Question about Cruise Costs... ;-)

[SunNFunCruzer]

I just returned from a cruise and booked new ones, so I have been cruising all over this site.  I have been reading a lot of threads where people say, we "wait" or we "book early" and we "try to pay $100/night per person for our cruise".  I cannot remember the last time I paid $100/per person per night for a cruise... early or late.  So, my question is:

 

When you tell someone: "DH/DW and I are going on a cruise and we paid $100/pp/night"  is that cruise fare alone?  Because sometimes port charges and taxes are $200+/pp, right?  and then there's mandatory daily tips.  And when you book a fire sale, they usually don't add perks like free gratuities (at least not in our experience).

 

So... when you talk about the "cost" of your cruise... what are you including?   

 

In another thread I was asked why I was asking... so I'll tell you in advance, I'm just curious.  😜   Thanks and smooth sailing all!  😉

[cruiserchuck]

I suspect people have different thoughts about what is included when they talk  about the low price they got.  I personally tend to think about the basic price paid, without port charges, tips, etc.  I tend to avoid adding up all the costs for most cruises, since I probably would be inclined to stay at home if I focused on the total cost in advance.😥

[micheleata]

And I personally include everything when I talk about price pp per night.   This includes taxes & fees, port charges, tips, any perks we have (either included or paid for), and insurance.

 

[bikerunner]

I factor in all front end costs I have for the cruise, airfare/hotel along with cruise cost and insurance.  These are all upfront costs what I spend when I'm onboard I don't count. 

[jelayne]

As you see the costs are not apples to apples comparisons.  Of course, cabin category is another driver of cost.  Then there is the itinerary - some itineraries only occur once a year (Rio for Carnival, New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Suez Canal & others) or sailing that only occur 3 or  4 times a year like Antarctica and these are priced higher than a Caribbean cruise.

[andyfriend80]

29 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

I suspect people have different thoughts about what is included when they talk  about the low price they got.  I personally tend to think about the basic price paid, without port charges, tips, etc.  I tend to avoid adding up all the costs for most cruises, since I probably would be inclined to stay at home if I focused on the total cost in advance.😥

I added up all the costs for our previous cruises when trying to work out the cost per night.  I was so horrified that I had to make myself a medicinal Martini 🙂

[dpluta]

I believe there are folks who are trolling people on this subject for their own vanity. You often come across posts about "deals" that are too good to be true. Of course in reality they probably are. In my experience, the only way to get costs down to ~$100 a night (inclusive of tips, taxes and fees) would be on a highly undesirable cruise (destination issues, bad time of year, older boat, worst cabins, etc). A lot of people cruise without caring about any of these things. I personally am not one of them.

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

We do our best to do $100.00 pp per day. Basic cruise cost period. Every cruise has added costs as you are well aware. I do not consider the total cost of the cruise. That is the cost of extras but required. Those cost change with many variables. How many ports you are stopping at, are you receiving any perks? (Prepaid gratuities etc) OBC. All change with each cruise so they are not the cost of the basic cruise. I have cruises booked for 2019, 2020 & 2021 starting at $71.00 pp per night up to $150.00 pp per night. Basic cruise cost. The $71.00 cruise comes with few perks. The $150.00 includes a lot of perks which actually makes the cruise not that expensive at all. If you are receiving Pre Paid gratuities, Classic beverage packages, along with OBC and possibly more. Subtract those from the basic cruise cost. They are a major part of the cost of a cruise. They say FREE but you are paying part of it but at a substantially lower cost. Want a lot of cruises offered under that $100.00 check Carnival. many out there.

[TFLG]

I have not seen sub $100 a night in years on any Celebrity cruise I'm interested in.  Sure last minute TAs in an inside might fall into this category but those don't work for me. Not being a member of the League of Retired Gentelmen (TLRG) I can't do last minute deals.  So my strategy is book fairly early to secure a price that I'm ok with, then look for price drops around final payment date.  I don't have the energy (or desire) to watch the prices continually like some CCers. I've done well on my last 2 cuises getting a 12 day barrier reef in a balcony for $160 a night and our 10 day Mardi Gras in Aqua was $200 a night (not including tax and port fees). The prices were much higher when we originally booked those 2 cruises.

Edited May 10, 2019 by TFLG

[mayleeman]

2 hours ago, andyfriend80 said:

I added up all the costs for our previous cruises when trying to work out the cost per night.  I was so horrified that I had to make myself a medicinal Martini 🙂

I luckily have a Premium drink package at home to help with these eventualities!