Cruising on a Poor Man's Budget!

In these recessionary times, do not be discouraged in scheduling a relaxing vacation by sailing on a cruise. Do not forget that other consumers are thinking the same while bigger and bigger cruise ships are built !. These ships are badly in need of passengers, so this means you are in a buyer's market when it comes time to reserve that cruise vacation. Keep this in mind as you review the following cost saving suggestions.

Pre-Boarding Considerations:
Here's how to find the lowest fare at the best time.
•Checking the bulk buyers
Get a list of cruise consolidators. Consolidators purchase groups of cabins from the cruise lines and re-sell them at big savings to you. The majority of the offers don't include airfare, but the cost savings are considerable, and companies such as Cruiseone dot com, CruiseBrothers dot com, and Cruise dot com feature dozens of bargain basement priced cruises around the world every week.

•Don't ignore the 'shoulder season'
The 'shoulder season' is that time in between a destination's high and low seasons. Because of the timing, shoulder season rates are much lower. For example, try sailing to Alaska in mid-May or early September, to the Caribbean in late April or September-October, to Hawaii in late August or late November, or to the Mediterranean in March or November. The advantage does not stop at lower prices. Cruise lines also offer special packages to get you to sign up during these slow time periods.

•Check the school calendar
Steer clear of any time kids are on holiday, such as spring or summer break. If the kids are all on holiday, cabin prices are at their peak. This is why cruise prices are real bargains right after Labor Day or following Thanksgiving.

•Ready .. Set .. Now book it!
If you don't have a specific cruise date in mind, try waiting until the last minute to book online. The closer you get to the actual departure date, the lower the pricing gets as most cruise lines start to quietly unload empty cabins to augment their returns. Note: 'Last minute' is a relative term. For example, security regulations now require cruise lines to finalize their passenger list as early as 4 days before departure.

After You Board:
Since cruise lines almost try to give away the cabins just to get you on board, they try to make it up later during the cruise. That means you have to keep in mind a few simple things to minimize the impact to your wallet.

Factor in Tipping
Some cruise lines automatically add gratuities, while others still rely on passengers to make that decision. To help you figure out how much to give or not to give, go to cruisetip dot tpkeller dot com, and you will get a very good breakdown on how much to give by services (i.e. waiters, head waiter, chambermaids and so on).

Maximize the Use of the Main Dining Room:
More and more cruise ships have specialty-restaurants to give passengers options beyond the cost-included main dining room and midnight buffet. On some cruise lines, for example, dinner at one of their designer restaurants can run you a minimum of $50 per guest!

Alcohol is Extra:
Remember that BYOB does not apply to cruise lines. Crusie lines do not like it when you bring your own stuff, so they employ the 'liquor police' to politely get your booze as you come on board. The bottles are returned to you at the end of the cruise.

Abide by these basic tips and you are on your way to getting the best value for your money while enjoying that well deserved cruise holiday!

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Monica is a student who is trying to make make a little pocket money promoting a random collection of sites, such as providing info on how to set up a wireless security camera system or advise on finding a good kreepy krauly automatic pool cleaner.

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