5 Ways to Make Money While Cruising

We talk about saving money cruising all the time; we have dozens of articles on the subject. But did you know you can also make money cruising? True story.

1. Sell Your Pictures

Foap is an app available in both the Apple and Google Play store that allow you to take a photo, upload them to their server and allows people to purchase the photo – making you $5 per photo. Travel magazines, websites and cruisers are constantly looking for great cruise photos.

2. Cruise With Groups 

We’ve talked about this before but cruising with groups is a great way to earn money on commissions. Talk with a travel agent in your area and ask them what they can offer for you bringing in groups for them. When I say groups I mean large bookings like school, church, reunions, and so on.

The agency may offer to split the commission with you (usually between 10-15% of the cruise fare). Here’s a great article from Budgets Are Sexy to explain it further.

It doesn’t have to be a group, it could be just one cabin. Go explore!

3. Or Be a Travel Agent

If someone tells you travel agents are dead and a thing of the past – know that they are wrong. Yes, the internet has made it easier for the average cruiser to book their vacation but travel agents have also evolved with time.

When you think of a travel agent you may think of someone inside a building by your local supermarket, but a majority of travel agents are now at-home agents. Meaning, they work out of the comfort of their own home.

Travel agents have access to special rates and ship and hotel familiarization trips. Companies like Travel Quest offer programs to people interested in exploring a part or full-time career in the travel field with little start up. If you love travel, you should seriously check this out.

4. Take Video

Take video the next time you’re walking around your ship or cruise port. YouTube is a huge player in the cruise research department. There are people making six figures a year with YouTube videos done right from their Android or iPhone. You aren’t going to get rich putting up a couple of videos on YouTube but the average pay is $5 per 1000 videos views with Google Adsense. Over time it could generate spending money.

5. Write About It

If you have some tips to give people on their first cruise  – whether it be on booking your cruise, the onboard experience or in port – pitch your article to a cruise outlet. There are a lot out there, like cruise websites, travel magazines, newspapers and other digital outlets that are looking for content.

Final Thoughts

None of these items will make you rich, so don’t think about quitting your day job. But, you’re going to cruise anyway – why not make it pay for itself?

Feature image: Flickr