Ten Cruise Hacks and Cruise Tips For Your Next Trip

I’m a huge fan of cruising. In terms of value, I think it is the single-best vacation option and, frankly, nothing else comes close. Still, that doesn’t keep me from trying to save even more money on my trip. Cruise tips and cruise hacks can enhance your experience and save you some cash.

The term “hack” is a relatively ambiguous one, but I tend to use it for a situation where you could say, “Hm, I never thought of that.” So call these hacks, hints or whatever you like, but here are ten cruise tips that may save you time, money or frustration on your next trip.

Note: We hope that this thread will become participatory. Please list your favorite hacks for cruising in comments or, even better, in the forum post.

Before You Cruise, Try Out These Cruise Tips

Cruises encourage you to book excursions, which are a fancy term way of saying “guided tour.” There’s nothing to stop you from booking your own excursion, though, which will probably save you some money. At the most popular locations, there will be plenty of local options, as well. My favorite alternative to cruise tours is Viator, which is not only global but also gets tremendous reviews.
Owners of cruise lines get a shipboard credit. Don’t own a cruise line? You can buy a piece of one on the New York Stock Exchange. 100 shares will get you your credit. The cruise line will ask for proof of ownership, so be prepared to send a copy of a statement. Almost every mass cruise line (and a few of the smaller ones) has a parent that trades publicly. ***SPECIAL NOTE*** This post is not, in any way, a recommendation to buy, sell or do anything else with shares of a cruise line. If you do purchase shares, I make no promises about their performance.
Speaking of credits…they come in refundable and non-refundable forms. Generally, non-refundables get used first, and they’ll send you a check for the unused refundable credits. Be sure to check with your Passenger Services desk for your details.
For most forms of travel, the common wisdom is to book it on your own and skip the insurance. It’s the reverse with a cruise. Here’s why:

1. A travel agent can get you access to fares not available to the public and rebate a portion of the commission to you in the form of a shipboard credit. They can also alert you if prices drop or if a better cabin becomes available.

2. Buy the insurance. It’s too expensive a trip not to. But don’t buy it from the cruise line. You’ll pay twice as much as you need to. Either get it from your travel agent or an online company like Insure My Trip.

And A Few More Hacks For When You Get On The Ship…

Want to save time? Board early and do everything you can ahead of time. Lines get exponentially longer the later you in the day you wait to board. And if you’ve checked in and made reservations ahead of time, you’ll walk right onto the ship.
If you find yourself at the pool and are missing the basics, like sunblock, don’t pay punitive cruise line prices. Just check out the lost and found desk. You’ll have a fine choice of sundries from which to choose. There’s probably one near the pool, as well.
Don’t ever play slot machines at the casinos. The odds are as bad as it comes. But if you do play, use somebody else’s money. Take a walk around the casino and look for machines where people left credits on them. Cash them out.
The single best perk for a suite is not the extra space, but rather, the free laundry. It cuts your luggage in half and means that you can go home with clean clothes.
A water bottle makes an excellent substitute for the $2 bottles of water that they’ll try to sell you onboard. Most cruise lines let you bring a certain amount of alcohol with you.
Put down a deposit for your next cruise and they’ll give you a future shipboard credit. The deposit is refundable and you don’t even have to choose which cruise you want to go on. You can just save it until you decide.

Again, please help us out. What hacks have we missed?