Cruise a good value??? I think not.

[bplazo]

My husband always wants to rent a house in the outer banks and I always say no. I cannot think of anything more boring than staying in one spot for a week.

[firespud]

When we cruise, at least once a year, sometimes twice, we always book the lowest price room we can. We don't need a balcony or even an oceanview. We are only in the cabin when our eyes are shut.:D

 

Like many of the other posters, I enjoy being waited on for a week. Not having to worry about where to eat, what to do, etc. So many choices on a cruise for everyone to be able to eat what they like and do what they like.

 

Being in Georgia gives us many choices of ports that are within driving distance so we don't have to factor in airfare. Sometimes we do have to stay in a hotel the night before, but we normally choose an economy priced hotel.

 

We also like to camp, fantastic vacation value, but I would never try to compare the cost of camping to the cost of a cruise. Totally different animals. We love both at the right time.

 

We do consider a cruise a good value, even when factoring in excursions and the little bit of money we spend on the boat.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and realize the value for your money.

[elcuchio24]

I eat 18 pounds of food a day on vacation. So if I'm on the hook for it, it adds up quick:)

[pianogal83]

For me cruising is a GREAT deal! I live on the east side of Orlando, 35 minutes from Port Canaveral, 90 minutes from Tampa, and 3-4 hours from Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

 

The last cruise DH and I took, I booked just after final payment. It was a 7 day Western Caribbean on the Crown Princess. I booked the cheapest room possible as we had just returned from a 7 day on the Liberty. It cost us $370 a person including gratuities.

 

We spent $5 in Grand Cayman - rode the bus to 7 Mile Beach and spent several glorious hours on one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere. We spent nothing in Roatan - just went to Mohagony Bay - hiking the pathway, enjoying the covered swings along the way and the beautiful beach.

 

In Cozumel, we went to Chankanaab, where we snorkeled and swam. We spent $13 plus tip ($3) on chips, salsa and 2 cocktails, spent $38.00 for the entry fee (had $2 off for each person we printed off their website) and $10 total for a taxi (we shared with another couple) for a total of $64.00 for the day.

 

At Princess Cay, we spent nothing but enjoyed snorkeling/swimming on the beach and the great barbeque lunch provided by the cruiseline.

 

The total cost of the cruise was $800!!! The only additional cost was the gas to Ft. Lauderdale (about $25) and parking, $8.00 per day ($56). All total: $880 for a full week of vacation where I didn't have to think of anything or do anything! A deal in my book!:D

 

We could easily spend more. We did on our Liberty cruise last fall. We had a balcony cabin, went on excursions to Tulum, sailing, Dunn's River Falls, Tour of Georgetown, etc. Bought some jewelry and pictures. That was a cruise we had planned and saved for over a year.

 

So, it's possible to do it either way. We had a GREAT time on both cruises.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

For my family & I, cruising is our favorite way of traveling & an excellent value for us. It would cost us a lot more money to see all these ports if we flew down to them, stayed at a hotel, bought our own meals each day 3x a day, and such. For us, cruising allows us to see multiple destinations & not have to worry about where we are going to stay, where we are going to eat, what we are going to do & so on!

[Nanaimobound]

"Value" will mean different things to different people. I believe cruising is the BEST value for your money for several reasons:

1. If renting a house on a beach for a week with other family members someone has to cook, clean, etc. --- On a cruise--you only have to decide where you want to eat and walk there (or call room service and have it delivered and not pay $40-50 for a meal, plus tax, tip, etc). Also because of the wide selection of food, everyone can get what they want and so no debates on "which restaurant are we eating at tonight". No one has to make a bed or clean a kitchen, etc. Cabin stewards provide service twice a day on a cruise (service like that only given at 5 star hotels with HUGE cost for room only).

2. A week at a house rented or other type resort is 1 location. On a 7 day cruise, I unpack one time and wake up in a different country every day (or wake up and enjoy the beautiful ocean on sea days on my balcony with free room service). I can travel to many places in first class accomodations and most of the enroute time is while I am asleep.

3. If hubby wants to take a nap and I want to see a show, on a cruise this is possible. One person can do an activity and the other nothing if they want and no one has to drive anywhere or worry about the others safety.

4. We always stay the night before the cruise in a hotel but I use a chain with loyalty points and always have free shuttle to and from airport and cruise port AND free breakfast to boot. Less than $100.00 a night for all this AND a spacious hotel room with separate sitting area and walking distance to many restaurants, shopping and 50 cent trolley to the beach.

5. Hubby and I don't really drink much so for us a cruise IS all inclusive. I bring crystal light packs to add to water on the buffet. If you do drink, the downside is you have to pay extra for your drinks. The upside is no one

6. Shore excursions are all optional and if you do your research (I am a research fanatic!) you can find free (or almost free) things to do in each port. Sometimes we like to enjoy staying on the ship while everyone else is off and having quiet time (especially if going to a repeat port).

7. It is truly the only vacation where EVERYONE is on vacation. No one is pulling driving duty, kitchen duty, etc. An added bonus that is extra great for extended families is the photos you can have done every night for NO sitting charge and no special appointment to get pictures done. Just stop on your way to dinner (already dressed nice) and take some pictures and check them out the next night. If you like, you buy. If not, take some more and try again. No stress, no hassle family portraits for a very good price. Also, you are truly "away" from everyday life--no phone calls, texts, etc.

8. Without any "add ons" (shore excursions, alcohol, etc) a cruise typically runs about $100 per day per person. This is for EVERYTHING---entertainment, food, accomodations, activities on ship, etc. You would pay far more for these separately on a land vacation.

 

Not sure if this will get you pumped up or not but that's my input :) Hubby and I have been hooked on cruising since our first one and its the ONLY vacation he will take now. We book ours a year out and I start the research and planning. Just came back from one a few weeks ago and already have our next one booked for Jan 2012! Can't wait to be on the seas again. :D

 

Love it! especially # 7 spot on!

[Mike&Shell]

The funny thing with Us... We live in NY. Its cheaper for us to fly to Florida and cruise rather then cruise out of NY. We feel we get better ports...

 

We did a B2B last year and it cost us less then $1200...

[Martini Mom]

While cruising is not all-inclusive, it's pretty inclusive. If I wanted to, I could eat only what was included in the cruise fare, not buy alcohol, not buy pics, attend the free shows and entertainment, etc. and have an excellent, complete vacation. I would only owe tips. I could walk onto the ship and know exactly what I will spend. I won't go hungry, thirsty, or be bored. Try that with other types of vacations. On other vacations,I hate worrying about whether we should go to this restaurant or that one because we have to check the budget.

[norcal2]

Going into your backyard is also cheaper but not exactly an accurate comparison. LOL

 

You would have to compare flying to each of the ports and paying for your room and board, not camping. Cruising in fact is a very reasonable way to visit other countries. Driving is a very reasonable way to visit the park or a campsite.

[jzcruiser57]

I for one believe it's a good value. How much is a family of four going to pay for an ocean view hotel room, three meals a day the quality of cruise meals as well as all snacks and throw in entertainment at night. My estimate is approximately $400 a day. I believe that is a reasonable guess.

[valtandc]

thanks for all the input. does shed some positive light. now I will go to tripadvisor and ask them why they think AI's are the best value to get 30 positive AI responses. lol. enjoy your cruises. can't wait for mine.

[bartleby112]

Like someone before me mentioned. If you look at just the possible food you could eat and the service you get related to that food it is almost the cost of the cruise itself (depending on the cabin).

 

Breakfast. If you went out to eat breakfast as a family of 4 you might spend 40 to 50 bucks.

 

Lunch family of four easily spend 60 to 70 total

 

Dinner well over 100. maybe even 150 depending on what you order.

 

Snacks during the day maybe another 30 to 40 for the family.

 

Total of maybe 300 to 400 dollars in food a day for a family of four to get the quality of service and the types of food you would get on a cruise in the MDR.

[KruznKel]

It is a good deal.. as we are not AI stay in one spot kinda people.. but really it can get VERY EXPENSIVE with the bar bill.. :D I can do 2 AI vacations ( maybe 3 depending on the bar bill LOL:p) for the price of each cruise we do.. and that is including airfare. hotel pre sometimes post cruise...

[gmike]

A cruise is a real value, and a stress free compared to a land vacation! You don't have to drive, cook and clean or anything of the sort! A cruise is the way to go!

[jzcruiser57]

I have also been to the outer banks and the only time to go is before Memorial Day and after Labor Day otherwise the banks a one large grid lock. I also don't consider sharing one of those rentals that are stacked on top of each other with a few other families a vacation. So that trip has zero value to me.

[Isasprings]

For me cruising is a bargain.I just came 2 weeks ago from south America Colombia this is the cost of the trip.....(15 days)

Plane tickets for 2 $950.00

Hotel..................$1,200

Meals..................$700.00

Tours..................$250.00

Entretaiment.........$500.00

Other things..........$200.00

My DH wanted to go on that trip we had a great vacations but we spend

a lot of $$$$ now he just told me lets go on a cruise on the summer is cheaper LOl:)

[SMSACE6]

I love to cruise and cant' wait until June when I get to do so with extended family. But......I read here and there that cruising presents a good value......I don't think its a rip off but good value I don't believe.

 

A good value to me is renting a big home on the outer banks with a few families and enjoying the week.......or a drive to vacation if you live in northeast like to to lake george or cape cod or upstate NY.........or an all inclusive in riviera maya (if you like to drink you save tons on booze).........or staying at auntie's home near the beach. lol.

 

If a family of 4 has to fly to miami, take a 7 night cruise, and stay at least 1 night in a hotel in miami and take shuttles too and from airport.....look what that costs.....a ton.

 

anyway....just wondering why many of you think its a good value....remind me again so i keep my enthusiasm high for my trip.....[/quote

 

 

 

Well cruising is for me, my very favorite vacation, and I used to think it was one of the best vacation deals on the go.

 

However lately it is quickly becoming not such a good deal. I live in Canada, and airfare from here is ridiculous. The actual fare that goes to the airline is not so bad, but the taxes/sur taxes add up to about twice the airfare! And as you say, hotel prices are steeper than ever.

 

This just a personal aside, but because I often ( not always ) cruise solo, and Carnival is now charging 200pc cruise fare to solos, it has just gotten that much more expensive.

 

My favorite vacation time is late September, or October or November, and this year Im considering doing something totally differnt! I will miss my cruise, but Im highly motivated by vacation cost, so Im looking at other options. JMHO.:)

[inga418]

I love to cruise and cant' wait until June when I get to do so with extended family. But......I read here and there that cruising presents a good value......I don't think its a rip off but good value I don't believe.

 

A good value to me is renting a big home on the outer banks with a few families and enjoying the week.......or a drive to vacation if you live in northeast like to to lake george or cape cod or upstate NY.........or an all inclusive in riviera maya (if you like to drink you save tons on booze).........or staying at auntie's home near the beach. lol.

 

If a family of 4 has to fly to miami, take a 7 night cruise, and stay at least 1 night in a hotel in miami and take shuttles too and from airport.....look what that costs.....a ton.

 

anyway....just wondering why many of you think its a good value....remind me again so i keep my enthusiasm high for my trip.....

 

I went a way for a romantic weekend here in Maine where I live. After hotel, food, some shopping and a few drinks we spent $650 for 2 days. Going on a 7 night honeymoon which cost me $2000 for room (same as hotel), airfare, 2 nights stay in New orleans, excursions at all 3 stops and gratuties and all the food I could ever want. We dont drink a lot so I dont think my ship bill will be more than a couple hundred and we are bringing $500 for shopping which I again I doubt I will spend it all so all in all a $3000 honeymoon. I rented a lake front home for a family vacation with in driving distance and spent almost just as much. Had we booked a nice room, paid for our own food, drinks tips and airfare someplace else it would have cost us more or just as much so yes I think a cruise is a great value if you shop around and watch for good sales. An all inclusive resort in any caribbean country was the same price as the cruise. I like the idea of seeing a few different places and being forced to relax on the sea days. I hate taking a vacation and then feeling as if I need another one to recover from the first. This is my first cruise so I cant say if I will love it or not but for what it had to offer I think I got a great deal.

[inga418]

When we cruise, at least once a year, sometimes twice, we always book the lowest price room we can. We don't need a balcony or even an oceanview. We are only in the cabin when our eyes are shut.:D

 

Like many of the other posters, I enjoy being waited on for a week. Not having to worry about where to eat, what to do, etc. So many choices on a cruise for everyone to be able to eat what they like and do what they like.

 

Being in Georgia gives us many choices of ports that are within driving distance so we don't have to factor in airfare. Sometimes we do have to stay in a hotel the night before, but we normally choose an economy priced hotel.

 

We also like to camp, fantastic vacation value, but I would never try to compare the cost of camping to the cost of a cruise. Totally different animals. We love both at the right time.

 

We do consider a cruise a good value, even when factoring in excursions and the little bit of money we spend on the boat.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and realize the value for your money.

 

I agree with the camping but even for my family of 7 I spent about $500 for 3 days of camping after site and food for the gang plus there always the extra things you have to buy for camping.

[steveNcindy]

For us right now it is not even close, cruising is not a value vacation.

 

We vacation once a year and factoring in all the cruise expenses we incur such as airfare, hotel, cruise fare, on board account, port expenses, etc, an All Inclusive beats it hands down. Mind you, we don't book the bowels of the ship nor do we book 3* resorts. We were able to go to a 5* resort this winter for 2 weeks for much less than a 10 day cruise would have cost us.

[saturnsc]

If you do the math, down to the cent, I bet you'll find that a cruise vacation is quite the value over a conventional land vacation. Consider, generally 3 ports on a cruise, if you were to have to buy airfare, lodging, 3 meals a day and desserts and snacks, entertainment, ground transportation, drinks, gas, Ga$, GA$, and anything else you consume, surely it would wind up being a lot more for your land vacation than a cruise.

[AllyRae]

I think it's a fantastic deal. For $300 in gas, we can drive to the port, and for $4000, our family of 5 can take a 7 day cruise, be well fed, have a "hotel" room on board a ship, and spend time in 3 different foreign countries (4 total foreign cities) including awesome excursions. We couldn't even get plane tickets out of this country for under that for our family.

[laumicmah]

Well, my wife and I are going to take our dear granddaughter on vacation with us in September. We looked at a 5 night cruise on Carnival Oceanview Room with prepaid tips, it came to 981.81 for all 3 of us. This was option number 1. I know what someone is going to say but what about shore excursions, we already booked them and prepaid and for Cozumel and Grand Cayman combined it was 200.00 so the price of our cruise with those is now 1181.81

 

Option number 2 was going to Disney for 5 nights at a moderate resort. With 2 meals a day included the price for the 3 of us was 2522.87.

 

 

Looking at the difference between 2522 and 1181, I think it's easy to see where the value is!

My thoughts exactly. We have the Disney Vacation Club membership (200 points) and that covers the resort stay and it's still more expensive than a cruise. For our fam of 5- all considered adults- we were going to spend $3000 for just tickets and dining plan this August for a 6 day Disney vacation (plus we pay @$960 in annual dues for DVC membership). Instead we booked a balcony on a 5 day cruise (Glory- NY to Canada) for 4 of the 5 of us and paid $2670 (won a free cruise- so DS and his friend get that cabin). We'll drive to NY (we always drive to port, even in FL and always drive to Disney...gas and 1 night hotel costs are way less than flying). Parking at pier will cost $150, but we'd spend more than that driving to Disney. Excursions...we could just walk around the 2 ports in Canada and shop and explore at minimal cost (we'd spend extra at Disney too...we were going to do 1 day at a water park...could rent bikes or play golf or spend a day at 1 of the non-Disney parks or play putt-putt or go to movies on a rainy day...etc). And if we got an inside cabin, it would have cost us @$1200 (can't remember exactly). I think cruising, especially Carnival, is or can be a value vacation. Now, my inlaws are doing a 3 day Disney cruise after our family Christmas, 5 day Disney vacation and we priced it...would have cost us almost $4000...for a 3 day cruise for our fam of 5 in the cheapest cabin we could get (for 4 and paying for DS to go in a cabin w/cousins). :eek: We took a pass on the cruise part, will just do the 5 days at Disney...that will cost us enough!

[bobkamusician]

I love to cruise and cant' wait until June when I get to do so with extended family. But......I read here and there that cruising presents a good value......I don't think its a rip off but good value I don't believe.

 

A good value to me is renting a big home on the outer banks with a few families and enjoying the week.......or a drive to vacation if you live in northeast like to to lake george or cape cod or upstate NY.........or an all inclusive in riviera maya (if you like to drink you save tons on booze).........or staying at auntie's home near the beach. lol.

 

If a family of 4 has to fly to miami, take a 7 night cruise, and stay at least 1 night in a hotel in miami and take shuttles too and from airport.....look what that costs.....a ton.

 

anyway....just wondering why many of you think its a good value....remind me again so i keep my enthusiasm high for my trip.....

 

I'm trying to be nice about this, but I'm guessing you've never driven around Cape Cod with a Minnesota license plate. We were treated like dirt. That would never happen on a cruise ship. Heck, I get a discount from Carnival because I live with White Hell (that's my nickname for snow).

 

Aside from my anti-Cod rant, we opted for a cruise after looking at the costs of spending 10 days in California, which is my original home, so I know where the deals are. I suppose many here would agree that the vacations you've proposed include no pampering (unless Auntie waits on you hand-and-foot! <GRIN>), whereas cruising is all about being treated like honored guests and the comeraderie of others who love to cruise.

[jerseyralph]

I love to cruise and cant' wait until June when I get to do so with extended family. But......I read here and there that cruising presents a good value......I don't think its a rip off but good value I don't believe.

 

A good value to me is renting a big home on the outer banks with a few families and enjoying the week.......or a drive to vacation if you live in northeast like to to lake george or cape cod or upstate NY.........or an all inclusive in riviera maya (if you like to drink you save tons on booze).........or staying at auntie's home near the beach. lol.

 

If a family of 4 has to fly to miami, take a 7 night cruise, and stay at least 1 night in a hotel in miami and take shuttles too and from airport.....look what that costs.....a ton.

 

anyway....just wondering why many of you think its a good value....remind me again so i keep my enthusiasm high for my trip.....

 

My last trip to the outer banks......hmmmm. I did the shopping, made the beds each day, cooked the meals, cleaned up after the meals, had a hard time finding truly good restaurants, had to drive ten hours to get there. had to get the garbage outside at the right time on the right day, got stuck in traffic, found that there is really not much to do there (blessings to the Wright brothers and their airplane, but not exciting stuff!), stepped in horse poop, and had to clean the entire too-big house before we packed up to go home. I was excited to go home.

 

And it did not cost one dime less than the seven night NYC to Bahamas in a balcony for three!