How Much Would It Take ????

[sail7seas]

When I read on a thread here that Costa is charging for some room service items, I really was very sad to read it.

 

Little by little, the various cruiselines are eliminating the things that made cruising so special and different than vacations we can easily take to land resorts. None of us expect 'all inclusive' on the ships anymore, but how much more are you willing to cede before you give up on cruising altogether?

 

If/when we can no longer have our breakfast on our veranda without an additional charge; if /when we will pay as we go as in any restaurant on land; if/when our fare becomes nothing more than 'rent for the room', I would be so disappointed for cruising to no longer even hint at what it used to be. I'm not sure at what point we would cruise less and less and go back to the resort vacations we took long before we ever started cruising but there are just so many cuts that can be accepted IMO

 

If it were not for the dear friends on the ships who mean so much to us, I wonder ..........

 

I know I will be very vocal in my protest to such an extreme change.

[RuthC]

Good question; for myself I really don't know.

 

I do know that I prefer cruising and could reach a point I would look to another cruiseline (sadly. very sadly.)

I suppose there are land tours in groups that would be an acceptable alternative, but I would be starting the research process from the very beginning. At this stage of my life I haven't wanted to expend that much energy deciding how I want to relax. Kind of defeats the purpose!

[localady]

I too think I would have to research the more "upscale" lines at that point. Cruising IMHO should remain basically an all inclusive package, which includes room service any time we desire it. :cool:

If those kind of nickel and dime charges were ever instituted, such as a charge for room service, a company like HAL would be hardpressed to be considered a "premium" cruiseline. :rolleyes:

I am unclear as to whether you pay a service charge on Costa for room service, or whether you actually end up being charged per item for your hamburger, fries and salad?????:confused:

[Orcrone]

Many things that were once free now require a service charge. More things will go that way. Room service seems like a top candidate. What will I do? I'm sure I'll complain a bit on the web board, but that won't stop me from cruising for several reasons.

 

As we've gotten nickeled and dimed the cost of most items I use have gone up in price. Cruises have held the line on cost, or even had fares reduced. Verandahs used to cost much more than regular rooms. On the newer ships, with many verandahs, there is not much of a premium to be paid. So I look at the extra charges as the cruiselines way of raising prices. Inflation is a reality.

 

Also, the little charges don't effect my enjoyment.

 

Sodas used to be free - now I now drink the iced tea.

 

Extra charge for alternative restaurant - the dining room works just fine.

 

Start charging for room service - I'll occasionally pay the charge, but I enjoy going to the Lido or DR.

 

Until the extra charges get extremely significant I'll continue cruising. After all, even with the extra charges it's an extremely inexpensive and convenient way to visit several different ports during a week to ten days.

[bepsf]

I really doubt that its going to get that bad too soon on HAL

 

 

There is a legitimate reason Costa has instituted the add'l charges for room service, as I've written in the other thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=2607842#post2607842

[dakrewser]

Until the shoreside hotel moves to a new town while I'm sleeping, there'll still be an incentive to cruise....

[henri]

Still a few months, than Easycruise will start. This is really rent a room-on-sea and pay for everything. When Stelios succeeded, I think many lines will follow him and let pay for service, cleaning, food, tendering(?), etc.:confused:

 

Henri.

[DoctorFeelgood]

"If it were not for the dear friends on the ships who mean so much to us, I wonder .........."

 

Sail7 must be a much better human bean than I am (some would say that's not a stretch)... so I, for one, have to say that "the dear friends on the ships" is not on my top ten reasons for cruising. I must fall into that camp who does not require their waiter to be their best buddy.

 

I do agree with Sail7, though, when it comes to value. There is a lot of competition out there for my vacation money, and it doesn't have to be in the form of a ship. There are all-inclusive resorts, for when I feel like taking it easy.... and for when I feel like a real adventure there are many better options than a cruise excursion to REALLY explore jungle, or ruins, or reefs.

[Budget Queen]

The problem is- people want and expect the low rates now the norm for cruising. I have been on 32 cruises, starting in 1983. That first cruise- I PAID more than the last ones over the past 8 years. So I don't mind the extra charges. Don't purchase them if not interested. It is still a bargain in my experience. :)

[kryos]

Until the extra charges get extremely significant I'll continue cruising. After all, even with the extra charges it's an extremely inexpensive and convenient way to visit several different ports during a week to ten days.

I guess I'm just fortunate. The things they charge extra for are generally things that don't matter much to me, so I just don't use them. Since I cruise solo, the idea of room service doesn't much appeal to me. I prefer to go up to the Lido and eat amongst people when I'm hungry. I don't drink soda very much anyway ... and always drink iced tea at home. So why not on the ship? As for the service charge for the upscale premium restaurants, I was only too glad to pay it on the Zuiderdam last August because what I'm getting far exceeds the traditional dining room. But that's a treat ... not something I'm paying for every night.

 

I love to cruise and it would have to get pretty bad before I would allow some of these extra charges to lure me away.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Orcrone]

Until the shoreside hotel moves to a new town while I'm sleeping, there'll still be an incentive to cruise....

Living in California you may just experience that when the big one hits.:D

[shipcafe]

When I read on a thread here that Costa is charging for some room service items, I really was very sad to read it.

 

Little by little, the various cruiselines are eliminating the things that made cruising so special and different than vacations we can easily take to land resorts. None of us expect 'all inclusive' on the ships anymore, but how much more are you willing to cede before you give up on cruising altogether?

 

If/when we can no longer have our breakfast on our veranda without an additional charge; if /when we will pay as we go as in any restaurant on land; if/when our fare becomes nothing more than 'rent for the room', I would be so disappointed for cruising to no longer even hint at what it used to be. I'm not sure at what point we would cruise less and less and go back to the resort vacations we took long before we ever started cruising but there are just so many cuts that can be accepted IMO

 

If it were not for the dear friends on the ships who mean so much to us, I wonder ..........

 

I know I will be very vocal in my protest to such an extreme change.

 

In my opinion, I can't foresee ever 'giving up' on cruising. A vacation on a cruise ship is still a very unique experience that no land-based hotel can provide. There are still costs inherent to a land vacation that are worked in with a cruise such as transportation between cities, overnight hotel costs, basic food, etc. This is especially true with the exchange rate of the Euro right now for Europe vacations.

 

In an extreme case if much more were to become a surcharge, I would just further modify my daily routine on board to avoid those areas. For example, I buy a LOT fewer photos these days on board compared to when I would buy stacks of them in "yesteryear". Photos that used to be $5.95 have now more than doubled in cost.

 

It doesn't take much to make me happy on board save for just being at sea, having nice accommodations, basic food options, etc. Everything else above and beyond is just that much better!

[pollux]

I cruise no matter what they are going to charge . I don,t drink soda or liquer at home. Have gone on many European ferries where you pay for everything you eat or drink.

Waiting for the Easy Cruises to start and sure will try them also.

As for room service I love to eat arround other people so the lido is fine.

But I noticed that the 2005 cruises have gone up in price. And many cuts in services. Got my DOCS for the Oosterdam 29 Jan. and no Mariniers buttons.

Also notice the stock is up so the cruise lines are making money.

[jhannah]

In any publicly-traded corporation, there is significant pressure to increase the shareholders' return on investment. So not only do we have the normal inflationary component, but a desire to increase dividends via higher profit margins. Bottom line ... things are going to cost more. The other alternative is to charge for things previously included in the fare. Personally, I'd prefer to maintain the mostly all-inclusive concept. I love to cruise. Like others have said, you wake up each day in a different place to face a new adventure. And you don't have to get back on a bus every day to accomplish that ... as you do with a land tour. That's a biggie for me.

 

We can soon cruise in "Wal-Mart" fashion if we choose to. We can move up through Princess, HAL, Radisson to Crystal to find the onboard experience that suits us.

 

When cigarettes reached $3 and more per pack, lots of folks quit because they weren't williing/able to pay. That's the way I will approach any onboard offering. As Steve mentioned, when ship photos became so ridiculous in price we stopped buying them (unless one was particularly good. On our last cruise we didn't purchase any of them.) IF HAL migrates to the "pay for everything as you go" scenario (highly doubtful) then I'll go elsewhere. Until then, I'll just pass by any extra-cost services I don't feel like paying for.

[dakrewser]

Living in California you may just experience that when the big one hits.:D

WE're just (a mile or so) east of the San Andreas fault - I expect my house to be waterfront any day now.....

 

:) -dave

[Orcrone]

WE're just (a mile or so) east of the San Andreas fault - I expect my house to be waterfront any day now.....

 

:) -dave

At least you're not on the western side of the fault.:eek:

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't forsee HAL starting to charge for room service, etc. in the near future.

As for dropping the soda cards - doesn't bother us - we don't drink pop. And there were some people who abused it. Apparently just enough to make HAL drop them.

As the months go by and we go on our next cruises, we watch and see what changes happen.

[jhannah]

WE're just (a mile or so) east of the San Andreas fault - I expect my house to be waterfront any day now.

Then it would be just a matter of time before a mudslide would put you in the drink anyway! ;)

Reminds me of a line Johnny Carson delivered many years ago. People were complaining about all the rain SoCal had been receiving. He said something like, "Southern California needs the rain to start the mudslides to put out the fires casued by the earthquakes!"

[allen.crawford]

We "stumbled" into cruising in Dec 2001 (no need to explain why, I am sure).

 

So why did we return?

 

- The "all inclusive" nature of cruising

- The quality of the food

- The variety of things to do during sea days

- Waking up in a different country every morning.

 

What would stop us from cruising and return to land based vacations?

 

- Having to pay for every little thing.

- They start charging for iced tea or water

- Stateroom services decline (we really enjoy how clean they keep not only our stateroom, but the ships in general)

- ANY reduction in the quality or quantity of food!!!!!!!

- Charging to use the gym

- CHarging for towel service

- ANY reduction in shore time

 

What changes have we not liked?

 

- We stopped drinking wine in the main dining room (use to order the multi-bottle pack) after the prices for the wine became unreasonable.

- We never order soda (we call it pop in Canada) primarily because of the price.

- We miss being able to get our own capacino when we wanted it

 

 

 

What changes wouldn't we care less about?

 

- Charging to see the evening entertainment (I wonder just how many would pay to see the shows?)

- Charging to watch the movies (we watched more movies on TNT in our stateroom than at the Wajang)

 

 

JMHO

[HeatherInFlorida]

I love to cruise for several reasons but especially to be on the sea with the luxury of unpacking only once yet seeming to move from place to place. This is extra special when cruising to different countries as in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the British Isles.

 

So I really don't care what they do. At some point they will be faced with the choice of either raising their rates overall or charging for certain services. I don't think it will ever come to charging for everything beyond the room. But if they want to tack on a charge for specialty dining rooms, room service, special coffees ... it's okay with me as long as they still have the service available.

 

It will all come out the same. If you know you like room service everyday and you know the charge for it, you just add that on to the cost of the cruise just as you would shore excursions.

 

And if it separates the wheat from the chaf, so be it. Before anyone takes offense, what I'm saying is that the people who truly love to cruise will keep doing it. If they're taking the cruise just to gorge themselves throughout the day, they'll go to an "all you can eat buffet" somewhere:D . That's okay with me;) .

[ekerr19]

I like having the luxury of visiting so many different places and only unpacking once too.

 

It will take quite a bit before we give up cruising altogether - to me it's no different than other things that have changed; we get charged to use an ATM that is out of network, charged to have a bank teller actually help us (in some cases) and charged for so many other little things that used to be without cost.

 

My personal favorite, I was making a telephone payment on my oldest son's VISA card (he asked for this as a Christmas gift) and I was told the following: I would only be charged $.50 if I completed the call and made the auto-payment without the help of a customer service rep - but if at any time I needed assistance they would charge $1.50 - boy, what a racket they have going on with that one! Also, if I happened to be making a payment on the day the payment was due, an extra $2.00 processing fee may be assessed for the convenience!

[RuthC]

I've been thinking about this since the question was first posed. I'm reading how some of you see the ship as a means to travel from port to port without the need to re-pack. Consequently, you are looking beyond the ship.

I'm one of those who see the ship as the destination in and of itself. The ports are a bonus---not the primary reason for the cruise. For me, then it's an ambiance that matters. When things that used to be included in the cruise fare (and btw, I don't ever remember soda included) cost extra it changes the atmosphere. Make no mistake, the reductions are happening. Perhaps they are happening slowly, but each year there's a loss. At some point then the shipboard experience will not feel like a "cruise". The point will be different for each of us, but it will exist.

I hope HAL doesn't reach my point while I'm still able to enjoy the cruise experience I enjoy.

[dakrewser]

At least you're not on the western side of the fault.:eek:

True, but DW's commute crosses it, twice - once in each direction. I-280 has been called the "most beautiful" interstate highway, but it does follow the San Andreas for most of it's length!

[JDee]

 

My personal favorite, I was making a telephone payment on my oldest son's VISA card (he asked for this as a Christmas gift) and I was told the following: I would only be charged $.50 if I completed the call and made the auto-payment without the help of a customer service rep - but if at any time I needed assistance they would charge $1.50 - boy, what a racket they have going on with that one! Also, if I happened to be making a payment on the day the payment was due, an extra $2.00 processing fee may be assessed for the convenience!

It seems that everybody wants to get on the extra charge band wagon. Even AMEX now has some goofy charge if you want to pay with touch tone phone. The GM Master card has an extra charge for "express" payment if your pmt will not reach in time using normal procedures. I usually pay both of those when I get my statement on the computer within a few days in full using the EFT. Even my local pest control service wants EFT, otherwise, a $2.00 extra charge for extra handling. Since I don't trust that outfit that much, I just eat the $2.00 every quarter.

 

Happy holidays....

[Oceanwench]

Cruising is the best way for us to go on vacation. DH is in a wheelchair, can't drive. Flying is too much of a hassle, and there are so many arrangments to make on the other end as far as renting a scooter & van with lift, etc.

Then all thedriving is left to me -- no vacation!

 

Since we live in Fla., it's easy to drive to a port and board a ship -- and off we go!

 

DH stays onboard, as most ports are not handicap-friendly. He enjoys exploring the ship, reading in the library, playing board games, etc.

I usually visit the ports and take an excursion.

 

While I don't want to see cruises become more and more expensive, or less and less inclusive, I know we wouldn't give up cruising ...