6 Things You Can Get Free On A Cruise - If You Ask !

You're about to discover

things

you can get for

free

on a

cruise

if you just ask for them. I'm Gary Bembridge and this is another of my tips for travelers. I'm going to tell you

things

you can get for

free

on a

cruise

that brochures and cruise lines don't necessarily tell you about. By simply asking, you can get more out of your cruise investment. First of all, free extra food. On virtually all cruise lines, you can order more than one entrée. Some cruise lines tried to introduce charges for ordering additional main courses, but soon backed down.

You can order more than one entree, so if you want lobster and steak you can order both at no additional cost. The other thing you can do is exit the menu. On some premium cruise lines they allow you to exit the menu; However, if there is nothing on the menu that appeals to you, ask the waiter if you can order something off the menu. Especially if it's something that was on the lunch menu, or perhaps the night before. You often find that they have courses and dishes that they can prepare in a short time. Many cruise lines have some standard items they offer every night, like steak or chicken, but many cruise lines, if you order something off the menu, you may be able to get it.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, it is a great way to get extra food that is not on the menu. Most cruise lines will have some vegetarian or vegan options, but the secret is that if you are interested in that or want different food, talk to the maitre d' or waiter and they will often start catering to you and create specific dishes for you. you to meet your specific needs. If you have any dietary needs, you can often get free additional foods that are different or created especially for you. If you're a big fan of ice cream, many cruise lines have ice cream shops or gelato shops, although most also offer free ice cream.

You will find it at the Lido buffet or on the pool terrace and in the restaurants at lunch and dinner time. If you order ice cream they will give it to you for free at no additional cost. Another great tip is room service. A couple of cruise lines charge for room service, but many of them don't, so if you want iced tea or coffee in the morning, just call room service. Certainly room service is a great way to get extra food and you will often find that they have a slightly different menu to the main restaurant.

Secondly free drinks. Most cruise lines charge for drinks. There are a couple of ways to get free drinks. First of all, the most obvious thing is to attend the cocktail parties such as the welcome party and the farewell party. You will usually find a large selection of drinks offered free of charge. If there are other events on board like you usually find, shops will have special events and art auctions will have special events where they will offer free drinks. It's usually champagne, but not necessarily. Attend those events. You don't have to buy anything and you'll get free drinks.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that tap water is drinkable on cruise ships. Some people say they don't like the taste, but it is 100% safe to drink. Carry a refillable water bottle and maybe some flavored or cordial sachets, and use them to give your tap water a little flavour. The tap water is free and completely drinkable, and by bringing little sachets of flavor you can improve it and probably save a lot of money on buying things like soda or other soft drinks. Another great way to get free drinks is to sign up for a cruise critics meeting.

Many cruise lines host meetups for Cruise Critic members. If you're on Cruise Critic, look up your particular cruise and find out there's a meeting, sign up and go because you'll find free drinks and often small snacks and snacks. Remember that tea, coffee, juices and things like lemonade are usually available 24 hours a day in the buffet restaurants on the Lido. No matter the time of day or night, if you want some tea or coffee, you can get it for free on the terrace of the Lido. My third tip for free things you can get on a cruise if you ask for them is gifts, and there are quite a few options here.

First of all, one of the things you have to do is participate in all the activities. You will discover that many of the activities, whether trivia games, deck games and other events organized by the entertainment team, if you attend them you will have a card and accumulate points, and at the end of the cruise you will be able to exchange those points for gifts and prizes . Many people participate in activities and don't do it, so they miss out on the opportunity to receive free gifts. They are usually branded products. Therefore, if you accumulate points on each cruise you take, you will get many gifts.

Another way to get gifts is to attend shopping talks. This tends to happen more in places like the Caribbean or Alaska, where duty-free shopping is a really big thing. There will be shopping advisors on board and they will have lots of gifts and incentives to get you to the stores. Again, you usually don't have to buy anything, but simply by attending the talks you will get gifts and then by going to some of the shops you can redeem vouchers for gifts. It's definitely worth doing because you'll leave the cruise with all kinds of goodies, like t-shirts, lucky charms, or free samples.

Another thing you can do is if you have forgotten some of your amenities, such as a comb or brush, shaving material or a toothbrush, instead of going directly to the stores, go to the Customer Service counter and ask them if They have an amenities kit. You will often find that, like many hotels, you can get these for free. The other thing you can do is that you will often find in your stateroom or going to Guest Services, stationery, envelopes, writing paper, pens, and postcards. One of my favorite ways to get freebies is to enter some of the raffles, especially on embarkation day, you'll find a couple of places around the ship that have raffles so you can go there.

One of the best to go to is the Spa. They enter you into a drawing, many times they give you a free drink and you just have to be there at a certain time (usually right after drills) at 5 or 6 and they do the drawing and you have to be there to receive the prize. On a couple of cruises I've won packages with free massages and facials. So, it's definitely something to do. You will also find that sometimes stores do this, especially if they are launching a new range, they will do a raffle because they want you to go there to see the new merchandise.

Definitely keep an eye out for the raffles around the ship where they hand out prizes. My fourth tip is easy to do and is to navigate when celebrating a special event like your birthday or a special anniversary. Make sure the cruise line knows it's a special event and let your cabin hostess know. Most cruise lines will make a fuss about a special event. If it's your birthday at dinner they will bring you a cake. If your flight attendant knows it's a special anniversary or her birthday, she'll usually do something too, like bring you a cake, put up some decorations, or bring you a bottle of something sparkling.

So, make sure they know you will be traveling for a special event. Choose cruises when you have a special event because there is a good chance that if the cruise line knows about it, they will make a fuss and give you something for free. The fifth thing they give you for free are medications and the Medical Center. Medications and going to the Medical Center can cost a lot of money, but there are two medications that you can get for free. First of all, motion sickness pills. You will find that the cruise line at the guest service desk will usually give you seasickness medication for free, especially when the sea is rough or they know it is getting rough.

The second is useful if you have an upset stomach and need antidiarrheal. Very important if you think you have any of the symptoms of norovirus, such as if you are vomiting or have diarrhea problems, if you contact the Medical Center they will normally treat you for free. Typically, you will receive a consultation from the doctor or nurse free of charge. If you have these symptoms, they will give you the relevant medication. My sixth tip is one that I have used quite a bit and works for me, and it is about improving your cabin. If you have any problems with your bed, whether it's too hard or too soft or you don't like the pillows, talk to your cabin attendant and see what they can do.

They can often bring in new mattress toppers, give you feather pillows or memory foam pillows, and you will usually find that they can adjust and improve your bed to really suit your needs and there are things they can usually do very easily. So don't suffer if you are not happy with your bed. The second thing you can do is if you have a problem with your cabin, there is a noise problem or something is not working, always make sure your cabin attendant knows and that you have also informed your supervisor. Once they've done that, go and report it to Guest Services.

The sequencing of events is very important. I've had problems on different cruises where I've had a noise problem or something hasn't really worked, I made sure the cabin attendant knew about it and I know they reported it to their supervisor, and then I went to Guest Services telling them I've reported it . The cabin attendant is verifying that you have a problem and when that happens, I am often moved to better cabins, because everyone agrees that there is a problem. So Guest Services knows this and the hotel manager knows that it's not just you who is creating a fuss just for the sake of it, and that your butler agrees that there is a problem and as a result, I have been moved ( when, of course, there is availability) to better cabins.

Therefore, cabin improvements can definitely be achieved by asking and working with your cabin attendant. As you can see, just by asking, there are plenty of things you can get for free to get more out of your cruise fare. I hope you found it useful. I have many more videos with lots of tips and advice on cruising, so why not watch one of those right now?