my first cruise
Ohioguy
will be the first time in several years that we will get a full week off
from our kids to go off and do something.
I'm interested in magic shows, buffets, and quiet so that I can get
some reading done.
Was wondering if anyone had suggestions on:
A) how to keep total costs down (I've heard that large amounts of
tipping are expected, or even required on most cruise lines for
just about everything)
B) whether one cruise line is pretty much like another
I've been looking at available trips on cruisecheap.com, but they
don't come with the required airfare. Would I be better off looking for
a local travel agent who can set everything up, or would that actually
increase the likelihood of losing out on a really good deal?
Thanks!
Rod Speed
> My wife and I are going to go on a cruise in early October. This will be the first time in several years that we will
> get a full week off from our kids to go off and do something.
Dont forget who will be picking your nursing home...
> I'm interested in magic shows, buffets, and quiet so that I can get some reading done.
> Was wondering if anyone had suggestions on:
> A) how to keep total costs down (I've heard that large amounts of tipping are expected,
I never tip, whatever they expect.
> or even required on most cruise lines for just about everything)
They cant require it, fuckem.
> B) whether one cruise line is pretty much like another
Nope, the worst to them can kill you if there is a serious problem like a fire etc.
> I've been looking at available trips on cruisecheap.com, but they
> don't come with the required airfare. Would I be better off looking
> for a local travel agent who can set everything up, or would that
> actually increase the likelihood of losing out on a really good deal?
You're likely to be able to come up with a better
deal yourself if you dont mind the effort of doing that.
Corse things can come unstuck if the plane is delayed
and you dont make it by the time the ship has left etc.
Package deals usually do handle that better.
MAS
Try posting to rec.travel.cruises. You'll get good advice.
Marsha
Lou
"Ohioguy" <no...@none.net> wrote in message
news:_KPNn.21405$7d5....@newsfe17.iad...
It's been years since we went on a cruise, so my experience is probably
dated. But in those days, tipping was expected (not actually required -
they didn't make you walk the plank if you didn't). The help like your
cabin steward, the waitpeople in the dining room, didn't get paid by the
cruise line, their only pay was tips. People generally tipped on the last
night - you'd hand over an envelope with your tip in it. The cruise line
advised of "recommended" amounts - as I recall they weren't outrageous. As
I recall, our tipping was pretty much confined to three people - the cabin
steward, the dining room waiter, and the busboy. Neither of us are big
drinkers, we didn't buy any alcohol on the ship, so didn't deal with people
like bartenders or waitstaff in the bars aboard ship. We did bring a bottle
with us to have a drink before dinner in our cabin.
Again in those days, the best package deals were available through travel
agents. I don't see how it could hurt to visit a couple local agents and
seeing what they can offer. If you're really flexible, you could cruise
"standby" - a ship will have a few accommodations unsold and with 24 hour
notice, you could end up paying a rock bottom price.
Cruises have different itineraries and therefore different ports of call.
Different ports have different shore excursions available, and of course the
prices for various excursions varied all over the place.
Cruise lines also varied as to their target market - some specialize in a
young crowd that tends to party all night, others to a more mature set, and
sometimes there are special interest cruises - singles, astronomy buffs,
whatever.
A nice cabin is, well, nice, but you probably won't spend a lot of time in
the cabin, so maybe you can trim a corner or two by opting for a cheaper
cabin.
Entertainment on board was mostly no extra cost - games by the pool, stuff
like bingo and "horse racing" (those were pay to play), movies, a show every
night the ship wasn't in port, dancing, and mountains of food available just
about 24 hours a day. There were two seatings for meals and shows - from my
limited experience, I'd advise opting for the second seating, it was a
little less crowded, especially for the after dinner show in the theater.
Bob F
My neighbor that goes on cruises regularly swears by his local agent.
Bill
someone goes out of their way to be friendly and give you good service, tip
that person. Give the person cash.
Then some cruise lines offer a plastic soda pop container at the beginning
of the trip. You pay like $25 for this or whatever, then can get it filled
with soda pop for no additional charge at any bar for the entire trip. This
is intended for the kids. Be sure they offer this and adults can also
purchase this for the same price.
And that is where they get you. You have nothing to do, so you sit around at
a bar all day/night. And you rack up the charges for drinks. But if you are
just drinking soda pop from one of those containers, just a $25 one time
charge!
And they don't take cash. They give you a plastic charge card and you can
quickly rack up the charges on this. Don't use it! (Except to pay for the
soda pop.)
Find out ahead of time what is not included in the price of the trip.
"Ohioguy" wrote in message
Patricia Martin Steward
>
>Again in those days, the best package deals were available through travel
>agents. I don't see how it could hurt to visit a couple local agents and
>seeing what they can offer. If you're really flexible, you could cruise
>"standby" - a ship will have a few accommodations unsold and with 24 hour
>notice, you could end up paying a rock bottom price.
Not so much any more, unless you live near a popular port. There are
security issues with last-minute cruisers.
My dream site is vacationstogo.com; I go there, find the cruise I
want, make note of the price, call or email my travel agent, and she
either meets or beats the price. She also lets me know if the price
drops and adjusts the fare accordingly. She's wonderful.
>Cruise lines also varied as to their target market - some specialize in a
>young crowd that tends to party all night...
That would be Carnival, the worst cruise I ever took. It's
colloquially known as the wet t-shirt line, so if that's your style...
My personal favorite is Princess, with Royal Caribbean running a close
second.
Again, as someone else suggested, wandering on over to
rec.travel.cruises will get you a plethora of good information.
Another source is cruisecritic.com.
--
Das Internet is nicht fuer gefingerclickend und giffengrabben.
Ist easy droppenpacket der Routers und overloaden der Backbone
mit der spammen und der me-tooen. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei
die Dummkopfen. Die mausklicken Sichtseeren keepen das Bandwidth-
spewen Hands in die Pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das cursorblinken.
SMS
<snip>
> I've been looking at available trips on cruisecheap.com, but they don't
> come with the required airfare. Would I be better off looking for a
> local travel agent who can set everything up, or would that actually
> increase the likelihood of losing out on a really good deal?
If you find a travel agent that specializes in cruises you can often do
better than arranging it all on your own. The travel agents that have
survived survived because they offered services that you can't easily
duplicate online. That said, if you're going from a major hub to a place
like FLL (for Port Everglades) where there are a lot of airlines
competing, you could do better doing it all yourself.
Sounds like you really don't care where the ship goes in terms of ports,
so you can choose one of the western Caribbean cruises out of Port
Everglades or Port Canaveral which are very inexpensive (it's much
cheaper to get to Port Everglades because it's basically across the
street from Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood airport, whereas Port Canaveral
requires an expensive transfer from Orlando). My sister-in-law always
uses "http://www.lastminutecruises.com/" but in reality they are no
cheaper than the last minute deals that the cruise lines offer directly.
The cruise lines make their money on booze, horrific odds casinos,
over-priced shore excursions, and selling bad art, among other things.
There are some cruise lines where the price is all-inclusive and no
tipping is necessary, but most cruise lines do expect, or even require,
tipping. You should check on rec.travel.cruises. If you're interested in
the buffets you need to choose the ship carefully (not just the cruise
line) as the food quality varies widely.
Some cruise lines now even charge you for soft drinks, i.e. a "soda
card" that lets you get as much soda as you want. Yuck.
In case you think about bringing your own booze or wine, the ships
forbid it, and will confiscate it if they find it. See
"http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/alcoholpolicies-090707.cfm".