12 tricks to getting the most value from your cruise vacations

Whether you’re talking about a mass-market cruise on a megaship or a full-on luxury experience with attentive crew members doting on you day and night, if your goal is to squeeze every bit of value out of those hard-earned vacation dollars, you need to know a few things.

A little precruise planning, coupled with onboard attention to detail, can add to the value of the cruise for you and your travel partners. Here are 12 tricks to help you heap on the value.

Watch your emails for upgrade offers and other goodies before you cruise

It can feel like you’re bombarded with emails after you book a cruise, but some of them contain hidden treasure.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Cunard and Virgin Voyages are among the cruise lines that use a bidding process to manage unsold cabins as the sailing date gets closer. Carnival Cruise Line offers upgrades without bidding. Pay attention to your email, and you might nab a nicer cabin for less than you’d pay by booking it outright.

Emails also alert you to discounted packages or bundles for Wi-Fi, shore excursions and spa treatments. Much of the same information can be found on the cruise planner on the cruise line’s website, but unless you log in often, watch those emails for value-oriented offers.

Sign up for cruise line loyalty programs, and look for status matches

While most lines sign you up for loyalty programs automatically after your first sailing, you might need to opt in. Some lines allow you to sign up even before your first cruise, giving you advance offers to entice you to go ahead and book that first cruise.

Status matches between cruise lines are a huge bonus. MSC offers a status match with other cruise lines, hotel brands and tour operators. You can do this before your first booking and get Voyagers Club benefits on your first cruise with the line. These could be as simple as a welcome beverage or as elaborate as a complimentary tasting menu dinner.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea status match across the three sister brands. That means you can reap rewards on a luxury line by earning status on a mainstream brand.

Similarly, Viking‘s loyalty program spans its river, ocean and expedition arms. Once you’ve cruised with the line, you’ll get benefits fleetwide, even if you try out a different kind of ship.

Use your loyalty perks

While not every loyalty perk holds a huge value for you, little freebies definitely add up on vacation. For example, Carnival gives you a free 1.5-liter bottle of water on your second cruise. That’s one less bottle you might have to buy.

As you move up the loyalty ladder, cruise by cruise, the perks improve. For example, you may be eligible for free laundry, drinks and specialty dining the higher up you go. I once met a couple who were on a five-night Royal Caribbean cruise for the sole purpose of moving up to the top loyalty tier before going on a much longer cruise. The higher tier would give them free Wi-Fi and a handful of other valuable perks for the duration of their longer cruise.

Often the onboard perks are loaded on your cabin keycard, but you might have to ask how to use them. For example, if you are entitled to a free bag of laundry at your loyalty level, nobody will hand you a bag and say, “Fill it up; it’s free.” It’s up to you to know the perks you are entitled to and follow through on getting them.

Drink for free

Amid the barrage of marketing messages for beverage packages of all sorts, it’s easy to forget that certain beverages are included in your cruise fare.

Every cruise ship offers standard drip coffee, water, iced tea, hot cocoa, punch or lemonade, and a variety of tea bags free of charge. Milk and juice are available at breakfast. Look for self-serve stations at the buffet, or ask your server.

Sodas are included on premium lines like Windstar, Oceania and Viking, as well as on luxury lines like Seabourn, Silversea and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Disney Cruise Line also offers free soft drinks but only from the beverage dispensers by the pool.

It’s surprising how many free (or included) alcoholic drinks you can procure once on board a ship. I’ve been offered sparkling wine at art auctions, galley tours and captain’s events.

Celebrity Cruises offers free drinks for anyone gambling in the casino. Carnival and Virgin Voyages are among the lines offering free drinks to select gamblers based on their prior gambling history. You might be eligible for those, even if you only gamble on land. Some lines do casino status matches that might even earn you a free cruise.

Make full use of cabin perks

The cabin you book might come with valuable perks, so know what they are so you don’t miss out.

For example, Celebrity’s AquaClass cabins come with your choice of exercise equipment. Yoga mats are supposed to be in the closet when you board, but you’ll have to ask for any of the other items listed on the menu provided.

Suites on most lines come with extra perks like included drink packages and specialty dining. On certain ships, even some smaller suite categories come with exclusive dining rooms only for the occupants of those categories. The food in these exclusive eateries is often a step above the main dining room and not to be missed if you are staying in the entitled category.

The same goes for lounge access. You generally find snack and beverage stations stocked with specialty treats you won’t find elsewhere on board, making it worthwhile to at least sneak a peek at the lounge offerings if you paid for a category that comes with access.

Plan a movie night

The cost of going out to the movies these days makes a cruise movie night a big value. Now that most of us watch movies by streaming them at home, actually going to the movies is a treat in and of itself.

Movie nights on a ship are a step above your local movie theater. You might enjoy films on a giant poolside screen while you float in the pool or relax on a lounge chair with bar servers bringing the drinks to you. Disney Cruise Line screens first-run films for free, with costumed characters in attendance. Many lines serve free popcorn wherever movies are being shown.

If staying in for a movie night in your jammies sounds good, take advantage of free or pay-per-view movies on your cabin’s TV. Disney is among the cruise lines with popcorn on the room service menu. On a Silversea cruise, I once told our butler we were staying in for an evening movie. His immediate reply was, “Shall I pop some corn for you?” The answer, of course, was, “Yes, please.”

Splurge on entertainment without actually splurging

Live music, comedy acts, magic shows and musical theater are luxuries you can pay dearly for on land — but all of those are available on cruise lines at no charge. The larger the ship, the more entertainment options you will have.

Free live music is found daily in lounges, pool areas, atriums and on stage in the main auditorium. Audience participation game shows, sometimes raucous in nature, usually take over lounge space a few nights of the cruise.

The main stage will have a show nightly, either song-and-dance revues featuring an onboard cast or guest magicians, musicians and comedians, some with TV credits to their name. Larger ships might have separate comedy club venues to keep the laughs flowing every night of the cruise, with both family-friendly and adults-only shows.

Some lines lean heavily into specialty performances. Look for ice skating, aquatic high-diving and dance shows on select Royal Caribbean ships and acrobatic performances on Virgin Voyages and MSC Cruises. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line both offer Broadway musicals, while Disney produces live musical performances based on its popular animated movies.

With so much free entertainment that would certainly cost a family hundreds in ticket prices on land, you’ll get a ton of value from your cruise if you attend the shows that most appeal to you.

Go clubbing without the cover

When the night’s entertainment winds down, it’s time to go clubbing — and cruise ship clubs don’t have a cover. Big ships crank up the party vibe after the last show in the main theater, so you can make the most of every second you’re awake. You can hop from dance parties on the pool deck to karaoke in smaller bar venues and even silent discos in the atrium to keep the fun going into the wee hours.

Eat like you’re on vacation, but spend less doing it

Eating out and trying local restaurants are hallmarks of vacation, but you can blow your budget doing that on land. You can spend a lot on specialty restaurants on board, too, but pay attention to timing to get the most value out of the free dining on board. If you know you would enjoy steak and lobster, do a little research to figure out which night they will be served in the main dining room. You don’t want to find out too late that you booked a specialty restaurant on the same night you could have been eating surf and turf at no additional cost. Themed brunches and afternoon tea also are main dining room events you don’t want to miss.

Looking beyond the buffet and main dining room might turn up surprising food choices you didn’t even know were included in your cruise fare. Pool grills serving juicy hamburgers, specialty coffee shops with snacks and even sandwiches, and healthy choice salads near the solarium are all yummy examples of freebies tucked away in spots you might not think to look.

As for the specialty restaurants, those are generally still a bargain compared to a similar meal at a land-based restaurant. Carnival’s Steakhouse is a good example. The cost is $49 per person. That sounds steep, but if you’ve priced a filet mignon in a nice restaurant lately, you’ll know that $49 barely covers the steak. At The Steakhouse, you’ll be treated to appetizers, sides and desserts, making the cover charge a vacation value. Book your Steakhouse dinner for the first night of a sailing, and Carnival will usually throw in a complimentary bottle of house wine.

For lounging in your cabin, free or low-cost room service boosts your cruise value. My personal favorite (especially on sea days) is enjoying a “first breakfast” of coffee and croissants from room service before heading out for a more substantial second breakfast.

Take advantage of free and low-cost fun on private islands

Private island experiences provide an inexpensive break from paying for excursions in other ports. First things first, the beach is free. Use of the lounge chairs is free (not always the case at some vacation destinations). Swimming in the ocean and in some pools is free.

Depending on the island, you might find hammocks, hiking trails, game and sports areas, and interesting snorkeling spots. Rental equipment for snorkeling and other water activities is usually reasonably priced, but you can bring your own gear.

The major private islands all have complimentary barbecue buffets and occasionally other food trucks or fast-casual offerings. As with specialty dining on the ship, even the up-charged food won’t cost as much as at a theme park or on the beach at a vacation destination.

Head to the top deck for free fun

Whether you’re talking about something as simple as miniature golf, basketball, pickleball or table tennis, or as elaborate as surf simulators and multideck dry slides, cruise lines often load their ships’ upper decks with free fun. As with all things on a cruise, certain activities come with a cost, but you’ll find plenty of fun that does not add to your cruise bill.

On land, you typically need to pay to access waterslides, splash parks, rock climbing walls and adventure and zip lines, but on many cruises, these active onboard attractions come free. Certain activities might require reservations or specific attire (like closed-toe shoes), so it pays to check out the details in advance.

Pay a little more for a lot of extras

Did you know that some cruise lines let you buy VIP packages precruise for a bundle of preferential treatment similar to suite category perks? The real value of these programs lies in not paying for an expensive suite while enjoying extra perks as if you did.

Royal Caribbean’s The Key includes early boarding times, a welcome lunch, fast lane access to select onboard activities, premium theater seating, departure day perks and free internet access for each guest who purchases the package.

Celebrity’s Premium Access is a similar bundle. The combination of complimentary room service and Premium Wi-Fi for two devices makes this package a cruise value.

Holland America‘s Club Orange includes a complimentary cabin upgrade when available, priority check-in, priority lines at Guest Services and Shore Excursion desks, bathrobes, an expanded room service menu, a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, exclusive events like behind-the-scenes tours and coffee chats with performers and even separate dining rooms on some ships.

Carnival’s Faster to the Fun offers early cabin access, express luggage delivery and priority check-in and embarkation, shuttle boarding, dining reservations, Guest Services line and debarkation.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Priority Access includes priority security, check-in and boarding processes on embarkation day, plus skip-the-line tendering and debarkation, complimentary standard room service and a $50 spa discount on port days.

Bottom line

Cruises come with so much value bundled into the cost of the fare that it can be easy to overlook all the goodies that aren’t costing you anything extra. Adding value to your cruise vacation can be as simple as reading the daily planner or taking a walk around the ship to discover all the included attractions. Whether it’s free entertainment in your favorite lounge, a dance lesson or no-cost prime rib in the main dining room, all those onboard freebies and low-cost add-ons make it possible to get outsize value from your cruise vacation.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories: