A buddy of mine won't cruise because its too expensive. He gets upset when he see's the $400 deal, then when it gets to the end after taxes, port fees, etc, he doesn't get why the price is always twice as expensive. He has always told me that he won't pay more than $100 a night total for a cruise if he wants to take it... I tried to explain to him that he can't even get a decent hotel room for $100 a night, let alone have it include food and entertainment like a cruise can. I absolutely love cruising.

The constant selling and nickel and diming can make cruising today feel like being stuck inside a Kmart Department Store for a week.

I actually figured it out one time, and what you say is correct. A cruise is actually one of the most economic vacations you can take (minus any extras). When we talk about fares, you could not take a family on vacation for the same price when you count in food, rooms, and entertainment.

We always get at least a balcony. We like sitting outside in the morning and evening when we get up. I enjoy going back to the cabin in the middle of the day just for a quiet time

5:17: It is incredibly "practical" to not spend extra on drinks, on specialty restaurants, on excursions and still have a wonderful time. Main Dining Room and the Windjammer are more than fine, the fitness centers are first-rate, there are lots of live shows, and one can enjoy port days by sunning on the beach and taking nice walks. Everyone has a different economic reality so if things are tight, don't feel like you have to spend extra. One can have a great time without spending anything extra.

I'm pretty "bougie" when I travel, but I have some frugal friends that I travel with and except for excursions and gratuities, I've actually cruised with them and left with a $0 bill at the end and had a great time. Totally doable, but I wouldn't want to do it every time!😂

I spend a lot of time in my room, enjoying my balcony and privacy lol

Cruising is definitely the most economical way to vacation for a family, especially if you can drive to the port. I also was pleasantly surprised at the alcohol prices. They were no more than buying a drink in a nice restaurant in my region (Greater Philly). I thought the drink package would’ve been a total waste considering I can’t drink much alcohol without feeling like garbage.

The average interior is 148sqft. A balcony is on average 198sqft, not including the balcony. So living space alone is worth it for my family of 4! Especially with the pack and play taking up space. The littles LOVE waking to see the water when they wake. Ill pay anything for those memories ❤

I kinda like how he told you about the rule breaking tip but then just said it was wrong and you shouldn’t do it but….you told us anyway.. I like it.

Maybe the real answer is “save so you can afford to go”. 😂

LOL at 5 months out being “last minute.” The last 5-6 cruises I’ve booked have been under a month out. Right around the 3 week mark is where you see suites drop like a rock.

I cannot do a inside stateroom, I enjoy sitting on the balcony too much when arriving at ports too much great time for the first cup of coffee while my wife is still sleeping. We do 1 excursion at a port and make sure we are back to the ship early, great reson to sail to the same ports as you can always have something different to do on each trip.

yep you’ll save a bundle booking an inside cabin. For me, I’m just in there to sleep and shower

It's super tough to be frugal on a cruise. A quick rule of thumb for those that dont live at the cruise port is to double the cost of your cruise upon booking completion (don't check out). If you can't afford that, then don't purchase. Between airfare, hotels, miscellaneous transportation, port excursions, souvenirs, clothes, and whatever else; you will roughly pay double and maybe more. That's not to say you WILL, but it is certainly very easy to get there. An example would be $2,500 for 3 for a cruise out of a port you have to fly to: your budget should be at LEAST $5,000. Its comparable to a Disney vacation, maybe a bit cheaper.

You definitely spend less time in your cabin if it’s an inside cabin. It’s like a nice suite in Vegas, you spend way more time lounging in your room if you have a nice one.

I do agree with the ppl that say it's good to not book specialty dining and drinks packages. There are plenty of included options and specialty dining is way overprized for what it is.

Matt, Carribean is not cheap in the summer; the northeast schools don't restart until about Labor Day weekend. Best deals we find are usually Septemer through mid- December, January, February, May, and June.

The fundamental difference between McDonald’s and a cruise is that McDonalds doesn’t try to upsell you at every turn. Cruise lines have a very stringent monetization strategy involving ancillary product offerings throughout the trip. For example, when they come to your table at specialty dining venues and try to sell you a $29.99 portrait (that includes print only - no digital option available). Or the spa when you get a massage treatment and your massage therapist tries to hand you a bag of $400 in Elemis products that were just used on you and say it’s a “prescription” at the end. Or you go to the gym and the fitness instructor expresses the importance of the $200 Good Feet inserts for your shoes. Or conveys how essential the $300 detox kit is. The upsell and bombardment of these ancillary offerings is the off-putting part. Be prepared to have your no thank you response at the ready. When you take your first cruise, you don’t expect all of this and you might end up taking home a whole bunch of stuff you may never use. And paying a much higher onboard account balance than you’d hoped for.

12:35: We live in DC next to the subway and we take a short MARC or Amtrak from DC to Baltimore (11-16 bucks each way) and don't have to pay for $15 daily parking, taking a short UBER from Baltimore Union Station to the Port of Baltimore. If you can take public transportation, you can save a lot of money.

Prior to the COVID experience, we never ate at the expensive restaurants on the ship. We found the food to be very good in the main dining room. However, I'm not sure that the main dining room option is as good as it used to be.

I like cruising out of Oz where the price displayed upfront is the final price inc. fees and taxes.

Was that clip at 5:40 during an ice show on voyager of the seas? I recognize that guy that’s performing very cool dude!! Super talented

Going on my first cruise in about 20 years in January. Besides the cruise fare and gratuity which is already paid in full, I am going to purchase the internet and drink packages and besides that I do not plan on spending another dime. I am going to eat every meal at the buffet and be hammered 24/7.

Other than the drink of the day we don't buy anything extra. We usually take a taxi instead of paying for a shore trip and really love hop on hop off buses.

Cruise ships just need to raise her prices if they can't make enough profit. Cutting back on everything and trying to manipulate money out of you it's just not a pleasurable experience. They're going completely in the wrong direction, just raise the prices and see where the chips fall. This trickery is just not welcome by most cruise passengers

the port thing is a very good point. my parents are letting me take a friend later in march for my birthday on a cruise, but the downside is we’d have to settle for a different route (western) from galveston. my dad also doesn’t believe me when i say we need to book it before january 🙄

Thank you for your thoughts on the Reddit posts. Very helpful to have views from someone who is an experienced cruiser.

Splurge is relative 🤷‍♀️ Included is sometimes plenty splurge for some people.

I was shocked at how much food was confiscated as we were passing through security in Cozumel. There had to be at least 100 bananas people had tried to take off the ship. As far as affordability, last year we had a cruise planned and planned to do a trip to Key West afterwards. As I was getting ready to book hotels etc. I realized we’d save 100’s if we just got on another cruise than spend the time in Key West.

Its true that if you book an inside cabin you will not spend much time there; its like being in a closet. AND, if you have a balcony cabin you WILL spend more time in the cabin and especially the balcony.

I dont mind what kind of ropm I have. I am not on a ship to stay in that room 90% of yhe time. I am rarely in the room. Just to sleep and shower.

If you have a family with small kids, I would get at least a window of some sort. We get a balcony so we can enjoy while the baby naps. It’s nice if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle and just need some down time. I also like at least some day light to help me wake up

We also book shore excursions when they are on early sales. At least it spreads out the expense.

I’ve never been to a land resort where the entertainment isn’t included. Where are you going?! However I will agree that the quality of entertainment varies greatly….

I can go on a cruise and not spend extra. Ive done it. Its really practical. Its just a choice to make or not make.

Thank you! I appreciate the idea of sneaking McDonald's into restaurants. That's an excellent way to save money. I'll try it this weekend and let you know how it goes. 👍

my wife and I travel both cruise and land I have found the cost to be close to the same . when you add tips and port fees so it really is all about what you want. cruise give a taste then you are off to the place land lets you look deeper. both are great

Monitor fares. If the fare drops, you might be able to get an adjustment.

Where did you get the footage of The Costco at 9:10 ? I think I recognize that one

Don't forget -- The off season cruises in places like the Caribbean are much more likely to be disrupted by hurricanes -‐- more risk of missing ports, etc. This also has to do with booking excursions --- if you book your tour directly with a tour provider, it will be hard to get a refund when the ship misses the port. When you book through the cruise line, excursions in missed ports are refunded automatically.

I've gotta admit, I'm not a fan of the 'unbundling' that cruise lines are doing, following the example set by the airlines. Remember the "good old days" where your airline ticket included a seat assignment of your choice plus free bags? Now you pay for the 'basic' fare and everything else is an upcharge. Same with cruises - back in the day, the only difference in your price was the size of your cabin and location. Now, you have a 'basic' cruise fare that includes the MDR and Windjammer, some entertainment, etc. but you've had the dining experiences pared down to bare bones in an attempt to get you to buy up into dining packages and so on.

The biggest problem with the tip on smuggling booze isn’t “it’s wrong.” It’s that if you choose to smuggle booze, the washed out Scope bottle (or worse Shampoo bottle) is a terrible way to do it. Too easy to get busted, and even if you don’t who wants mouthwash infested booze.

Hey Matt, at 4:26, which port is that? I like those swings. Thanks

All the complaints about menu changes need perspective. Compare a cruise buffet to Las Vegas. Cruise ships win everytime and at $50-$70 usd in Las Vegas for just one meal you know its good value to cruise.

Ive never understood sneaking on alcohol. One night later its all gone. Why risk your cruise for a some vodka sneaked in🤦‍♀️

I did kids sail free before they had all those restrictions. My kids now young adults got fall break off. A week during the month of September. So I think it was September 2014 that we went on RCL using the kids sail free promotion. We did a junior suite with balcony and our bill was under $900 for a family of 4 on a four night sailing on the independence of the seas. Disney also kids sail free and I did that promotion in 2013. A week on the Disney fantasy. Nowadays the kids sail free blackout dates stink. I definitely wouldn't sneak booze on board. If you can't afford the liquor don't drink it.

The other thing about all the "cruise hacks" advising ways to sneak alcohol aboard: The cruise line security officers read all those threads, too. They've seen it all, no "mastermind" is going to outsmart them.

Hey Matt, what is your thoughts on booking your cruise through the cruise line on the next cruise desk every time me and my wife go on a cruise we always just book our next one with the cruise line on the ship

I did the alcohol in the mouthwash bottle thing once, absolutely terrible idea. I don’t care how many times you wash the bottle out everything will taste like mouthwash, it’s disgusting. On top of that, you have to go back to your room over and over to get a splash of liquor in your drink. It’s easier to just save the money and get the drink package so you can have good drinks instead of mouthwash flavored drinks.

What ship is the red Mustang on?

Not with Royal Caribbean but am 2 weeks away from my first cruise. I am going solo with an inside cabin, have extra speciality dining, premium plus drinks package, WiFi and excursion credit. 12 nights with a total bill, including gratuities of £115 per night. It seems good value to me, I'm worried about it being too good value and being disappointed. Hope not....

Matt, I got a ❓❓ Carnival has John Heald as a cruise ambassador, who is Royal Caribbeans cruise Ambassador?? Anyone know that answer?? Thanks!

Plz plz clarify for me, i am cruising on Radiance 7 day in nov, is it 1 or 2 wine/champagne per person

You still don't pay 5000$ to go into a resturant and sit down. Alcohol should be free on cruises that cost that much.

UP NEXT!

Book a Viking cruise. You can bring onboard all the booze you want and they don’t charge you for corkage

5:06 I understand the desire to have adult beverages on a cruise, everyone wants to have a little fun...but the people going to such lengths to drink always give me substance abuse problem vibes. If you have to resort to sneaking alcohol onboard in shampoo bottles because you can't go 7 days without hard booze and can't afford it on the ship, you probably should be going to a 12-step program, not on a cruise. 8:50 Costco also never seems to offer the best incentives to book, at least for me - they're always minimal and usually a Costco Card instead of cash or OBC. You can get a lot better deals elsewhere, from what I've found.

I'm Australian. We have a very fragile ecosystem, and stuff that's been introduced has become ecological disasters. (Such as European-descended people like me!) If a port asks that you not bring food from the ship, don't bring food from the ship. Your sandwich might have something that's perfectly fine everywhere else, but could carry something that will destroy a local ecosystem. Example. When I was a kid, there were plenty of green tree frogs that lived happily in our garden. As in, some of them got into the separate laundry in the night, and if I went there I could easily see 15 or more green tree frogs. When we white Europeans decided we wanted to grow sugar and make rum locally (mid to late 1800s-ish), we imported sugar cane. And accidentally imported a kind of sugar-cane eating insect. So we deliberately imported cane toads, to eat those insects. When I left home, there were no more green tree frogs there. But there were plenty of poisonous cane toads.

I’ve brought a bottle of Bailey’s on to a cruise as it looks like a wine bottle. In the morning I add it to my coffee. At night I add it to my ice cream. I’m on vacation (but my liver isn’t).

Don't drink on sea days!!! Drinks are stupid expensive and if you have all day it's nothing to drop $150.

Please don’t take food off the ship in any port. You are breaking the law in most countries. The main reason is that food, particularly fruits and vegetables can carry plant diseases and insects that may, once thrown away, spread agricultural diseases in the country. These diseases can decimate a country’s agriculture economy and remember a lot of the Caribbean countries, people have fruit trees in their yards to provide food. You could literally be responsible for taking food out of the locals’ mouths.

Hi Matt

“Food sniffing dogs”--commonly simply called “Dogs”

Maybe if they wouldn't gouge people on alcohol it wouldn't be an issue of people sneaking liquor on board. I have no sympathy for cruise companies doing this, I think everybody should sneak it on as far as I'm concerned it's disgusting what they're doing to people. Luckily I don't drink

sell your liver

나이스 1등👍👍👍

Long video

The cruise experience really isn't worth anything more than $100 per person per day.. you can have the exact same fun on an $800 Cruise then a $8000 cruise.. actually the more and more that we Cruise the more gimmicky a lot of things are on a cruise ship