Where do I start..

[helenandfrank]

..hello CC colleagues. I greatly appreciated the advice which I received from you regarding river cruising (which we completed in 2012) and this year we have signed up for our first ever ocean cruise - albeit in what I expect will be calm waters. At the end of a trip around Canada in August 2014 we will sail on the Zuiderdam on a 7 day Glacier Bay Inside Passage Cruise. Before we go we will package up some costs (eg a drinks package, laundry etc).

 

Assuming we enjoy the experience - and looking further ahead - we have decided we would love to sail from Venice to Istanbul (say 14 days) via Croatia, Greek Islands, Athens etc in 2015. We have started to compare 'all inclusive' lines such as Regent and Seabourne with say HAL. But seriously, where do I start when trying to compare what the all inclusive lines offer in comparison to say HAL (with add-on's like drinks and excursions).

 

How do I work out how much 'value' there is in the all inclusive shore excursions and included tipping, as opposed to what we would pay for on HAL for shore excursions and tipping. How do I even find out how much the excursions cost ?

 

I apologise for taking a long time to get to the point, but seriously how do I compare, where do I start ? Is there a simple formula which determines which is the 'best' (whatever 'best' may be!) option. We are not particularly worried about a budget as such, but obviously value for money is a consideration. Any advice will be most appreciated. Thank, you and kind regards to all.

[cruise_bunnies]

Usually the first comparison starts on budget, how much are you willing to spend? Luxury cruising can be around $6000 per person for the med, are you willing to spend that much on a holiday?

 

Second question is, what type of cruiser are you? Do you normally have a big on board expenses account for excursions, drinks etc? If you are, then luxury cruising that is all inclusive will be a better fit for you then for somebody who hardly drinks and does most ports with private excursions/DIY.

 

Third question is, do you value the experience luxury cruising gives you and are you willing to spend more for it? You will get smaller ships, are you prone to sea sickness or not? You will get less entertainment, are you ok with that? You will get less pax, do you like your privacy? You will get better food, do you value that? You will get more service, do you like that?

 

There is no simple formula, sadly. Rarely does luxury cruising end with the same amount of $ at the bottom compared to HAL, unless you go for suites on HAL and do a lot of excursions and drink a lot.

[jtl513]

Unfortunately there is no shortcut formula to show what is the "best" deal, because what is best is different for everyone. Two of the first questions you have to decide is whether you like large, medium, or small ships, and whether you would be happy in an Inside or OV or would you need a veranda or suite.

 

Start a spreadsheet and just keep plugging in info as you collect it.

 

How do I even find out how much the excursions cost ?

I can help on that part. If you do a "dummy" or "test" booking, when you get to the page where the itinerary is shown you will see a blue button just above Day Date with the words "View Shore Excursions" in white. Click that and you will download a multi-page pdf with all the excursions, with prices. (But if you look too far in advance it may not be available yet.) For example, here is one for the Ryndam Sep 20 this year: https://book.hollandamerica.com/shorex/viewFrontEndTourBrochureAction.do?task=getPDF

 

Here is the Nieuw Amsterdam for four cruises this summer:

https://book.hollandamerica.com/shorex/viewFrontEndTourBrochureAction.do?task=getPDF

Edited March 18, 2014 by jtl513

[helenandfrank]

Thank you cruise_bunnies, yes understood. Thank you jtl513, good advice, and the excursion price link was most helpful.

[VermeulT]

There is a value to not having to be concerned about spending... I looked into one of the all inclusives... and if you did excursions in every port (which you might not do if you paid for each individually) and have a cocktail when you want to without thinking of how much it costs and enjoy being pampered.... There is definitely a value to that.

[kpgibbs]

I'm so glad you asked this. I was wondering the same thing. I do know that when I go on a cruise, I have to look at the cost of the excursions. The ones I want to take are way out of my price range so I have to do the cheaper ones. With that said, I think an all inclusive would be wonderful. You wouldn't have to worry about the extra expenses.