The best cruise booking perks — and which ones are actually free
These days, if you book a cruise and don't get drinks, tips or other perks thrown in for free, you're leaving money on the table.
In order to incentivize travelers to book a cruise in advance and to choose them over a competitor, many cruise lines run promotions that allow you to pick a perk — or sometimes get a whole host of included freebies. Especially during "wave season," the booking-heavy period between January and March, you want to maximize the free stuff you get when you reserve a cabin.
Norwegian Cruise Line's long-running "Free at Sea" promotion, MSC Cruises' "Drinks & Wi-Fi Included" and Royal Caribbean's "Kids Sail Free" deals are among the perks-promising promotions you're likely to see. Before you choose your favorite freebie or happily take them all, you will want to read the fine print and make sure your "free" bonus is actually worth what you'll be paying for it.
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You read that right — some supposedly free cruise booking perks come with associated fees. Other times, what you get for free isn't exactly what you were led to expect by the promotional copy on a cruise line's homepage. By accepting the offer, you might actually be out more money than you intended.
Don't have time — or strong enough reading glasses — to search through all that fine print? Below, we list the most common "free" cruise booking perks you'll encounter and alert you to what you are actually getting and paying when you take that bonus offer.
Open-bar packages
Open bar on a cruise ship is not like your college friend's debauched wedding. You don't get all the drinks for free; instead, you're gifted a beverage package. For heavy drinkers, that's still a huge perk, but be aware of what you're actually getting.
For example, Norwegian Cruise Line offers an Unlimited Open Bar Package as a free cruise booking perk (with a soda package subbed in for the second guest on the reservation if they are under 21). The package only covers select spirits, cocktails, wines by the glass, beer, soda and juice valued at up to $15 per drink. Exclusions include Starbucks drinks, room service, bottled water, minibar drinks, energy drinks and "super premium brands."
And here's the kicker: Passengers who say yes to Norwegian's "free" bar package are required to pay gratuities of 20% of the package's retail value, which comes to $21.80 per person, per day. For a weeklong cruise, your "free" beverage package will cost $152.60 per person. For most vacationers, that's far less than their normal bar bill and still a good deal. For occasional drinkers, however, it may be more than you want to spend on alcohol.
Related: Are cruise line drinks packages worth the price? What to know before you buy
Free cruise Wi-Fi
Free onboard internet access is another cruiser favorite because cruise Wi-Fi can be amazingly expensive. Lines such as Norwegian and MSC Cruises have been known to lure cruisers from time to time with the option of free Wi-Fi. You can stay in touch with family, flaunt your vacation photos on social media and even check your stocks without worrying about paying sky-high satellite connectivity rates.
The good news is that free Wi-Fi is actually free. The less stellar news is that access may be limited. MSC Cruises offers free Wi-Fi on one device per passenger (on up to two devices per cabin); Norwegian limits its bonus to one device at a time for the first two passengers in a cabin.
Norwegian only gives a limited number of free minutes (150 minutes per person on weeklong cruises, for example), and streaming is blocked. MSC also blocks streaming and won't let you switch your plan from one device to another even if you will only be online on one at a time.
And if a mountain is blocking your ship's line of sight with the satellite, no one is getting any Wi-Fi — no matter what they paid.
Related: How can I get Wi-Fi on a cruise for free?
Onboard credit
Onboard credit is essentially a cruise ship gift certificate that you can spend in multiple ways on board: visiting the spa, booking tours, buying drinks, shopping for souvenirs, and so on. It's truly free — no taxes or tips involved. You can hit the shops worry-free.
That doesn't mean there aren't caveats you should consider. MSC Cruises is currently offering up to $200 in onboard credit, which is a generous offer. However, the fine print indicates that only passengers booked in suites or the pricey Yacht Club on 10-night or longer sailings get the full amount. A balcony cabin on a weeklong cruise only receives $50 onboard credit per cabin — which won't buy you much at the spa or the shore excursion desk.
If you fail to spend the credit, you will not get it back in cash. And let's be honest: You are unlikely to spend exactly $50. More likely, you'll be tempted into buying something more expensive on board and using the credit as a discount. (Such as the time I used a $50 credit to book a $129 spa treatment that I wasn't planning to treat myself to ... until I got the credit. This means that the cruise line's $50 offer convinced me to spend $79 I didn't intend to give it.)
Related: 7 extra-charge items on cruise ships that are worth the cost (and 7 that aren't)
Free specialty dining
You can spend a ton of dough checking out all the cool specialty restaurants on modern cruise ships, so it's a great booking bonus when cruise lines offer a couple of meals on the house. Choose the priciest restaurant you can to get the most value from this perk.
Norwegian cruisers should be aware that, as with its "free" beverage packages, Norwegian charges passengers a 20% gratuity on their complimentary dining perk. A weeklong cruise comes with one or two free meals (based on cabin category and only applicable to the first two passengers in a cabin) and a charge of $11.80 to $19.80 per person in tips for wait staff.
Also, note that additional main courses and select premium dishes will incur an additional fee. This isn't an all-you-can-eat-free deal.
Related: The best meals you can have at sea
Free shore excursions
If you don't sail a high-end line, such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises or Viking, you will pay for all your tours in port — unless you select a booking promotion that includes free tours. Many tours can top $100 per adult, so a freebie sounds like an amazing money-saver.
On a line such as Oceania Cruises, that's definitely true. Its "simply MORE" fares currently offer up to $1,600 per cabin to spend on shore excursions however you want. You can certainly find value in that offer.
However, Norwegian Cruise Line only offers the first person on a reservation $50 in shore excursion credit per port. And that person cannot use the credit to book tours for another person or purchase equipment rentals on private islands. As you won't find many tours priced under $50, you'll likely be paying extra to take advantage of this offer.
Related: Avoid these 10 mistakes when booking cruise shore excursions
Free kids or 3rd and 4th passenger fares
Cruise fares are priced based on double occupancy (assuming two passengers in a cabin), so third and fourth passengers sharing the room and sleeping in bunk beds or pullout sofas are bonus revenue for cruise lines. Therefore, the third and fourth passenger fares are typically lower than the first two passengers and are often thrown in for free as a booking bonus. (From the cruise line's point of view, it's worth it to comp that extra person, who will then spend money on food, drinks and tours on board.)
When cruise lines offer "kids sail free" promotions, they're not offering a free adjoining cabin to house your sullen teenagers with their own bathroom. No, these promos only apply to kids sailing as third and fourth passengers in your room. It's still a fabulous deal if you were planning on sharing accommodations anyway.
Do note that whether you're cruising with kids, Grandma or your best friends as the third and fourth passengers in your room, you will likely still have to pay taxes and port fees for their "free" cruise.
Related: 5 best cruise lines for families
Prepaid gratuities
Many cruisers don't realize that cruise lines put automatic gratuity charges on their final bill, which can add $100-plus to each passenger's cruise fare. You could request to have the charges removed, but as they're factored into crew paychecks, I strongly urge you not to do that. However, it's definitely a bonus when cruise lines offer free prepaid gratuities and take care of tips, so you save money.
Currently, we could not find a cruise line offering a free gratuities promotion. However, should you see one around Black Friday or wave season, know that this perk is a true freebie to you. It's a win-win if the crew gets paid, but it's not out of your pocket.
Related: 9 times you do not need to tip on a cruise
Free cabin upgrade
Everyone dreams of paying for an inside cabin and getting bumped to a suite, gratis. Keep dreaming, folks. I've yet to see a free upgrade promotion that is so generous. However, you can get an arguably better room without paying extra when cruise lines run free-upgrade promotions.
In general, cruise cabin upgrades fall into two types: upgrades within cabin types (from a cheaper balcony cabin to a more expensive one) or from one cabin type to the next (from an ocean-view cabin to a balcony). Occasionally, you will see this presented as "book a balcony cabin for the price of an ocean view."
Azamara's current "Double Stateroom Upgrade" sale offers a veranda cabin for the price of an inside or a veranda-plus cabin for the price of an ocean view, but such a generous promotion is the exception, not the norm.
You'll definitely need to dig into the terms and conditions to figure out what exactly a given upgrade offer will get you. If you are upgrading within a cabin class, you're essentially getting a more desirable location as decided by the cruise line (usually on a higher floor and more centrally located).
Sometimes you can pick the location of the upgraded room; other times, you book the lower-priced cabin, and the cruise line moves you where it sees fit. If you are picky about location, don't accept a free upgrade that doesn't allow you to pick your cabin number.
Also, know that upgrades are not guaranteed. If the higher-category rooms have sold out, you will forfeit that aspect of your perk package.
Related: How to get a free or cheap cruise ship cabin upgrade
Bottom line
Even if certain free cruise booking bonuses are actually just discounts, they can still represent significant savings on your final vacation price.
It's wise to time your cruise booking to coincide with a generous promotion. Just watch out for supposed freebies that result in your paying more than you would have without the perk. If the bonus offer isn't worth it to you, cruise lines will generally let you opt out of unwanted perks.
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