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One of the (many) things still on my bucket list is doing a cruise. Personally, I’d love to do a cruise either around the South Pacific or to Alaska. Polar opposite destinations, but both beautiful and top cruise locations. As it turns out, it isn’t hard to have a budget-friendly vacation with Celebrity Cruises, thanks to constant cruise deals and insider tips. Here are some easy ways you can get more bang for your buck on a cruise with Celebrity Cruises.
Cruise deals
Celebrity Cruises offers a variety of last minute deals, early bird discounts, resident rate specials and suite offers on its worldwide cruises. Last minute cruise deals are usually on offer up to three months in advance, whereas early bird discounts apply when you book up to a year beforehand. Experts recommend booking an early bird special if you want a specific cabin (i.e. a balcony room). It’s worthwhile keeping an eye on the Celebrity Cruise website, as these deals can honestly save you hundreds of dollars — making a cruise into a much more budget-friendly vacation.
Plan a cruise during school term
Because cruises are popular with families, it makes sense that cruising during school holidays will always be more expensive. So if it’s an option for you (or you’re a fellow solo traveller), look at doing a Celebrity Cruise during the offseason, when kids are in school. However, remember that school terms differ in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. So if you want to cruise Down Under or around the Pacific, winter is actually a great time as children are only out of school for two weeks and the weather is perfect.
To balcony or not to balcony
Speaking of cruise deals, it’s also always cheaper to stay in an inside stateroom on Celebrity Cruises. However, a happy medium between an inside and veranda stateroom is the ocean view stateroom. These rooms have a large window, so you receive natural light. But they’re still a lot cheaper than a room with a balcony. If you want to save as much money as possible, forgo the balcony.
An ocean view room
Repositioning cruises
I only learned about repositioning cruises this year. Basically, they’re one-way transatlantic and transpacific cruises to ‘reposition’ a cruise ship to a new location for seasonal reasons. Celebrity Cruises offers some incredible repositioning cruises at budget prices, including from England to Florida, between Australia and Hawaii (right up my alley), from Barcelona to Buenos Aires and between Rome and Dubai. How exotic are some of these locations? Obviously, you have to pay to return home as repositioning cruises are only one-way. But it’s a fantastic way to cruise on the cheap and see more sights.
Short and sweet
An alternative is to make your cruise short (but nonetheless sweet). Celebrity Cruises has several cruise options from America to the Caribbean, which range from two to five nights. This way you can still enjoy a quintessential Celebrity Cruise experience, but you don’t have to travel far or spend a lot of money. Plus, it’s the Caribbean. That’s a win-win-win in my books.
Buy an alcohol package beforehand
If you plan on enjoying a daily drink — whether that’s by the pool, with dinner or as a nightcap — a beverage package might be more cost effective. Celebrity Cruises offers both a Classic and Premium Beverage Package. While they both include alcohol as well as specialty coffee and tea, the Premium Package is all about premium liquors, wine and craft beers.
Take advantage of the complimentary experiences
When sticking to a budget on a cruise, make the most of the restaurants and activities included in your cruise package. There are always several restaurants and cafes onboard that are complimentary, including the Oceanview Cafe and its international marketplace. As for outdoor activities, there are lawn games, movie screenings and pool games that you can enjoy for free. If you also want to keep fit onboard, take advantage of the free fitness facilities.
International marketplace
As you can see, it’s quite easy to have a budget-friendly holiday with Celebrity Cruises. Find those cruise deals, take advantage of all the free stuff, and most importantly relax on the open seas.
Edge of Possibilities Giveaway with Celebrity Cruises
Before you go… If you’re a resident of the US, UK or Canada, check out Celebrity Cruises’ Edge of Possibilities giveaway. You can win a seven-night cruise (including airfare) on Celebrity Edge, the company’s revolutionary new cruise ship that will sail around the Caribbean and Europe. No purchase is necessary and the competition closes on 16th December, so you have plenty of time to enter. Good luck!
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This post is in partnership with Celebrity Cruises and all photos sourced from their website.
