Extra charges on cruise ships
 

Please help me to remeber all the extra things that cruise lines have charged for over the years that were never offered on older cruise ships:

1. Meal-time shows on NCL (Cirque Dreams & dinner, Nickelodeon Breakfast). Hey, the truth is these meals are not better than what you getting in the main dining room, so you were paying for the entertainment.

2. 3D movies on new Costa ships. The Deliziosa has a small 3-D movie theater where they show short (about 20-minute) shows. The cost per seat is about 10 Euro (not cheap) but the movies are fun.

3. Costa Grand Prix racing experience: they have a simulated Grand Prix racer you sit in and it is like driving the car - cost is about 8 Euro

4. Bowling on NCL - the cost is about $4 per line

5. Bowling on MSC - cost is about the same.

Wasn't there a surcharge for Tony & Tina's wedding on some NCL ships?

Please just help remember any unusual things you have paid for (or remember being offered) on any cruise...

Name brand food outlets, such as Johnny Rockets and Ben & Jerry's on Royal Caribbean. Does Princess still have the Haagan Dazs ice cream stands?

No, Princess does not have Haagen Dazs but they now have gelato they charge for - as do many cruise ships.

That is a good point - that was a bone of contention for years.

Here is another one: beach towels (although this was refundable).

Pizza delivery is another one - $5 on the Epic. How much is it on Royal Caribbean, $1? (or is it more, my mind isnt working right now). Royal does charge for room service after midnight.

RCI doesn't deliver pizza (I don't think it is on the room service menu either). They charge $3.95 per order for room service between midnight and 5am.

Also, soft drinks used to be complimentary during meal times in the dining room for years. In fact I recall they also had self-serve soda fountains in the buffet restaurants on Princess and RCI, which they'd shut down in between meal times (back when the buffets were not open virtually around the clock). Of course that is all history now.

Cruising has become like the airlines....want a pillow ..pay! Want 4 bags..pay! Now cruising is following suit..I remember the ice cream wars, when everyone was crying, "they are nickel and diming us to death" Guess what, those same people are wishing for those good old days:(

For some cruisers now, to get the caliber of food they used to get, they feel have to go to a surcharge restaurant. Other cruisers, say, I will not pay extra, for anything...

Ice cream, specialty coffees, dining venues, etc, say... ka~ching to the cruise lines, to make up for some real low cruise deals.....I guess nowadays we can't have it both ways....They will figure out more ways as we cruise into the future....

No one is going to listen to me. I don't have any fancy degrees from Harvard or Yale. But I will say this, I do stay informed. I read Cruise Travel magazine and I get my info from several different sources.
If cruise lines keep on nagging people for a couple of bucks here and there they will lose custumers.
With all the new ships coming out almost every month, I expect at least one (if not more) of the cruiselines to go under. (I mean economically).

We have many choices of places to go and if the cruiselines want our business they will get more by being pleasant than by being cheap.

TM

Cocktails at the Captain's Party

Manuel..many of us on this board value your input..you appear to have a Masters in Common Sense from the University of International Life

cruise lines (like the airlines) only charge because they can get away with it..if no one cruised them because of the charges, they would not charge, but they also know that all the cruiselines are doing it..Southwest Airlines has the perfect racket..they spend tons of money to advertise they don't charge for 2 check bags, they have managed to take market share away from their rivals, but they absorb the cost into the ticket..so in many instances, SW is not the lowest cost carrier in the market anymore but the perception by the consumer is that they bring added value

in the cruise business some consumers folks balk at paying for certain ammenities on the ship.the cruiseline marketing pitch over the years has set that expectation.it makes one take a second look at some of the perceived high cost (but all inclusive) premium lines as a very good value for your $$$...it's a fine balancing act that I am sure will work itself out...

The cruiselines do not make these decisions to charge for certain things in a vacuum. There is a business model they operate under that really makes this necessary. In the past, cruiselines could make a pretty good profit with the cruisefare charged to passengers, but not so much anymore. The cruise industry has very high fixed cost, and we now live in an extremely price conscious society. How many times have we all followed threads where the poster is looking for the absolutely lowest price for the cheapest cabin? Adjusted for inflation, cruisefares are the lowest in many years, they just don't make the money off the cruisefares that they used too.

Cruiselines are a business, and they are in business to make money. They know that they really cannot jack up the cruisefares, so they provide extras at a cost to make up the revenue. We see cruisers here complain about the extra xharges all the time, but if the cruiselines were to really roll those into the basic cruisefare, I think I can safely predict many of the cruisers here would go crazy!

Someyimes it seems like those that complain about the extra costs or cutbacks think the cruiselines are out to get you. They are really just trying to survive a serious recession and stay "afloat" so to speak.

My personal pet peve - steam and sauna usage. Not the thermal suites, but plain ol' steam and sauna on NCL.

We have a choice
 

I'm not taking the cruise lines sides here but put yourself in their place--take Johnny Rockets--started out free and as a good thing. then kids took it over, spending hours at a time in there, wasting food, having food fights, etc, to the point where folks couldn't even get in to get a seat. Result-- charges to discourage the kids from hanging out and wasting so much food.

Room service-- used to be free 24 hours a day. Now they do have a very minimal charge for room service from around 1 a.m. through 5 a.m. Reason-- kids ordering all manner of food at all hours, wasting it and drunks coming in, ordering food, plopping down on the bed, passing out and 20-30 minutes later the room service waiter totes a tray of food for half a mile and can't get anyone to the door without waking half the ship--result--the food goes back and the prep time, the waiters time and sometimes the food itself is wasted.
I can't blame the cruise lines for this. At least the charges are passed on to the ones who use and abuse the system rather than just an across the board raise in fare to compensate for it.
Re / the specialty eateries, if one wants to eat there, fine. They know the charges up front--not like they're being tricked into it, but a lot of folks as soon as they set foot aboard start making reservations for these specialty eateries. There's food aplenty without paying extra and if any one goes on
cruise and comes away hungry, there is something wrong with them, not the cruise lines ! It's all a matter of being in control of your own spending.
If there's a charge for something and people buy it and it's successful, then why say it's the cruise lines fault? They only sell what people will buy.
But most of the " nickel and dime " complaints I see are for for silly things like ice cream, soda, etc. but rarely see where anyone drops $300-$400 dollars in the spa and complains nor do I see where folks complain about spending hundreds in the casino --but for $3.00 for room service at 2 a.m. or a buck.25 for a coke is terrible !! Just my opinion which means nothing to anyone but me. ;) ;)

Charging for specialty restaurants is not a new idea.

SS Bremen introduced an extra charge restaurant in 1906.

RMS Ttianic had a VERY expensive ala carte restaurant, "The Ritz" in 1912.

Royal Viking Sun introduced the extra charge Queens Grill in 1988.

Radisson Diamond had their extra charge Italian Restaurant in 1988.

Thanks for your compliment.

And I do have to agree that things will work out in the end.

I just hope that cruiselines don't lose a lot of custumers before that happens.

TM

How about the Cappuccino and danish lounge? It would be nice to have a coffee someplace other then the buffet area! but if you want it you pay big bucks for it!

I believe Princess on our last cruise charged a $5.00 room service fee for Pizza.

Our first Princess cruise they did charge for ice cream!

I don't mind the specialty restaurants because no one is forced to go there.

Happy Sailings
Tim

What we get a kick out of is what folks pay for an air-conditioned beach bungalow, or what ever they call them, on the cruise lines private islands. You are only there for a few hours! We go for the sun and water and outdoor activities--especially when we leave the cold and snow for a winter cruise!
But that's just us!

I don't want to end the conversation because I am still looking for as many spurious added charges as I can find (you guys help me write my articles).

But I really think Blueliner summed up what I keep thinking:

That's right - he then says that if you DID precharge for the extras you are getting on ships these days you would rebel. Things like FloRiders, rockclimbing walls, sushi bars, mongolian barbeque, swin against the current pools.

But let's keep the charges coming: here is another one - DVD rentals!!! I believe Holland America charges you a few bucks to rent a DVD from the Explorer's Cafe and take it back to your cabin - am I right or wrong about this?

Also - someone mentioned private cabanas on private islands...

What about cabana rebtals by the ship's pool. Is it Celebrity or Princess that charges something like $25/day for a private cabana? You don't even get the sun, and how private is it anyway?

I like the private part, but not at that price! Sheeeesh.

In 05, we split the cost of the cabana at Half Moon Cay, with our friends. At the time, I remember the cost being $219.00...half was still a splurge, as far as I was concerned If I ever even considered doing it again, the new price of, I think, $299.00, would be a complete turn off..

For "newer" cruisers, they know nothing else but these add on charges, for old timers, it can be a tough pill to swallow....

And people might be turned off and not want to cruise again.:-(

TM

My gosh. I know there is one cabana (I think a half moon cay) that is really special and comes with a bar tender, chef and its own snorkel gear - Did you get that one? for $219 for a cabana on an island? I hope so.

If that is for the regular cabanas that sounds outlandish. You could stay in Atlantis for the same price.

It's probably a good thing for the cruise lines right now that the prices are so low. They are at a point of charging so many extras that an all-inclusive vacation to one of the island might be a better deal. The airfare for us is a bummer. We live in a regional airport city (EVV) that does not have discount airlines. Our last cruise from here to FLL was booked by the Princess and we flew 300 miles north to end up south. The airfare itself was no bargain, and that's before you add the $160 checked back charges. For our next cruise we are driving the 850 miles to Port Canaveral.

What about cabana rebtals by the ship's pool. Is it Celebrity or Princess that charges something like $25/day for a private cabana? You don't even get the sun, and how private is it anyway?

Princess has the Sertenity area at the rear of the ship for $10 half day or $20 all day. Personally, I think they are a rip, unless you have an inside cabin, you can enjoy privacy right on your own balcony.

One of the weirdest charges I've encountered this year was on the Veendam.
Lovely ship, lovely cruise, but they charged a deposit of $10 for the key to go out on the deck for the lanai cabins. This is the key that will let you back in. Well, ok. Didn't bother me until I dropped it at the desk with about 50 people waiting in line for their complaints or whatever and I never got credited for the $10. I didn't go to the desk the next day to have it removed since there was such a long line.
It was petty, though, of the cruiseline to charge a deposit for the key. I could have asked my stateroom attendant to return it for me but he was busy enough.

Your Key to Promenade Deck
 

Now that is interesting because they advertize those Lanai cabins as your "Your Key to Promenade Deck", just wake up in morning and go for a walk outside your cabin.

Celebrity would charge for Spa/Sauna access on the Alaska cruise as in like we canwe sit on the deck when it 12C.

Overall I think cruise lines will benefit the people who have land access to major ports in the winter season as those new large ships that turnaround each week have to fill with passengers (5,000+) . That is a lot of passengers to find each week and local folks will find bargains and can expect to pay the extras for what is really not a lot of monies at that point. It is a small minority that do not pay for the extras while the average person probably drops about $300 to a $1,000 on top of the cruise rate.

Dave,

With the transition to automatic tipping... is that charge supposed to be the tip for delivery?

But then why don't they have the charge all the time?

I don't get it.

Norm.

Paul,

The one that really grates, for me, is the charge for the "premium" coffees and teas at the cafe or pastery shop on the atrium or the promenade. I'll gladly go up to the buffet, where coffee and tea are included, instead!

Norm.

Paul,

I missed almost 10 years of cruising, coming back to the fold in 2007.

Biggest change? $$$ wise ...

The hysteria about the "upsell fairy".

Upgrades used to be free on cruise lines and almost automatic if you had status.

I speak as a past frequent cruiser and as a working travel agent until the early 90's.

Now it is quite clear that a key part of the ship dispatcher's job is to monetize every operational upgrade.

Passengers would now outbid each other to receive what used to be given out FOC.

Hi BMP - welcome back. How does this bidding process work. I am not personally familiar with it.

Paul,

Nice to be welcomed back!

"Passengers would now outbid each other to receive what used to be given out FOC."

That's a hypothetical "would" ... if the cruise lines could figure out a way to do it, they would, given how eager many of their customers are now to pay for what used to be free.

P.S. I managed to score the brand new Hilton Garden Inn in Venice for 45 euros per night on lastminute.com as a "Top Secret" hotel, so I am well taken care of pre-cruise.

NIce! Secret Hotel, eh?