Unlike a vacation where you have to pay the the air fare, then the car rental, then the hotel room, then the shows etc., etc., etc….. On a cruise allot of these items are bundled together in the cost of the cruise. When you purchase a cabin on a cruise ships you are paying for the cabin, all of your meals and the cost of going from one location to another on the ship (such as from Barcelona to Nice to Florance to Rome to Naples and then back to Barcelona). All the live entertainment the cruise lines offers, the fitness center and many other events.
If you were to take this same trip via a plane, you have to pay for each plane trip, each hotel night, each meal, each new car rental, each show you want to see but on a cruise these costs are all covered for you when you pay up front for your cruise vacation.
There are some cruise lines that do have all inclusive cruise packages, and you do pay more for those as well.
For a normal, average 7 day cruise you have paid and saved in advance when compared to a land vacation. There are some additional cost, which you would have to pay on a land vacation as well. Such as if you order wine with your dinner, or have cocktails on deck at sunset. If you want to buy souvenirs for your family and friends on the ship you can shop in their on board boutiques. If you treat yourself to a hot rock massage or take a special shore excursion. These are items you have to pay for above the cost of your cruise just as you would have to pay for these items on a land vacation. Many times these items have discounted rates if you sign up in advance or take advantage of in port specials. So even while you are on the ship you can get a sale while you sail!
These are items that you would have had to pay for as well if you were on a land vacation. There are so many things to do while on a cruise you can be budget conscious or you can shop till you drop, pamper yourself to no end and experience all the wonderful adventures the world has to offer while traveling.
I have heard the phrase the cruise lines nickle and dime you while on a cruise but I tend to disagree. If I was in Italy and I wanted a gelato in the middle of the afternoon as a treat, I would have to pay for it from a vendor. Ice cream, snacks and all other kids of food is available 24 hours a day all over the ship or brought to you in your cabin.
Every cruise I take, I order a caraff of coffee to be delivered to my cabin with a glass of orange juice each and everyday in the morning so I have my coffee as I dress for the day and take my vitamins with my juice.
After returning from a day at shore, I often will order a snack to be delivered to my cabin to snack on while I dress for late dinner. If I napped during lunch, no problem I can go to many different locations and find a light and refreshing salad or burger when I wake up. No matter where I eat on the ship, the cost is already been covered (except in a few specialty restaurants on board now where there is a minimum $20 or so per person charge). Still worth the cost – if i were to go to a 5 star restaurant I would expect to pay $300.00 for a romantic dinner with my husband $40.00 is well worth it. But even so, all the cruise lines main dining rooms offer wonderful cuisine and you don’t have to pay extra.
I don’t gamble, but if you do, the cruise lines ask that you use your own money when in their casinos BUT if you win – their money is your money!
I have been traveling all my life, so I don’t usually take the shore excursions offered by the cruise lines. I like to get out and explore, get the look and feel of the local neighborhoods. I seek out the hidden, often little know historical sites in different places. If I find someplace I love and want to spend 2 hours there I can or if I think YUK, then I can leave when I want to leave and not have to wait for other people in a tour I am on. No all people are like me, some people need and want to be around others to have fun with while on a tour of an island. To each their own, there is no right or wrong. If you take a cruise lines excursion then you pay for the tour. If I take a rental car or scooter and visit a 300 year old church, I still am paying for my tour as well.
Be sensible, if you are on vacation you are going to spend money. Plan on the extras, know you just are going to have to buy that leather purse near the Trevi Fountain in Rome and know that nobody in your town will ever see one just like it at the mall!
Yes a cruise does have added costs, but stop and think of what you would be paying for to see a Broadway show in London vs. a Broadway revue on a cruise ship. Cruising is still a very economical way to see the world and you only have to unpack once!
So plan on having fun and plan on the extras, for they can make a cruise vacation one you’ll remember for the rest of your life!
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