Real price of cruising

[chill6x6]

I remember my first cruise...OV on Carnival Holiday. Cost about $850. Drove to Mobile, AL to get on the ship. Went to Playa Mia(you should see what it looked like back then!) and Excaret! Prob spend $1200 and that was all I had!

Now times are better after working my whole life.  I realize I'm on the shorter side of time SO I don't worry about what I spend on a cruise anymore. Time is short.  If I were to add it up....well I don't and I don't think about it too much. By the time we fly, spend the night, rent a car or Uber, eat, excursions,  cruise fare...generally all the ancillaries are probably at least another 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of the cruise depending on the cruise price. Enjoy living!

[cruisingguy007]

This is actually a good question and got me thinking about my value to vacation dollar with regard to cruising. There are a lot of extra costs that do add up that many don't factor in, myself included, even more with some of the protocols these days: gas, port fees/taxes, parking port fees, insurance costs, testing costs, possible post-cruise testing/quarantine, gratuities, dining upgrades, drink packages, excursions, port dining and beverage costs when off ship, extras onboard  etc. It really does add up when all is said and done, especially for families that need two cabins and have to buy things in multiple factors of however big your family is. I actually just looked at some land based options (thanks to this thread) and there are some good options, comparatively, without all the worry/hoops. I'm seeing prices down at a lot of places that were gouging not long ago. Interesting thread.       

[smokeybandit]

Other than gratuities, you theoretically wouldn't have to spend another penny on board if you didn't want to

[BVILady]

InsideCabin has a calculator on her blog, was very helpful to me. https://www.theinsidecabin.com/world-cruise-cost-calculator/

 

[lwuest]

21 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

The pet/house sitter is another variable for us. A 7 night cruise could mean 8 to 11 days of pet sitter costs depending on the embarkation and debarkation ports. 🙂

 

 

 

On some of our vacations the doggies  boarding price per nite is more than our hotel stay!!  We have two siberian huskies and they are our babies so yep, their care has to be considered in the cost of our vacations.

[Joseph2017China]

In a nutshell, the final price, the all inclusive price is different for everyone.  You can sit down, and have all the items you need starting with travel/gas/tolls/flights/parking and then move on to cruise/tips/booze/spa/etc.... and then the cost of return home.

 

Example is a $2000 cruise in Florida might cost me $2750.00 but same cruise in Europe, might cost me $5500.00.  

[neverbeenhere]

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Other than gratuities, you theoretically wouldn't have to spend another penny on board if you didn't want to

 

Been there - Done that. 😉

[RedIguana]

2 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

Example is a $2000 cruise in Florida might cost me $2750.00 but same cruise in Europe, might cost me $5500.00.

The air fair for my 9 night Norway for 2 will be more than the balcony cabin and grats. Would run about the same if we went for the cheapest economy fair.

[SRF]

This is one of the advantages of Royal Carib.  You pay for what YOU want to do or can afford.  More all inclusive lines cost more for the base fare, and you get things you might not want or use.

 

But you have had good numbers from others.  So develop YOUR budget and then see what fits.

[joanne59]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:41 AM, neverbeenhere said:

The pet/house sitter is another variable for us. A 7 night cruise could mean 8 to 11 days of pet sitter costs depending on the embarkation and debarkation ports. 🙂

 

 

There are options for house/pet sitters that have no financial ramifications. We belong to an international group that offers those services for no exchange of money. It’s a barter system that allows the sitter to stay in your home, while caring for your pets. It’s how we spend part of our time cruising and travel overseas for extended months. 

[joanne59]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:36 AM, lwuest said:

On some of our vacations the doggies  boarding price per nite is more than our hotel stay!!  We have two siberian huskies and they are our babies so yep, their care has to be considered in the cost of our vacations.

Have you ever considered an option to have a sitter stay in your home, at no cost, rather than board your babies? 

[joanne59]

At the end of the day, we all have different budgets for travel. For us it’s a case-by-case basis….but most times we are into bargains. Living in FL is logistically favorable for less transportation costs. The loyalty programs offer a multitude of perks, that cut down on our costs drastically. I’m blown away at times, by the cost of sailing in high priced cabins…however everyone has different wants/needs for their ultimate vacation. We are booked for 63 nights on board various ships this year, for under 10k for two of us. Yes, thrifty is my middle name 😉 

[squadron]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:44 AM, smplybcause said:

 

You're missing the 18% gratuity for each package. And it's not guaranteed to get the drink package that low. I have an April cruise I haven't seen it go under $60. which sucks. 

Is 18% gratuity also added to dining packages when booked on line ?

[smplybcause]

22 minutes ago, squadron said:

Is 18% gratuity also added to dining packages when booked on line ?

 

I've seen posts that Royal is now doing it. Not sure if it's fleet wide or not, but I have seen comments on here about gratuities being charged. 

[NavyCruiser]

For us:

Galveston: $75 port parking

Other ports:  $56 airport parking, $4 tips to shuttle driver

$5 tips for porter

$210 for grats

That's it...

[LB_NJ]

On 1/28/2022 at 11:03 AM, NavyCruiser said:

For us:

Galveston: $75 port parking

Other ports:  $56 airport parking, $4 tips to shuttle driver

$5 tips for porter

$210 for grats

That's it...

 

For my closest port parking is currently $25/day and second closest $40/night.

So it adds up.

[Honeyroastedmelnut]

I tend to over budget/save for vacations but typically I budget the price of the cruise as 1/3 of the total costs. This factors in travel costs to get to the port, parking, hotel stay night before if needed,, pet boarding, souvenirs, excursions, drinks, etc.

 

So if cruise costs $500 then I budget for $1,500.

[vacationlover_mn]

Some people literally spend nothing extra (on top of necessary flights, pre-cruise hotel).  We budget $200 per port excursions, $ 200 per port random cash, $100 per sea day (which actually covers ship tips and onboard tips for entire cruise), $900 for drink package (there are 2 of us).  If we think we want to do onboard activities like ship tour or bingo, we plan for more.

[grandgeezer]

We have 0 budgets for anything, if we see value in it, we pay. That’s why we are one of the people who literally have 0 spend on the ship. We usually don’t prepay for any extras such as drink packages or specialty dining. They have every right to charge whatever they think to market will bear and we have every right not to pay it.

[SRF]

On 1/29/2022 at 6:32 PM, LB_NJ said:

 

For my closest port parking is currently $25/day and second closest $40/night.

So it adds up.

 

My port is it $15.  The break even for using the transport I use for work air trips is 10 days.  They charge me $75 each way.

 

But the hassle factor is much lower, so I am happy using the car service for 7 or more nights.

[NavyCruiser]

That's why over the past few years, outside of pandemic years, we've been booking more All-Inclusive land resorts, with air, food, drinks/alcohol, & gratuities, all included in ONE all upfront price.

No more nickle & diming spend while there...

[tj_shopper]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:41 AM, neverbeenhere said:

The pet/house sitter is another variable for us. A 7 night cruise could mean 8 to 11 days of pet sitter costs depending on the embarkation and debarkation ports. 🙂

 

 

 

Same here.  We have two dogs and at about $150 per day, it can get pretty pricey for doggy care.

[binro01]

1 minute ago, tj_shopper said:

Same here.  We have two dogs and at about $150 per day, it can get pretty pricey for doggy care.

We have so many kiddo's in our neighborhood, that our puppy care comes from them and it usually only costs us 200.00 for the whole week, and our pups are well taken care of the whole week.

They come in the morning and let them out, and feed them their breakfast. Give them a bunch of love for an hour before they head off to school.

The pups are use to being alone during the work hours, and when the kids get back from school, they come over again and let out the dogs and play with them for another hour, and return one final time at the end of the day to feed dinner and play another couple of hours before they place them in their crate for their evening sleep. (Dogs have been crate trained since pups)

Overall, they put in about 32 hours of time. They come out with 200.00 bucks for the week (a fortune to a 14 year old 🙂 ) We love and trust them, their parents are a backup in case anything goes wrong. The kids also get a nice souvenir from our trip, and we stock the fridge full of snacks and drinks for them when they are over our house.

[CBCDWV]

I am curious - what do you all give as tips to your cabin steward and to the dining room staff, in addition to the standard 18% that is put on your bill?

[Ferry_Watcher]

About $120 to room steward (on top of auto tips)

$40 each to wait staff (X Blu usually 3 staff members)