TheIntelligentCruiser.com Cruise Blog » Money Matters

Cruises and Cell Phone Charges

T.I. Cruiser — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:00:42 +0000

So what would you do if you opened up your monthly cell-phone bill and saw you owed $200,000? Hopefully you will never need to answer that question but for Florida resident Celina Aarons this was a reality. So how did she react when she saw her expected $175 dollar balloon to over 1000 times its normal size? In her own words Celina Aarons says that she was “freaking out” when she received the bill. “I was shaking, crying, I couldn’t even talk that much on the phone. I was like my life is over!” All in all I’d say she handled it rather well, my reaction would have been far worse. So what happened? How did Celina’s mobile phone bill get so high? What happened [...]

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Carnival Cruise Lines Tells Passengers to Tip More

T.I. Cruiser — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:30:34 +0000

Those of you planning to sail on Carnival Cruise Lines in the future may be in for a little surprise. An announcement has been made that Carnival Cruise Lines has increased the suggested amount they would like passengers to tip by about 15 percent. Starting with passengers departing on or after December 1 Carnival will be asking passengers to pay $11.50 per person, per day; a raise of $1.50 per person per day. While its not much an increase, no one likes a surprise that results in having to spend more money (even a paltry $10.50 per seven day cruise). At least this increase won’t affect those passengers who have prepaid their gratuities for sailings occurring beyond the December 1st start date. Of course Carnival didn’t [...]

Five Ways You Can Get Taken Onboard a Cruise Ship

T.I. Cruiser — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:00:40 +0000

When you book a cruise you are for the most part paying for a package that includes all you need to enjoy an incredible vacation. Transportation to exotic ports of call, food, drink and entertainment are all included in the rate you pay to book your cruise. That isn’t to say that a cruise is an all-inclusive package as there are certain extras that are available for additional charges. However, these additional charges aren’t necessary to have fun, in fact if you are vacationing on a budget what makes a cruise perfect is the fact that you don’t need to spend much additional money to have a great time. The problem is without self-control it’s very easy to blow your budget especially in such a [...]

Royal Caribbean Makes Cruising a Little Less Inclusive

T.I. Cruiser — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:37 +0000

For the past few years Royal Caribbean has been at the forefront of cruise ship innovation. Anyone who has paying attention surely has noticed their dedication to pushing cruise ship amenities further than most cruise lines have dared to dream. With every new announcement Royal Caribbean keeps cruise aficionados on the edge of their seats wondering what will be next. The problem is its not always flow-riders and zip lines. Lambasted by some for making decisions that can be construed as “nickle and diming” their passengers, Royal Caribbean once again finds a way to squeeze passengers. While we have all gotten used to the nominal surcharge levied in optional specialty restaurants, passengers who count the cruise lines “Chops Grille” restaurant will now have to pay [...]

To Prepay or Not to Prepay Cruise Gratuities

T.I. Cruiser — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:15:37 +0000

One of the questions I most frequently get asked from newbie cruisers is whether or not you should prepay your tips. On the surface the answer is as simple as saying, it doesn’t really matter but the reality of it is there are quite a few variables and beliefs that can play into how you want to handle tipping. Why I Choose to Prepay Cruise Gratuities I am the type of person who likes to prepay my tips for a couple of reasons. One of my goals when I am cruising is to have as few surprises as possible. Although I won’t necessarily call tipping a surprise I have never been able to shake the feeling of “sticker shock” that occurs when I see the [...]