The 10th Anniversary Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage 2009 sails from Los Angeles with two stops in Mexico, the first time the cruise has departed from the West Coast. Here’s how to go and come back with money still in your pocket.

Editor’s note: Florida Courier publisher Charles W. Cherry II and wife Lisa cruised on the 2008 Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage for the third time in four years. This is the last story of a series of weekly articles describing each day of the cruise.

BY LISA ROGERS-CHERRY
FLORIDA COURIER

Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyages aren’t cheap. The cost ranges from about $3,000 per person for an inside dormitory- type cabin for four, to more than $10,000 per person for a maxed-out oceanview suite with balcony. (All port taxes, fuel surcharges, tips and gratuities are included.)

Approximately one-third of what you pay is a tax-deductible donation to the Tom Joyner Foundation, which financially supports historically Black colleges and universities. Each cruise raises $1 million or more for HBCUs.

Making preparations
• Apply and get a passport if you don’t already have one. That process may take months.

• Start saving your money now in a “fun account.” Try to go with a group of at least three others so you can help each other commit to saving for the trip.

• Repeat cruisers should sign up for Royal Caribbean’s free Crown and Anchor Society to get discount coupons and other perks.

• When bookings open on the BlackAmericaWeb.com site, book a cabin you can afford, not the fanciest cabin. You won’t spend much time in your room anyway.

• Cabins are small. If you have a fear of closed-in spaces, book an outside room with a window or balcony.

• Check with the Joyner people the month before the cruise to see if there have been any cancellations. If you are cruising alone or your friends cancel, the Joyner staff can set you up with roommate(s) for the cruise. (Be advised you’ll be living in close quarters for a week with someone you don’t know.)

• Listen to the “Tom Joyner Morning Show’’ and try to win a free cabin. We met some people who won and cruised for free.

Getting to the cruise
• Make a list in advance of everything you might need. Items purchased on the ship or at the various stops can be quite expensive.

• Get enough cash prior to leaving home to avoid the ship’s ATM fees.

• If you are flying in to board the ship, plan to be there at least one night prior to cruising. That allows for lost luggage to arrive or for you to shop locally in case your luggage never makes it. Have your passport and documents. Tom and crew won’t wait for you if your plane is late or if you left your paperwork.

• If you live near the port, get someone to drop you off. It can cost hundreds of dollars to park your car at the port for a week. If you don’t live near the port, the cruise line usually has a free shuttle to the port, but arrangements must be made in advance. Also check for a hotel shuttle or shuttle services to and from the airport.

• Bring along bottled water. Royal Caribbean allowed it if the bottle was unopened.

On the ship
• Tips are already added to your bar bill. Don’t tip a second time unless the service is outstanding. My husband recommends finding a great bartender, tipping him extra from Day 1, then staying with that bartender throughout the cruise. Experienced cruisers also recommend tipping your cabin attendant in cash on Day 1 to ensure top-level service.

• Determine if you normally drink enough soft drinks to purchase the $25-$45 unlimited soft drink deal. I saw people guzzling down sodas trying to get their money’s worth.

• There are selective shipboard restaurants that charge $20 o

r more per meal. I’ve heard that the food in those restaurants is not much better than the “regular’’ food in the dining areas.

• Use your shipboard account card carefully. It is so easy to get it swiped. But remember, each swipe represents dollars you are spending. A drink here, a T-shirt there, a round of drinks for your dinner tablemates, and before you know it, you have swiped up a $200 tab in one day and all you have to show for it is drink receipts and a T-shirt. Think twice about buying the “drink-of-the-day” in the souvenir glass. How many souvenir glasses do you need?

• Shipboard Internet access is expensive, about 55 cents per minute. That’s $33 per hour! (You can buy blocks of minutes in advance for less.) Save money by going to Internet cafés onshore. If you must use shipboard access, log on, check your e-mail, log off, and type your responses in Word. Log back on and cut and paste your responses in the e-mail, then send. Don’t waste money composing e-mail while online.

• If you need to stay in contact with home, try sending text messages, which are often much cheaper than international long distance calls.

• Don’t touch the mini-bar in your room! Snack items will cost you three or four times as much as they would at your local discount store back home. That liter of bottled water conveniently placed in your cabin will cost you $5 to $7. For water in your cabin, have your cabin attendant keep your ice bucket full and drink melted ice water (it’s filtered). Also, bring a sports bottle, but fill it from the dining room. Not all water aboard a cruise ship is potable.

• Use your in-room safe for your wallet, cash, valuables, and passport. Unfortunately, some crewmembers steal.

• The art auction serves free champagne. Several people had a few too many glasses of bubbly and got carried away with the bidding. Be careful.

• Take advantage of free activities while on board. For some, you must sign up in advance; for most, just show up and participate.

• If you like to hit the casino, set a budget. Once that’s gone, that’s it! Otherwise you may spend every dime that you have saved and leave it in the casino.

• If you must purchase the cruise line gear, wait until Day 6 or 7. Usually it will go on sale.

• Don’t buy all of the pictures that the paparazzi-style ship photographers will take. Instead, take your own digital pictures or have other guests take pictures of you. Otherwise you will pay $15 to $30 per photo. I budget for one cruise picture.

• Double-check the accuracy of your bill. Keep track of your receipts. Check your purchases on shipboard TV. Dispute any discrepancies immediately.

• Before leaving the ship when it stops at the port, synchronize your watch with the ship’s time rather than local time. The ship will leave without you if you don’t get back on board in time. Take your shipboard ID and a copy of your passport (leave your actual passport on the ship).

• Don’t pay for the expensive offshore excursions or tours you can do yourself. Hire a taxi, which you can control.

• Don’t buy too many souvenirs. Ask yourself where this item will be two months after the cruise.

• Feel free to haggle with the locals while shopping at the various ports of call. A deal isn’t a good deal if you paid too much for it.

• You can purchase namebrand duty-free liquor at huge discounts onshore or on the ship. Don’t expect to drink it onboard; the crew locks it up until the conclusion of the cruise.

• On Day 6 or 7, pay cash or with a debit card for your expenses so that everything is taken care of when you leave the ship. If you pay with a credit card, you will still be paying for your vacation for months to come.

• Sign up for your next Joyner cruise prior to getting off the ship. That’s when you can get the best cruise deal.

We hope to see you on FV 2009!

Lisa Rogers-Cherry is a motivational speaker and the author of “Lifting the Burdens of Debt: A Helpful Guide to Getting Your Debts Paid and Your Life Back on Track’’ (2005; $14.95). For more information, go to www.redpenpress.com, e-mail her at Lisa@redpenpress.com, or write her at P.O. Box 1196, Dania Beach, FL 33004.