NautilusRestorations

I must be missing something. We've done 19 (I think) Princess cruises and always made all the arrangements. I'm just not sure what a travel agent could do for us that we couldn't do (and have done) for ourselves. Besides, making all the arrangements is fun and guarantees that we end up with everything we want. One thing is for sure, there are no hassles.

Is cruising (at least on Princess) a good deal? For the past 10 cruises, we have always booked interior rooms. All we do there is sleep, shower and dress anyway and so feel that the money we're saving over a balcony stateroom is much better spent on other things...anything! The views from the ships decks are not only better, they're panoramic! Generally, a hotel room comes with a window...with a view of the parking lot...so I would claim that it is on a par with an interior shipboard stateroom, at least from the standpoint of a "view" which allows for an apples to apples cost comparison. OK...Let's take a look at a cruise we took two years ago: Grand Japan, Diamond Princess, interior stateroom. We circled Japan, 24 days, visited 12 cities. All you need do is compare the cost of that cruise to 24 nights in 12 different upscale Japanese hotels, the cost of traveling the entire coastline of the country from one city to the next and 24 days of really good meals. Japan, like Australia and many other countries, is very expensive. There is no question that the cost of doing such a vacation on our own would have been at least twice as expensive as the cruise, not to mention the hassle of "moving" every other day, packing/unpacking, hauling luggage, hiring ground transportation, and not having all the many free day-long and evening entertainment options, etc. For us, cruising is not only a good deal, it's the only deal.

You're now the 2nd person who's said they do a practice run with the luggage. I think I'm going to start doing that. I usually plan to be packed early in the afternoon to have all evening to 'adjust'...'re-do'...etc...but this time it needed more than just an afternoon. :D:D

We have also spent many hours of frustration trying to stuff everything needed into a suitcase with a total weight under 50 lbs..and "rearranging" a lot of "unmentionables" in the airport lobby when their scales registered higher than ours. (Ever wonder if those scales are set a couple pounds high on purpose?) Anyway, we finally traded our 8 lb suitcases for large nylon duffel bags which weigh almost nothing...allowing us to pack about 12 more pounds of "stuff." Our two small carry-on suitcases have wheels and we loop the handles of the duffel bags over the carry-ons if need be...that's how we roll! There's no reason to have to ever carry the duffel bags. Baggage handlers are available for a $5 tip everywhere you will need them.

I suppose an all-inclusive resort would be cheaper (never tried one but we have friends who have) but to me it would be like being a prisoner in a gilded cage. You dine at the same place day after day and a person can only drink so much. There would be no adventure. We like to travel from place to place and explore. After day one, we would almost certainly rent a car and explore the area. We'd end up wining and dining at other places, taking excursions and doing all kinds of things that would negate any savings over a cruise. We did vacation for 10 days in Costa Rica and spent WAY more money than we would have on a 10-day cruise...eating, drinking, car rentals and just trying to entertain ourselves daily. Being explorer type vacationers, yes...we think cruising with Princess is a bargain in every way that matters, even cost.

Next summer, we will be sailing on the Star Princess, Cruise #NB7, 7/28 to 8/04. I am organizing a July 31st

7-hour/10 person private tour of Skagway through Tours By Locals, a company we have used several times in the past in Australia, Japan and Europe...always top notch. We are two...inviting eight more to join us, making the cost $80/person...less than half the cost of a similar excursion through Princess. Even this early, Alaska TBL dates are filling fast. Interested?

See it here: https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/wbIsgtmRvncAfE9j9idNYM/0.65.1.5.1.5.0