What are the best cruise hacks to save money in 2025? — featuring Griff & Alyssa

0:00 You ever feel like a cruise ship is a giant floating theme park full of hidden fees and a bunch of upsells designed to separate you from your vacation budget. But today, not on my watch. In the next 20 minutes or so, you'll pick up 15 cruise line defying moves. Listen, these really going to change the game that

0:18 keep your cash in your pocket, stress off your shoulders, and you can control firmly what's in your hands. Trick number 15, it's a bit spooky, clever enough, you can figure out a way to flip it to your own benefit. So, stay tuned for that. The last hack is I call it a chef's kiss. It's revenge. Sometimes

0:35 cruise lines push a little too far. You just got to find a way to outsmart these cruise lines. You got to play chess while they're playing checkers. But right now, they're owning everything like Cersei in King's Landing. So, let's get at them, all right? Let's jump into it. Yo, yo, what's up? My name's Griff,

0:53 founder of ahoy365.com. And if you're new here, what's good? But if you've been here, welcome to the show, paradise crew. So, if you didn't know, I'm a long-time cruiser, almost 100 cruises. But we're also like a part-time cruise line nemesis. And listen, I've learned sometimes the hard way where the sneaky

1:10 traps are and how to dodge them. So, for first-timers, platinum loyalists, bargain hunters, by the time we hit the outro, you'll be smarter than 90% of the cruise ship. All right, let's cast this thing off. Number one, you can skip the prepaid gratuities. You can keep your leverage inside of your wall. Cruise

1:27 lines love when you prepaid tips. It's like tipping a waiter before the menu even lands. The money's locked in no matter how the service goes. Here's what people are doing. Instead, they're leaving the auto gratuity box unchecked when they book. And wait until day two or three to adjust how guest

1:48 services are actually treating you. Does your cabin steward know your name? Are they checking in on your room? Are they providing the room service that you actually paid for? Are they on schedule? Is it a stellar crew? Then you can decide to tip more or less based on that. Listen, if you've got a ghost mode

2:04 steward, which we've experienced before, you do have an opportunity to trim it. Unfortunately, they do begin to realize that you are in control, and magically the service starts to level up sometimes. That just kind of is what it is. So, let me know in the comments section below, is this something you've

2:21 explored, or do you still auto tip every single time? I've also seen cruise passengers once they remove the auto gratuities, they hand out cash to each and individual person that is actually giving them top-tier service. That means customized tip for your wait staff, the bar staff, the room steward, and people

2:37 who wash your sheets. It is a hot take. Let me know your comments and thoughts. Number two, the approved power cube that saves your sanity. So, the typical cabin can have a couple of outlets, one hiding behind the TV, maybe one by a lamp or on your desk. Meanwhile, you've packed phones,

2:57 watches, cameras, card readers, hair gadgets, plus maybe that USB fan you just can't sleep without. If you try to bring an extension cord, it's not allowed. Bring a non-surge cruise compliant power cube. I'll link that in the comments section below. My point is, the surge protectors get confiscated

3:16 faster than smuggled liquor. I'm telling you. Listen, the right cube turns your cabin into a command central. I mean, it's really helpful. And at the end of the night, you have a bunch of places to charge your devices. Number three, drink package math. You're going to use a calculator and not FOMO.

3:35 Packages run anywhere to like 60 to 100 bucks a day on particular cruise ships per person, and most lines require every adult in the cabin to buy one. What does that mean? You'd need six to 10 cocktails daily to break even. Can you do that? Day one, sure. By day four, your liver taps out, you take a

3:56 day off, and so you got to find a way to outsmart the system. Well, the pre-cruise planner sales, prices often drop 20, 40%, so try to buy them later. Cyber Monday's a good deal, Black Friday's a good deal. Many of the lines let you purchase on day two for the remaining days, cheaper overall. A la

4:13 carte plus freebies, bring the allotted wine bottle, attend cocktail demos, sip the welcome aboard fizz, and just buy what you actually drink. The bottom line is if you have to bust out math to justify unlimited mai tais, the math has already been answered. Number four, interior bargain cabins, pick smart,

4:33 sleep sound. An interior cabin can be heaven for your wallet or hell for your eardrums. So, here's the secret formula. Midship, less motion, fewer mechanical noises. It's like a deck sandwich. Guest cabins above and below, no nightclub overhead, no engine room below. Some ships hide oversized interiors created

4:54 by funky architecture, same price, extra square footage. Grab the deck plan, spend three or more minutes, and you'll nap like royalty in a windowless box that doesn't really rumble like a freight train at night. Keep that in mind when you're booking your cabin. If you need help with that, you can always

5:08 reach out to us below by clicking www.hoyle365.com/vacation. Let's jump into number five. Embarkation day. You can skip the buffet line stampede. This one's just goaded. Everyone boards hungry and races straight to the Lido deck buffet. Result? Mad houses, crazy lines. Savvy cruisers pivot to the main dining room

5:28 or a low-key specialty spot serving a chilled-out lunch with real menus and silverware. You'll finish dessert while the buffet crowds are still hunting for forks. Some cruise lines have to-go windows like pizza at Sorrento's with Royal Caribbean or Guy's Burgers on Carnival Cruise Line, or just quick

5:43 little bites to eat like pizza and burger on the MSC World America, where it's unlimited chicken nuggets. Number six, off-peak dining equal hot food zero chaos. Let's dive in. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. is culinary rush hour. Slide earlier, 5:30, or, you know, fashionably late after 8:00. You get

6:04 fresher dishes, window tables are suddenly available. Same thing for breakfast. You'll be able to get that fresh bacon first thing in the morning if that's your jam, around like 7:00 a.m. You also have an opportunity to have breakfast by the pool. No one really be there. We were able to watch

6:19 movies by the pool all day in a prime real estate spot eating fresh bagels. It pays to wake up a little bit early. Number seven is just kind of hidden and included eateries. I say hidden because people just kind of forget about them. It's like a third option for you. If the buffet and dining room aren't really

6:35 your jam or just part of the whole story for you, ships tucked away made-to-order omelet counters down in the back, quiet pasta bars, late-night pizza windows, and secret taco stands by the pool. If you go up and around, especially on Oasis-class ships, you'll find a place called El Loco Fresh, so you get like

6:52 your burrito bowls and stuff like that. But, you can also do free room service, continental breakfast, coffee, pastries, no surcharge. You definitely need to tip someone, but my point is you don't have to wait in lines. And if you wander on day one, you can map out those freebies, you know, kind

7:07 of feast like an insider for the rest of week. So, it pays to just kind of roam the ship or watch some ship tours on YouTube before you go on the cruise. Cover the peephole. You know, people don't realize it, but on certain ships cabin peepholes can be reverse viewed with the right trick lens. So, you want

7:22 to pack a stick-on slider cover for it. Some cruise lines have that little window cover on the peephole, but if you're a person that really prefers privacy, you'll want to pack a stick-on slider cover or even Band-Aid to put over the peephole. It's a 2-second install, total peace of mind. Seasoned

7:38 guests treat it like buckling seatbelt, quick, simple, non-negotiable for them. If that is someone like you, that's the tip. Number nine, if you're looking for the quietest cabins, the brochure will not highlight. So, what marketing focuses on balcony sunsets, not what's above the ceiling. If you're someone

7:56 craving absolute zen, mid-deck cabins sandwiched by other staterooms, aft balconies one deck below the buffet, uh chair drag noise is just really, really real. Far from service elevators and stairwells, those carts roll on it like 2:00 a.m. You'll need to chat the cruise line and ask very bluntly, "Which

8:12 decks are the quietest?" They just don't really lead with it. Number 10, cruise ship photographers like the glam shot on formal night, $30 for a print, $20 for digital. Instead, try to locate the same grand staircase like 5:45 p.m. Put your phone on portrait mode, hand your phone

8:28 to a cruise passenger or friend, family member. Make sure it's on portrait mode, boom, free natural smile, no watermark, you get your photos. If you want pro lighting, many ships let you preview prints before buying, and listen, I don't condone this cuz technically it is stealing.

8:43 People will just take a photo of the photo. I mean, it's $0, same memories, but I'm just saying, I mean, that's what people are doing. Anyways, number 11, let's jump into it. Daily drink special, it's budget booze in disguise, okay? So, that Caribbean Sunset Splash or El Loco Coco

9:01 Loco for a dollar off, it's bottom shelf rum, sugar bomb mixers, barely a shot inside. Just kind of give you a heads-up on that. If you're on a drink package, specials are irrelevant. So, order a real mojito or espresso martini. If you're paying all a cart, stick to the classics with known liquor, better

9:17 taste, better value, fewer mystery headaches, if that makes sense. You'll thank me later. Number 12 is armor your luggage tag and try to avoid the naked bag. Grab that $8 reusable plastic tag sleeves that you see on Amazon. I'll link them in the description box below, but it's plastic, you can slide the

9:32 paper inside, snap it to your bag, and you're good to go. Beats two days of wearing airplane clothes while your suitcase is just vacationing around the world finding it because your tag fell off the bag. Number 13, you can disembark last or just really really early in the morning. Unless you've got a crack of

9:49 dawn flight, enjoy a final leisurely breakfast, wait out the luggage tug-of-war, and by 9:30 a.m. elevators are pretty much empty, customs hall are ghost town, bags are lined up like loyal puppies. The crew prefers staggered departures. You get zen vibes. Everyone wins. I think the best company that's

10:05 created disembarkation is probably Virgin Voyages. Like you don't have to leave the ship till like 11:00, which is fantastic. If you're interested in Virgin Voyages, you can always look click that link in the description box below. But, you can take your time. But, I personally like to wake up super early

10:17 and jet cuz I want to get on the road and get back to editing some videos for you guys. Your cabin equals a hotel room, not a panic room. Security can enter anytime for any safety checks, strong odors, or mystery noises even with the DND magnet up. So, that's do not disturb, okay? So, don't stash

10:36 contraband, electric kettles, or practice drum solos at midnight. They will just come in, all right? You need to treat the room like a hotel. Courteous volume, nothing illegal, zero worries when a knock comes. Listen, all I'm saying is some people have tried to do some crazy stuff in the

10:50 room and the security has come in. So, this one time my uncle, he's a hunter, and you know, he goes hunting. One of the bullet shell casings fell into his boot. He packed his boots, went on the cruise, and yeah, they found it and they're like, "Hey, there's a bullet shell casing somewhere on a boot in the

11:05 cabin." They found it. They went into his room and searched through all his stuff. At the end of the day, he was fine. My point is, it's a very funny story and I just don't want it to happen to you. Number 15 is RFID tracking. It is very creepy. That wristband or key card, your mobile phone, like every time

11:22 you order a latte, you open your door, you step off the gangway, stuff like that, they know where you're at. The cruise line, their main motive is this marketing. So, for example, they'll push you a spa deal anytime you start walking a little bit closer the sauna, but my point is sometimes it's crowd control,

11:35 flow management in the theaters and tenders. Every so often you'll get spending nudges. For example, the data says you love margaritas at 3:00 p.m. and then a margarita promo magically appears in the app at 2:45 and you're like, "Oh, snap! A margarita deal." My point is it'll also be helpful to locate

11:51 your family. Many of those cruise apps show group members' whereabouts. No more where are my kids or where is grandpa? You can just check your app and see exactly where they're located. Cruise lines will also be like, "Where's so-and-so because we're about to take off and they'll make an announcement

12:04 with guest services to find your activity log to see where you were last at." They'll also use your bill and your spending purchases to have an idea of what you've done as an alibi in case something goes down. Now, don't leave the pier yet. Tap the video on the screen right here. It's about the top 10

12:17 cruises for introverts. So, if you have any introverts in your family, this is the video to show them.