Out of curiosity, I decided to browse the websites of the two popular cruise ships: Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
To my surprise, the rates for a 3-5 day cruise were less than 500 bucks. Am I missing something here? Is that rate listed on the website per night or for the entire trip? And the rate even sometimes says for 'double occupancy'. No way! How can it be that cheap?
I always thought cruise vacations cost in the thousands. Paying less than $500 bucks to spend 3-5 nights on a luxury cruise ship with free food seems too good to be true.
With most of the meals included, what other costs or expenses is one expected to pay in addition to the rate listed on the website?
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They are cheap if you can go and not pay for anything else. Expect to pay an incredible premium on everything else like beverages/drinks, excursions, on board activities and tips. You can do a cruise and not pay anything extra, but you have to be aware of what is free and what is not in advance. Many of the free things are there to try and get you to buy into something else. If you want a nice vacation, free food, don't need alcohol or sodas and can simply relax by the pool and take care of yourself at whatever port you visit, then cruising can be an incredible value.
RLiu818 said: And the rate even sometimes says for 'double occupancy'. No way! How can it be that cheap??I think you misunderstood the term, it means the rate is good only if someone else stays with you in the same room and pay the same rate (ie, $500 X 2 = $1000). You will pay more if you stay in the room by yourself.
also read carefully if port charges and taxes are included in the quoted prices. also tips will run you around another $40-50/night/person if you follow their suggested guidelines.
actually, i wouldnt consider the cruise cheap until it gets below $75/night. you wont find that kind of price on the cruise lines' websites however.
iirc, there may some threads in the Travel Forum on cruise prices.
frugalpete said:also read carefully if port charges and taxes are included in the quoted prices. also tips will run you around another $40-50/night/person if you follow their suggested guidelines.
actually, i wouldnt consider the cruise cheap until it gets below $75/night. you wont find that kind of price on the cruise lines' websites however.
iirc, there may some threads in the Travel Forum on cruise prices.
*** Tips are $10-$12/night per person, not $40/$50 as this poster suggested
spitfiresuz said:Also, the cheaper rooms are usually the ones stuck in the places no one wants (no windows, inner and lower decks, next to the laundry, etc.).FW Paradise!
For a cruise newbie, what's a good place to start getting some research about cruises? I want to go on a shorter cruise (around 3 - 5 days), and from what I'm reading so far, I like the "freestyle" cruises where I don't have to sit at the same table with the same people everyday. Thank you for informing a newbie on this.
bklyndrvr said:For a cruise newbie, what's a good place to start getting some research about cruises? I want to go on a shorter cruise (around 3 - 5 days), and from what I'm reading so far, I like the "freestyle" cruises where I don't have to sit at the same table with the same people everyday. Thank you for informing a newbie on this.
cruisecritic.com is the largest site for cruise information
RLiu818 said:Out of curiosity, I decided to browse the websites of the two popular cruise ships: Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
To my surprise, the rates for a 3-5 day cruise were less than 500 bucks. Am I missing something here? Is that rate listed on the website per night or for the entire trip? And the rate even sometimes says for 'double occupancy'. No way! How can it be that cheap?
I always thought cruise vacations cost in the thousands. Paying less than $500 bucks to spend 3-5 nights on a luxury cruise ship with free food seems too good to be true.
With most of the meals included, what other costs or expenses is one expected to pay in addition to the rate listed on the website?
You can do 350 pp if you put 5 people in 1 room for 7 days. Just a place to sleep anyway. Think of it as a 7 day buffet.
superdrew said:frugalpete said:also read carefully if port charges and taxes are included in the quoted prices. also tips will run you around another $40-50/night/person if you follow their suggested guidelines.
actually, i wouldnt consider the cruise cheap until it gets below $75/night. you wont find that kind of price on the cruise lines' websites however.
iirc, there may some threads in the Travel Forum on cruise prices.
*** Tips are $10-$12/night per person, not $40/$50 as this poster suggested
only if you never buy drinks or snacks outside what is included with your meals. even then $10-12 is on low side; just the headwaiter and waiter tips about $12/night.
only if you never buy drinks or snacks outside what is included with your meals. even then $10-12 is on low side; just the headwaiter and waiter tips about $12/night.
Not exactly. Even Celebrity (not exactly a low-class cruise line) suggests a total of $10 - $10.50 per person, per day for all tips. And that includes Waiter, Assistant Waiter, Steward, Assistant Steward, Maitre'd etc. Of course, if you have a suite, you're hit harder for tips because you need to also tip your Butler!! But if you have a suite, that extra tip probably doesn't hurt very much!
Here are the tip guidelines, straight from Royal Caribbean's website:
So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines: Suite attendant: $5.75 USD a day per guest (ONLY if you're actually booked in a suite!) Stateroom attendant: $3.50 USD a day per guest Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 USD a day per guest Assistant Waiter: $2.00 USD a day per guest Headwaiter: $.75 USD a day per guest Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages. Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.
So, as you can see, the tips adds up to $9.75 per day (per person)on this particular cruise line. If you've booked a fancier suite, it's a couple of bucks more.
I actually just got back from a 14 day Hawaii cruise a couple of days ago. I love cruising! Yes, it's possible to cruise without spending much more money than the initial cruise fare, but it's hard to do! For most of us, there's airfare to the port city to consider. Alcohol adds up quickly, as do things like photos, souviniers, shore excursions, rental cars on the islands, etc. That's not to mention the casino, which I personally stay far, far away from.
Cruisecritic.com has the best message boards around for cruising, in my opinion.
I am not a person who enjoys cruises or any other programmed vacation. I like to hit the open road for a week or two and set my itinerary each day. Having said thatg, I would recommend that you do your homework.
Here are some of the things that you need to know BEFORE booking that "great deal":
1) Is alcohol and other beverages included? 2) Tips and gratuities. 3) Cost of shore excursions. 4) Charges to eat in upgraded restaurants (if available). 5) Cost of other shipboard activities. 6) Is transportation to the cruise city included in the rate? 7) Ditto on transfers,
RLiu818 said:Out of curiosity, I decided to browse the websites of the two popular cruise ships: Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
To my surprise, the rates for a 3-5 day cruise were less than 500 bucks. Am I missing something here? Is that rate listed on the website per night or for the entire trip? And the rate even sometimes says for 'double occupancy'. No way! How can it be that cheap?
I always thought cruise vacations cost in the thousands. Paying less than $500 bucks to spend 3-5 nights on a luxury cruise ship with free food seems too good to be true.
With most of the meals included, what other costs or expenses is one expected to pay in addition to the rate listed on the website?
One thing to keep in mind is that the ships used on the shorter itineraries (less than a full week) are usually older, smaller, and may have fewer amenities. Generally speaking they will give you a feel for whether or not cruising is for you, but the nicer ships are usually not doing the short cruises. Stepping up to a full week gives you alot more choices, including the newer ships and the more luxurious ships.
RLiu818 said:To my surprise, the rates for a 3-5 day cruise were less than 500 bucks. Am I missing something here? Is that rate listed on the website per night or for the entire trip? And the rate even sometimes says for 'double occupancy'. No way! How can it be that cheap?
I always thought cruise vacations cost in the thousands. Paying less than $500 bucks to spend 3-5 nights on a luxury cruise ship with free food seems too good to be true.
With most of the meals included, what other costs or expenses is one expected to pay in addition to the rate listed on the website?
Couple of things;
--Double occupancy means per person with both people traveling. If you want to go by yourself, you'll pay a "single supplement" which is generally 75%-100% of an individual fare (in addition to your own fare). So, if you'd pay $500pp (total $1,000) for two people, you'll pay $750-$1,000 to go by yourself. Bring a friend!
--Make sure the quoted fare includes taxes and port charges. Some quotes don't initially include these.
--Smuggle in your own liquor if having cocktails is important to you. The drinks aren't all that expensive (approx $6), but you DO tend to drink more of them on board! All the cruise lines have rules that you can't do this, but unless you're bringing on a case of scotch or a half-keg on a hand cart, you should be OK.
--Tips are generally $10pp per day. Some cruise lines bill this to your credit card, like other incidental charges (drinks, gift shop, etc).
--Shore excursions are pricey. If you're cruising somewhere where you'll want to get off and do an excursion, you can research this online and book yourself directly witn a local provider. We did this with a tour in Jamaica and it worked out very well. The message forums on cruisecritic.com are a great resource for this.
--FWIW, the rule of thumb I use is that if your trip is under $100/day (the cruise/taxes/port charges) then it's at least an OK deal. Try travelzoo.com for some deal ideas. Some dates/locations are going to be cheaper; the Caribbean in hurricane season, for example.
I've cruised several times and enjoyed each one very much! I recommend it!
dnickerson said:One thing to keep in mind is that the ships used on the shorter itineraries (less than a full week) are usually older, smaller, and may have fewer amenities. Generally speaking they will give you a feel for whether or not cruising is for you, but the nicer ships are usually not doing the short cruises. Stepping up to a full week gives you alot more choices, including the newer ships and the more luxurious ships.This is a good point, and I'll add, while not trying to sound elitist, that because the shorter cruises tend to be less expensive, they tend to draw a different clientele. Taking a three day cruise "to see if you like it" will backfire because you will be on an older ship with an entirely different clientele from what you could expect on a more expensive cruise. Talk to a good travel agent who deals exclusively in cruises. They can steer you toward a cruise line and itinerary you would enjoy.
You can get some excellent deals on short cruises on very nice ships during repositioning. In the Northwest that happens in May and September.
On the one day-cruises from Seattle to Vancouver or vice versa, the only difference I noticed from a longer cruise was that the casino wasn't opened because we never got outside the three mile limit. Since we don't gamble, this is of little importance to us.
Since we still work and travel so much, it is a challenge for us to get away for a week or more at a time, so short little repositioning cruises are a great treat for us. When we retire we look forward to the 30 day stints.
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