‘The pros have a system’: Expert reveals 5 ways cruise passengers are wasting money

If you’ve been on a cruise ship recently, you might’ve spent more than you needed to.

Of course, with skyrocketing prices affecting consumer’s pocketbooks, it’s more important now than ever to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. In a recent TikTok video, Jason Judson (@jasonjudson) shares how to ensure that’s the case. 

Judson dedicates his various social media profiles to sharing various tips and tricks for getting the most out of your cruise experience. A video from this cruise season, uploaded in mid-May, has more than 499,500 views. 

According to Judson, here are five ways cruise passengers might be wasting their money. 

Gambling

Most large, mainstream cruise ships have casinos. According to one thepointsguy.com, gaming on cruise ship casinos “usually includes a mix of slot machines and table games.” But if you’re not careful, Judson warns, you may be tricked into overspending.

“The pros have a system and understand their limits,” he said. He also said that they know “how to get invited back time and time again to cruise basically for free.”

Certain cruise lines have a points system of sorts that allows customers to earn perks for gambling. Points, according to thepointsguy, are generally tied to the time played and the amount of money spent and, hopefully, won.

Not doing the math on the beverage package

“It can be either a great investment or a terrible one,” Judon said. For example, he said that beer drinkers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise need to be drinking at least eight beers a day, “each and every single day,” to make it pay off. 

Beverage packages do vary by cruise line, but most give patrons a choice between unlimited soft drinks and a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Carnival, for instance, includes at least three drink packages for vacationers to choose from. 

Spa treatments 

“It’s easy to spend $300 on a spa treatment. If you’re going to a beach on any of the islands, check to see if they have beach massages,” Judson recommended. 

He gave a special shout-out to a $59 beach massage available in Nachi Cocom, Cozumel. Indeed, that appears cheaper than most, if not all, Carnival options. Most massage therapy services offered onboard start at $104. That said, there are some salon treatments that are most cost-effective. Some hair services on a Carnival cruise are just $30 to $40.

Bringing wine on-board

“If you’re a wine drinker, make sure to bring wine on-board,” Judson said. “We ask our cabin attendant for wine glasses and enjoy it on our balcony with no corkage fees.”

It’s not immediately clear how Judson is able to bring wine on-board since Carnival’s website said it forbids bringing outside food or beverages onto its ship. (The Daily Dot has reached out to Judson via TikTok comment.) Still, if you’re going on a cruise soon, it’s still worth asking whether this is a possibility. 

Forgetting things at home 

“The prices are insane,” he said, for little things people tend to forget at home, such as sunscreen. A number of cruise passengers confirmed this to be true. In a 2010 post on CruiseCritic, a subset of Tripadvisor, one woman said she bought sunscreen on the ship after forgetting her own bottle at home.

She said the sunscreens were “excellent,” but still pricey. For two, eight-ounce bottles, she said she paid $28. “That is why I suggest a packing list,” Judson said. And for those who have plans to go aboard a cruise ship soon, he said he had a free packing list linked on his TikTok profile.

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