What if cruise lines had a fee for EVERYTHING and nothing was inclusive?

[fstuff1]

kinda like the airline industry.

 

you buy the basic fare (which is very cheap), which will come with free food at the buffet.

they dont want you to starve since your a captive audience on the ship.

but the food will be the same as what they feed their crew with.

 

anything extra you pay for.

 

main dining room ($)

specialty dining ($$$$)

pool ($)

ropes course ($$)

mini golf ($)

check in luggage $25 for 2 just like airlines. (carry on still free but limit = 1)

shows ($$$)

 

seems to work for the airliners?

Edited August 2, 2016 by fstuff1

[Essiesmom]

Google Easy Cruise. They failed.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EasyCruise

 

EM

Edited August 2, 2016 by Essiesmom

[Sixtytwo]

At that point, cruising would no longer be a vacation! [emoji15]

[legaljen1969]

kinda like the airline industry.

 

you buy the basic fare (which is very cheap), which will come with free food at the buffet.

they dont want you to starve since your a captive audience on the ship.

but the food will be the same as what they feed their crew with.

 

anything extra you pay for.

 

main dining room ($)

specialty dining ($$$$)

pool ($)

ropes course ($$)

mini golf ($)

check in luggage $25 for 2 just like airlines. (carry on still free but limit = 1)

shows ($$$)

 

seems to work for the airliners?

 

I would say it doesn't work for the airlines as much as one might think. My friend was charged a huge carry on fee for her purse. I think like $25 and all she really had was a purse big enough to put her wallet and a brush.

 

I think that model is a terrible model.

[lisiamc]

It would be like taking the ferry. I'd hate it. That's why I was never tempted to try EasyCruise.

[cb at sea]

I'm not a fan of how they do things now....I mUCH preferred when ALL food was included, and was GREAT FOOD, with stellar service! Drinks weren't "free" but were reasonable...cheaper than at bars on land!

 

Just being on a ship isn't enough reason, for me, to cruise...I want the luxury and ambiance that goes with cruising!

[legaljen1969]

At that point, cruising would no longer be a vacation! [emoji15]

 

You are so right.

[AmberCascades]

I look at cruises as being "all-inclusive" floating resorts. Land-based all-inclusives don't charge for everything. If they did they wouldn't be "all-inclusive". Same with cruises.

 

The difference in your example is that airlines are in the transportation business. I guess if you wanted to take a ship solely to get from point A to point B, then that sort of scenario might make sense. It's not really an efficient mode of transportation though.

[Shmoo here]

I look at cruises as being "all-inclusive" floating resorts. Land-based all-inclusives don't charge for everything. If they did they wouldn't be "all-inclusive". Same with cruises.

 

The difference in your example is that airlines are in the transportation business. I guess if you wanted to take a ship solely to get from point A to point B, then that sort of scenario might make sense. It's not really an efficient mode of transportation though.

 

Sadly, yes. Time was that the air flight was part of the vacation. Now it's "how cheap can we transport people from A to B?"

[cruiseryyc]

I'm not a fan of how they do things now....I mUCH preferred when ALL food was included, and was GREAT FOOD, with stellar service! Drinks weren't "free" but were reasonable...cheaper than at bars on land!

 

Just being on a ship isn't enough reason, for me, to cruise...I want the luxury and ambiance that goes with cruising!

 

Bingo!!! I haven't been on an ocean cruise since all these changes came into being; now I'm hooked on river cruises where everything is actually included and there are less 200 people onboard.

[NLH Arizona]

I would like to see tier pricing.

 

Tier one would be almost all inclusive. Including everything with the exception of possibly shore excursions.

 

Tier two would be somewhere in between tier one and three.

 

Tier three would include normal cruise fare (MDR, buffet) and some entertainment and everything else would be for a fee.

 

This way there everyone would e able to decide how they want to spend their money.

[Honolulu Blue]

kinda like the airline industry.

 

you buy the basic fare (which is very cheap), which will come with free food at the buffet.

they dont want you to starve since your a captive audience on the ship.

but the food will be the same as what they feed their crew with.

 

anything extra you pay for.

 

main dining room ($)

specialty dining ($$$$)

pool ($)

ropes course ($$)

mini golf ($)

check in luggage $25 for 2 just like airlines. (carry on still free but limit = 1)

shows ($$$)

 

seems to work for the airliners?

 

I'm going to go against most of my fellow Critics and say I would be fine with this model. I can take or leave the MDR and specialty dining, don't use the pool or the games on the upper decks at all, don't bring much luggage, and can take or leave the shows (and the lectures and the classes).

 

The devil is in the details, of course.

[jamessemaj]

The air travel industry enjoys a virtual monopoly with little real competition. Vacation options do not hold that position. Any cruise line which tried to follow the hideous air travel model would be out of business fast, to the benefit of other vacation alternatives. If there were any alternative to air travel, such as an efficient rail system, I would never enter an airport again.

[srlafleur]

That would be all well and good, if cruises were just to get from here to there, merely transportation. As the vacation destination in themselves, and with the competition of all-inclusives? Recipe for disaster. People certainly don't enjoy flying anymore, and it's not only because of the security hassles.

[sparks1093]

kinda like the airline industry.

 

you buy the basic fare (which is very cheap), which will come with free food at the buffet.

they dont want you to starve since your a captive audience on the ship.

but the food will be the same as what they feed their crew with.

 

anything extra you pay for.

 

main dining room ($)

specialty dining ($$$$)

pool ($)

ropes course ($$)

mini golf ($)

check in luggage $25 for 2 just like airlines. (carry on still free but limit = 1)

shows ($$$)

 

seems to work for the airliners?

 

I don't spend a week on an airliner.

[sparks1093]

I would like to see tier pricing.

 

Tier one would be almost all inclusive. Including everything with the exception of possibly shore excursions.

 

Tier two would be somewhere in between tier one and three.

 

Tier three would include normal cruise fare (MDR, buffet) and some entertainment and everything else would be for a fee.

 

This way there everyone would e able to decide how they want to spend their money.

 

When I checked MSC's pricing this is what they offered (at least for the cruises I was looking at).

Edited August 2, 2016 by sparks1093

[Flatbush Flyer]

I would like to see tier pricing.

 

 

 

Tier one would be almost all inclusive. Including everything with the exception of possibly shore excursions.

 

 

 

Tier two would be somewhere in between tier one and three.

 

 

 

Tier three would include normal cruise fare (MDR, buffet) and some entertainment and everything else would be for a fee.

 

 

 

This way there everyone would e able to decide how they want to spend their money.

 

 

Kind of like what currently exists across the cruise industry: luxury-all inclusive; premium-mostly inclusive; mass market-mostly "a la carte."

 

Of course, there's also significant quality differences between luxury/premium and mass market. That's why I always suggest on CC that cruise planning take into account the "net daily rate" (with all projected extra costs) vs the cabin price only.

 

With the right itinerary and TA, premium lines (and even luxury ones on occasion) can be a significant value choice.

[jocap]

There's some tremendous holidays around using ferries, where you pay as you go for food and entertainment. My first experience of cruising was around the Scottish Islands, living on board a ferry, and the ships are so much better than 50 years ago!

I'd like to sail from the UK to Spain, and from Cadiz to Tenerife; using ferries around the Greek Islands used to be a very popular destination for my friends; I cannot count how many nights I've spent on board ferries going to France, Germany, Sweden... and many of my friends stay on board the Hurtigruten ferries around Norway (although food is included on that)

It's just a different type of holiday, where the most important part is the itinerary- the ferry lines will book accommodation for your further travel if needed.

[NLH Arizona]

Kind of like what currently exists across the cruise industry: luxury-all inclusive; premium-mostly inclusive; mass market-mostly "a la carte."

 

Of course, there's also significant quality differences between luxury/premium and mass market. That's why I always suggest on CC that cruise planning take into account the "net daily rate" (with all projected extra costs) vs the cabin price only.

 

With the right itinerary and TA, premium lines (and even luxury ones on occasion) can be a significant value choice.

Yes, it does exist, but on different lines. I cruise on a luxury line (Crystal), premium (Celebrity) and mass market (NCL), but I'd like to see it on one line like NCL. Crystal, even though much more expensive, is a real value, because it is almost all inclusive and the single supplement is only 35% versus 100% on most other lines.

[Aquahound]

What if cruise lines had a fee for EVERYTHING and nothing was inclusive?

 

Funny, one particular major cruise line came to mind when I read your thread title. I think you pretty much covered it in your signature. ;)

[calliopecruiser]

kinda like the airline industry.

 

you buy the basic fare (which is very cheap), which will come with free food at the buffet.

they dont want you to starve since your a captive audience on the ship.

but the food will be the same as what they feed their crew with.

 

anything extra you pay for.

 

main dining room ($)

specialty dining ($$$$)

pool ($)

ropes course ($$)

mini golf ($)

check in luggage $25 for 2 just like airlines. (carry on still free but limit = 1)

shows ($$$)

 

seems to work for the airliners?

 

It only works for the airlines because they have a kind of monopoly on fast long distance travel. If people took flights as a vacation, it would never work. I don't even like flying commercial airlines as a mode of transportation -- I certainly wouldn't do it for pleasure.

 

 

I love the feeling of all inclusive - like the luxury lines do it (not like mainstream, even with pre-bought packages). There is no need to sign, swipe, or in any way mark what I eat, drink, or do. That has a lot of value to me on a relaxing vacation, above and beyond whether or not I actually use the dollar value that I've paid for.

[terri-eddie]

We used to do land vacations, mainly Orlando theme park area, for many years. But for the past seven years we've done cruises every time instead.

 

In Dec 2015 we decided to return to the theme parks....had to see Hogwarts and Hogsmeade! And it was awful.

 

I mean, the parks were great. But constantly having to take out my wallet to buy food and drinks, park tickets, transportation, etc etc etc. It was so annoying! My husband kept saying, "If we were on a cruise, we wouldn't be paying for this."

 

So, for my husband and me, the AI aspect of cruising is a real pleasure, and if we had to pay for every little thing, we would be annoyed. Maybe if we didn't have these years of experience we wouldn't mind...we wouldn't know any better.

[Piggeldy]

There's some tremendous holidays around using ferries, where you pay as you go for food and entertainment.

 

Our go-to short cruise (because we can actually get to port by a quick 3 1/2 hour direct train) is what is marketed as a "mini cruise" from Germany to Norway on Color Line. The ships used to be mere ferries but have since been replaced by (small-ish) cruise ships that can (and do) transport cars and trucks but are also used by tourists as a vacation destination.

 

You can buy passage only (you even used to be able to not book a cabin) which starts at 99 Euros for a 2 nighter and just pay as you go for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, use of the indoor pool, spa. The only thing that is included is a show. You don't really have to spend any money... you can bring your own food and drinks on board, go to the show, hang out on deck and watch the coastline go by, read, watch tv.

 

And while we have done that (when we were both still in school), we actually enjoy the time much more if we at least have breakfast included (which you can either get by paying for a 4 or 5* cabin or by booking a package deal) and don't have to worry about additional cost for that (the breakfast buffet is 16 Euros / $18).

They also offer "all inclusive" cruises which include breakfast as well as dinner buffet (34 Euros / $38) plus drinks at dinner. Or "gourmet" cruises which include dinner in the (very nice) a la carte restaurants. If you go all in, you can actually spend 900 Euros per person (and that still does not give you complimentary access to the pool or all-inclusive drinks) for two nights and not even the owner's suite has a balcony.

 

For just a weekend I am all for that. Especially as many people use it as transportation from A to B because it's a long drive (600 miles, 10 hours) which takes you through at least three major cities. Even though it's marketed as a "cruise" it really still is a ferry.

But for a cruise? I don't want to worry about spendings on vacation. I don't want to count money, I don't want to cook my own food, I don't want to clean, I don't want to go grocery shopping. I do all that 49 weeks in a year. That's why I enjoy all-inclusive land based vacation (rather than renting a cottage somewhere) and try to make my cruises as AI as possible by pre-paying tips and buying drinks packages. I know that I don't drink enough for a package and barely break even but I already pay for complimentary things that I don't use so I'd really just have it included and not worry anymore. I rarely watch shows so if they weren't included and I could just pay for any show I do watch, I'd probably save money. I don't use the gym, if that wasn't included and there was an extra charge, I guess I could save money on that. There could be a charge for using the casino and I wouldn't care. But I really wouldn't want to be bothered by all that and would simply pick either a different cruise line or a different type of vacation.