Price difference onboard the ships?

[Extra Kim]

Is there significant price differences on board the ships if you compare different mainstream lines, that are sailing in the same area?

I'm thinking about drinks, specialty restaurants, spa treatments and stuff like that.

 

We have mainly been sailing with Royal before but we have one cruise coming up with Celebrity and might want to try NCL again (haven't sailed with them since 2011).

[capriccio]

If you are doing a comparison, here is some of the info for Princess:

 

Drinks: 15% gratuity added for alcohol and wine bought on board

 

• 1 bottle of wine to be consumed in the stateroom per adult passenger allowed to be brought on board free; $15 bottle corkage fee charged for additional bottles
  
• current drink menus - see posts 495, 497 and 498 on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576
  
• drink packages: http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/
  

Dining: specialty restaurants and programs (not all ships have all specialty restaurants and programs):

 

• Sabatinis (Italian restaurant): $25 pp
  
• Share (new venture, replaced Sabatinis on some ships): $39 pp
  
• Crown Grill (steakhouse): $25 pp
  
• Sterling Steak House: $25 pp
  
• Salty Dog Gastropub (only on certain ships): $19 pp
  
• Kai Sushi (only on certain ships): menu and pricing is in the last bullet
  
• Chefs Table (only held on specific nights): $95 pp on most ships, $115 on Royal and Regal Princesses
  
• Winemakers Dinner (only held on specific nights): $40 pp on Royal and Regal Princesses only
  
• Crab Shack (only held on specific nights) - $20 pp
  
• Fondues (only held on specific nights) - $20 pp
  
• http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/
  

I don't have info about spa treatment prices.

[trish1c]

Is there significant price differences on board the ships if you compare different mainstream lines, that are sailing in the same area?

I'm thinking about drinks, specialty restaurants, spa treatments and stuff like that.

 

A few bucks one way or the other but no there aren't significant differences. That said, when we went in 2012 Princess had Happy House specials which offered a significant savings but you had to drink whatever was on special & few things were; it was usually one kind of beer, 1 frozen drink & 1 other kind of drink.

[capriccio]

A few bucks one way or the other but no there aren't significant differences. That said, when we went in 2012 Princess had Happy House specials which offered a significant savings but you had to drink whatever was on special & few things were; it was usually one kind of beer, 1 frozen drink & 1 other kind of drink.

 

I don't think Princess is doing that anymore. In 2015 they changed to buy 1 drink, get a second for $1 happy hours (afternoon and late evening noted in the Patter).

[John Bull]

Drinks on British-orientated cruise lines such as P&O, Thomson & Fred Olsen are significantly cheaper than dollar or euro ships, & no service charge. And the daily charge is anywhere from nil to half the rate on US & Italian ships.

 

I've been told that drinks on Spanish line Pulmantur are also very reasonable.

 

JB :)

[iancal]

duplicate

Edited January 15, 2016 by iancal

[iancal]

Absolutely.

 

There are two variables. The first is the value of your home currency, the second is the currency on board.

 

We live in Canada. Our currency has been mirroring the AUD. Both have dropped significantly against the USD.

 

We took two cruises in Australia last year. A 14 day Fiji on Princess and a 17 day Aus/NZ on RCI. The on board currency on Princess was AUD. On RCI it was USD.

 

A cocktail on Princess was $10 AUD, which was equal to $10. CAD. A cocktail on RCI was $12 which was equal to $15 CAD. Big difference. We did not spend much on the RCI ship.

 

Today, the $10 AUD drink would still be about $10 CAD. The $12 RCI drink would be more like $17/18.

 

Just think about the impact this would have on the daily gratuities.

Edited January 15, 2016 by iancal

[Hlitner]

One issue with Celebrity are the recent inflation in the prices of their alternative restaurants (some of which are $50 pp). We have been on 14 cruise lines and find that each has their pros and cons and it can be difficult to do a simple comparison. You might also consider that Celebrity now sells a lot of drink packages as part of their new booking scheme. And if you book with the Classic Drink Package they will try to "encourage" you to upgrade to the Premium drink package as soon as you get aboard. It is actually possible to spend $14+ on a single upscale Martini on Celebrity but it is also possible to get cheaper Martinis that are covered by the Classic Package.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We never buy the drink package..on any cruise line. Only one of us drinks alcohol, modestly at that, so we prefer pay as you go.

 

We very much like Celebrity but I can assure you that we will not be spending $18. CAD on a martini...on any cruise line. That is why we are planning land based vacations for the next two winters. Not even looking at last minute cruise offers at this point in time.

 

Europeans who cruise often have told us that the US type cruise lines really gouge customers on the drinks and everything else possible compared to the European lines. I have no personal experience, yet. And it could be a currency issue.

Edited January 15, 2016 by iancal

[paul929207]

Princess charges about 50% more for drinks on their Australian ships than on US/European ships.

[Sj0hn]

As far as the spa prices go, Celebrity included the spa treatments and prices on their website. I don't have a comparison against other lines, but find that the port day pricing at the spa is about the same as what I pay at home in DC.

[iancal]

Our Australian Princess and RCI cruises were almost back to back...a few weeks between them.

 

We found everything on Princess significantly less expensive than on RCI, adjusted for currency.

 

Bar drinks, beer , alternate dining, and prices in the stores were all about 30 percent higher on RCI. We did not buy much and only did alternate pay dining once.

 

The food was day and night different as well. Princess was fabulous, RCI very mediocre/poor.

Edited January 15, 2016 by iancal

[GUT2407]

One big difference is specialty restaurants.

 

Princess about $25 (Sabatinis) Celebrity about $50.(Murano)