7 Best Travel Cruise Hacks, Tips and Tricks

Today we are going to show you 7 Best Travel Cruise Hacks, Tips, and Tricks that we use all the time. We have been traveling a lot since 2015. Over these years we have learned things that will help us make our trips easier on us. From taking extra booking early to how to set up transportation to save money. Below we have added things we believe will help make your trip less stressful or easier.

1. Book your cruise early

Search for your cruise. Book your cruise early. Way early. After you book your cruise keep an eye out for changes in price. If the price goes down you can call in and request the new pricing that is being offered. You can check on each company website or try one of the other websites that have all cruise in one.

2. Find out when prices change

So after you book your cruise you might think you received a good price or thought you could have gotten a better price. Well, something you didn’t know is that of the price goes down companies will not tell you or notify you. It’s your job to keep an eye out to see if the price changed. If it did then call them up and ask them to honor the new price they have posted. Download the Shipmate App. Website to download the app is https://shipmateapp.com/
This is the app you can select the Cruise you are going to and select alerts for price changes. You can also see your itinerary for the cruise you are on. Here are some of the other features of what the app can help with.

Cruise Countdown
Itinerary Roll Call
Deck Plans and Ship Info
Port Info (reviews, tips, & photos)
Deck Cams
Cruise Price Alerts
Port Excursion Booking
And much more

3. Transportation to Cruise Port

You cannot forget how you will get to your cruise port. After you book your cruise and you know what port you are coming out from now you can check on where you will park your car if you are driving to the port. The closer you are to the ship the more expensive it will be. Find a place a little further from the port. You can check in google to see areas that offer cruise parking. Sometimes it’s a hotel or a place that is only to park cars for people who are going on a cruise. Many places have transportation from where you leave the car to the ship and its less expensive.
If you are flying into the port then all you need to do it catch a taxi, Uber or some other form of transportation to get to the cruise ship. We usually are a group of about 6 or more. We have used Suntransfers. They are a private transportation service that takes you where you need to go from the airport or cruise terminal. Usually, we have them waiting at the airport so that they then can take us to the cruise port. I have used this service a few times. When you arrive you find your driver. They usually have a person having a name for you. You also get the instructions in an email to what to expect and what number to call if you needed to. I have not had to call them since we can find the driver holding a sign. It’s much cheaper than going through the cruise transportation

4. 5 Port USB Wall Charger and Converter

How many of us have phones and other electronic devices like smartwatches we need to change at night? Cruise cabins do not have a lot of outlets. Sure you can bring a big power strip but this 5 port USB charger we use is much better. So bring one with you. We use this one when we are on a cruise or traveling in general. Here is the one we use. Anker 40W 5-Port USB Wall Charger. With this, you can attach 5 USB cables to one outlet. If you are staying in a hotel before or after your cruise trip then you will need a travel plug adaptor. We use this one here. But there are a few other ones you can buy like these here.

5. Portable USB Charger

A lot of times you are on port and will be out most of the day. Some places arrive in port at 8am and then the ships leave at 8pm. That’s a lot of hours without having your phone charged. Using your phone and taking pictures while on your trip can use your phone battery to drain. Especially if taking videos and maybe using other apps on your phone. The best thing to do is to take a Portable USB Charger with you to charge your phone or keep it charged. Here is one we have used. Here is the portable charger we use and are happy with. 10000mAh Portable Power Bank with Dual USB Ports 3.1A Output and 2A Input

6. Clothes

Since you are not allowed to bring an Iron on the ship you will not be able to iron your clothes. You can always pay to get your clothes done but why spend so much on that when you can spend that money on something else you can enjoy.
Rolling your clothes instead of folding them will help keep prevent your clothes from wrinkling and it will take up less space in your luggage.

7. When to book your cruise

Book when its off-peak season. Everyone is traveling when the kids are off from school. If you can take a vacation when everyone is at school then you will pay less. Off-peak is usually during fall or spring. You will not only pay less but the places you visit will not be as crowded.

8. Checklist

Its always good to have a checklist of items to bring just so you don’t forget. We have a post we created with a checklist that is free to download. Download it here.