Why not cruise?

Why not Cruise?


Today’s blog will be a bit different.  I always hate when people say they want a good value, but are actually looking for cheap.  They are rarely the same thing.  See, cheap is a price point.  Price is what you pay for something.  Value is the worth (or in the case of travel, the experiences you get from it) of the item you are purchasing.  A $2 watch is cheap, but not a good value. 

With that being said, I want to now speak to every one of you who have NOT taken a cruise.   Yes, you.

One of the biggest reasons I hear for not wanting to take a cruise, is price.  So let’s look at that for a minute. 

On the surface, a cruise looks more expensive (meaning higher in price) than a comparable hotel stay.  But let’s look at it a bit more in detail. 

Land room – what is included for a four night’s stay.  You get a room with a bed and a TV, usually a mini fridge and sometimes a coffee maker.  You get room cleaning, fresh towels, an extra pillow and blanket, and in some places, expensive room service.  A few places now offer a continental breakfast.   Most hotels in resort areas also have a pool and sometimes a gym or exercise room (or at least I am told this…I’ve never actually thought about exercising while on vacation.)

Land room – what is not included for a four night’s stay.  Meals.  Now don’t get me wrong, this could be a small part of your vacation budget…but when I’m on vacation I do NOT want McDonald’s every lunch and dinner!  So, we plan on something a bit more expensive for our meals.  We may eat fast food for lunch, but when dinner comes around, we want real food.  If we are staying at a beach resort that means seafood.    We generally spend as much on food as we do the actual room.  At least!  Also, entertainment.  Shows, shopping, sightseeing.  How much do you spend on that?

Cruise –what is included in a four night’s stay.  Cabin with all the amenities of a hotel room, along with a nice cabin steward who not only cleans it…but does it twice a day, including the turn down service in the evening.  Fresh towels as often as you need them.  Nice towel animals every night! A TV and usually a mini fridge, but rarely a coffee maker.  At least one pool, some have ropes courses and water slides.  Meals.  As in all you can eat meals.  Some are fast food type, some are dining room type, and some are buffet types.  Desserts.  Ditto what is said under meals.  Shows.  Shopping.  Entertainment. 

Dr Seuss Breakfast aboard the Carnival Sunshine

Sunrises

Dining included

Comfy beds

Water Sports!

Cruise- what is not included on a four night’s stay – some specialty dining.  Almost every cruise ship will have a specialty dining room that offers a signature dining experience. These are not included, but can be had for a nominal charge.  Alcohol.  While you can purchase a drink package to add this to your stay and not have to worry about it.  Occasionally there will be a specialty entertainment option on the cruise, this is also extra.  Excursions.  This is when you are in port and want to go exploring your port…although not mandatory to have a good time, these can be fun and even educational (don’t tell the kids) and some are better values than others.

Have you done the math?  I have.  While every trip or sailing is different based on your particular needs and wants, Almost every single time, the cruise is a much better value than a land based vacation...and that is stopping at this point in the calculations.

So, this shows you that when you boil it down to total costs, the cruise often turns out to be a much better value than a land based trip.

Now, let’s take this a step farther.  Your cruise ship moves.  (Duh!)  So, you go to sleep in one spot and wake up in a new port.  No packing and unpacking.  Yet you are now visiting a new country or island… All you do is get up and eat a BIG breakfast (although if you choose, you CAN get a continental breakfast) and head off the ship to explore a new island.  Then after a long day of scuba, snorkeling, dolphins, or just plain shopping, you come back on board and get ready for a delicious dinner.

And you repeat this for each destination!

Now, on a land based vacation, if you wanted to visit more than one island in a short trip, you have to book multiple rooms, transportation between the hotel and airport, and airport to room…the air fare… you get the idea.  Plus, you have to pack and unpack each day!

I hope that gave you some food for thought.  But in case you need a little bit more convincing let me share a personal story with you.  Two years ago, my extended family rented a beach house in Destin.  There were three families to share the expenses.  We cooked at the house all but two nights.  On those two nights we went out to dinner…once as a family group and one night each couple went out for a date night.  We did not go cheap.  But we did not go super expensive either.  This was a normal moderately priced trip during the week prior to Memorial Day.  When we got home I was curious as to what the cost would have been to go on a cruise instead.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much we would have saved if we had taken a cruise!  We could have gotten three verandah cabins for as much as we paid for the lodging and meals.  

Next time we will talk about another of the common reasons for not wanting a cruise vacation… Seasickness.