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In order to get passengers up the gangplank, cruise lines have been offering a variety of discounts, incentives and reduced cruise fares. This has been great for fans of cruising, most of whom have been treated to some of the lowest base cruise fares and best incentives in many years.

But in order to recoup some of this lost income, cruise lines have been trying to get passengers to spend more while at sea. And they’ve been adding new sources of shipboard revenue and fattening up margins on existing ones to do so.

While these services are optional, they can add up quickly. In fact, the extra costs for optional spending on items like shore excursions, premium restaurants, alcohol, soft drinks, specialty coffees, spa treatments and Internet service can easily exceed four figures per couple, even on a relatively short cruise.

So how can savvy passengers spend less money at sea and get more value from their cruise? Here are my top 10 ways to outsmart the cruise lines at their own game:

1. Organize your own shore excursions:  The ship’s markup on shore excursions usually exceeds 100%, and many are not worth the added cost because they can easily be done on your own for much less. Savvy cruisers get together with another couple and hire their own taxi for a tour, or just take public transportation. For example, on a recent cruise stop in Piraeus, our family of four saved a fortune by taking the electric tram into Athens for 2 Euros each for a return ticket versus the $65 per person cost for the ship’s “Athens on Your Own” bus transfer into town.

2. Avoid the premium restaurants: Most ships have one or more alternative restaurants that offer higher quality cuisine in a more intimate setting. These restaurants charge an extra tariff of $20 to $40 per person, and that doesn’t include the cost of premium coffees like espresso and cappuccino, or alcohol. In my experience, the food in the main dining is pretty good and very few of these so-called premium restaurants are worth the added charge. But if you’d like a change of dinner venue one night, why not try the evening buffet in the informal cafeteria? And if you must try the premium restaurant, limit yourself to one visit per cruise.   

3. Stock alcohol in your cabin: Consuming alcohol in the ship’s various bars and restaurants can be a very costly proposition. Some cruise lines like Celebrity permit a small amount of wine to be brought onboard the ship at the beginning of the cruise for consumption in your cabin – so check out policies in advance. If you can’t bring booze aboard, you may be able to purchase a package of wine and hard liquor on the ship for use in your cabin. Friends can also order alcohol from the cruise line as a “Bon Voyage” gift for your cabin. For those who like expensive wines, it also pays to legally bring wines onboard and pay a corkage fee to consume it in the dining room. And remember, any wine left over in the bottle can be stored for the next evening or brought back to your cabin.

4. Wait for discounted spa services: Many spa and hair treatments are more expensive on the ship than they are on land. However, you can significantly reduce what you spend in the spa by waiting for them to offer cut-rate treatments. This usually happens a day or two after the ship sails and the initial flurry of bookings have been made. The spa will then look to fill in empty time slots (typically when the ship is in port) by offering deals on selected services which they will promote in flyers that arrive with your daily program.

5. Don’t pose for ship’s photos: From the moment you board, the ship’s photographers will try to snap your image at every turn and then sell you the photos for $15 to $20 a pop. There’s no obligation to buy, but once you get caught up in the free-spending cruise-ship atmosphere, you could easily wind up owning a $100 or more worth of photos. If you want some memories of your cruise, just take your own – or ask someone to take one of you with your camera.

6. Stay away from the art auction: It may be tempting to attend, but you can quickly drop a bundle on artwork of questionable value. If you are serious about buying art, wait until you get back home so you can do some serious comparison shopping.

7. Beware of cruise line transfers & land excursions: It can often be cheaper to take a taxi from the ship to the airport (and vice-versa) than it is to purchase two bus transfers from the cruise line. It’s also cheaper to book your own limo or van rather than to do it through the ship’s concierge.  For example, on our last cruise we booked a van for our family of four from the pier at Civitavecchia to Rome airport for 120 Euros (US$160) versus the US$630 quoted by the ship’s concierge for the same trip. In addition, most people can organize pre- and post-cruise hotel and tour packages more cheaply than the cruise line (Alaska is one exception). For example, Crystal Cruises is offering a five-day pre-cruise trip to Machu Picchu in Peru from Santiago, Chile for US$5,899 per person prior to the January 8, 2010 departure of the Crystal Symphony. You can organize a similar but less regal excursion on your own for less than $2,000 per person.

8. Resist the upsell and Casino: During your cruise, crew members will try to sell you bottled water, wine with lunch, tickets to wine tastings and cooking demonstrations, flights of wine paired with dinner, premium coffees, bingo cards, and anything else the ship can dream up to separate you from more money. In addition, the ship’s casino will usually hold various tournaments and contests to make gambling more enticing. Just say “no” to upsells, and establish a strict limit on what you are prepared to spend in the casino.

9. Purchase soda pop, coffee & wine cards: If you drink lots of soda, premium coffee (espresso, cappuccino), or wine it may be more economical to purchase a flat-fee card or one that gives you a set number of these items at a discounted price. Not every cruise line offers these cards, but it’s worth asking about on your first night at sea if you think they could save you money.

10. Keep an eye on cruise fares: If you want to get the best cabins and locations, it pays to book early. However, in this kind of economic environment, cruise lines can sometimes lower fares several times before the ship sails. Some lines will pass along the lower fare to passengers, but it’s the passenger’s responsibility to advise their agent or the cruise line if their fare category has been reduced. In any event, it’s a smart policy to double-check a cruise fare a few days before the final payment is due because at that point you can still cancel without penalty. After the cancellation penalty kicks in, consumers have far less leverage to get a better deal.

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