greenery-travel

I have never taken a cruise before, and was wondering how much more it usually costs above and beyond the advertised "all-inclusive rate" for a cruise. What kind of hidden costs, unpublished "gratuities" and flat-out junk fees does a passenger expect to pay? Approximately how much total (per pax) would these ordinarily add to say a "all-inclusive" 7 day carribbean cruise?

SRQ Guy

On the mainstream lines, gratuities generally run $10 per person per day. The fuel surcharges I think are up to $9 per person per day. Then you have various taxes and port fees which vary with every itinerary.

Save yourself some time and price your cruises through CruiseCompete.com. The agents there give you a final all-in price.

sonofzeus

I'm trained to read the fine print in any contract I sign. I'm also trained to reject any charges that are not fully disclosed. YMMV

MoreMilesPlease

It probably depends on which line you are using. Most lines will give you the fees up-front. I know Holland America puts a $10 per person, per day as a gratuity to be settled at the end of the cruise. You are free to add to this or remove it. We never ran into any other expected gratuities from the staff on HAL.

Bar drinks usually have a gratuity added on the price. If they charge for room service (HAL doesn't) there may be a gratuity or charge. Some line have restaurants that have an up-charge to eat there. Most cruise lines put all this on their website. When you find the cruise take a good look at the website to get the actual costs.

Port charges, fees and surcharges will be broken down when you go to pay for the cruise. They are clearly evident on the contract. You need to read the fine print for cancellation penalties and such.

Kagehitokiri

seabourn, silversea, seadream, regent = free alcohol, no tipping
those are the ONLY all-inclusive cruiselines

hapag lloyd = no tipping



example of free alcohol on seabourn >
macallan 10 year = free
louis XIII = $75 for 2oz

cordelli

I've been on lots of cruises, and I've never had a hidden, unpublished, or junk fee added to my bill. The charges have always been clearly explained in the brochure and on the website.

So I'll say zero hidden costs.

ontheway

The wonderful thing about a cruise is that spending additional money is always a choice. meals in most areas of the ship are free. depending on the line or the individual ship, the things that may cost additional are:
Seattle's Best Coffee
Johnny Rocket's beverages and sundaes
Soda and Alcoholica beverages
Private ship restaurants
anything purchased in the shops
Spa treatments
Some fitness activities
Shore excursions
Photographs taken by the ship photographers
Hope that helps.
Always remember that while some excursions should be booked with the cruiseline, at many ports in the caribbean you can just get a van driver for much cheaper and he will give you not only a tour of the island but drop you at a beach and then pick you up and return you to the ship later.

Kagehitokiri

seabourn also does 1 free excursion per cruise, and i believe the other 3 all-inclusive cruiselines do as well.

wharvey

I have only been on two cruises and I can say the same thing... NOTHING has not been disclosed in advance. Just because people choose to not read the details does not mean they were not disclosed.

William

greenery-travel

Thanks for all of the replies. It sounds like if we are careful and read the fine print, we will have a realistic idea of the actual all-in price of a cruise when we take one.

cordelli

When you do get set on a cruise, post the line and trip, and the people here would probably be able to tell you exactly what things cost, tips, drinks, etc.

peteropny

Is that a Seabourn "freebie" or a travel agent thing? On many (most?) Regent cruises, one excursion is usually included by Virtuoso.

Kagehitokiri

huh, it actually looks like seabourn is the only one that includes 1 excursion.

RichardInSF

There are other lines including these "free" shore experiences -- the small line that goes up the Columbia River springs to mind. My impression is the free shore experience has the side benefit to the cruise line that it gets most everyone off the ship for a while and they can shutdown shipboard services, do repairs, etc.

Kagehitokiri

sorry when i said "only one" i meant of the 4 all-inclusive cruiselines.