"nickel and diming"

[runner367]

I am looking to take a cruise next year in the caribbean and was wondering how much "nickel and diming" the Carnival cruise line does and if the low prices actually end up being low at the end of the trip. Luxury lines such as Raddison are more expensive but they are all inclusive and the service and food is better. I have already cruised on Raddison's Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and am worried that i will be dissapointed with Carnival, especially in the food and service areas. I just wanted to know how much of a deal a Carnival cruise is compared to a Raddison one after all of the little expences are paid for. Thanks.

[Boston6]

Radisson includes tips, booze, excursions, & gambling? Those are the big items that you end up paying more for on Carnival.

[hdawson]

Often nickle and diming is really charges for personal choice items. I'm all for personal choice options. On Carnival, you will pay tips of about $10 pp per day. You will pay for any photos you purchase. You will pay for all sodas, specialty coffee drinks and all alcohol beverages. If the ship has a specialty restaurant you will pay a surcharge for that. Of course excursions are of extra charge. Room service is free but a small tip of about $2-5 is expected. Also spa services are charged. I"ve found the food to be good and also the service. All your purchased drinks have 15% gratuity included on the bill. That's all I can think of now.

[Ryanne]

Although use of the fitness is complimentary, Carnival does charge for some of the fitness classes.

[dan40]

Carnival's service compared to Radisson--90-95%

" Food " " --75-100%

" price including 5&10c " 33-50%

 

I'm a little worried about your attitude, if you're determined to have a bad time---You Will.

Is Radisson better? Sure. Is it way more money? Sure

Is Seabourne better? Sure "

Is HAL better? Sometimes. Same with Princess, RCL, X, NCL, or whoever.

How different or better? Small percentage points.

Over 40 cruises on almost every line, none were perfect, all were great.

And now, in retrospect, all were perfect too.

 

Dan

[Cotton]

......... Raddison are more expensive but they are all inclusive and the service and food is better..........am worried that i will be dissapointed with Carnival, especially in the food and service areas.QUOTE]

 

:confused: Hmmmm. Now how exactly do you know the service and food are better on Raddison?

If you haven't tried something, please don't knock it! I'm a retired Food & Beverage Director for hotels (one of the largest hotels in N.O.), and I am VERY pleased with Carnival's excellent service and outstanding food! (Better, in my opinion, than NCL or Princess.)

I haven't found on any of my Carnival cruises that I've been nickeled and dimed to death - far from it. The cruise IS all-inclusive - it's the optional things that YOU choose that could make it cost more. ALL cruise lines charge for photos, excursions, etc. I, personally, would never choose to dine in the specialty restaurants, as I find the food exceptional in the dining room, and I also would never pay for specialty coffees at a coffeebar, as I have always been served complimentary espresso and/or cappuccino in the dining room after dinner.

Happy sailings to you, whichever line you choose.

[yarlenna]

Mainstream cruises have never been all inclusive. Briefly, high end cruise lines do the all inclusive thing, and then they gradually introduce small fees for certain extras - - and you know the rest. There ARE some all inclusive ships out there, but the rates I have found for a week are roughly what I pay for a DAY on Carnival - and because I live in Florida, I can do Carnival without the expense and inconvenience of air travel.

What is included on Carnival:

1 your room - the cost quoted is per person assuming double occupancy

2 your meals in the main dining room and the main lido restaurant

3 Coffee, tea, juice etc with breakfast - but not gourmet

4 Iced tea, coffee, lemonaide, milk etc with lunch and supper - again nothing gourmet (but I LOVE Carnival's lemonaide.)

5 The shows and music

 

What is NOT included

1 Any shore excursions you want to take

2 Most transportation between the ships and points of interest.

3 Alcoholic and speciality beverages including good coffee

4 Souveniers and postcards (except for the ones your room steward can get for you)

5 Any beach towel you happen to misplace/fail to return

photos

 

Things to watch out for

1 Drinks offered in souvenier glasses especially during sail-away: they are expensive

2. Beach towels - if you misplace/fail to return it, they will charge you $20+

3. The bottled water in your cabin is NOT FREE - it is about 3.75! IF you open it, you will be charged for it

4. On some ships, there are sensors in the mini-bar, if you move things around you may get charged for them. Have your room steward clear out the mini-bar if you want to use it for your own stuff

5. Once ashore - always negotiate the price of a taxi ride before you get in the cab. Make sure it is for the whole cab full, or if per person, that you are only paying for the people in YOUR party

I am sure others will add to my lists, but this is a good place to start to get a reasonable idea of what you will spend.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

YARLENNA: Sensors in the mini-bar?... yikes! I have not come across any yet - where have you seen them?

 

Tom

[TomD]

The only time I saw sensors in a mini-bar were in a hotel in Hawaii. Basically if you pull a bottle out, it adds that price to your tab. If you put it back in, it didn't have the capability to subtract it back out.

[cruisinqt]

I was on Royal Caribbean recently and was surprised at the difference in prices when compared to Carnival. Don't get me wrong, it was a great ship and we had a blast. But when it came time to settle our account, all I can say is OUCH! The bingo packet that included all five games was $35.00 compared to $20.00 for the same thing on Carnival. Carnival's drink of the day was only $2.95 and RCCL was a good deal higher. Even RCCL's spa treatments were higher. Don't blast me here now because I loved my cruise on RCCL and would go again in a heartbeat. I'm just saying that as far as nickel and diming go, Carnival isn't too bad. All of their extra's seemed a lot cheaper to me. We find that when we settle our tab on our Carnival cruises it always seems to be a good deal lower than the others.

 

I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at how nice your Carnival cruise will be. We had heard a lot of bad rumors when we first went on Carnival and were a little worried. But we found out that it was just a lot of rumors with no truth to it. The food was great and the service was excellent. I think if you go with an open mind and give Carnival the benefit of the doubt, you will be pleasantly surprised.

[hdawson]

A comment about RCI's bingo games. They have the highest payout of any line I know of. Not at all unusual to see a final game for $8,000 to $10,000.

On Navigator Jan 03 the pot was 10,600. I think Brilliance had a pot of

$16,000. No I didn't win either one of them.