oskarNZ

6 hours ago, SRF said:

 

I would like to see your figures.  Every comparison with previous costs, that I have seen, has shown that the price for cruising has gone DOWN, when you correct for inflation.

 

What lines have added cabins during a refurb and taken away public space?  I know that one Royal Carib ship, they actually lengthened the ship to add cabins, but did not add additional public space.

I just did a google of “adding cabins during refurb” and the first two posts were about Princess and Carnival.  A poster above mentioned NCL and like the previous poster, I know for a fact they have done it to Celebrity ships and are continuing to Edge-ify the Solstice class by adding suites.  Dig and you shall find.  

Regarding prices, I agree that during the early days of cruising, Cruising was only for the very rich, but in the last 13 years I have only seen them go up and the really impressive specials become fewer and further between.

My first cruise was 7 days for 500pound p/p (we were living in London at the time) and it included return flights which usually would have been close to 150-200 on their own because it was during school holidays.

My second ocean cruise was NZ$150 pp ($US100) for a 4 night cruise, again during school holidays.  Granted that was a mega special during an unconventional sale, but I doubt I’ll see a special like that again.

I did a Disney cruise approx 5 years ago and it was affordable for my family.  Their prices have skyrocketed beyond even being able to comprehend them anymore.  

Regarding my one and only river cruise, China have opened their doors a lot more to the world since then and it’s not as cheap as it once was.

I also remember a time when specialty restaurants were about $20.  Now many are charging $50+   

I know there will be examples to the contrary, but I would still argue that the overall picture is of an increase.  

Just now, Thecat123 said:

 

And its only about 4 hours away 😀

Yes, or head to Aoraki/Mt Cook in the winter.  The Hermitage may not have the glamour of a castle, but the view outward is to die for. 

Pretty much what has been said about Australia also applies to NZ.  I’ve copied below a comment I wrote yesterday for an American traveller.  

Have a wonderful trip.  

COPIED POST:

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

 And sadly, in these days of outside babycare, childcare, after school care they quickly understand that parents put a higher priority on maintaining their lifestyle unabated than being a significant part of their lives.  

Oh dear.

Just when you think the (mis)direction of Cruise Critic posts no longer surprises you. 

4 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

It is not about what happens at age 15.  It is what the parents were doing for the 15 years leading up to age 15.  Real parenting is not easy.  Between ages 10-14, approximately, a royal battle occurs that most parents are not even aware of.  This is when kids choose their parents' values or their peer group's values.  Saw it over and over again, in 15 years of teaching that age range.

I would agree with this.  However, my thinking is focused on how incredibly important it is that we bring up children who respect the bodies and well-being of others.  

What happened to this child is horrific.

The more we blame the girl’s parents or the ship, the more we minimalise the actions of the perpetrators.  

10 hours ago, IslandThyme said:

 

Is there no tipping at all, under any circumstance, or is it just for exceptional service?

I can quite honestly say that I’ve never tipped in NZ and don’t intend to anytime soon.  

I always tip in the States as it’s part of your culture, but it’s not a practice I like or want to see become commonplace in NZ, so I stand firm against it becoming the norm here by not tipping.  

That’s not to say that you won’t come across situations where it seems like it might be expected.  This will mainly be at touristy activities and in touristy towns (eg Queenstown) where they are so used to getting tips from overseas tourists that it’s sadly starting to become expected (for example, you might see a place on the bill where you can add a tip if you want).  While I (and probably the majority of kiwis not in the tourism industry) will hope you don’t tip, the server will probably be hoping you do.  

Here’s the thing, no one can tell you what you should do, as only you can decide whether to support the immediate picture or the bigger one.  However, can I suggest that if the pull to tip is so strong, you’ll be overcome by guilt if you don’t tip, perhaps compromise by just tipping a little bit (eg 5% instead of 20%) or even better, tell the server they were awesome and you’ll be leaving a good review. 

Lastly, because NZ is mostly a cashless society with people paying for everything by card, you will not find many restaurants bringing you the bill in a folder for you to leave cash at the table.  At most restaurants, you walk up to the till at the end of your meal to pay.  I will usually glance briefly at the total to see it’s right and if there’s a bit for tip (again, becoming more common in touristy areas), I conveniently act like I haven’t seen it and hand over my card to pay.  

You will not get a server in NZ pointing out the tip part and reminding you to add to it.  If you do - definitely DO NOT tip them.  

I hope that helps.  

5 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Unnatural use,???? the Kiwis seem to think it is totally natural.

 

Oh shush.  

Head on back to the billibong; your billy is boiling.  

IslandThyme - good on you for caring enough to ask.

You can speak only English in NZ and will not offend anyone, but if you want to use Kia Ora it would also be a nice gesture - especially if you make the effort to say it correctly.  In saying that, you’ll hear it said many ways, including quite poorly by kiwis themselves.  

The last 10 seconds of this video might help.

A few things considered disrespectful are  sitting on tables, desks etc and patting strangers on the head. Try not to dominate conversations by speaking really loudly and read up on a few customs if you are visiting a marae. 

Honestly, the fact that you’d even ask means I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.  Have a great trip.  

The best view is up on top deck with a drink and a view to all directions.  The opera house, the bridge, the boats everywhere, the interesting skyline - Sydney Harbour is probably the best port I’ve cruised out of.  

I did a 14 day with Celebrity in January that went to both (plus Curacao, Bonaire, Grenada, St Lucia and Antigua).  I know Celebrity were phasing out these 14 day itineraries, but they sold well, so with a bit of luck they offer them again.

Either way, I hope you are successful finding the cruise you are after. They are both great ports. 

I have done a Tasmania cruise before (about 4 1/2 years ago) which included Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart and honestly I wouldn’t lose any sleep over what side the ship you’re on. Just pick one that’s well located on the ship and affordable.

I had to go back to photos to try and even remember what side we were on.  It turns out it was Port side and the only time I remember that being particularly memorable was when we got to our cabin and had a nice view of the opera house.  But that was because the ship was nose in.  A quick google image search suggests ships do sometimes back in.

At both Melbourne and Hobart, we enjoyed the approach from up on deck.  The Melbourne city skyline was in the distance and the port wasn’t overly interesting.  Hobart was a reasonably pretty port, but for the life of me, I can’t remember looking at it out the window, which I presume means the better view was from Starboard (someone will correct me if I’m wrong).  Also the day trip to Port Arthur and a wildlife sanctuary that we did was quite long, so we didn’t have a lot of time to sit and admire the view anyway.

I hope that helps.  

2 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

At one time taking a cruise was only for the very wealthy. Eventually it arrived as the lowest cost vacation vs theme parks or other vacation get aways. By far the best bang for the buck. The simplicity and going to different ports to explore. Just imagine if you flew to each one. Everything you experience for that dollar spend is wonderful. Picking the correct ship for whatever you want to do with or with our children. The choices are almost endless. What more could anyone want? 

Regarding theme parks, anyone who is or was a Disney fan (Disney World in particular) will know just how much their pricing has changed over the years.  Basically if you want the lower crowds, longer park hours, or special holiday events of years ago, Disney has found a way that you can pay for them.  Meanwhile, tickets and food prices continue to rise, spaces are more and more crowded, and regular park hours are shorter.  Just how bad it is a debate for another website, but I mention it as I can see the comparisons to what’s being discussed here.

My family once loved Disney, but our trip last December was our tipping point. As much as we still had fun, it felt like Mickey wasn’t waving at us anymore, he was putting his hand out asking for money.  

We decided it would be our last trip there and that’s okay.  Disney will continue to make money and we’ll continue to have great vacations - they’ll just be elsewhere.  If the day comes that I have to say the same about cruising - so be it - I just hope it’s many years away.  

Interesting discussion.  I think/hope it’s some years before the cruise industry changes completely, but yes, I agree the changes will continue to drip in there where and when they can.   

While lines do want to keep their base fares low, I would argue the base prices have still increased noticeably since when I first cruised about 13 years ago.  As have the cost of specialty restaurants, drink packages, and perhaps most importantly - as have the number of passengers to each square metre of space.  If an older ship is still deemed spacious, it often gets cabins added to it during a refurb.  

Cruising is a big industry and they wouldn’t continue to build these ships if they were going broke.  But their marketing people will also be aware that most passengers have a tipping point and that careful planning around how to source extra revenue is needed if they’re to avoid putting customers off.  

The things I mentioned above haven’t yet put me off, but as you probably guessed from this post, the feeling of being constantly nickle and dimed onboard would.  My tipping point also involves suite areas that take up so much real estate, non-suite customers start to notice what they’re missing. (e.g. they can no longer look  out the front of the ship).  I have actually cancelled such a cruise before, as the glorious thing is there is enough competition (both within the cruise industry and outside of it), that the customer has choice.  

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

There are some interesting shops at Anse Vata, including a souvenir shop that actually has some decent quality stuff, not just junk. There also used to be a very good coffee shop near the roundabout with free WiFi. There is a short cut between Anse Vata and Lemon Bay near the aquarium which comes out by the restaurants. 

Thanks! Good to know.  

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The New Caledonian ports are lovely. In Noumea go round to Lemon Bay and Anse Vata, it's much nicer round there, the is a great aquarium, and some good restaurants.

Thanks OzKiwiJJ.  Noumea is the only one of the four I’m not fully decided on.  I think we’ll probably just end up on that hop on hop off bus exploring areas like the ones you suggested.  

20 minutes ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

 

Maybe I am of the minority and call me naive but I would also assumed this type of onboard activity would/should be free

 

i mean really, are they now going to charge for the mini golf too ?

So pleased I’m not the only one.

These activities take up such a massive amount of prime real estate onboard when, let’s face it, the passenger-to-space ratio on new ships is already becoming less and less generous. It just seems a bit annoying to me that you then need to pay extra for them.  

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

We normally cruise Princess and Celebrity...

Out of interest, activity wise, how would you compare Princess and Celebrity?  

4 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

No need to be nervous, you and your family will have a great time on Carnival.

 

We normally cruise Princess and Celebrity but did a last minute Carnival cruise a couple of years ago as it was the only one that fitted our dates. Despite being outside school holidays the ship was full. Although we mostly kept to the adults-only Serenity area, we saw enough of the kids around the ship at various times to see that Carnival did a great job of keeping them entertained. In general the food was very good and there was a wide range of evening entertainment.

Thanks.  That’s really good to know.  😁

A new cruise line and all new ports for us, so I’m really excited.  

I can’t speak for St Kitts as we’ve never been there, but of the other 4, we liked Barbados the most, followed by St Lucia.  I think though this was due to the excursions we chose.  We just didn’t make the best choices in St Thomas or Antigua.

In Barbados we did a ship organised excursion called Beach Hop Island Style.  It was with Celebrity, so I assume Royal Caribbean would offer it.  We had so much fun from laughing and singing, our faces ached at the end of the day.  This includes my 11 year old son.  I would think it would be suitable for all ages.  

5 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Inside, it's full of cow decor!  Figurines, pillows, wall art, etc

 

Oh my goodness - that’s brilliant. I’d love to try that room if for no other reason than the quirky decor.  It’s travel experiences like that that one remembers and laughs about for years after.  

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Happy to answer any other questions you or anyone else may have about Royal -- I've cruised on Carnival, Holland American, Celebrity, and Princess through the years, but I tried Royal in 2013 and have kept returning.  To me, it's the right balance between price and sophistication -- it's not the cheapest and it's not the most expensive, and it's not trashy/slutty and it's not posh/snooty.  

Thanks Brillohead for all your great answers - they have really helped.  

We are trying to find that balance that you describe, so you have convinced me more than ever to try Royal Caribbean.  We are trying Carnival at the end of the year on a cruise to New Caledonia.  I’d been put off Carnival years ago when I first started cruising as it looked like the Bachelor and Bachelorette’s party line, but it looks much more family friendly now, so I’m really looking forward to it.  Just a bit nervous about the amount of people who will be onboard since it’s a holiday cruise.

But, we’ll see how it goes and after that I think we’ll give Royal Caribbean a try.  

Like you, we don’t need really flash to be happy. More money doesn’t always equate to more memorable.  Probably our all time favourite travel experience in the last few years was staying in a rustic cabin in the Costa Rican jungle listening to the animals through our mesh windows (which also served as our air conditioning).  On the flip side, we once got upgraded on our wedding anniversary to one of Auckland’s most expensive hotel suites (costs about $3000 a night).  We had a butler, marble bathrooms and more space than we’d ever need, and as lovely as it was, I’d take that rustic cabin any day.  

Lastly, your story about the ice cream ‘sweet’ is hilarious.  I never would have known that such a ‘suite’ existed.  

7 hours ago, SRF said:

 

It depends.

 

The steak house (Chops) and the Italian (Giovannis) are fixed price.  You get one entree, and as many of the other courses as you want.  There is an exception in Chops that Maine Lobster is extra.  And they also have a Seafood Tower that is extra.

 

The Asian restaurant (Izumi) is typically ala carte.

 

If you buy a dining package (we typically get the 3 dinner one), for Izumi, they give a certain amount of credit against your bill.  We have never managed to eat enough to hit that limit.

 

For water, on RCI, they serve tap water in the MDR, unless you ask for bottled.  And if you want bottled, they will charge.  If you have any of the packages, it will not cost extra.

 

Again, if you want NO extra charges, look into the luxury lines.  They include everything.

Thanks for that info about the restaurants - very good to know.

I have looked at luxury lines on a few occasions and thinking about it, I have actually been on a luxury ship/boat if you include river cruises down the Yangtze.  But at the end of the day, they mostly look a bit too sleepy for my family.

 We really enjoyed our Celebrity cruises. And because we’d prepaid most extras when they were on sale, or had them included in the fare (ie drinks, wifi and gratuities), these cruises did feel all-inclusive to the most part.  Loved that. 

But, at the end of the day, unfortunately Celebrity just doesn’t have quite enough activities going on onboard to keep us loyal.  Because of this, I’m not convinced a shift towards a more premium line is the direction we need to move.  

8 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Yes..there are more and more "extras" nowadays.  I believe everything will be "a la carte" within the next several years...only the buffet will be included!  If the people keep spending on these "extras", there will be more of them!

Yes, I fear you could be right.  

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

If you look through the deck plans on the Royal Caribbean website you'll be able to see all the dining places on the ship you are considering, then you can look up each restaurant and it will show whether it costs extra. Ditto activities. 

Good tip - thanks.  

I noticed that we are getting an increasingly wide range of Royal Caribbean ships coming down to our side of the Equator and also into Asia, so I’ve been looking at them more seriously.  

2 hours ago, erdoran said:

There used to be a thing going several years ago when you’d have dinner and the waiter asked if you wanted water, if you weren’t careful they’d pour you mineral water out of a bottle and not say anything, just hand you a bill at the end of the meal.  I haven’t seen that happen for my last two cruises, but I’m also scrupulous about asking for “tap water”.

 

(can you tell I get on a soapbox about surprise charges?  I don’t mind spending money on something I choose to pay for, I just don’t like hidden charges)

 

Thanks for your reply - very helpful.

Completely agree about not liking hidden charges.  In my case it’s also the unexpected charges, where I end up as annoyed with myself as the business if I haven’t done the research needed to avoid the surprise.

The water thing is a great point. I’ve had it happen to me too in a land-based restaurant.  In most cases, I’d pick tap over bottled even if it was free, so it’s a good idea to clarify what you’re after.