Hello! First time cruiser and first time poster. Please be kind to me! LOL
My wife surprised me with an upcoming cruise which she planned along with her daughter, SIL and two grandchildren. We are a retired couple and 'the kids' do quite well for themselves. Not being familiar with cruising, she left all the planning up to them. We are booked on The Joy 5-night Bermuda. We will occupy a Haven Courtyard Penthouse w/Large Balcony. After all was said and done, I realized that the kids spared no expense in selecting our cabin category. Our final total was just shy of $8000 - ($800 of that amount was insurance). I can only imagine what kind of cabin they selected for the four of them!
I'm a bit upset with the unexpected expense and see that this trip could've been around $3200 had we selected a basic balcony cabin. I'm a simple guy - give me a lounge chair in a quiet spot and I'm fine. The thought of butlers doting and exclusive areas, quite frankly, makes me uncomfortable. Wifey isn't too happy with me because she realizes that if we booked a cheaper room we couldn't fraternize with the rest of the family in The Haven. So it looks like I've lost this battle. Lesson learned: do your own homework and don't leave it up to others to help you spend your money. Also, the stingy amount of allowed internet - 75 minutes! - seems out of line with the price paid. Now, on top of everything else, I have to dip deeper for internet. And yes, for a variety of reasons, I need to touch base with the folks at home.
I guess my question is..is The Haven a worthwhile expenditure? Will I be like a fish-out-of-water with the upper echelon? Will I cringe as my party is lead past the passengers in steerage who are patiently waiting in line? I realize the ‘worth’ of something is subjective, but I’m looking for some feedback.