2. When choosing a cruise line, be sure to consider the on-board ambiance of the vessel. What type of guest does the cruise line cater to? Primarily families? The mature traveler? An eclectic international clientele? There’s something for everyone. Some cruise lines’ on-board activities are simpler because their guests require less entertainment, or they focus on destinations. Others add roller rinks, rock-climbing walls, and wave pools to appeal to a broader clientele or to entertain guests during several days at sea.
3. The size of the vessel often determines the itinerary. If you want to visit unique, hard-to-visit ports of call, look for one of the small-ship cruise lines. Larger ships won’t be able to dock – let alone get to – those out-of-the-way places.
4. The longer the cruise, the fewer children there are on board and the more exotic the itinerary (typically.) The cruising trend is toward the longer “grand voyage” of two, three, even four months.
5. There is a cruise for every budget. Many say that it’s worth the extra money to book an ocean-view cabin at minimum. Highly recommended, however, is a private veranda or suite for additional space and amenities, which translates to increased comfort.

Click here for more cruise tips from RTM.

Preventing Motion Sickness on a Cruise

Do you ever feel queasy when riding in a car, plane or boat? If you do and if you experience the initial symptoms of motion sickness including drowsiness, fatigue and stomach queasiness, try these suggestions:

Move to a stable location. If you're on a ship or plane, move to the center where it tends to be more stable.

Eat lightly and avoid alcohol. Pay attention to what you eat — you may find some foods soothing and others may bring on nausea.

Ask your doctor for medication. There are many medications that can effectively prevent or treat nausea and vomiting.

If all else fails, grab a motion sickness bag and hope for the best!

Click here for more advice on RTM to make sure your next cruise is nothing but smooth sailing.