I spent 30 days at sea on 4 different cruise lines in the past year. Here are 9 mistakes I won't be making in 2025.
I spent over 30 days with four cruise lines this past year, and I learned some travel tips for 2025.
I'm done assuming interior cabins are the cheapest rooms on cruise ships.
In 2025, I'll try to better take advantage of seasonal sales and credit-card offers.
As a frequent cruiser, I learn a little something from each trip.
In the past 12 months, I've spent 30 days at sea on four different cruise lines exploring the Eastern and Western Caribbean and Central America. From those sailings alone, I've learned numerous time- and money-saving travel tips.
Here are a few pieces of cruising advice I'll be taking with me into 2025.
Turns out, it's wise to compare costs on different ships within the same cruise line.
When I booked my sailing on Margaritaville at Sea's Islander in July, I assumed my trip on this new ship would be more expensive than its older one.
After all, the Islander is much nicer and has more amenities than the budget cruise line's Paradise ship that I sailed on in 2023.
Much to my pleasant surprise, my trip on the newer ship cost less. My total per night for an interior stateroom was $93 on Islander compared to $165 on Paradise.
Even though I'm a seasoned cruiser, joining online travel groups can still be helpful.
I haven't always been on top of joining and checking cruise-line and voyage-specific Facebook groups, but I think I will from now on.
Many of these online groups contain a wealth of information, even for seasoned cruiser like me.
You can find information on how cruise lines compare, photos of what staterooms actually look like, and practical advice for troubleshooting a slew of issues.
After missing some sales and promotions, I plan to keep a better eye on my inbox and mailbox.
By ignoring emails and promotional mailers about sales, I missed out on complimentary add-ons like drink packages and free WiFi in 2024.
Even if I'm not sure when or where I want to cruise next, I plan to actually look at seasonal sales and offers in 2025 — especially those that require low deposits or have flexible rules for payment.
I wish I'd stayed on top of my credit-card offers, too.
In the past year, I learned the value of enrolling in loyalty-match programs to score upgrades, onboard credits, and more. However, I'd forgotten to use offers from my American Express Blue Sky credit card.
Now, I've started to check and use monthly offers each time I make my credit-card payment.
After all, just a few years ago, I was able to use an AmEx offer to get hundreds of dollars back when using my card to pay for a Princess Cruise.
Next year, I'll try not to forget to put important booking deadlines in my calendar.
When I book a cruise, I only pay the deposit. I put the due date for the final payment on my calendar, but I usually forget to mark anything else.
In 2025, I want to better track important milestones, like the first day I can book onboard experiences and shore excursions.
Because I forgot to do this in the past few months, I missed out on booking my first-choice Holland America Line excursion in Curaçao and didn't get to reserve a beach cabana on Disney's Castaway Cay.
Some of my embarkation days were wasted this year, so I want to start making the most of them.
Moving forward, I want to take full advantage of each ship's embarkation day by boarding as early as possible.
I've learned to pay attention to each cruise line's check-in procedure to see when I can select an early port arrival time.
On Norwegian Cruise Line, for example, travelers who have completed online check-in can begin selecting arrival times 21 days before their sail date. Some cruise lines include early boarding in add-on packages or offer it via loyalty programs.
Specialty dining will no longer be part of my cruise plans.
When I sail on a new cruise line, I splurge for specialty dining because I want to try every restaurant. However, more often than not, paying extra to eat in these places hasn't been worth it.
In the past few months, I found myself particularly disappointed by the mediocre food at Asian-themed specialty restaurants at sea — especially ones serving sushi.
Plus, the specialty steakhouses are usually worth skipping because many cruises serve steak at least once in the main dining room at no extra cost.
Before I book any cruise, I'm going to start looking into the ship's age.
When I've booked cruises in the past, I've focused on the price, ports, and length of a sailing. Moving forward, though, I'm going to look up the age of a ship to avoid disappointment.
For most cruise lines, older ships tend to be smaller with fewer amenities, even if they've been recently refurbished. Plus, the ship's age can influence everything from stateroom size to ports of call.
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