The Can’t-Lose Cruise
LOW TIDE FOR THE CRUISE BIZ MEANS A SHIPLOAD OF SAVINGS FOR YOU
Even with a cheap
ticket, you could
get taken for a ride
Cruise lines don’t make a
profit on your cabin, so
they try to separate you
from your money the
second they pull up the
gangplank. Here’s how to
keep your budget afloat.
FROM TOP: GARY GEROVAC/MAS TERFILE; RON ARIA; ICONS B Y CHRIS GASH
DON’T LET THE storm-tossed
economy discourage you
from sailing on a cruise.
With fewer people booking
passage and more (and
bigger) cruise ships be-
ing launched, cruising has
become a buyer’s market.
Here’s how to find the low-
est fare at the best time.
; Look for bulk buyers Check out
cruise consolidators, which buy large
blocks of cabins from the cruise lines
at a deep discount. Most of the deals
don’t include airfare, but the savings
are significant, and companies such
as CruiseOne.com, CruiseBrothers
.com, and Cruise.com feature dozens
of discounted cruises around the
world every week.
; Don’t shrug off “shoulder season”
Rates are lower between peak and off-
peak seasons, when fewer people are
escaping winter. Try sailing to Alaska
in mid-May or early September; to
the Caribbean in late April or Septem-
ber and October; to Hawaii
in late August, late Novem-
ber, February, or May; or
to the Mediterranean in
March or November.
The Contrarian
Traveler
Peter Greenberg
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FAC TOR IN TIPPING
Some cruise lines
automatically
add gratuities,
while others still
rely on passengers to
make that decision. One
helpful resource is cruise
tip.tpkeller.com, which
calculates the suggested
tip per day for each major cruise line.
STICK WI TH THE
MAIN DINING ROOM
More and more cruise
ships have specialty-
restaurants to give
passengers op-
tions beyond the
cost-included
main dining room
and midnight buf-
fet. But eating at one of
the ships’ designer res-
taurants will run you
extra: on Royal Caribbean
International, for exam-
ple, dinner at Chops
Grille is $25 per guest.
BUDGE T FOR BOOZE
Don’t expect to bring
your own. Most cruise
lines frown on this,
and some actually
employ a “liquor
retention team”
to seize alcohol
not purchased on
board (the bottles are
returned at the end of
the cruise).
