Very Expensive Pre & Post Cruise Addons

[cruisemom42]

Some people DO realize the difference in price, and find it worth it.

Money isn't the only thing that matters when making the decisions in putting the arrangements together. Sometimes it isn't even the most important thing.

 

I do realize that Ruth, and that is why I said, in the very next paragraph of the post you quoted:

 

"If one understands the greatly increased costs -- especially for hotel rooms -- and one is comfortable with that, then all is well and good."

 

I am not trying to say everyone needs to do it my way. I am merely providing information that others may not have so they can make the best choice for them. :o

Edited August 22, 2015 by cruisemom42

[Hlitner]

We do agree with much of what is said by the OP, and do not live in Las Vegas :). But we sure have spent a lot of time cruising (on many lines) and in over 100 cruises have only taken tw cruise line post cruise packages (Princess in China and Celebrity in Argentina). And the Celebrity package was a total disaster for which they should have paid us :). We do look at the packages and sometimes will analyze the pricing versus doing the exact same thing on our own. In many cases we can duplicate the cruise line packages for about half the price (using the same hotels). Accordingly, we do not even consider the packages anymore and simply do our own thing. I would add that in many cases we have also found the cruise lines use hotels that we would not consider when doing things on our own.

 

As to cruise line reps on land, we have never met one. What we have met are local tour companies hired by the cruise lines to provide some support and services. The quality of these folks does vary, but we do not find these folks worth the extra money charged by cruise lines. In fact, in most hotels around the world, if we need, help, it is just a matter of chatting with the Concierge :).

 

Hank

Edited August 23, 2015 by Hlitner

[Jane2357]

10 years ago I spent months planning a land trip through Alaska for 6 people coming from 3 different states. Hotels, rental vans, itinerary, plane tickets, train tickets, fishing charter. MONTHS. Last minute my DH didn't get to come with.

 

One evening we spent 2 hrs driving to a remote location north of Fairbanks - where all we passed on the road were Moose. Not one other car. No stops, no gas stations, no houses - nothing. It was getting late and the sun turns into an erie twilight. We where humming the theme song for the Twilight Zone. :eek::eek:

 

Now DH and I are cruising to Alaska and have our first Post Cruise Tour booked for 6 nights through the cruise line. I'm thrilled to experience Alaska with my DH, who has never been and THRILLED that I don't have to do the planning. I'm grateful that we won't be out in remote areas alone,in a rental car where my cell phone might not get service. Could I have planned it myself - yes. Could I have saved money - yes. Am I happy to have no worries and let someone else hoist my luggage - yes.

 

Will I be happy being part of the heard - probably not - but it is a trade off I'm willing to make to ensure a stress free vacation. Would I always chose this option no - but there will be times when I may.

 

What I find truly interesting is the insulting tone that some "do it your self" types take with those that chose not too. Why? I fail to see that your way is superior to those that wish for a full service trip. All of us know that there is a price we are paying for the convenience - to insinuate we are stupid - is well ... stupid of you.

 

Edited August 23, 2015 by Jane2357

[CowPrincess]

We are usually much more DIY than we were on our last cruise. I have a friend, though, who is not at all comfortable with DIY. This thread has really gotten me thinking about her aversion to DIY. So donaldsc thanks for starting it.

 

My friend would cheerfully pay for a pre or post cruise add-on. If she thought the pre or post cruise add-on was unaffordable, she would just not do it at all. Saving money by DIY is just not in her makeup. She needs to know that someone else is responsible, that it is not her who is responsible. She was in charge of booking a precruise hotel for a girls' trip and was paralyzed .... she knew the hotel, knew our "sweet spot" on price, and still couldn't do it.

 

So donaldsc, I've been frustrated with her attitude about this for a long time. Again, thanks for starting this thread. I have been able to give it a lot of thought, and finally figure out what it is that holds her back.

 

Me? Well if I mess up, I mess up..... and DH is learning that attitude, too ;)

[maywell]

Some people DO realize the difference in price, and find it worth it.

Money isn't the only thing that matters when making the decisions in putting the arrangements together. Sometimes it isn't even the most important thing.

 

Sometimes, the timing of the trip is more important than the cost of the extra - if you're traveling during a time when it holiday or a weekend, the cruise line option maybe the better choice for whatever reason. Could be free transfer from hotel to the port, could be price built-in with the fare and not having to pay extra after checking out, could be the location, etc..

 

Also, not everyone is good at DIY; so a cruise line doing everything for a passenger; cost be damn, that's a good deal to that person's eyes. Expensive to others, but great to others - depends on whom.

[Hlitner]

 

What I find truly interesting is the insulting tone that some "do it your self" types take with those that chose not too. Why? I fail to see that your way is superior to those that wish for a full service trip. All of us know that there is a price we are paying for the convenience - to insinuate we are stupid - is well ... stupid of you.

 

 

Hmmm, not sure we see any insults or name calling here. What we do see is some of us saying that the cruise line pre and post cruise packages are very pricey when compared to DIY options. If one does not have much interest in saving money then the packages are certainly easy to book. It is similar to the issue of cruise line excursions. Many folks are content to pay a lot more for a cruise line excursion then comparable (or even better) private tours or DIY options. It is not a matter of right or wrong, but just a question of how folks choose to spend their money. In the case of remote parts of Alaska one could make a good case to book a cruise line package (this is similar to the issue we faced when traveling through China). But when I see a cruise line charging $500 a night for a hotel room that can be booked online for $250 (without even looking for a discounted rate) then it does raise my eyebrows. And if you call the cruise line they may say something like, "well that does include transfers" until one mentions that a taxi would only cost $20. So many of us do like to explore options since saving a few hundred dollars (or more) is seen by some as a good idea.

 

Hank

Edited August 24, 2015 by Hlitner

[donaldsc]

I didn't get the idea from the OP that he/she chose a dive hotel to save that money - for all we know, due diligence was done and the exact same hotel that the cruise line was using was the lower price when done independently. ;-)

 

Correct. I checked the rate at the same hotel as the cruise line uses. Also, do not forget that I am sure that they cut a cut rate when they book rooms so they are making even more money than I figured.

 

I realize that some people need the support of not having to make any decisions on a cruise. However, how much work or uncertainty is there in going on the internet to book a room at a hotel and taking a cab or booking a transfer on the internet to the hotel.

 

After all, in Amsterdam we are dealing with a civilized cosmopolitan western European city where most people speak at least some English.

 

DON

[RuthC]

I realize that some people need the support of not having to make any decisions on a cruise. However, how much work or uncertainty is there in going on the internet to book a room at a hotel and taking a cab or booking a transfer on the internet to the hotel.

What you don't seem to realize is that some people don't need the support. They want it. It's something they are perfectly willing to pay for.

They just don't want to go to the trouble of doing it themselves when there are people willing to do it for them.

[Roz]

Ditto what Ruth C posted. I mostly travel by myself, and as a single female, I'm very safety and security minded. In November I'm taking a river cruise from Budapest to Passau. My air is booked thru the cruise line, and my TA booked a pre-cruise pkg. in Budapest for me through a tour company. A driver will meet me at the airport and take me to my hotel. That afternoon I'll meet a tour guide at a nearby plaza, and the next morning another guide will come to my hotel and take me on another tour, then drop me off at the cruise dock.

 

Could I have arranged this all on my own? Maybe (don't know anything about Budapest!). It would have been very time consuming and probably not as seamless. Would it be cheaper? I have no idea, but what I was charged seemed reasonable for what I'm getting and fit my budget.

 

Roz

[cruisemom42]

Ditto what Ruth C posted. I mostly travel by myself, and as a single female, I'm very safety and security minded. In November I'm taking a river cruise from Budapest to Passau. My air is booked thru the cruise line, and my TA booked a pre-cruise pkg. in Budapest for me through a tour company. A driver will meet me at the airport and take me to my hotel. That afternoon I'll meet a tour guide at a nearby plaza, and the next morning another guide will come to my hotel and take me on another tour, then drop me off at the cruise dock.

 

Could I have arranged this all on my own? Maybe (don't know anything about Budapest!). It would have been very time consuming and probably not as seamless. Would it be cheaper? I have no idea, but what I was charged seemed reasonable for what I'm getting and fit my budget.

 

Roz

 

Let me make sure to say upfront that I support people traveling in whatever way works best for them. It beats the alternative of not traveling. :D

 

But since you asked, it is simple to arrange things almost anywhere these days, unless the tourist infrastructure is not yet in place. The internet makes it very easy to read trip reports and reviews from others who have done what you are seeking to do. Hotels are rated and reviewed on many sites. Transfers can be arranged, and English seems to be the "language of tourism" in that I have run into very few barriers making arrangements -- not always such great English spoken "on the ground" but enough to have gotten me by. ;) And the internet makes communications fast, free, and painless. I remember my grandmother planning her trips to Europe, writing endless queries to various hotels on that blue airmail stationery, then waiting weeks for a reply....:eek:

 

I too am a solo female traveler. But I have a fair comfort level for traveling alone that not everyone has. However, being a solo female shouldn't necessarily be an obstacle to doing things on one's own -- IF one wants to.

 

I think the key factor is whether one likes arranging things or whether one views it as a chore. For me, it is almost recreational to put in the time planning my trips. Maybe that's because I am working and have limited time off, so the planning gives me a vicarious pleasure before the trip even starts -- i.e., something to look forward to.

 

The other part of it, for me, is wanting to make sure the trip/vacation/hotel/experience is exactly the way I want it. I have had too many disappointments in travel throughout my life when I have left the details to others. Am I overly picky? I guess I am. But I do not want to find myself staying on the eighth hill in Rome or the XXI arrondissement in Paris or in mainland Mestre instead of in Venice. I don't want to sit for two hours on a bus waiting for airport stragglers when I could be out sightseeing. And so on...

 

The great thing is that global travel is made easier now, no matter one's style.

[slidergirl]

Sing it my virtual Sister ;)

[cruisemom42]

Sing it my virtual Sister ;)

 

Sisterhood of the traveling Sherpani? ;)

[CantanaLobo]

... I think the key factor is whether one likes arranging things or whether one views it as a chore...

I've done all 3, DIY, TA, and cruiseline. I can do it cheaper than a TA or cruiseline. The trouble I have with DIY is the time involved. Finding the right hotel. What tours to book. It can become a real time sink. And if DW doesn't like what you pick, you can't blame the TA/cruiseline :).

 

OTOH, If I can save enough money, I'll DIY. There's a trade-off between money saved and time spent. That line is different for everybody

[Cruise Junky]

 

Cruise line packages are designed for the timid. .

 

The timid, the lazy, the people that need all the details taken care of by someone else and the people with so much money, it's just easier. I'm not one of them and I often drop my jaw at some of the outrageous prices cruise lines want for them. One that comes up a lot is the pan pacific in Vancouver. Cruiselines normally want double what you will find on your own and it's a $35 cab ride downtown...just crazy how many people will pay to not have to do anything.

[iancal]

It is not just price. It is also location.

 

Two years ago we stayed at Westin Ft. Lauderdale.This is essentially a business hotel so it is empty on Friday and Saturday nights. I met some folks on a HAL pre-cruise who were not happy. They had discovered that they had paid 3X the going nightly rate AND we're staying in the 'boonies' as it were.

 

We had the same experience in Rome. We were there on business at a Sheraton (Polo I think) hotel...well away fro the tourist area. A cruise line, forget which one, had put people there. They had to take a bus to the tourist area. These folks were not happy given the price that they paid and the location they were stuck in.

Edited August 25, 2015 by iancal

[buggins0402]

This thread seemed pretty innocuous to me at first, but, like Cow Princess, it ended up being one I pondered for a while.

 

Everyone seems to have a different formula to come up to a"vacation dollar value" equation. There have been many factors already mentioned...cost, familiarity with the area, physical capabilities, time spent planning and giving up control.

 

I'm a confirmed DIY'er. But, I have to admit price does come into the equation. If the cruise company offered a hotel I was interested in at a wonderful price, I might book it. It's never the case. And, I personally don't value the transfer convenience very much.

 

As for time spent planning...for me it's part of the fun. It's almost a game - scoring the perfect hotel for the least dollars.

 

Familiarity with area and one's own comfort zone dealing with unfamiliar territory is something that isn't an issue with us...generally. We love mixing it up with the locals and our best travel experiences are the hairy adventures that sometimes result.

 

I do wonder how many of the frequent cruisers who say they love the package convenience and are able bodied, buy these packages for a cruise from Fort Lauderdale? If you'd never dream of buying a package there, but would in Europe then you should admit to being a little bit more timid in these situations. That said, we have been known to set up a transfer from an airport to a hotel where we don't want to deal with the hassle (coming into a non western country in the middle of the night). We have a higher tolerance for the strange and unknown...but, it's not limitless.

 

As we get older, I can envision all these personal "value factors" will change, for one reason or another.

[slidergirl]

Ditto what Ruth C posted. I mostly travel by myself, and as a single female, I'm very safety and security minded….

Roz

 

I didn't see this the first time I read it. I have to respond.

 

I travel mostly by myself, and as a single female over 60, I'm very safety and security minded.

 

That said, there is nothing to suggest I am more safe and secure if I book a package and take what is given over when I do my own research and book my own hotels, transportation, and set what I want to see/do and DIY. I actually feel more safe and secure if I do things myself because I have done my research and feel what I've selected is indeed safe and secure. I don't take chances with my money or my life.

 

As for those cruise hotels - someone mentioned the Sheraton "Parco" - I'm thinking that was the Sheraton Parco di Medici. Hey, I won't even stay there and I can get a nice $69 (NOT EU, US$) employee rate!!!

Starwood seems to be a big cruise hotel contractor - Westin, Sheraton, same corporation.

[springfire]

The timid, the lazy, the people that need all the details taken care of by someone else and the people with so much money, it's just easier. I'm not one of them and I often drop my jaw at some of the outrageous prices cruise lines want for them. One that comes up a lot is the pan pacific in Vancouver. Cruiselines normally want double what you will find on your own and it's a $35 cab ride downtown...just crazy how many people will pay to not have to do anything.

 

Agree!

[iancal]

The most outrageous cruise package pricing we see is in Europe. We believe that the cruise lines know that some people are under the mistaken impression that there will be a language issue or a currency issue. They take advantage by grossly overpricing the packages. 3X, sometimes more, seems to be the uplift factor. The Rome package prices that we have seen are nothing short of scandalous.

 

If we were going that route we we opt for making our own hotel reservations and have the hotel arrange the transportation. It would be far less expensive, a good deal faster, and just as safe. After all, it is not the cruise line that you are dealing with...it is a contractor.

 

Agree with the OP on Sheraton Parco. I bet the cruise lines are still stuffing unsuspecting folk into that inconvenient property and doing it at incredibly high rates.

Edited August 26, 2015 by iancal

[DirtyDawg]

Value, like Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While I don't see any value in these pre and post trip offerings and think the prices are way too high, others will and do find value in them. Do I care why they find value in them? No. it's none of my concern how others spend their money and time. I'm not inheriting their estates some day.;)