Cruising just got a whole lot better, with onboard perks and bonus offers ready and waiting.
Each holiday begins with a desire to travel, to relax, to see new destinations… to have fun and some quality time with the ones we love! On a cruise all of these are easily covered, as are your comfy cabin accommodation, glorious food, a range of onboard amenities and entertainment galore. Plus, you have the chance to wake up to a different destination while you are cruising under warm sunny skies. The allure of cruising is hard to deny, and yet we always want more!
You choose your ship, you choose your cabin, now take a few moments to choose an onboard perk. Often you will need to pay for a drinks package, or a speciality restaurant. What if they were included as a bonus? Would a bonus perk make your holiday at sea even better? If available, it’ll be that icing on the cake, a sweetener to make your cruising holiday more than interesting.
Either way, you’ll be in front – so don’t forget to ask your Vacation Rewards® Travel Specialists if there are any bonus deals available when you are next booking a cruise! There may be, there may not be, it doesn’t hurt to ask right?
Let’s have a look at the some of the more popular promotions that are offered from time to time…
Cruise Perk #1: Onboard Credit
It’s like free money, just for booking a cruise! This very popular bonus perk is the most versatile because it means you’ve got bonus onboard credit to spend on almost anything you’d like – drinks, spa and massage, shore excursions and more.
It depends on the offer at the time (and they change regularly), however, generally speaking, the higher the cabin category, and the longer the cruise – the more value you are likely to receive. So, if you are in a Balcony cabin you are likely to receive a higher bonus than if you are in an Inside cabin. Likewise, if you are on a 3-day Getaway cruise the perks might be a little leaner than, say, a 158 nights on a World cruise.
Cruise Perk #2: Free Specialty Dining
Free food? Sign us up! While most of the regular dining you’ll do onboard is already included in the fare, many cruiselines offer specialty dining venues to refresh one’s palate. These more exclusive restaurants offer a change of pace from the good old buffet, café’s and main dining room. And they are more than likely to be a “signature restaurant” of a Michelin-starred or well-known chef – which means you get to “jump the queue” and dine out in style.
Discover Curtis Stone’s SHARE onboard Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Cornelius Gallagher’s Magic Carpet, Seabourn and Thomas Keller’s cuisine, P&O UK with Marco Pierre White’s gala menus or P&O Australia and Luke Mangan’s Salt Grill and more. Choosing a dining perk will expand your gastronomic experiences while you cruise.
Cruise Perk #3: Drinks Package
After eating a savoury dish, you’ll want a little “something-something” to sweeten the deal. Thus, the beverage or drinks package is one of the most popular perks found onboard. You have a few styles, although basically it comes down to alcoholic or non-alcoholic. A soft-drink (non-alcoholic) package is ideal for the kids and teetotallers – with mocktails, juices, speciality tea and coffees or soft drink. The alcoholic drink package will usually cover you for a selection of beers, wines, cocktails, and a range of spirits – although cruiseline packages vary, and some limits can apply, so it’s best to check out the fineprint on this one. We say, if the offer is there – take it!
Cruise Perk #4: Internet Bonus
Are you looking to be connected all time? Need to get some work done (even though you are meant to be on a holiday)? Want to share your fun in “real-time” with family and friends back home? Then an Internet Bonus is the perk for you.
WiFi Bonus’ will vary from ship to ship and could be unlimited access through to a select number of usage-based hours. Can you stream movies? Probably not… but are you really going to do that when you are on a ship of fun? Either way, if you’re offered this kind of perk, and you need to stay connected – grab it with both hands!
Cruise Perk #5: Shore Excursions Credit
This is similar to onboard credit mentioned above, however it has been designated as “Shore Excursion Credit”. Each amount given would likely be based around the type of cabin you book, and the length of cruise, as well as the offer in the marketplace, and should be available for you to book your shore excursions once onboard. Some cruiselines already offer included shore excursions in their fare – especially if you are on a river cruise! Otherwise you will need to wait for a sale promotion to come along for you to receive this bonus perk when booking.
Cruise Perk #6: Adventure Onboard
There are so many activities onboard ship, from mini-golf and trivia through to surfing and waterslides. So much so that recently a new bonus perk has been showing up in promotions recently – the Adventure Park Bonus. This is often for the kids and thrillseekers among us, who might want to fly through the air on a flying fox, walk a plank above the waves, sky dive and more. It is definitely only available on selected ships, but is a bonus for parents of teenage kids who can be bundles of energy. Keep your eyes peeled for this one.
One more thing before we go – we need to make it very clear – bonus perks are not offered all of the time, and are likely not to be available on all cruiselines. However, when they are on offer, it might just give you that little extra incentive to book your next cruise holiday!
Make sure you are in the know when you ask your Vacation Rewards® Travel Specialists to help select the right cruise for you. Search online now, or call Vacation Rewards