My phone beeps… another text. “We need to go on vacation together. SOON!”
I laugh. I get this message a lot.
A year ago nobody invited me on vacation. My travel secrets were safely tucked away in my brain… only my family knew we traveled well. On a tiny budget!
Now, I get invited to places all over the world. How fun is that? I don’t get to go very often, but that’s okay…
Sometimes, I go…
Sometimes, I plan a trip and surprise someone with a fabulous, FREE vacation!
How to Cruise for FREE!
My mom celebrates her 70th birthday this December. And she has been asking to be included on a trip for months… SO, November 4th, I am whisking her away to the Caribbean for that long dreamed about cruise vacation. Now, before you say, “Awwwww…. so sweet!” OR “Must be nice to have that kind of dough…” OR something in between, we are cruising for FREE! And you can too!
I use a travel points credit card to buy groceries, gas, clothes and anything else I need. I also pay my cell phone, cable and garbage bill with the credit card. I’m paying those bills anyway, so why not get something for it?
I do NOT overspend. If the money for said clothes is not in the budget for the month, I don’t shop. I pay the bill IN FULL every month.
It’s important to pay that credit card bill in full every month. Be disciplined. Otherwise, you get the “free cruise,” BUT you pay interest which cancels out the savings. Make sense?
Cruise now — for less!
Do you want to cruise now without waiting for those free cruise points to accumulate?
Great news!
Cruise lines are offering great deals on cruises this season! Kate Maxwell of Condé Naste Traveler reports that cruise prices are 12% below last year. I sure have seen some great deals!
If you need a getaway from the gray clouds and workday stress, consider a cruise…. Here are some great deals to get you started!
Cruise discounts through CheapTickets — offering deals and onboard credit for several cruise lines.
Winter cruise discounts through Royal Caribbean — our favorite cruise line is offering some fantastic deals this winter! Supply is limited. (My mom and I are traveling on RC. The cash value of our outside cabin was $416 for a 4 night cruise!!! Best deal out there!)
National Cruise Month sales at Carnival — rebuilding their image, Carnival has some great deals. Again, the best cruise deals have limited availability. If you find the right deal at the right time, book it!
There you have it…. Cruise for free or cruise for less. If cruising is on your bucket list, October is the best month to book that trip — I’d be happy to join you! 😉
This post may contain affiliate links.
Kristl Story says
Just booked our belated 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii….used points for air and 2 of the 4 hotels! My Am Ex pays for everything, and of course I pay it in full each month. I’m thrilled that Florida State allows tuition, room & board to be paid with a credit card, and they don’t charge a fee. Waiting for Texas A&M to do the same! Last week, I went through all my online bills, and discovered 2 more that now allow me to pay with a credit card and no fee! Cha-ching, cha-ching!
Karen Dawkins says
That’s awesome, Kristl! Nathan’s college charges a fee for tuition, so we don’t use it there. Did you know the Florida State football coach is a Samford grad? 🙂
Great tip to check bills regularly — you never know which companies might move to credit card convenience. Thanks for that!
Enjoy your Hawaiian getaway — did you see my friend’s post on money saving tips for Hawaii travel? https://familytravelsonabudget.com/dream-destinations/dream-destination-hawaii/
Corinne says
Thanks for the great tips! With a family of six, any vacation ends up costing a bit. It’s nice to find ways to save some off of the normal expenses.
Karen Dawkins says
Corinne, a great travel site for larger families is Six Suitcase Travel, which provides info on hotels that offer rooms for large families, inexpensive attractions (many free), and other discounts for large families. It’s a great resource.
Holly @ Woman Tribune says
It is absolutely amazing that you have found such great ways to cut costs on traveling and take amazing trips for free. For free! That is so exciting! Thank you for sharing so many tips on how you can score a cruise for free.
Karen Dawkins says
I hope these tips help you discover how to travel for less. Rack rates are unnecessary! 🙂
Sofia says
Great tips!! I would love to be able to travel for free…or simply travel somewhere. But owning a business is not so easy specially when you are going through a rough patch and money isn’t there. Oh well…maybe one of these days I’ll be able to cruise around the world!! Hopefully for free 🙂
Karen Dawkins says
:). I must admit being a travel writer has opened a few doors (or lots of doors this year). When you get ready for that big cruise, let me know. I’ll go too!!! 🙂
Tammy Graham @ LoveMy2Dogs says
I would love to go on a cruise. Hubby, not so much. Because he is my very best friend and we believe in vacationing together, I wouldn’t go without him. However, this does sound like a great way to get great deals on trips. I save for our getaways little by little, that is the only way that they can happen.
Karen Dawkins says
Tammy, saving bit by bit is a great strategy. There are some great tips on the blog to help stretch those savings! I hope they help you and your husband travel wherever your hearts desire!
cococute says
How I wish me and my family will be having vacations and cruise soon.
Karen Dawkins says
I hope our budget and planning tips help you save for that vacation. 🙂
Susan says
I want to go on a cruise with you! Tell me when and I am there!
Karen Dawkins says
Let’s work on it!!! Next fall? Where?
Sarah says
I don’t think we are disciplined enough yet. 😉 Have an old Navy card that we used that gave us credit to buy clothes. We could use it at ANY store, and we would get credit to buy Old Navy clothes. It was pretty nice actually.. BUT.. Ended up running the card to high. It’s down again due to us finding ways to fix it, but I don’t trust us. If I knew we would pay down the card, this would be a sweet idea. 🙂 Love the pictures!
A cruise would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fun! I hope you have a nice time with your mom! 🙂 My mom and I are jealous! haha I told her about it the other day.. 😉
Karen Dawkins says
It does take discipline. We had TONS of student loans to repay the first 15 years of our marriage which helped us gain discipline. The alternative was never having those loans off our backs.
One way to develop discipline is to set your budget and track your expenses with cash — is the budget accurate to meet your family’s needs? When it’s tweaked, trade out ONE expense to the credit card but only that ONE expense (gas for the car). Keep your card there for three months. If you manage that well, then move a second expense (groceries) to your card. Keep it there for three more months. Don’t do any indulgence shopping — gifts, clothes, travel, etc. until you have established the discipline.
My mom is over the moon excited…. My dad is seeing lots of clothes shopping in his future. She needs some cruise clothes. (He pays his credit card off every month… LOL)
Jenny says
I do this for airplane tickets & hotel rooms, but not cruises. What cards to you use? Do they give you points specifically toward a cruise or do you get cash that you use to purchase your cruise?
Karen Dawkins says
I use a couple of different cards, which are a great fit for me. Capital One is easy to use/redeem on any travel related expenses by applying accumulated points to bill payments within 90 days after travel. Even better, there’s no international fee for use outside of the US!
I also have a Royal Caribbean visa card, because it’s our overall favorite cruise line. When my kids were younger, we used a Disney visa card since we went there a lot.
How’s that for a vague answer? Here’s another post about how to maximize travel card rewards: https://familytravelsonabudget.com/budget/maximizing-travel-card-rewards/