So you’ve just booked your first cruise and got one hell of a deal, congrats. The cruise, air and pre-cruise hotel all came in at much less than it would cost to take a land-based vacation. All is right in the world, or is it?
The truth is while you have been told that cruises are the best value one can get from their vacation dollar, this isn’t always the case. Really how great a deal you get is completely up to you. In my opinion the mere fact that you are asking about what extras are associated with cruising is a great thing.
Planning a vacation can be a lot like buying a car. You can get a great deal on basic transportation, but how many bells and whistles you add on to that package will really be the measuring stick to what can really be considered a great deal. Let me explain; about 7 years ago I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe. Although I love Range Rovers a luxury SUV was not in the budget. I’ve never been that flashy and I wasn’t in need of anything fancy, the safety and reliability reports on the Santa Fe fell in line with my expectations. I was able to talk the dealership into giving me a great deal so I bought it.
Two months later a woman I work with bought essentially the same car but with many more bells and whistles. At the time my main concern was keeping costs down so I decided I didn’t need things like heated mirrors and seats, premium sound, a moon roof or pin-striping (I refuse to pay an extra 200 dollars for pin-striping). Her needs were different than mine so she decided that she wanted all of those little extras. In the end the difference in cost ended was about 75 dollars a month or 4500 dollars over the course of the loan (less than the cost of a cruise). She needed to have the extras in order to make what she decided was a great purchase where I decided that getting a reliable vehicle for minimum cost was my goal. Neither of these approaches was right or wrong they were just different.
In many ways cruising is just like buying a car. Some people need to go to specialty restaurants every night and ship sponsored excursions every day, that isn’t me but once again neither approach is right or wrong. The approach you take will almost never be the same as the approach someone else takes.
Let’s say you book a cruise, airfare, parking and pre-cruise hotel for about 3000 dollars; completely doable, I’ve done it for much less. You’ll obviously need to spend money both onboard and off the ship, the amount of which is completely up to you. If you are a relatively conservative cruiser, a couple can easily get by on 100 dollars a day. This will allow you to hop in a taxi go see a couple of sites and finish of the day at the beach during port days. You should also be able to grab a cheap bottle of wine with dinner on that budget. On at sea days you can have a bottle of wine with dinner as well as a couple of poolside drinks, if that’s your thing. After paying tips and a couple of gifts for the people stuck back home your total cost will be less than 4000 dollars.
However, if you want to add bells and whistles like excursions (50-100 dollars or more each), specialty restaurants (20-30 dollars each), bingo (10 dollars a card) and gambling (whatever you are comfortable with) costs can quickly add up. Two excursions, a night at the specialty restaurant, bingo every night and a 100 dollar slot budget adds several hundred more dollars to your total. You have to budget for these things since unchecked costs can quickly add up.
What should you take from this post?
Different people prioritize things in different ways. No two cruisers are in exactly the same financial or spiritual situation. While I choose to hit a port with nothing more than a hundred dollars and a plan, I have friends who feel lost without a planned excursion in each port. When we get back to the ship to swap stories they have smiles on their faces every bit as big as the one I’m wearing. Although we took different paths to vacation nirvana, we both arrived safe, sound and happy as a drunken St. Kitts monkey. Don’t be coaxed into thinking there is some magical blueprint for the “right way” to cruise, stick to your values and your own budget and everything will be just fine.
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“Don’t be coaxed into thinking there is some magical blueprint for the “right way” to cruise, stick to your values and your own budget and everything will be just fine.”
This is the crux of the whole matter, especially the bit about sticking to one’s budget. Very informative, thanks a bunch!
You’re welcome