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Cruise fares look like a bargain until the add-ons start piling up, and those add-ons keep getting pricier. Carnival raised its Wi-Fi prices by as much as 9% for 2026 without warning, then bumped daily gratuities to $17 per person for standard staterooms and $19 for suites in April.
The sneakiest charges are the premium versions of things your fare already covers, like dinner or a beach chair. If you want to save money on travel, these are the first extras to question. Here are seven upgrades you can usually skip.
Top-tier Wi-Fi plans
Cruise lines sell internet in tiers, and the priciest one is rarely the one you need. On Norwegian, the Voyage Wi-Fi Pass runs $29.99 per stateroom, per day, for one device at a time and covers web browsing and messaging. The Streaming Voyage Wi-Fi Pass costs $39.99 and adds video streaming and VPN access.
Over a week, that's an extra $70 per device, mostly so you can watch Netflix at sea. Carnival's gap is smaller, with the Value plan at $23.80 a day and Premium at $25.50 when you buy before sailing. Even so, you're paying for faster speeds and streaming you may never use. Unless you're working remotely, the cheaper plan does the job.
Priority boarding passes
Carnival's Faster to the Fun pass puts your cabin in the priority line on embarkation day, with early carry-on luggage drop-off and expedited checked-luggage delivery. It's priced per cabin, starting at $79.95 for two- to three-day cruises and climbing to $209.95 for sailings of nine days or longer, based on 2025 rates.
You can get a similar experience for free, though. Pick a later check-in appointment; the lines are usually short, and your room should be ready when you board. Some perks may not even apply, like priority water shuttle boarding when no port on your itinerary requires one. Platinum and Diamond loyalty members already receive these benefits, while suite guests receive most of them.
VIP bundles like The Key
Royal Caribbean's The Key bundles early boarding, a welcome lunch, reserved show seating, and one-device internet into a single daily fee. On one seven-night Icon of the Seas sailing, it cost $54.99 per person, per day, which works out to $384.93 each. Everyone age 6 or older in the cabin has to buy it, so a couple would pay nearly $770.
The internet alone would have cost $24.99 a day when purchased before the cruise. That leaves about $30 a day, or $210 per person for the week, for the remaining perks. The same $384.93 could cover multiple specialty dinners instead, which beats a faster walk through the terminal.
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Specialty steakhouse dinners
Your fare already includes dinner in the main dining room every night, and Royal Caribbean rotates through themed menus like French and Italian night. Specialty restaurants ask you to pay again for a meal you've already covered. Dinner at Chops Grille, the line's steakhouse, was $69.99 per adult on Icon of the Seas, so a couple spends about $140 on one meal.
If it's really the steak you're after, there's a cheaper route. Royal Caribbean's main dining room menus have listed a Chops Grille filet mignon as a premium selection for $19.99. You get the upgraded cut without the cover charge, and your included appetizers and dessert come with it.
Adults-only beach passes
Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, costs nothing to enter, and beach chairs and umbrellas are complimentary across the island. Hideaway Beach, the adults-only section, is a different story. You need a day pass to get in, and pricing shifts with the season.
During a July 2026 sale, passes dipped as low as $43.99 per person. An earlier Icon of the Seas sailing listed them at $52.99. That's roughly $90 to $105 for a couple to sit on a different stretch of the same island. If quiet is the goal, the free Chill Island area is considered the calmest spot for a regular beach day.
Private island cabanas
Cabanas are the premium version of a lounge chair, and the markup is steep. In that same July 2026 sale, a South Beach cabana at CocoCay was listed at $820.99, down from $1,369 onboard. The Hideaway Beach cabana was $1,108.99 on sale and $1,849 at full price. Even a full-day beach bed ran $280.99.
Meanwhile, standard loungers and umbrellas elsewhere on the island are free. The math only starts to work for big groups. The Hideaway cabana includes eight day passes, so it comes to roughly $139 a head when you fill it. For two people, you're paying more than $550 each for a nicer place to sit.
Last-minute cabin upgrade bids
Programs like Royal Caribbean's RoyalUp let you bid on a higher-tier cabin before you sail, and the minimums can look tempting. Read the fine print first. Bids are per person and charged for two guests, so a $500 offer actually costs $1,000. You're also bidding on a category instead of a specific room, so you don't get to choose where on the ship you land.
One cruiser's minimum bid to move from a Grand Suite to an Icon Loft Suite was $1,625 per person. Before you bid, check what a guaranteed upgrade costs through the cruise line. Sometimes the regular price isn't unreasonable, and you'll know exactly which cabin you're getting.
Bottom line
Most of these upgrades sell you a slightly nicer version of something you've already paid for. Skipping them won't shrink your vacation, and trimming extras like these is one of the easy ways to travel more without spending more.
If you do decide to splurge, buy before you board and keep watching the price. Carnival's Premium Wi-Fi costs $25.50 a day in advance but costs more when purchased onboard. Royal Caribbean also lets you cancel eligible pre-cruise purchases and rebook them if the price drops before you sail.
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