Cruising still a good value?

We love cruises.

However, with recent lower oil prices, we see most of the airlines has lowered their fares, as well as lots of competition, esp going to the Carib & central/south America.

Lots of good discounts on All Inclusive resorts in those areas also.

With almost 30 cruises, we've always considered cruising to be a good/great value in the past.

However, we've seen that cruise prices has actually increased in the locations that we want to travel to, plus increases in port charges & gratuities (usually add another approx $200 for per person to the total price of the cruise).

Please, no flames from you hard-core cruisers.

Just an observation, as for spending our hard-earned $$$ towards our future vacations in cruising vs flight & All Inclusive resorts....

Thoughts?

First of all, Thank you for your service.

We do both and still consider cruising a good value. Part of the reason for me is: once I get on the ship, I don't have to think about where we are eating that night. Also, I love exploring ships, becoming reacquainted with old ones and just watching the sea.

Cheers.

What's a "value" for some isn't for others! I think cruising is a great relaxing vacation, but if I really wanted to explore a particular area, I would do a land-based trip...you have so much more time to see/do what you want than on a cruise, with limited port times.

We love cruises.

 

However, with recent lower oil prices, we see most of the airlines has lowered their fares, as well as lots of competition, esp going to the Carib & central/south America.

Lots of good discounts on All Inclusive resorts in those areas also.

 

With almost 30 cruises, we've always considered cruising to be a good/great value in the past.

However, we've seen that cruise prices has actually increased in the locations that we want to travel to, plus increases in port charges & gratuities (usually add another approx $200 for per person to the total price of the cruise).

 

Please, no flames from you hard-core cruisers.

Just an observation, as for spending our hard-earned $$$ towards our future vacations in cruising vs flight & All Inclusive resorts....

 

Thoughts?

We mix our vacations now. One on cruise one on land. Resort is cheaper for Canadians . We pay top back to flight to Miami even :mad: .

Good value when you don't need to fly long haul to meet the ship. Where else can you get a hotel room with a balcony and fabulous views, all meals, free laundry and entertainment for under $200 per day??

It's the reason we continue to cruise Princess :)

We took a land vacation this summer--rented a farmhouse in the Virginia foothills. We visited wineries, hiked in the Shenandoah National Park, toured presidential houses, shopped for antiques, etc. Our week there was totally different from the types of things we do on a cruise. Budget wise, it was about half the cost. That said, I don't think we'll give up taking cruises.

Yes, costs have gone up. Even hotels have gone up. And getting a hotel on a holiday is still high. But even with the cruise you still get your meals included. So I find for me it is still a good value.

I dont know about the rest of you but we spend our daily lives seeking value in the necessities of life. Seeking value in a vacation that is designed to get us away from madding crowd seems counter to the purpose of a vacation. Is cruising a good value for the buck? We don't choose vacations based on value - we choose them to get away and within reason of course, the cost of a cruise is secondary to us. We love the ship, we seldom get off and like someone mentioned earlier, it's wonderful to be "at sea". I guess in the end, value is a very personal thing.

We did a land resort all inclusive last summer and I was mostly bored silly. Travel to me is travel, moving from one place to another, seeing something new every day. I don't have money to burn, but I never consider a vacation for its monetary "value." That said, I still think cruising is a good one.

I have brochures from the early '70s when I first cruised and the fares are remarkably similar. Yes, taxes and port fees have gone up; but the automatic gratuities are still below what I usually give. Where the cost of a cruise can go through the roof is all the "extra fee" opportunities we now have. But we keep the spending under control and still consider cruising a good value.

I have brochures from the early '70s when I first cruised and the fares are remarkably similar. Yes, taxes and port fees have gone up; but the automatic gratuities are still below what I usually give. Where the cost of a cruise can go through the roof is all the "extra fee" opportunities we now have. But we keep the spending under control and still consider cruising a good value.

Fares may be similar but not the product for price paid.

It depends on where you want to go and what you want to see.

Compared to many on here, we have not been on that many cruises, but we also have a very nice RV and like visiting some of the fantastic State and National parks in the western US. (so far)

Our goal is to see and experience as much of this amazing world as we can in our lifetime. So far our only trip to Europe was on a Grand Mediterranean cruise which was amazing. I don't think there is any way that we could

have seen so much at so many amazing places any other way than on this cruise. That said my wife is not a great fan of sea days so when we go to Hawaii, we rent a house for the time we are there. We do prefer any island but Oahu.

Our next trip to Europe will include London, Paris and Switzerland. The most practical way to do that is not on a cruise, so it will be planes and trains and car.

Like I said, It depends on what you want to experience. There is no wrong answer.

We think there are still great values to be had, but you have to be more diligent about looking than in the past. We end up getting a discount on many cruises by just watching the prices and calling to ask for the new price if we see it. We've never had that happen on other types of vacations.

Cruises still include a lot as well. Your hotel floats with you from place to place, there is always something to eat, something to do, etc. without paying extra unless you want.

It's not as good of deal as it used to be, but almost nothing is these days.

Tom

We still find cruising to be a good value to us! :)

First of all, Thank you for your service.

 

We do both and still consider cruising a good value. Part of the reason for me is: once I get on the ship, I don't have to think about where we are eating that night. Also, I love exploring ships, becoming reacquainted with old ones and just watching the sea.

 

Cheers.

Can't argue with your statement. We love cruising. This months cruise to Hawaii will be our 18th all on Princess. As far as I'm concerned cruising represents a great value. We board the ship, unpack once, don't have to worry about meals, we can do everything or nothing and best of all just watch the world go by! Furthermore we always meet positive and upbeat folks share a laugh or two. We still communicate with folks we met 14 years ago on our Alaska cruise.

We think there are still great values to be had, but you have to be more diligent about looking than in the past...It's not as good of deal as it used to be, but almost nothing is these days...

I agree. There can be wide varieties among pppd fares from cruise to cruise, even on the same ship and itinerary. I have saved considerably from time to time by moving my cruise date by a week or two as fares changed. If you are flying to the ship, this becomes potentially more complicated and costly, however.

We are a couple now in our 90's. A cruise is about the only only kind of a vacation we can take now days. We can no longer ski, hike, drive long distances or the other things we used to do. All we have to do now is get packed, survive air travel and arrive at the ship in time for lunch in the MDR. Its a good value for us. Can't wait. 20 days in February away from the ice and snow.:)

We love cruises.

 

However, with recent lower oil prices, we see most of the airlines has lowered their fares, as well as lots of competition, esp going to the Carib & central/south America.

Lots of good discounts on All Inclusive resorts in those areas also.

 

With almost 30 cruises, we've always considered cruising to be a good/great value in the past.?

 

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Have you compared the prices.

You have to do simple arithmetic to answer your question.

How much will it cost for the cabin category you want for seven days (or however many you wish to cruise), add airfare to embarkation port and return, add tips, add bar bill, add alternative restaurant fees.........

Then compute how much it will cost to fly to your AI, stay same number of nights, tips (if any).

I have started to feel for a while that cruising in high cost suites is no longer as good a value for the money as it used to be. I think it is still a good value for some of the lower cost cabins. Too many cut backs on some of the ships/cruise lines to still consider high end suites as 'worth it' as we used to think.

JMO ....

What's a "value" for some isn't for others! I think cruising is a great relaxing vacation, but if I really wanted to explore a particular area, I would do a land-based trip...you have so much more time to see/do what you want than on a cruise, with limited port times.

So glad we did that when we were younger. Now travelling like that is a bit too difficult, so cruising is the way to go for us. It can still be a great value in the right season.

Good value when you don't need to fly long haul to meet the ship. Where else can you get a hotel room with a balcony and fabulous views, all meals, free laundry and entertainment for under $200 per day??

No free laundry for most people on most ships. Most people do not have such loyalty benefits.

I have brochures from the early '70s when I first cruised and the fares are remarkably similar. Yes, taxes and port fees have gone up; but the automatic gratuities are still below what I usually give. Where the cost of a cruise can go through the roof is all the "extra fee" opportunities we now have. But we keep the spending under control and still consider cruising a good value.

Fares may be similar but not the product for price paid.

I also have some old brochures. One shows the fares in 1975 were in the $500pp range for a week cruise. Fares for similar staterooms on today's cruise ships are still about $500pp for many week long itineraries. But with inflation, that 1970's $500 equates to $2,214 today. Put another way, our $500pp fare today would only be $112 in 1975. Dollar for dollar, cruises were much more expensive then than they are today.

It is easy to claim that fares today are "remarkably similar" if one ignores inflation, which it seems you are doing. The simple fact is that almost everything is more expensive today - except cruising, which still costs about the same as it did then. For example, in 1975, a brand new Chevrolet Impala cost $5,500. What similar sized car can you buy for that amount today?

With all the amenities that the new ships have that the old ships did not - especially in stateroom size, availability of balconies, and variety of lounges and restaurants - today's fares are a fantastic bargain compared to 40 years ago.

And as far as those "through the roof ... extra fee opportunities" we now have, virtually none of them were available on any cruise ship in the 1970s. In the 1970s, you didn't have a choice of restaurants, fee or otherwise. It was the main dining room for all meals. You ate there or went hungry. Today, these "extras" are all optional, and additional to what you still get for the base fare.

I think its still good value even with long haul flights. Our 13 day Panama Canal cruise holiday was £300 cheaper pp than your average all inclusive 2 week holiday in Mexico. When you consider that we spend less than that per person on alcohol on board it really seems like great value especially when you factor in the visiting other countries and entertainment on board costs. This was in the peak summer season too!

Cruising will never be a cheap holiday (at least for me and my fellow countrymen) but its certainly a lot for your money.

...I have started to feel for a while that cruising in high cost suites is no longer as good a value for the money as it used to be. I think it is still a good value for some of the lower cost cabins. Too many cut backs on some of the ships/cruise lines to still consider high end suites as 'worth it' as we used to think...

I have never booked a suite on a ship, just balconies or lower. From what I understand from those I know who do book suites on mainstream lines, the situation is similar to that of current domestic first-class on the airlines. You are mostly paying for more "real estate" these days, the extra service that used to come along with it has largely disappeared.

I've thought that if I were ever to spend suite-level prices for a cruise, that I might consider a lesser cabin on a luxury line instead of a suite on a mainstream line for a similar amount.

Any thoughts from those who have done both?

Cruising competes with other travel options for us-usually independent land trips, AI, etc. We often combine a cruise with an independent land trip.

We have been taking far fewer cruises lately. Partly because of the cost, partly because the decline in the value of our currency makes some cruises more expensive for us. So for our travel dollar, cruising is not nearly as attractive a few years ago when the world economy was poor, there were many last minute cruise deals, and our currency was high.

Overall I would say that for us the value is down. The prices seem to be going up and the service deliverables seem to be going down. Plus we are a little cruised out.

Cruising competes with other travel options for us-usually independent land trips, AI, etc. We often combine a cruise with an independent land trip.

 

We have been taking far fewer cruises lately. Partly because of the cost, partly because the decline in the value of our currency makes some cruises more expensive for us. So for our travel dollar, cruising is not nearly as attractive a few years ago when the world economy was poor, there were many last minute cruise deals, and our currency was high.

 

Overall I would say that for us the value is down. The prices seem to be going up and the service deliverables seem to be going down. Plus we are a little cruised out.

Ditto....even though we haven't had to deal with what the Canadians are going through. But, the Euro has weakened relative to the US$, so now land based Europe is quite competitive as to all in price, if not cheaper than cruising.