AARP Rewards Online Community Cruise Contest 2023

Would love to win this!

I recently came back from a cruise and these are my tips. Never use your credit/debit card while you're in another country. You can take out cash in the casino. Don't overpack. There's washers and dryers onboard. Take magnetic hooks. Your cabin walls are metal and you can easily dry swimwear or hang extras on the walls. If you're like me, be prepared to eat. The food was legit and you can get pizza until 4am.

Looking into doing my first cruise

As an experienced cruiser for many years, here are my tips:

1. for Alaska cruises,

    - look at the itinerary and make sure it includes Glacier Bay

    - most expensive are summer months; cheaper in shoulder season before and after

      summer months

2. For family travel with children, check what kinds of onboard children/teen activities/clubs

    are on the ship.

3. Cheapest time to book - when the kids are in school. Not holidays also.

4. Try to choose a port where you can drive-in -- saves airfare and overnight pre-cruise hotels    costs.

5. Sign up for cruise lines' membership program to earn loyalty points ... for the perks

6.  Decide if you want a family-friendly cruise (ok for adults too) or an adults-only ship.

7.  Look at the # of passengers the ship holds. Some are 5,000+

8.  Some cabins hold up to 4 - good family saver as 3/4th passengers are discounted

      and sometimes, kids sail free (check promotions)

All the cruise lines do a terrific job. Carnival especially for Fun!

And, of course, check your AARP Rewards for discounts/extra value.

Bon Voyage and Smooth Sailings.

Use AARP card to get discount at hotels, and vehicle rental rates, and breakfast discounts at Denny's. Also buy GIft cards from AARP for a 10% discount off the face value of the card. Also buy 100 shares of the cruise line stock and get on board credit for future cruises. Lastly gift cards can be used for items on your sign and sail account such as drinks and excursions and even for casino betting. All you need to do is add the cards to your account even if you are already onboard.

We use AARP Rewards to buy discounted gift cards to pay our cruise fare. Best advice is to book early if possible for the best fares. We like to get the drink package so we know what our drink cost will be for the week. Most include sodas, bottled waters, and specialty coffee in addition to alcoholic drinks. Search for a Facebook group or Cruise Critic roll call to meet some of your fellow sailors before the trip. Often we join others on shore excursions and can sometimes get a group discount. 

The best way to make cruise travel easy and fun is through preparation.  The first thing we do is to research the cruise line and ship to make sure they are fits to our family.  I do this through a lot of reviews and videos.  This also builds excitement the closer we get to sailing.  Once booked we also use AARP Travel Tips to research ports and recommendations of things to do.  This includes the ports of call and the beginning and ending port as we always arrive a day before.  To make sure we get the best deal, we price watch up until the final payment is due.  We use AARP Travel to check prices even after the initial booking.  If the price drops, the cruise line will honor and reprice the cruise.  Another great way to save money is to buy cruise line gift cards using AARP Rewards.  We use the gift cards to pay for the cruise to get a 10% discount on top of whatever discount is offered for AARP members.  

Having spent an entire European cruise with NO luggage, pack light and just use a carry on! It is very hard for delayed luggage to catch up with you on a cruise.  Most ships will have self serve laundry or service available and you can always wash things out and hang on the line over your shower or dry on the balcony (just don't let things blow away).

Cruising is the BEST! Hope all of you who have not tried will get to go soon!

We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in December, 2023. We are hoping to go on a cruise next Spring 2024 as a present to ourselves! Need to start planning!

I’ve been on over 60 cruises.  My first cruise was in 1979, and because my friend and I thought it was a once in a lifetime experience, we went big, and took a 2 week cruise through the Panama Canal.  Had such a blast, that we booked our next cruise as soon as we got home.  There has never been a year since then that I haven’t taken a cruise, even in 2020.  We took a trip out of Dubai right before the world started shutting down with COVID in March.

I’ve read many good suggestions below, which I won’t repeat (but we do love the AARP 10% discounts on Carnival, Princess and Celebrity!). One thing I didn’t see mentioned was that many cruise lines, including Carnival, let you bring one free bottle of wine or champagne per person onboard for free at the beginning of your cruise. We aren’t big drinkers, so between our brought onboard bottles and the free drinks we get at parties or past cruiser events, we are good.

For those who love ocean cruises and haven’t yet tried river cruises, I highly recommend.  It’s an entirely different experience, but the ships are much smaller and intimate. Easy to meet your fellow guests.  You dock every day right in the heart of whatever town you are visiting,  A tour is included in each port on most cruise lines, and you have free time to do more exploring on your own. Entertainment is pretty low key, but still enjoyable.

I was just reading an article that says cruising is the perfect way to do “slow travel”.  I was only 23 on my first cruise.  I’m now 66, and anticipate being able to cruise for many years to come.  
it’s never too late to start.  Enjoy!