The Price of Cruising.

[mitsugirly]

Yep, this pretty much sums up a lot of the "extra" expenses. I thought it was a great article, especially for a new cruiser.

 

I always have people at work asking me how I cruise because it's so expensive. I always have to correct them telling them the cruise is not the "expensive" part (in my case), it's usually everything else that adds up.

[camz]

You call it nickel and diming, I call it a la carte.

 

A la carte is a perfect description. I totally agree with you, I like choices too. :D

[Demonyte]

All of this is spot on. You provided a great article. The port parking is definitely something a lot of people miss. It may be worth getting car service to and from the port rather than drive yourself, especially if you're with a group. Even if it's not cheaper, it's really nice not have to wait an hour to get your car parked and your bags out.

 

Actually in the article's example it includes both port parking ($140) and park'n'cruise package from the hotel so the total is $140 too high.

[bonvoyagie]

My sister and her DH went to HI and stayed on the Big Island in a resort hotel complex. This was not an AI so they paid for meals, had a rental car, and did some extra stuff. Without taking into account travel expenses, our AK cruise including excursions and extras was just slightly less - if you factored in transportation it would have been way less.

 

I don't think the article was meant to compare crusing to other forms of vacations - AI or even resort complexes like Disney World. Instead it simply pointed out that there is more to the cruise vacation than the cruise fare itself - which is true for almost any type of vacation. ;)

[cruis247g]

I agree. It's a la carte for us, as well.

 

A friend and I were comparing notes the other day. Both of us have cruised quite a bit and discovered that we spend less now than we used to for the "extras". After the initial, "Wow! I love everything!", we've learned what improves our experience and what really doesn't matter to us. Most of the necessities (transportation, lodging, meals) are covered in the fare, so everything else can be chosen as one wishes.

 

One of the reasons that I love cruising is that I think it's a good value and I have some control over what I spend - I can keep costs down or splurge as much as I wish...and can afford!