🚢 Ten Cruise Hacks and Cruise Tips For Your Next Trip

What do you think? TEN CRUISE HACKS AND CRUISE TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP

Do you have a favourite "hack?" 

This was one of my favorite posts to write. I stopped at ten, but I'm really hoping that people will weigh in with ideas.

Good piece! Regarding booking your own shore excursions....if you book through the cruise line and you get back to the ship late, the cruise line is responsible for getting you back on the boat (via helicopter, in most instances). But if you book your own and you arrive late, getting back to the boat is your problem. A very expensive problem.

Also, cruises sometimes alter their itinerary due to weather. If you independently book an excursion for a day when you won't be in port, you're at the mercy of the tour operator.

Both great points, especially about getting back to the ship late. Best bet is to book through your travel agent or a major player like Viator that offer some version of a guarantee to get you back. It likely won't be as air-tight as the one from the cruise company, but it may be worth it depending on the cost.

What insurance?  Trip cancellation?

Hack #1:  Don't get sick.  I asked a veteran cruiser, "what would happen if I get sick out there?  Will they transport me back to the US?"  He laughed, then said "If you get so sick you can't continue the cruise they will motor into the nearest port, which WILL NOT be in the US, and dispatch you to the nearest hospital, not necessarily the BEST hospital.  Your health insurance will not pay, and your cost will be astronomical, and they don't let you leave until somebody pays."   He said that should you be incredibly foresighted and find some sort of health insurance that applies to cruising, you might be taken to the nearest US port, often Houston."  Air lift, forget it unless you are a zillionaire and have private connections.  This gent belongs to a scuba diving association which sells health insurance that covers cruises and will head for a US port (not your home, though).  He said actually almost anyone can apply for that coverage even if you don't scuba.  I cannot confirm or deny the accuracy of this Hack.

Hack #2:  A friend of ours has become a big fan of the casino-offered cruises.  She said the MORE you play in the ship casino the more perks you get the next time.  Like the casino tier levels, same principle.  I know her to be a dependable source of information.  Take it or leave it.

It's monumentally stupid to book shore excursions ahead of time OR with the cruise line:

1. You might not feel like getting on a bus with a bunch of sweaty fellow cruisers that day, for any one of a number of reasons. Pay in advance, though---too bad.

2. The port may offer you some other sightseeing options that may not even be apparent until you actually step off the boat.

3. You may find it much more interesting to simply wander around town. I would say that roughly nine times out of ten, the local environment was much more interesting than whatever tourist trap the cruise line wanted me to pay $95 to be ferried to.

But let's say that you really really really really really want to go see the Our Lady of the Drunken Donkey Cathedral and Burrito Stand. Fine. Wait around until all the lemmings have been loaded onto the tour buses and have sped off into the morning sunshine. Now look around you on the pier/dock/whatever. There will still be a dozen crestfallen-looking touts holding signs and letting them droop slowly to the ground. Now's the time to approach one and offer him one-fifth of what the cruise line wanted to charge you, Offer him CASH. He'll be so eager, he'll offer to carry you there.

And if you can't plan things so that you arrive back at the ship in plenty of time no matter what happens--well, then, you need a keeper and probably shouldn't have left your house, let alone gone on a cruise.

HAHAHAHA. And those "crestfallen touts" will DEFINITELY be concerned and in a position to get you back to the port on time! And if they don't, you can....uh......hmmmm...... 

Real simple. Withhold half of their pay until they do get you back to the ship. Alternatively, arrange your own return transportation. Most port cities have all sorts of inexpensive transportation options. That may add to your cost but you'll have saved a lot of money by not booking ahead with the cruise line.

1) Our insurance will reimburse up to $50,000 in medical expenses and provide emergency evacuation. I have no idea what is involved, since I've been lucky enough not to get seriously sick on a cruise. I will say, though, that when we had to cancel a cruise in December, they reimbursed every penny when we sent them the requested documents. The cancellation was due to a job loss, which was a covered reason. Those docs included copies of our credit card bills which showed our cruise and airfare payments and a letter from my previous employer giving them my start and stop date with the company. I was shocked how easy it was. I expected to fight with them like I do with the health insurance company.

2) From what I'm told, Norwegian is the best line about comping gamblers. It makes total sense to me. It's just like comping a casino player in Las Vegas. I'm not a big player onboard, but it absolutely makes sense if you are.

Mike