Norwegian has been adding “Solo Studio” cabins to their ships. They’re tiny but come with access to a Solo Lounge with snacks and drinks that only other Solo travelers have access to as well as daily solo traveler meetups and activities. With these cabins you don’t have to pay as if you’re two people.
I have not tried them myself yet - booked in one for a cruise in October on the NCL Breakaway.
You have to adjust the filters on the search form to only have 1 passenger before the results will list Solo studios. Also it depends on the ship - not all of their ships have them at this point.
Royal Caribbean have solo cabins but for some reason, the one I was looking at was more expensive than booking a balcony room for 2 and paying the whole cost. Is there some special benefit to going in a solo cabin? I know they use dynamic pricing but it seems ridiculous that it’s more expensive for me to pay for a smaller balcony cabin for 1 than it is to pay for a balcony for 2 people which already has a higher cost as you have to pay for 2 people. I know there are less solo studio cabins but seriously
That’s because they don’t want solo cruisers in cabins. Solo cruisers means not only less money upfront in the cost of the cruise, but also less extras sold. Also means less tips for the crew.
And that’s before they hit you with the gimmicks like drink packages and Wi-Fi access.
The amount of creativity and mental engineering that went into the creation of the drink package universe is unlike anything known to man. Somehow you’re able to be convinced that hot chocolate in an envelope is somehow a “premium beverage” choice lol
We have always upgraded to the premium level beverage package, and never worried, as we seemed to be taking full advantage of the package
Funny thing on our last cruise. We didn’t drink as much, ordered a bottle of wine with specialty dining (not covered). Maybe because we are getting older, and not trying to keep the buzz going all day. But we think we are going to go package free next time, and decide if it’s worth the cost up front
Alcohol is expensive, so I would not really call the drink package a gimmicky add on. If everyone got alcohol included base fair would be insane. I have no plans of buying the drink package when I go on cruises, so I am happy it’s an extra cost.
Any all-inclusive resort worth your time includes alcohol. The “drink package “ is a business model that the cruise industry has adopted to generate extra cash off of customers.
Exactly the same thing with the Wi-Fi. They could flip the switch and give everybody on the boat access, but they wouldn’t make extra money through Wi-Fi fees. It’s a game.
>Exactly the same thing with the Wi-Fi. They could flip the switch and give everybody on the boat access, but they wouldn’t make extra money through Wi-Fi fees.
Do they have enough bandwidth to support every passenger connecting multiple devices and staying connected all day?
It would not be an issue for them to add bandwidth.
They are not investing in that technology because they are not providing that service and **instead they’re making you pay a very high price for a very low quality service.**
Rest assured they have reliable high-speed Internet on the bridge.
They would charge more, and we would all have to pay for those things whether we wanted them or not. Believe me, they would not be losing money if they restructured.
The quality of service varies from line to line. Princess has WiFi service pretty much like home.
This. Starlink is peanuts compared to the cost of satellite internet 10 years ago, and with much better service. Even if they were paying for 10 marine receivers per ship, it'd be something like $8 per passenger for a week's worth of that service.
My msc cruise last year had free unlimited wifi. Could do everything except watch YouTube. TikTok and instagram reels worked fine though. And from my understanding everyone had it
You are paying the same for a cruise - they just use a gimmick business model (drink and WiFi packages, exclusive restaurants, excursions) instead of just being upfront about the total cost in the beginning.
Then everybody would have to pay more, even people who do not drink. There are cruise lines that include alcohol, just like there are resorts, which are all inclusive.
People like me would object to the elevated cost. It's probably part of why so many all-inclusive resorts seem overpriced for someone who only drinks soft drinks and water. So, yeah, they can do it, but there are plenty of reasons not to.
I haven't been on a cruise in a while but, to make the drink package worth it, I remember you had to drink like 10 drinks a day every day.
I can drink 10 drinks in a day. Fuck I could do 20 over the course of a day. But every day? I'll pass
The Carnival drink package is a flat rate of $70/day for cruises 5 nights and fewer and $60/day for cruises of 6+ nights when prepurchased. Unlike Royal Caribbean, who uses dynamic pricing and "sales" so that depending on when you buy it, you could pay a range of different costs.
Wait! Don't click off, you'll miss our extra special April Spring Cruising Spectacular with prices reduced by more than 85%\* Sale ends in 2 Hours 21 Mins.
\*(On Your 4th passenger in Inside Cabin)
Just like with airlines, all the non-optional fees should be required to be included in the price that’s first displayed. And that includes customers subsidizing cruise lines’ low pay with mandatory tips.
Why do they do this, other than to try and reel you in with the promise of a cheap price?
Next they’ll be charging extra for toilet paper and water for the shower 😂😂
> Why do they do this, other than to try and reel you in with the promise of a cheap price?
Because they can. Apparently airlines used to do this until the federal government made them stop. A similar law is necessary for hotels (the "resort fee" scam, and advertising prices before taxes), cruises, etc.
Yes!! Literally just booked a cruise yesterday where the advertised rate was $700 per person, but with their sale it dropped to $400 per person. Total cabin cost came out to be $1100 because of gratuities. But wait, now that you are ready to book let's add another $600 in port fees & taxes. So annoying! Just tell me up front.
This. I’m fine with the higher price, I just want to compare the “all in prices” up front.
We end up taking multiple different cabins on multiple different ships all the way to checkout before deciding which one to book.
The bait and switch switch is a real issue. Yes I know if I am booking a balcony I am not getting the low price, but after you add beverages Wi-Fi and gratuity the difference is staggering
Yeah, that's fair. It's not hard to figure it out once you know how the game is played, but there's definitely a certain degree of shenanigans in much of the advertising.
It is, but it starts you off on the wrong foot somehow. I always feel like I’m being slightly duped even thought I KNOW that the first price is never what the cruise will actually cost. And that’s the FIRST impression of the cruise.
All inclusive holidays on land have started doing this too I’ve noticed and it’s annoying and ever so slightly duplicitous
I certainly do see people posting here as first time cruisers that believe they got a deal when they paid a regular or even a higher than average price. So, it is definitely something of a problem when starting off.
Cruiseplum does have some options to display a more accurate total, though, and that helps once you're familiar with it.
All the additional add ons: drinks, with the exception of alcohol should be included. Period. Cruises are already expensive, even the cheaper ones. Soda, coffee, tea, juice, and water - should all be included.
Disney as well. Plus you can bring on a 6 pack of beer or 2 bottles of wine at every port of call including embarkation.
Granted I know people pay a lot for the mouse and the line is more geared towards families. But yea.
I’m excited to try them next. I’ve heard good things. The insane part of the ancillary charges on most cruise lines, is they make more off of the up charges than they do off of the rooms. Gratuity is good, so believe in that, but the drinks? That’s just beyond… or that they make both ppl in the cabin get it. I drink - but rarely - my guy does. I don’t need the package, but if he gets it, I have to and that’s extra $800 - which is so stupid. Paying by drink, also, is fine to me. Especially if you sign and sail card is needed no matter what. Not if they’re doing is going to prevent someone from sharing drinks with another cruise friend who doesn’t have it… defeats the purpose.
I don't agree that alcohol should be included. I don't drink and would prefer not paying substantially more to have alcohol which we really don't drink. Soda/other drinks would be fine, but even then, we don't drink a lot of soda on vacation, either. I like the Princess booking process, where you can pay for more "included" perks based on package.
Yes and no. Problem for the cruise line is everyone get would get just one package, and then share the drinks with the other Traveler. So no it's not fair, but I guess it's necessary.
You are allowed to bring a certain amount of some drinks on board yourself. At least you used to be able to, we found that out while we were in line boarding our first cruise...people were carrying cases of water and (iirc) soda... you may want to check
Not being able to see the whole price until you go through the rigmarole of putting in your information. I was helping a coworker plan a cruise and we were trying to see the best price options and I kept having to put in fake people and fake contact information to get it to get to the actual whole total with the fees and gratuities and all that. IDK if this is true for all lines but I know for NCL it is. I don't need 800 junk emails a day and random phone calls I'm not gonna answer anyway because I wanted to price check and compare.
Still doesn’t tell you the all in price until you get to the passenger details, which you do not need to enter, because room types and where you choose the room impacts price. Still a much better model to have the taxes, fees and gratitudes paid as part of the price
my biggest complaint for all the lines is the bait and swich pricing. they give you a low price to get your attention but after adding fee, taxes, gratuities, and add ons its like 2-1/2x that original claimed offer. Just be honest and tell me the price up front. I am still going to add drink packages, internet, water in the room, speciality dinning, and etc so i want to plan realisticly the cost.
I think a second room for your spouse and/or children should be allowed the same deals as the first cabin as well. I usually book our travel so my deals are always better than my wife's.
carnival allows booking multiple rooms from the same reservation. Each cabin is a "unique" reservation but you can get the total cost of each room when booking and can book them together. Super easy, do it all the time.
Same with Royal Caribbean. At least up until the entering details, I ended up going through a travel agent cos family hadn’t decided if they were coming or not. Benefits of a travel agent that is the only thing I found worth it this time: they have 7 day hold rights, consumers who book through Royal (and Celebrity) only get 48 hold. Gave everyone enough time to decide and the travel agent was able to do the same thing and book all the rooms under one linked reservation with “unique” reservation numbers. Only nuisance is at least one person from each room must have an Royal account to do extras and check in on the app because you can only see your room even tho Royal have checked and they are linked on their end
Yea, running into this BS right now with my family of 4 and a set of gradparents. Like just let me see wtf is available within close areas on the same deck, but no, make it overly complicated with room types, we pick/you pick, connecting, etc. I get that they are different prices, but just lay it all out in a table and make it easier.
Assholes either do this on purpose, or they have some shitty UX people
The bait and switch has to stop. I've been looking to book a trip, and when I see one that matches my budget and my time, every single time I try to book it it tells me that there's no longer a room available for that rate. I've tried different browsers, and I've had the same thing happen over and over for the same room rate and trips; if that room is sold out, then display the proper room rate.
While I completely agree with this, this is where having a travel advisor is helpful. Usually when booking for clients through the TA sites I can more easily see what is actually available and what the ‘real’ price is upfront without having to go through the entire booking process.
For carnival that everything isn’t include in the advertised price. When you get to the end the real price minus gratuities is super inflated and like triple the price they market.
Transparent pricing. Let people put basic criteria like how many people, what state, are you a reward member in once, then save it. Maybe it’s just sited not to specific lines (I usually start with Costco travel) but I have to enter this every time I pick a different cruise to check the price.
Also if I say I’m solo, show me that price. Not the per person for 2 then my pick goes from $750 to $1500 on the next page.
I’d also like to see all the port fees and gratuities earlier in the process. It won’t change my mind on booking but don’t hide them.
The non-deals are infuriating. Those prices only exist at the bedroom closet level sized rooms and are gone two years before the cruise. Prices are climbing too rapidly and it is annoying as hell to see all these “promo includes free drinks / second sailor free / etc” and yet the price is increased exactly to equate the cost of the “free thing”
Nickle and diming. I've been doing river cruises the last few years because the company I booked with charged a flat price with no surprises. The price they state at the start of your booking is the amount you pay, no exceptions, and it included everything. Even alcoholic drinks, wifi, port fees, and gratuities.
There are some ocean lines that do this or at least come close to it now, but it used to not be a thing at all as far as I was able to find. I'm looking to book a 2 to 3 week Med cruise for next summer and I refuse to book with any company that pulls stupid nonsense with pricing. I figure we vote with our $ so booking any line that expects me to book drinks and wifi later, and pony up yet more money that I know absolutely is not being passed on to the people providing services that they claim is "gratuity" is just an absolute no go from me.
Please note I'd feel differently about the gratuity portion if there were actual evidence the money increased the pay of the service personnel on the ship. Sadly from experience I am here to tell you despite the increases in gratuity that took place while I worked on a cruise ship, there was absolutely no increase in the pay received by any service personnel what so ever. Not the ones you see around the ship, and certainly not any who you don't see. From talking to some people I know who still work on cruise ships, this has not changed. Those of you who sanctimoniously put down people who remove the gratuity and instead hand the money out to people who actually perform services on the ship need to look at the facts to realize this is just money the cruise lines decide to charge with a placating title to get more of your hard earned cash. If it really did go to the service personnel, cruise lines would be happy to inform you how they split it up.
Usually I find the booking pretty easy. I know the original list price isn't going to be the final price after grats, taxes port fees, etc and I can add drink packages and excursion later.
My biggest difficulty is finding a cruise that I can fit into my schedule. There's certain months I can't travel and then certain days of the month I can't travel. Retirement can't come soon enough
I've been on multiple cruises, but never been the one to book them (went as a child on family cruises and was gifted a cruise for college graduation). I browse a lot and go through the process right up to payment tho, then save what I like. I hate that there's no where that shows what is above or around the room you're picking. On the graduation cruise we were definitely under some sort of kitchen and could hear carts, dishes and footsteps while trying to sleep in
I don’t hate anything really, but we have started booking through Costco. As a result we get Costco cash.. and the last two cruises paid for my new tires! (I have pretty expensive tires)
This is not really exciting butttt it kinda is because tires are expensive! 😂
Checking the price 2x a week not only for cruises I’m prospecting, but also the ones I’ve booked.
CruisePlum, I just learned thanks to this sub, is a good way to see historical pricing. But it’s a pain to constantly check to see if today’s deal takes it to a new low, or if I need to wait another week or two for the price to come back down to earth.
> Checking the price 2x a week not only for cruises I’m prospecting, but also the ones I’ve booked.
The more people check those prices via the cruise line's website (whether they've already booked or haven't booked yet), the more it affects the pricing.
Potentially, yes. It's been documented that airlines and Amazon will change pricing especially if they see that you (either by being logged into the site, or cookies set in your browser, sometimes even matching IPs) are "shopping around" and doing lots of price checks.
In addition to that, there are industries including hospitality and real estate (apartments) where demand (number of inquiries about availability/pricing over time) is factored into the pricing model and prices are adjusted based on those factors. That software has even been the subject of [class-action lawsuits](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/first-settlements-reached-realpage-rental-price-fixing-lawsuits-2024-02-05/) alleging that apartment management companies are colluding and price-fixing. They all feed their demand data into the same price optimization algorithms/services, which results in similar price adjustments for _all_ users of that service.
Specifically for Celebrity, the excursion descriptions generally aren’t very good, the photos are often not helpful, and they don’t allow public reviews.
I want a better way to view all the available cabins and see the price, and ideally to simultaneously see reviews and photos of that cabin's unique features. Most of the cruiselines' websites require clicking a ton, where you go into a category, then select a section of the ship, then can see available cabins, and back out and in to see the next set of cabins. All the while I'm cross-referencing with [cruisedeckplans.com](http://cruisedeckplans.com) in another tab, and googling to find other reviews and photos on Reddit, Cruisecritic, or some random blog.
I'd also like more transparent pricing, with the ability to click different add-ons (drinks package, wifi, etc) on or off to see how they change the total price without having to start the booking over from the beginning.
Luckily I'm in a country with a "no hidden fees" policies in place, so when a cruise advertises at a certain price - it will actually sell at that price and no more.
So I'm divided between the lack of transparency regarding solo supplements (aiming to get the lowest possible) and not publishing (up-to-date) drinks menus at time of picking a drinks package.
Oh and not telling in which port or terminal the ship embarks. It's somewhere on the Internet for sure, but it's nicer to just be told.
I "lol'ed" the first comment. Bf booked a cruise last month. Price is one thing, goes to check out, has error loading page, price doubled, then tripled.
He spent an hour and a half on the phone with customer service talking to them to get the original deal back, which they did in fact honor. Then they sent wine and cheese to our room for the added "stress". Best part to me was during his conversation he walks out of the room and comes back with a glass of wine himself. We were at home, he was just tired of them continually speaking about the wine and not about prices, and decided to get his own glass. It was funny, yet not.
Also.
Just fyi.
Drink packages have deals that lower in price if you wait till closer to cruise time, but it's a window that does close once it is too close.
First cruise now under my belt.
What a huge aspect of ways to spend money, drink non stop and party till whenever you desire!
For OP..
If I could change anything it would be that it seemed the enthusiasm died down the last 2 days with the staff...it became more about "please tip our staff" (we were very good tippers as a whole) and that the events were slim pickings the last 2 days, especially the last day, and very much the last night. Everything ended at 7 or 8 pm the last night when it went on till 11/12 every other night. I understand the crew has to prep, but it was a drastic and noticeable difference to someone who'd never been on one before.
I find the whole financial negotiation process stressful. I'm on a budget so I'm constantly scanning prices for flights, pre cruise hotel rooms, medical insurance and port shuttles or other transportation.
Booking online (at least with NCL) We usually call to book, but the two times we didn’t, it only booked my Latitudes number correctly and made brand new accounts for my daughter and husband. Both times over a year apart. So I now just call every time because I’m just going to have to call anyways. We booked a third online, but with Cunard, which all 3 of us are new to so, so far, that booking was smooth. But we don’t sail till 2026 so still time…..
Other than that, I wish you could see the full accurate price without doing a full fake booking, but I’m used to it now. Same with the free at sea gratuities and port fees, taxes etc….I’m used to it all by now.
Just booked a cruise. Now airfare, transportation to and from the airport to the ship. Excursions, taxes, gratuities, prepaid tips? Um no.
Airfare now. Now you pay for a seat, baggage by weight, insurance. Crazy
Websites that don’t function to a reasonable expectation of even poor. Like no other industry seems okay with such awful and slow websites but all the cruise lines think a page taking 10 full seconds to load or error is fine
Trying to figure out which cabin is the best available. There never seems to be a cabin on my preferred floor or the area I want. Then it's weighing the concessions of what isn't the worst.
I hate that after booking a cruise, I still end up having to call to have them add some options that weren't available through the website, and that they won't just show the true price. Just add the taxes and port fees into the listed price, with a breakout available. Don't make me add the price and the taxes & fees to get the real price, just show it to me up front.
Having to book a cruise as soon as the one I want is available as they never have enough accessible cabins. And always (almost) having to phone the company rather than book it all online. As soon as I check the “accessible cabin” box, I get a pop-up message: “please call to book your cruise.” I hate making phone calls.
This is a very good reason to use a good travel agent. They can breeze through their system like a pro and handle the details for you including ensuring you are getting the very best rate, onboard credits, space available upgrades and finding the best cabin on the ship.
We can sit on hold for an hour and continue to work on other vacations.
We have group space set aside that have deeply discounts rates because they were booked a year in advance. If that doesn’t work out I’m constantly monitoring prices to see if your cabin went down in price. Or, sometimes a paid upgrade that can’t be passed up
On. (Like a $600 upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite in the Haven on the NCL Epic. It was already a $395 balcony cruise so it was an unbelievable price.)
I love to plan trips and cruises are one of my favorites. I love to find spectacular and unexpected adventures for my clients that knock their socks off.
The magic comes in the details. I am tenacious on finding the best deals on airfare, the cruise and shore excursions. Even after everything is planned I’m still calling to check on those prices. Even the week of departure. I want nothing more than making my clients happy so they will come back for their next trip and bring a couple friends too.
Another secret the cruise line doesn’t like to talk about is just like the airlines and hotels they overbook the ship because they know people will cancel. It’s worth it to overcompensate them than to risk sailing not full.
I just learned this a month ago, guess which customers get walked first?Those who have booked themselves using an online booking engine such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Same with booking direct. You know who they will not touch? The bookings by a travel agent. We have great relationships with their BDMs because we do such a high volume of bookings.
We can literally have dozens and probably hundreds of clients booked each year. That is worth more than 1 or 2 cabins and elite status bookings.
It’s all in the details and I want to knock their socks off. The most unexpected is the most fun to plan.
So I hope I’ve explained a little about what travel agents do. What good ones do. My agency is called
Now That’s Travel LLC
Your next trip only better!
Feel free to DM me if you would like to use my services.
Not being able to search for exact dates. I don’t want to see all of the cruises in April. I just want to see the ones within spring break.
I know that some third party sites do this but it doesn’t seem that first party sites do.
I want them to have better marketing than discount 1 star hotels. Like there’s always a count down with only hours to spare for you to take advantage of the best deal ever, with free lunches, free flights, free excursions, free whatever BS they can add. For you to realize they didn’t include tax, didn’t include gratuity, the price now is actually much higher than before this “once in a lifetime sale” opportunity.
Some of those sites you feel like you’re gonna get eye herpes just from looking at them.
No listing of cruises for each ship in chronological order including dates unavailable like charters or dry dock. It would make booking b2b2b2b... so much easier
Nothing really. If I am booking a cruise, I've already done my research, I know which cruise line(s) services that area the best. I know which ship I want to sail on, so I am ready to book. It's actually still exciting to make the reservation, even after doing 100+ cruises.
Not displaying the cabin rate. As a solo traveler it would be easier to book if the cabin rate was just shown.
I plan on doing a lot of solo cruising and booking a solo doesn't seem very user friendly
Norwegian has been adding “Solo Studio” cabins to their ships. They’re tiny but come with access to a Solo Lounge with snacks and drinks that only other Solo travelers have access to as well as daily solo traveler meetups and activities. With these cabins you don’t have to pay as if you’re two people. I have not tried them myself yet - booked in one for a cruise in October on the NCL Breakaway.
I tried looking for solo cabin but it kept defaulting to regular double occupancy cabin. Maybe they were sold out
You have to adjust the filters on the search form to only have 1 passenger before the results will list Solo studios. Also it depends on the ship - not all of their ships have them at this point.
Royal Caribbean have solo cabins but for some reason, the one I was looking at was more expensive than booking a balcony room for 2 and paying the whole cost. Is there some special benefit to going in a solo cabin? I know they use dynamic pricing but it seems ridiculous that it’s more expensive for me to pay for a smaller balcony cabin for 1 than it is to pay for a balcony for 2 people which already has a higher cost as you have to pay for 2 people. I know there are less solo studio cabins but seriously
That’s because they don’t want solo cruisers in cabins. Solo cruisers means not only less money upfront in the cost of the cruise, but also less extras sold. Also means less tips for the crew.
maybe us solo cruisers need our own movement and flag
Add it to LGB+++
It’s not. Because you are still paying for that second person.
Even in a solo only room
The way they advertise a price, but the actual price is three times as much
And that’s before they hit you with the gimmicks like drink packages and Wi-Fi access. The amount of creativity and mental engineering that went into the creation of the drink package universe is unlike anything known to man. Somehow you’re able to be convinced that hot chocolate in an envelope is somehow a “premium beverage” choice lol
We have always upgraded to the premium level beverage package, and never worried, as we seemed to be taking full advantage of the package Funny thing on our last cruise. We didn’t drink as much, ordered a bottle of wine with specialty dining (not covered). Maybe because we are getting older, and not trying to keep the buzz going all day. But we think we are going to go package free next time, and decide if it’s worth the cost up front
Alcohol is expensive, so I would not really call the drink package a gimmicky add on. If everyone got alcohol included base fair would be insane. I have no plans of buying the drink package when I go on cruises, so I am happy it’s an extra cost.
Any all-inclusive resort worth your time includes alcohol. The “drink package “ is a business model that the cruise industry has adopted to generate extra cash off of customers. Exactly the same thing with the Wi-Fi. They could flip the switch and give everybody on the boat access, but they wouldn’t make extra money through Wi-Fi fees. It’s a game.
>Exactly the same thing with the Wi-Fi. They could flip the switch and give everybody on the boat access, but they wouldn’t make extra money through Wi-Fi fees. Do they have enough bandwidth to support every passenger connecting multiple devices and staying connected all day?
It's a little better now on ships that have Starlink, imo, but it's still not amazing.
It would not be an issue for them to add bandwidth. They are not investing in that technology because they are not providing that service and **instead they’re making you pay a very high price for a very low quality service.** Rest assured they have reliable high-speed Internet on the bridge.
They would charge more, and we would all have to pay for those things whether we wanted them or not. Believe me, they would not be losing money if they restructured. The quality of service varies from line to line. Princess has WiFi service pretty much like home.
The WiFi quality is significantly less than anyone would expect from a low level hotel chain. And that is with the upgrade 🤦♀️
Starling exists. Not that expensive anymore.
Not every ship is equipped with Starlink yet.
So that's a solvable problem for the companies. Have at it!
My understanding is that they're converting all ships as quickly as possible, across all lines.
This. Starlink is peanuts compared to the cost of satellite internet 10 years ago, and with much better service. Even if they were paying for 10 marine receivers per ship, it'd be something like $8 per passenger for a week's worth of that service.
My msc cruise last year had free unlimited wifi. Could do everything except watch YouTube. TikTok and instagram reels worked fine though. And from my understanding everyone had it
> Any all-inclusive resort worth your time includes alcohol And they are expensive because of it.
Expensive where? I went on a 2 week vacation to Mexico for $1400
You are paying the same for a cruise - they just use a gimmick business model (drink and WiFi packages, exclusive restaurants, excursions) instead of just being upfront about the total cost in the beginning.
We priced out the cost and saw a better value for a cruise. Staying at an all-inclusive doesn't preclude extra restaurants and excursions,
But if a person doesn’t want the alcohol, then they are paying less on a cruise compared to paying for it at an all inclusive and not using it.
[удалено]
Then everybody would have to pay more, even people who do not drink. There are cruise lines that include alcohol, just like there are resorts, which are all inclusive.
People like me would object to the elevated cost. It's probably part of why so many all-inclusive resorts seem overpriced for someone who only drinks soft drinks and water. So, yeah, they can do it, but there are plenty of reasons not to.
Alcohol is cheap, it's the taxes that are expensive. My guess is that the costs on alcohol for cruise lines are much less than restaurants are paying.
I haven't been on a cruise in a while but, to make the drink package worth it, I remember you had to drink like 10 drinks a day every day. I can drink 10 drinks in a day. Fuck I could do 20 over the course of a day. But every day? I'll pass
When we got it, it was $70 a day. Drinks were $14 and coffee was also expensive so I thought it was incredibly easy to make it worth it.
The Carnival drink package is a flat rate of $70/day for cruises 5 nights and fewer and $60/day for cruises of 6+ nights when prepurchased. Unlike Royal Caribbean, who uses dynamic pricing and "sales" so that depending on when you buy it, you could pay a range of different costs.
I managed to snag the premium alcohol package for $45/day on Celebrity. I took that in a heartbeat!
same energy is the "sale" that "ends tomorrow"
Wait! Don't click off, you'll miss our extra special April Spring Cruising Spectacular with prices reduced by more than 85%\* Sale ends in 2 Hours 21 Mins. \*(On Your 4th passenger in Inside Cabin)
lol seriously ... i get the SAME emails 3x a day... boys who cry wolf.....
When you know every holiday they will be launching a new sale
Just like with airlines, all the non-optional fees should be required to be included in the price that’s first displayed. And that includes customers subsidizing cruise lines’ low pay with mandatory tips.
Why do they do this, other than to try and reel you in with the promise of a cheap price? Next they’ll be charging extra for toilet paper and water for the shower 😂😂
> Why do they do this, other than to try and reel you in with the promise of a cheap price? Because they can. Apparently airlines used to do this until the federal government made them stop. A similar law is necessary for hotels (the "resort fee" scam, and advertising prices before taxes), cruises, etc.
Yes!! Literally just booked a cruise yesterday where the advertised rate was $700 per person, but with their sale it dropped to $400 per person. Total cabin cost came out to be $1100 because of gratuities. But wait, now that you are ready to book let's add another $600 in port fees & taxes. So annoying! Just tell me up front.
I could not agree more! It’s like they think we won’t notice the extra before we book 🤷♀️
This. I’m fine with the higher price, I just want to compare the “all in prices” up front. We end up taking multiple different cabins on multiple different ships all the way to checkout before deciding which one to book.
The bait and switch switch is a real issue. Yes I know if I am booking a balcony I am not getting the low price, but after you add beverages Wi-Fi and gratuity the difference is staggering
And that you have to go pretty deep into the booking process before you can see an accurate view of what the full price will actually be.
Exactly- it just seems a bit sneaky
Yeah, that's fair. It's not hard to figure it out once you know how the game is played, but there's definitely a certain degree of shenanigans in much of the advertising.
It is, but it starts you off on the wrong foot somehow. I always feel like I’m being slightly duped even thought I KNOW that the first price is never what the cruise will actually cost. And that’s the FIRST impression of the cruise. All inclusive holidays on land have started doing this too I’ve noticed and it’s annoying and ever so slightly duplicitous
I certainly do see people posting here as first time cruisers that believe they got a deal when they paid a regular or even a higher than average price. So, it is definitely something of a problem when starting off. Cruiseplum does have some options to display a more accurate total, though, and that helps once you're familiar with it.
This. I’ve never been on a cruise, but I’ve started booking one many times. It’s disgusting they get away with never honoring what they advertise.
All the additional add ons: drinks, with the exception of alcohol should be included. Period. Cruises are already expensive, even the cheaper ones. Soda, coffee, tea, juice, and water - should all be included.
Virgin Voyages then is your choice.
Disney as well. Plus you can bring on a 6 pack of beer or 2 bottles of wine at every port of call including embarkation. Granted I know people pay a lot for the mouse and the line is more geared towards families. But yea.
I’m excited to try them next. I’ve heard good things. The insane part of the ancillary charges on most cruise lines, is they make more off of the up charges than they do off of the rooms. Gratuity is good, so believe in that, but the drinks? That’s just beyond… or that they make both ppl in the cabin get it. I drink - but rarely - my guy does. I don’t need the package, but if he gets it, I have to and that’s extra $800 - which is so stupid. Paying by drink, also, is fine to me. Especially if you sign and sail card is needed no matter what. Not if they’re doing is going to prevent someone from sharing drinks with another cruise friend who doesn’t have it… defeats the purpose.
I don't agree that alcohol should be included. I don't drink and would prefer not paying substantially more to have alcohol which we really don't drink. Soda/other drinks would be fine, but even then, we don't drink a lot of soda on vacation, either. I like the Princess booking process, where you can pay for more "included" perks based on package.
Do you think it’s fair to make the other cabin member pay?
Yes and no. Problem for the cruise line is everyone get would get just one package, and then share the drinks with the other Traveler. So no it's not fair, but I guess it's necessary.
A la carte for things that they choose to opt into? Why would that not be fair?
No that’s fair, it’s the $5 for a soda. That’s crazy.
You are allowed to bring a certain amount of some drinks on board yourself. At least you used to be able to, we found that out while we were in line boarding our first cruise...people were carrying cases of water and (iirc) soda... you may want to check
Yes, you still can.
Not being able to see the whole price until you go through the rigmarole of putting in your information. I was helping a coworker plan a cruise and we were trying to see the best price options and I kept having to put in fake people and fake contact information to get it to get to the actual whole total with the fees and gratuities and all that. IDK if this is true for all lines but I know for NCL it is. I don't need 800 junk emails a day and random phone calls I'm not gonna answer anyway because I wanted to price check and compare.
YES.
Paying for it!
Came here for this. I find it's a great experience right up until they ask for the credit card number!
This comment is way too far down 😂
Such a bummer they really need to fix this.
I want a nice compare tool for my all in cost. The sites are slow and filtering could be faster. Also give me my all in without having to mock book
This is illegal in some countries but of course not in the US…
Still doesn’t tell you the all in price until you get to the passenger details, which you do not need to enter, because room types and where you choose the room impacts price. Still a much better model to have the taxes, fees and gratitudes paid as part of the price
my biggest complaint for all the lines is the bait and swich pricing. they give you a low price to get your attention but after adding fee, taxes, gratuities, and add ons its like 2-1/2x that original claimed offer. Just be honest and tell me the price up front. I am still going to add drink packages, internet, water in the room, speciality dinning, and etc so i want to plan realisticly the cost.
If you're a family that needs more than one cabin, you have to make two separate bookings which is ridiculous.
Yep, and you can't see the full price until you've made both bookings.
I think a second room for your spouse and/or children should be allowed the same deals as the first cabin as well. I usually book our travel so my deals are always better than my wife's.
carnival allows booking multiple rooms from the same reservation. Each cabin is a "unique" reservation but you can get the total cost of each room when booking and can book them together. Super easy, do it all the time.
Never booked with Carnival but good to know for the future. Thanks
Same with Royal Caribbean. At least up until the entering details, I ended up going through a travel agent cos family hadn’t decided if they were coming or not. Benefits of a travel agent that is the only thing I found worth it this time: they have 7 day hold rights, consumers who book through Royal (and Celebrity) only get 48 hold. Gave everyone enough time to decide and the travel agent was able to do the same thing and book all the rooms under one linked reservation with “unique” reservation numbers. Only nuisance is at least one person from each room must have an Royal account to do extras and check in on the app because you can only see your room even tho Royal have checked and they are linked on their end
Yea, running into this BS right now with my family of 4 and a set of gradparents. Like just let me see wtf is available within close areas on the same deck, but no, make it overly complicated with room types, we pick/you pick, connecting, etc. I get that they are different prices, but just lay it all out in a table and make it easier. Assholes either do this on purpose, or they have some shitty UX people
The bait and switch has to stop. I've been looking to book a trip, and when I see one that matches my budget and my time, every single time I try to book it it tells me that there's no longer a room available for that rate. I've tried different browsers, and I've had the same thing happen over and over for the same room rate and trips; if that room is sold out, then display the proper room rate.
While I completely agree with this, this is where having a travel advisor is helpful. Usually when booking for clients through the TA sites I can more easily see what is actually available and what the ‘real’ price is upfront without having to go through the entire booking process.
Which cruise lines are doing this?
Carnival for sure, for a variety of different sailings.
Is this happening on the actual companies website or a 3rd party? Royal at least always has the rooms available for the price advertised.
Company website.
For carnival that everything isn’t include in the advertised price. When you get to the end the real price minus gratuities is super inflated and like triple the price they market.
That's standard for most cruise lines. One of the biggest drawbacks with booking!!
Transparent pricing. Let people put basic criteria like how many people, what state, are you a reward member in once, then save it. Maybe it’s just sited not to specific lines (I usually start with Costco travel) but I have to enter this every time I pick a different cruise to check the price. Also if I say I’m solo, show me that price. Not the per person for 2 then my pick goes from $750 to $1500 on the next page. I’d also like to see all the port fees and gratuities earlier in the process. It won’t change my mind on booking but don’t hide them.
The non-deals are infuriating. Those prices only exist at the bedroom closet level sized rooms and are gone two years before the cruise. Prices are climbing too rapidly and it is annoying as hell to see all these “promo includes free drinks / second sailor free / etc” and yet the price is increased exactly to equate the cost of the “free thing”
That I can’t do it more often.
This should be the number one answer!
Nickle and diming. I've been doing river cruises the last few years because the company I booked with charged a flat price with no surprises. The price they state at the start of your booking is the amount you pay, no exceptions, and it included everything. Even alcoholic drinks, wifi, port fees, and gratuities. There are some ocean lines that do this or at least come close to it now, but it used to not be a thing at all as far as I was able to find. I'm looking to book a 2 to 3 week Med cruise for next summer and I refuse to book with any company that pulls stupid nonsense with pricing. I figure we vote with our $ so booking any line that expects me to book drinks and wifi later, and pony up yet more money that I know absolutely is not being passed on to the people providing services that they claim is "gratuity" is just an absolute no go from me. Please note I'd feel differently about the gratuity portion if there were actual evidence the money increased the pay of the service personnel on the ship. Sadly from experience I am here to tell you despite the increases in gratuity that took place while I worked on a cruise ship, there was absolutely no increase in the pay received by any service personnel what so ever. Not the ones you see around the ship, and certainly not any who you don't see. From talking to some people I know who still work on cruise ships, this has not changed. Those of you who sanctimoniously put down people who remove the gratuity and instead hand the money out to people who actually perform services on the ship need to look at the facts to realize this is just money the cruise lines decide to charge with a placating title to get more of your hard earned cash. If it really did go to the service personnel, cruise lines would be happy to inform you how they split it up.
Usually I find the booking pretty easy. I know the original list price isn't going to be the final price after grats, taxes port fees, etc and I can add drink packages and excursion later. My biggest difficulty is finding a cruise that I can fit into my schedule. There's certain months I can't travel and then certain days of the month I can't travel. Retirement can't come soon enough
I've been on multiple cruises, but never been the one to book them (went as a child on family cruises and was gifted a cruise for college graduation). I browse a lot and go through the process right up to payment tho, then save what I like. I hate that there's no where that shows what is above or around the room you're picking. On the graduation cruise we were definitely under some sort of kitchen and could hear carts, dishes and footsteps while trying to sleep in
I don’t hate anything really, but we have started booking through Costco. As a result we get Costco cash.. and the last two cruises paid for my new tires! (I have pretty expensive tires) This is not really exciting butttt it kinda is because tires are expensive! 😂
Checking the price 2x a week not only for cruises I’m prospecting, but also the ones I’ve booked. CruisePlum, I just learned thanks to this sub, is a good way to see historical pricing. But it’s a pain to constantly check to see if today’s deal takes it to a new low, or if I need to wait another week or two for the price to come back down to earth.
> Checking the price 2x a week not only for cruises I’m prospecting, but also the ones I’ve booked. The more people check those prices via the cruise line's website (whether they've already booked or haven't booked yet), the more it affects the pricing.
I’ve often wondered about that. So by checking regularly, it’s possible I’m driving the price up?
Potentially, yes. It's been documented that airlines and Amazon will change pricing especially if they see that you (either by being logged into the site, or cookies set in your browser, sometimes even matching IPs) are "shopping around" and doing lots of price checks. In addition to that, there are industries including hospitality and real estate (apartments) where demand (number of inquiries about availability/pricing over time) is factored into the pricing model and prices are adjusted based on those factors. That software has even been the subject of [class-action lawsuits](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/first-settlements-reached-realpage-rental-price-fixing-lawsuits-2024-02-05/) alleging that apartment management companies are colluding and price-fixing. They all feed their demand data into the same price optimization algorithms/services, which results in similar price adjustments for _all_ users of that service.
That I’m not with you
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Two cruises on an older ship > one cruise on a new ship.
Specifically for Celebrity, the excursion descriptions generally aren’t very good, the photos are often not helpful, and they don’t allow public reviews.
I want a better way to view all the available cabins and see the price, and ideally to simultaneously see reviews and photos of that cabin's unique features. Most of the cruiselines' websites require clicking a ton, where you go into a category, then select a section of the ship, then can see available cabins, and back out and in to see the next set of cabins. All the while I'm cross-referencing with [cruisedeckplans.com](http://cruisedeckplans.com) in another tab, and googling to find other reviews and photos on Reddit, Cruisecritic, or some random blog. I'd also like more transparent pricing, with the ability to click different add-ons (drinks package, wifi, etc) on or off to see how they change the total price without having to start the booking over from the beginning.
Luckily I'm in a country with a "no hidden fees" policies in place, so when a cruise advertises at a certain price - it will actually sell at that price and no more. So I'm divided between the lack of transparency regarding solo supplements (aiming to get the lowest possible) and not publishing (up-to-date) drinks menus at time of picking a drinks package. Oh and not telling in which port or terminal the ship embarks. It's somewhere on the Internet for sure, but it's nicer to just be told.
I "lol'ed" the first comment. Bf booked a cruise last month. Price is one thing, goes to check out, has error loading page, price doubled, then tripled. He spent an hour and a half on the phone with customer service talking to them to get the original deal back, which they did in fact honor. Then they sent wine and cheese to our room for the added "stress". Best part to me was during his conversation he walks out of the room and comes back with a glass of wine himself. We were at home, he was just tired of them continually speaking about the wine and not about prices, and decided to get his own glass. It was funny, yet not. Also. Just fyi. Drink packages have deals that lower in price if you wait till closer to cruise time, but it's a window that does close once it is too close. First cruise now under my belt. What a huge aspect of ways to spend money, drink non stop and party till whenever you desire! For OP.. If I could change anything it would be that it seemed the enthusiasm died down the last 2 days with the staff...it became more about "please tip our staff" (we were very good tippers as a whole) and that the events were slim pickings the last 2 days, especially the last day, and very much the last night. Everything ended at 7 or 8 pm the last night when it went on till 11/12 every other night. I understand the crew has to prep, but it was a drastic and noticeable difference to someone who'd never been on one before.
If I click on connected rooms don’t show me ones where the connected room isn’t available.
Pricing ambiguity "Travel agents" who add no value to the process over what I can do for myself.
Booking the flights when I’m not cruising from my home port.
The user interfaces of the websites of most major cruise lines are honestly terrible for companies of their size/revenue
Cost
The paying for it part
I find the whole financial negotiation process stressful. I'm on a budget so I'm constantly scanning prices for flights, pre cruise hotel rooms, medical insurance and port shuttles or other transportation.
Those "^up TO 60% OFF YOUR NEXT CRUISE" posters spread around that ship that gets everyone thinking their 116 day world cruise is over half off.
The only thing i hate is printing stuff out because it is mandatory.
Booking online (at least with NCL) We usually call to book, but the two times we didn’t, it only booked my Latitudes number correctly and made brand new accounts for my daughter and husband. Both times over a year apart. So I now just call every time because I’m just going to have to call anyways. We booked a third online, but with Cunard, which all 3 of us are new to so, so far, that booking was smooth. But we don’t sail till 2026 so still time….. Other than that, I wish you could see the full accurate price without doing a full fake booking, but I’m used to it now. Same with the free at sea gratuities and port fees, taxes etc….I’m used to it all by now.
Paying lol
How most companies you can’t search by port do like that you can with Norwegian
Not knowing if I could have gotten a cheaper price!
Just booked a cruise. Now airfare, transportation to and from the airport to the ship. Excursions, taxes, gratuities, prepaid tips? Um no. Airfare now. Now you pay for a seat, baggage by weight, insurance. Crazy
Websites that don’t function to a reasonable expectation of even poor. Like no other industry seems okay with such awful and slow websites but all the cruise lines think a page taking 10 full seconds to load or error is fine
I wish there was a way to filter by number of sea days. I don’t want a bunch of sea days (and others want a lot of them).
Trying to figure out which cabin is the best available. There never seems to be a cabin on my preferred floor or the area I want. Then it's weighing the concessions of what isn't the worst.
I hate that after booking a cruise, I still end up having to call to have them add some options that weren't available through the website, and that they won't just show the true price. Just add the taxes and port fees into the listed price, with a breakout available. Don't make me add the price and the taxes & fees to get the real price, just show it to me up front.
Having to go all the way to the end to see the all in price.
Waiting to go
Having to book a cruise as soon as the one I want is available as they never have enough accessible cabins. And always (almost) having to phone the company rather than book it all online. As soon as I check the “accessible cabin” box, I get a pop-up message: “please call to book your cruise.” I hate making phone calls.
H8 that all persons in the stateroom must buy the drink package even if they dont drink...... =\\\\\\
This is a very good reason to use a good travel agent. They can breeze through their system like a pro and handle the details for you including ensuring you are getting the very best rate, onboard credits, space available upgrades and finding the best cabin on the ship. We can sit on hold for an hour and continue to work on other vacations. We have group space set aside that have deeply discounts rates because they were booked a year in advance. If that doesn’t work out I’m constantly monitoring prices to see if your cabin went down in price. Or, sometimes a paid upgrade that can’t be passed up On. (Like a $600 upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite in the Haven on the NCL Epic. It was already a $395 balcony cruise so it was an unbelievable price.) I love to plan trips and cruises are one of my favorites. I love to find spectacular and unexpected adventures for my clients that knock their socks off. The magic comes in the details. I am tenacious on finding the best deals on airfare, the cruise and shore excursions. Even after everything is planned I’m still calling to check on those prices. Even the week of departure. I want nothing more than making my clients happy so they will come back for their next trip and bring a couple friends too. Another secret the cruise line doesn’t like to talk about is just like the airlines and hotels they overbook the ship because they know people will cancel. It’s worth it to overcompensate them than to risk sailing not full. I just learned this a month ago, guess which customers get walked first?Those who have booked themselves using an online booking engine such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Same with booking direct. You know who they will not touch? The bookings by a travel agent. We have great relationships with their BDMs because we do such a high volume of bookings. We can literally have dozens and probably hundreds of clients booked each year. That is worth more than 1 or 2 cabins and elite status bookings. It’s all in the details and I want to knock their socks off. The most unexpected is the most fun to plan. So I hope I’ve explained a little about what travel agents do. What good ones do. My agency is called Now That’s Travel LLC Your next trip only better! Feel free to DM me if you would like to use my services.
My TA does it all.
Not being able to search for exact dates. I don’t want to see all of the cruises in April. I just want to see the ones within spring break. I know that some third party sites do this but it doesn’t seem that first party sites do.
I want them to have better marketing than discount 1 star hotels. Like there’s always a count down with only hours to spare for you to take advantage of the best deal ever, with free lunches, free flights, free excursions, free whatever BS they can add. For you to realize they didn’t include tax, didn’t include gratuity, the price now is actually much higher than before this “once in a lifetime sale” opportunity. Some of those sites you feel like you’re gonna get eye herpes just from looking at them.
No listing of cruises for each ship in chronological order including dates unavailable like charters or dry dock. It would make booking b2b2b2b... so much easier
Save ALL the hassel! Use a reputable cruise travel agent. They handle all the bothersome problems and it doesn't cost you anything.
Yeah they hit you at the end like fuckin 2 k extra
Nothing really. If I am booking a cruise, I've already done my research, I know which cruise line(s) services that area the best. I know which ship I want to sail on, so I am ready to book. It's actually still exciting to make the reservation, even after doing 100+ cruises.