Category: Budget

Discover Great Deals on Family Cruises During Plan a Cruise Month

Posted onAuthorFamily Cruise CompanionLeave a commentCategoriesBudget, Cruise News
Save money on family cruises during plan a cruise month
Shutterstock/P. Sabatelli

Although any month can be a great month to plan your family cruises, October shines special focus on that fun topic.  Did you know that there was Plan-A-Cruise-Month?  Well it’s here!

“Plan a Cruise Month is such an amazing opportunity for anyone who loves to travel to learn more about the variety of today’s cruise vacation options as well as take advantage of deals and promotions as well as guidance from cruise experts,” said Cindy D’Aoust, president and CEO, CLIA. Find out more at the CLIA website, along with tips on finding good travel agents for family cruises.

Many cruise lines and tour operators will be offering special promotions for family cruises.  Although this isn’t Wave Season, it still looks like there are many good deals to be found. So, if you were considering planning a family cruise during the next year, now is a great time to start looking around.

“Spending quality time with family and friends is so important, and CLIA’s Plan a Cruise Month encourages everyone to take a moment out of their busy schedules to plan a wonderful, much-needed cruise vacation,” said Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-owner of AmaWaterways.  See AmaWaterways Celebrates CLIA’s Plan A Cruise Month.

Given that a prime purpose of this month is to help potential cruisers explore the wide array of available cruising options, you should be able to find deal to fit most any travel style and budget.  The links below provide a few places where you can start exploring.

Holland America Line Celebrates 2017 Plan a Cruise Month with Two Premium Promotions

Australia kicks off new season with Plan a Cruise Month “booking frenzy”

Save for ‘Plan a Cruise Month’ with MSC

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Celebrates Cruise Travel in the Americas and the Caribbean as Part of Plan a Cruise Month

Loads of ‘Plan a Cruise Month’ Deals

Related Post: Try These Top Ways To Stretch Your Family Cruise Dollars

If you know of any particularly noteworthy deals, please share in the comments!

Try These Top Ways To Stretch Your Family Cruise Dollars

Posted onAuthorFamily Cruise CompanionLeave a commentCategoriesBudget, Cruise Choices, Travel Hacks 
Updated: May 1, 2018

Family cruises can accommodate a wide range of vacation budgets.  There are many reasons you might be interested in examining money saving strategies.  Your overall family vacation budget might be slim this year.  Or, perhaps you want to keep costs down so that you can cruise more often.  Or, it could be that you find pure joy in finding a great deal and  squeezing those dollars.  Wherever you fall in that mix, take a look at these seven strategies to shave substantial dollars off your final cruise bill.  

Related Posts: Cruise For Cheaper Than Disney On These Fun Family Favorites.  Smart Families Seeking Free Money Use Cruise Specialists.

saving money for family cruises in "cruise fund" cookie jar
Shutterstock/Shout It Out Design

1. Select Family Cruises Sailing From Nearby Ports.

If you are working with a limited or less flexible budget, the first factor to consider is your departure port. Consider driving to a port that is relatively nearby – a day’s drive or less.  Most vacationers in North America live within driving distance of a cruise port.  If you drive rather than fly, you will reap substantial savings from not buying air tickets for your entire family.  And, if you can comfortably drive in on embarkation day and park at the port, you will also save money on hotel costs.  If you don’t want to drive, you can still save money by selecting a departure city that requires cheaper flights.

If you live in the East:

The State of Florida hosts five different cruise ports — Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Port Canaveral and Tampa.  Every major cruise line has at least one ship departing from a Florida port.  Staying generally along the eastern coast, other major cruise ports include Baltimore, Maryland (sailings from Carnival and Royal Caribbean);Bayonne, New Jersey (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity); Boston, Massachusetts (Holland America, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean); and New York City(Carnival, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Regent Seven Seas and Silversea).  Carnival also sails ships from Charleston, South Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia.

If you live more in the middle:

Moving west into the central time and the ports near the Gulf of Mexico, the major cruise ports include Galveston, Texas (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Disney); New Orleans, Louisiana (Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean); and Mobile, Alabama (Carnival).

If you live in the West:

Then, moving to the west coast, the State of Washington hosts one cruise port and California hosts another three:  Los Angeles, California (Carnival, Crystal Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Cunard, Silversea); San Diego, California (Celebrity, Holland America, Disney, Norwegian); San Francisco, California (Cunard, Celebrity, Oceania, Princess, Regent Seven Seas); Seattle, Washington (Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean). Read More …

Three Essential Things Families Should Know About Cruise Insurance

Posted onAuthorFamily Cruise CompanionLeave a commentCategoriesBudget, Cruise Choices

cruise insurance policy represented by model ship atop insurance policyWhen you make your cruise reservations, you will almost certainly be offered the opportunity to purchase travel insurance – whether you book through a travel agent, an internet site, or directly from the cruise line. You may be tempted to save a few dollars by skipping the optional cruise insurance. These are three things you should know when making that decision.

(1) It Is Definitely Worth It To Buy Cruise Insurance.

As a general rule, it is always worth it to buy some type of cruise insurance. The expense that you would likely incur if you had to cancel or interrupt your trip would far exceed the premium amount for a reasonable cruise insurance policy. Once you have made cruise reservations for your entire family, you will likely have run up a meaningful bill– likely thousands of dollars.  (See recent summary on prices of various family cruises.) Most cruises are fully refundable until the final payment date.  That date, however, typically falls 90 days in advance of the cruise.  If you cancel after the final payment date, you will incur  a monetary penalty.  The penalty increases the closer you get to embarkation date – anywhere from 25% to 100 percent.

Read More …