Money saving tips???

[zweihund]

Hi everyone

If you do not know me, I am zweihund. I am more commonly known as Erica. And by my DH and DCF (Darling Canadian Friend) who will be stuck with....I mean, SAILING with me in October, I am known as:

MASTER OF THE BUDGET.

In order to avoid letting them down, here is my plea:

I am looking for your best money-saving tips on the ship. I want to know where the best freebies are found. I want to know how you keep excursions (if you do any) cheap. I want to know what drinks you have brought on board. I want to hear the gritty, shameless details so that I can copy all of them in a few short months.

I'm not proud; I'm just frugal.

Bring it on!

 

[meegster]

Big fan of your trip reports, zweihund!

We brought a jumbo bottle of Jack Daniels onboard as we are Jack & Diet Coke drinkers when we drink. We did order cocktails during dinners but that saved us a lot of money when we wanted drinks throughout the cruise with the free sodas!

That's my best tip!

 

[zweihund]

Big fan of your trip reports, zweihund!

We brought a jumbo bottle of Jack Daniels onboard as we are Jack & Diet Coke drinkers when we drink. We did order cocktails during dinners but that saved us a lot of money when we wanted drinks throughout the cruise with the free sodas!

That's my best tip!

Thanks meegster!

Keep em coming

 

[kkmcan]

We brought on our own big bottle of wine and requested a wine opener and glasses from room service.

We brought our own snorkel gear.

We didn't do any excursions (this was on the 4 night Bahamas cruise).

Split a picture package with the inlaws.

That's all I can think of but these definitely helped!

kelly

 

[zweihund]

We brought on our own big bottle of wine and requested a wine opener and glasses from room service.

We brought our own snorkel gear.

We didn't do any excursions (this was on the 4 night Bahamas cruise).

Split a picture package with the inlaws.

That's all I can think of but these definitely helped!

kelly

Thanks Kelly!

 

[rsjj]

brought ziplock bags...to fill w/sandwiches, cookies, etc. from room service to take w/us on our excursions....i know, the fun part of traveling is tasting the local food, etc...but w/little ones, sometimes, local food (that are scrumptious to adults) might not be "appreciated" by little ones when hunger strikes! and this sure saved us some $$!

 

[Barbossa]

Don't even think of buying the overpriced bottled water on board. Buy a case in Port Canaveral and throw it in your luggage and/or fill up on water at the Deck 9 aft beverage station.

Befriend and be nice (be sincere about it, of course) to the crew. One of them just might "bypass" some charges (i.e. snorkel rental on Castaway Cay etc.).

Minimize alcohol purchases on board.

Use the internet sparingly. Internet time adds up quick (75 cents/minute if you don't pre-purchase a minutes plan).

If you like the photos at Shutters, purchase one of their plans. It's cheaper than a-la-cart, but still not cheap.

 

[tvguy]

Well, my mom did a 7 day without doing a single excursion, and her only indulgence was 1 glass of wine at dinner each night. Total stateroom bill was $35, plus tips. She found plenty of things to do for free within walking distance of the ship in port, or on the ship.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Can you split a shutters photo package with another family????

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

don't know if you're travelling w/kids, but, have them make their own sundaes/smoothies with the fresh fruit, soft serve and milk. They can also make coke and rootbeer floats.

The "drink of the day" is usually cheaper

Try the "free" art of entertaining food series-you get samples with a small glass of wine

Don't pay for a beach excursion. Take a cab there yourself.

gotta go take kiddos to school-I'll be back w/more

 

[3DisneyKids]

Sine you are a die-hard DISer, you already know the best money saving tip there is...do your research! Of course these boards will be awesome, and I also suggest the PassPorter...you might even be able to get it from your library, but I think I only paid about $7 for it through allearsnet.

Shore excursions are about 50% less (depending on what you do, of course) if you go on your own as opposed to with the DCL tour.

Bring your own alcohol, should you choose to embibe.

Watch the souveniers. It always is so tempting while you are actually there. But think about whether or not you will really be wanting/using that item in 6 months.

 

[Barbossa]

Can you split a shutters photo package with another family????

You can purchase any photos under a Photo Package, so going "halfies" with another family would be easy They'd have to re-imburse you directly, though, I don't think Shutters would issue two "check off" cards. You never know, though.

 

[zweihund]

All great suggestions!
The good thing is, we are only going to Nassau and we usually stay on the boat instead of going for excursions. But I will be sure to be chatty with the snorkel CM's - hehe.

 

[chasekenslee]

Does not sound like you will be taking kids but...
we are taking 3 kids with us on the Wonder in September. My kids want everything that they see!! I have started each of them an envelope that they can stick money into. For example, everytime they see my in-laws they come back with money- maybe $10-$20 each- so I have been putting that in their envelopes. If they get money for chores, I am "reminding" them of their envelope. When we go on our cruise, the money is theirs to spend any way they wish. But once it is gone, then that is it. No more!! May sound harsh, but I did this 2 years ago at DisneyWorld with my then 4 yr old daughter and it worked great. She had approx $200 to spend on anything that she wanted. She was so careful on picking out what she wanted because she was afraid she would spend all her money and then find a new item. She even came home with half of her money to spend here. Anyway, just an idea for people with kids.

 

[gdulaney]

Hi everyone

If you do not know me, I am zweihund. I am more commonly known as Erica. And by my DH and DCF (Darling Canadian Friend) who will be stuck with....I mean, SAILING with me in October, I am known as:

MASTER OF THE BUDGET.

I'm not proud; I'm just frugal.

Bring it on!

You may be frugal (which is totally NOT a bad thing!!), but you also are very, very funny!!! LOVE your trip reports!!!

Okay, I'm frugal too. Who else does a timeshare presentation on their honeymoon?! Here are some onboard and preboarding tips that help us disembark with breaking the bank.

We use our Disney visa for just about everything. Then we pay it in full each month and use rewards onboard.

We carry on some beer (just some, 'cause hubby does love his beer mug) and a few wine coolers for me. We've also carried on a bottle of Crown or Jack and made our own mixed drinks. I do know that one person (we cruised during the same time a couple of yrs ago) brought a smoothie maker and made frozen drinks on deck 9. That's too much trouble for me.

We sometimes will do a timeshare presentation in Orlando -- if we get cash, it can be applied to your shipboard account or used for parking at the port.

There are alot of free or discounted things to do in each port. We've taken coupons for Senor Frogs, Margaritaville, and Hard Rock.

If you go online alot, the unlimited package is great.

We've also done a "Disney Savings Plan" -- where my husband and I put $20 each aside each payday and used it to buy Disney dollars. Yeah, it's our money, but you can't use Disney dollars at Wal-Mart...so you really can save them. Put those on your shipboard account too.

I'll second the "art of" seminars... not only are they fun, but the samples are pretty tasty!

Save your money and get a slightly less expensive cabin...you really don't spend alot of time in there.

Make sure you pack all those little things, like extra batteries, film and magazines (who wants to pay gift shop prices for tampons?).

Hope ya'll have fun!!
Ginny

 

[kcashner]

Take and use your own camera. At most photo ops the CM with the character will take a picture with your camera, and you can take them of the kids alone. Since with a digital you can see your pictures, you'll know right away if it is good. You can easily save a small fortune over Shutters prices.

Kids gets sodas only in the dining rooms and on deck 9 at the beverage station--NO paying bar prices for soft drinks.

If you like to spa and will use it daily, do the unlimited rainforest package. This is only a good deal if you really use it.

If you like alcohol or wine, bring it on board with you (and bring a corkscrew.) Your room host can supply glasses. You are charged if you bring a bottle into the dining room, but you can always bring in a glass. If you need bottled water, bring it with you. Don't buy it on board. The water on the ship tastes fine.

Rental cars are cheaper than DCL transfers--but less convenient. Depending on number of passengers, limo service can be cheaper and eliminates some of the inconvenience of getting a rental.

Remember to bring the "necessities" with you--tylenol, sunscreen, etc. Anything you need to buy in the gift shop hurts.

Most excursions can be booked "on your own" at a significant savings. Most companies don't charge you if your ship can't dock as planned. Many can be arranged after you dock, but if you have your heart set on something you should book ahead on line.

You can bring all your own snorkel equipment. Or, you can bring your mask and snorkel and just rent fins. The vest is free and is required.

Use Disney Visa before the trip and bring the rewards card with you to pay off some/all of your tab.

Rebook while on board for the best rates/stateroom credit for your next cruise.

 

[icartjetta]

If you have to, bring 2 rolling coolers aboard with you, that's my best tip and I can tell from your last trip report (which I loved) that's probably your most expensive item. Now I can't speak of the spa, because I'm not a spa person. But I do have to say I wish I was going but I'll have to wait until Sep.
Have a great time, and can't wait to read the trip report.

 

[disneylover5]

I just saved $5,300 and I have not boarded the ship yet.

We are me, DH, DD13 and DD11. We are on the 11 day Med and we WERE CAT 9...the ship is not sold out yet, so they just lowered the price of CAT 12 only.....I changed CAT's and saved 50% of the cost of our cruise.

This one only works if your cruise is not sold out. About 60-80 days out start checking the Disneycruise.com site and look for the CAT 12 price to drop.

You have to not care where you are on the ship and not be attached to a stateroom. Mostly we do not stay in the room....so this has worked great for us!!

 

[disneydizz]

Don't be shy...volunteer for everything. It's a great way to score some free key chains and other little goodies

 

[zweihund]

I think the "bring a glass of wine with you to dinner" is the best so far - DH loves his wine! I'm picturing the CM's loading our luggage, and hearing all these *clinks* -