Cruises are deceiving.  You pay a big price, but it's anything but all inclusive. We love them and we have done quite a few, but you need to be ready to know what you are getting in to or they will nickel and dime you right out of your budget.

1.  Drink what's Free – They do offer pop/soda cards, but they are expensive and the only way to get your moneys worth is to drink a lot and then it just becomes unhealthy.

2.  Don't eat a the restaurants that charge – There are more than enough "free of charge" restaurants to choose from why would you even consider paying for a meal?  If you do want to pay for a meal do it while in port and try some of the local flavor instead.  That's why you are on vacation right??

This was a bean dip fondue in Honduras

3.  Choose the Free activities – There are plenty of things to do on the boat.  Plenty of shows to see and game shows to watch, don't pay for your entertainment.  Walk past the casino, you can do that anywhere.

4.  Don't feel like you need to have an excursion at every port – Big, big money maker here.  We met up with a couple a few years back and they had booked something at all but one port.  By the time they were at the last one they were happy they could do their own thing and not have another excursion.  They almost felt like they had missed out on a few ports because they were whisked away to an activity instead of enjoying the culture.

A private island I found online before we went. We walked over to the boat ferry. We did not book it ahead of time.

5.  If you do want to do an excursion try and book it through the company instead of the ship.  You can save up to $10-$20 a person just booking it yourself.

6.  Grab your drinks while in port – Ships charge lots of money for alcoholic drinks and they charge a 15% (although it could be higher now) tip right on there, and give you an additional tip line.  Really??  We like to stop at a local place and try one of the local beers or drinks.  Tons cheaper and you get to do something more authentic.

Drinking a local beer in Roatan

7.  If you want drinks on the ship try and bring some of your own.  It's risky, sometimes they go through and sometimes they don't.  But if you can get your own on the boat it will save you tons.

8.  Once off the ship, walk a little ways – If you get a block or 2 away from port the taxis start to get significantly cheaper.  Acapulco was a huge price difference.  We went to see the cliff divers. We paid  $2 and the couple next to us grabbed a taxi right at port and paid $17.

9.  Buy local – You are cruising so you can see different cities in different countries or areas.  Don't buy the silver on the boat, instead walk the city streets and pick up something from the locals.  It will be a fraction of the price.

Some of the Many Shops in Cozumel

10.  Don't tell your kids the card is attached to an account – They make it so easy to spend money on a cruise.  Your room key will also get you drinks.  As a matter of fact our last cruise didn't accept cash or credit cards, room keys only.  Either don't tell your kids or make sure they know they are responsible for anything charged.

There are so many more ways to save, but this is just some of the basics.  For us it becomes a game. You want my money and I try and see how little I give you.  We don't have regrets about things we haven't purchased, instead we love the new things we tried and the adventures we have found, at a fraction of the price.

We booked our first cruise through www.costco.com and our second cruise through www.alaskaair.com .  We have just started the process of looking.  We know that we want to go to Belize and we know we need to get moving before airfare gets out of control. 

We have been doing our homework on www.cruisecritic.com .  This is a great place where people rate the cruises, and give opinions and tips. So we are looking at different cruise lines, ports and comments.   It's all part of the process.  The one other thing that we know is that we like freestyle cruising, which is offered my www.ncl.com and by Princess cruise lines.

We will keep you posted on this vacation booking process.  My mother in law is helping out.  If you want to meet someone more frugal than me, then just wait and watch what happens.