Spending for MOST incremental value only

Incrementally, what do you find to be the best incremental reach for your money?

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Sounds like a fairly port-intensive cruise.

OK, here's my take. I see no value in the beverage packages when you're going to be on shore most of the time.

Cabins. That's a personal decision. I like my 1A balcony. If you can be happy in 2 insides, go for it. Or you could get the 1A and the girls could get an inside.

Then you can focus your spending on buying excellent private tours to see the Med.

Have a wonderful trip!

Sounds like a fairly port-intensive cruise.

 

OK, here's my take. I see no value in the beverage packages when you're going to be on shore most of the time.

 

Cabins. That's a personal decision. I like my 1A balcony. If you can be happy in 2 insides, go for it. Or you could get the 1A and the girls could get an inside.

 

Then you can focus your spending on buying excellent private tours to see the Med.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

 

Agree! If they could get a 1A on the "hump" they would have a larger balcony which would give more space for all.

They way I look at it is this: everyone is on the same ship, going the same places, enjoying the same facilities, no matter which cabin you're in. If all of you can fit, and it WILL be tight with 4 in one cabin, I wouldn't even consider anything higher than a standard balcony; if you do want a balcony, the rooms are identical to CC or AQ --and the perks of CC or AQ just do not warrant the additional expense. If it is conceivable to get two adjoining cabins, even if OV or inside, that would go a long way to making everyone have a better time. On a port intensive cruise, you won't use the balcony much anyway, and 4 chairs will not fit out there in any case.

DH does not drink alcohol, and I usually just have one martini (okay, MAYBE two) per night, so we do not do the drinks package and are content with what is included with the cruise fare. Now that we are Elite we really don't need the package!

We never do ship excursions for a variety of reasons: overpriced, overcrowded, too slow, too inflexible. Instead we research each port ahead of time, decide what we want to see, and using Cruise Critic we figure out how to do it either with public transportation or in some cases renting a car for the day. We spend very little once our cruise and gratuities are paid for, otherwise we could not afford to cruise! We always have a great time and we enjoy being out and about on our own schedule.

I would consider moving up to a 2B and getting the girls an inside cabin across the hall. Three females and one bathroom is going to be rough:D.

Well I for one would think that getting connecting cabins would be money well spent. Even though your girls are probably not yet at the spend an hour in the bathroom age :) having two bathrooms at hand and more cabin room would be well worth it. There is not a lot of storage space (or floor space)in those cabins and even with just the two of us we find ourselves plopping things on the couch for storage. I think having two rooms would eliminate a lot of stress and maybe even tears. I do agree with you on a beverage package - on a port intensive cruise it would be hard to get your money's worth.

Regarding cabin choices, I would suggest 1 balcony cabin and an inside cabin across the hall. That way you have two bathrooms, more comfortable living space and some outdoor space while still economizing.

On a port intensive cruise, I agree that you would not get full value from a drink package. In addition to the two bottles of wine per stateroom, you can also bring your own soda and bottled water.

Be sure to check out the roll call for your cruise as well as the ports of call section ofthe forum. They will have suggestions for DIY and private excursions.

Hope you have a great cruise!

I appreciate the quick feedback. Great insight!

Agree! If they could get a 1A on the "hump" they would have a larger balcony which would give more space for all.

We chose a 2C on the "hump" on 6, directly under a 1A. Very large balcony, very close to life boats (but no real obstruction), and $1,000 less than the people right above us.

Agree! If they could get a 1A on the "hump" they would have a larger balcony which would give more space for all.

Agree, possible with an inside across the hall which Celebrity allows for minor children. Equinox has the connecting cabins however that connect with the outside door which can be very useful.

Also, you are permitted to bring cases of water on board if you desire. You can even put luggage tags on them and they will be sent to your room. As someone who has traveled with my kids on Celebrity this might be very cost effective.

Finally, the only specialty restaurant on Equinox that your daughters may not eat in is Murano's, they are welcome in the rest. It might be a good idea to try one.

I appreciate the quick feedback. Great insight!

 

We chose a 2C on the "hump" on 6, directly under a 1A. Very large balcony, very close to life boats (but no real obstruction), and $1,000 less than the people right above us.

Excellent choice--sorry, in my earlier post I thought you said C2. It still will be VERY tight; have you considered the cost differential of booking a nearby inside? If you do stick with one cabin, there are showers and dressing facilities in the gym area that could be helpful in crunch time!

Agree with the others - definitely most incremental value would be to put the children in an inside cabin across the hall.

Gives you privacy, 2nd bathroom, 2nd TV, more storage space, everyone gets a comfortable "real" bed, more enjoyable cruise for all.

To me it would be a waste of money to book a balcony cabin for children that age.

They can sit on your balcony, and have their own balcony when they are older and they are the ones paying for it.

Actually when my kids were that age we just booked two insides and were very happy!!

Cabin: If you are going to stick with one cabin then your choice is fine. My advice on cabins is always to consider your budget and if a nicer cabin means you have to cut back on other areas of your cruise that you'd like to enjoy then take a pass on the upgrade. This is especially true for different classes of veranda cabins on the S class ships since all cabins from the lowest 2D to the AQ cabins have the same size and arrangement inside and only a small difference in veranda size between some of them. However, with that said I really like the suggestion to get two cabins. Personally, I'd much rather have two insides than a veranda cabin if cutting back would help swing the price difference. But if you're more comfortable with the girls in the same room and won't mind the lack of privacy and inconvenience then taking the 2C in order to leave more budget available for other activities is a good idea.

Beverage package: Another wise choice. The beverage packages are expensive! I'm sure (although I have no proof) that Celebrity has priced these well above the average spending limit in order to increase revenues. Because of this the packages are best only for those who would normally drink above average quantities of the included extra cost beverages or those who are willing to pay extra for the nearly all inclusive beverage experience they offer. If you change your mind once you are on board you can always buy the packages (including the non-alcoholic or just soda packages) after checking out the prices, your own consumption, and the no-extra charge items available on board. They sell the packages until the second or third day before the end of your cruise at a prorated price.

Cruise line tours. It is NOT true that these are always more expensive than private tours - especially in Europe. It may be true for some tours but most of the private tours I've seen are much more expensive and most of them do not include a licensed tour guide to accompany you into areas where a tour guide might be handy. The Celebrity excursions we've taken have always included a licensed tour guide if an attraction requiring it is on the agenda. The only thing true about cruise line tours is that the group will be larger and you'll have to deal with the group logistics that come along with it. We always consider all options, ship's tours, private tours and doing it "on our own" before making a decision and have taken some fantastic ship's tours.

Specialty restaurant. I agree that taking a pass is a good idea for now. You can always buy during the cruise if you are flexible on dining times and you might even find some discounts on nights that their bookings are slow. I'd only pre-reserve if it was very important to us to go on one , or a choice of a couple, specific nights.

Thanks for taking the time with such great and detailed feedback.

You talked us into booking a second cabin across the hall. The problem is that there are no inside cabins on deck 6, which wouldn't be a big deal if prices didn't increase since we booked a few weeks back. And no, we're not going to be on two different decks.

I doubt they'll let us upgrade from 6 to 7 (From 2C to 2B) at the old prices. It's something we can begin to monitor though.

Would it make sense to reserve an inside cabin on 7 now to lock in that price so that if 2B verandas drop, we'd already have the inside cabin locked up and would just need to change our existing reservation?

*edit: The price of 2Bs hasn't increased. Scratch that. It was ~$1,000 more to get an inside room across the hall and it still is.

*edit: The price of 2Bs hasn't increased. Scratch that. It was ~$1,000 more to get an inside room across the hall and it still is.

I woould stick with what you have unless/until a decent sale comes up.

It appears that you have put a great deal of thought and work into making the decisions and conclusions you have reached. Stick with your gut feelings, knowing that the drink package and specialty restaurants really aren't something that's needed. What is valuable is that you are giving the family a wonderful chance to tavel together, to see & experience new things together. Frankly your plans before and after the cruise are a tremendous bonus for all of you.

Although it might feel a bit cramped at times in the room, having so many port days means that you won't be on the ship in the room so much - the only time it could get tight is getting showered and ready, and someone already pointed out the additional facilities available in the gym. I agree that excursions should be looked at individually - someone on your roll call likely has booked some private tours you could join, the ship may have a few that sound good and some days you'll likely want to go off on your own.

Great planing and thought on your part. Wishing the four of you a wonderful trip!

Several years ago we took our 3 teenage daughters on a Carnival cruise in Europe. We booked one cabin for all of us (it did have a second bathroom though) and we found it to be a great time. It gave us a lot of time to spend as a family. At times, my husband and I would go for cocktails while the girls were getting ready and other times we would stagger who would hang out on the pool deck a bit longer and who would come down and start getting ready first.

I personally would save the money and stay in one cabin.

We did book private excursions in most of the cities and in some of the cities, we just wandered around in the city seeing the sites and eating in some wonderful little restaurants. We also splurged and had family photos of us taken in Sicily with one of the ships photographers. They are incredible photos and bring back such wonderful memories of that trip together.

Have fun with your family.

Let me offer the following advice on Santorini. My experience here is from a trip in 2008. If it's not still accurate, I'm sure someone will correct me:

If you are NOT on a Celebrity tour, you will tender into the port. There are then three ways to get up the hill to Fira: walk, donkey ride and cable car. The wait fot the donkey ride or cable car can be very long, especially if there are multiple ships in port, since almost everyone uses one of these to get up the hill.

However if you take a ship tour, a different port is used, (the ship docks there first) and you ascend the hill on your tour bus. This port is only used for tour passengers;if you are not on a tour, you cannot debark at this port. Your tour will end in Fira, and you will be provided with Cable Car tickets for the trip down. Of course, you can also walk down or use the donkeys.

I would suggest looking ship's tours to find one that will interest the girls; the incremental cost will be well worth it for the convenience.

By the way, the most memorable of our numerous cruises with our two daughters was a European (Baltic) cruise when they were 11 and 12 years old. The least enjoyable was a Carribbean cruise a year later, when the four of us shared one cabin, with only one bathroom. That was the last time for that arrangement !!

Actually when my kids were that age we just booked two insides and were very happy!!

I thought you said the kids were scarred for life because they had inside cabin , or was that you, I cannot remember :p

Four people in a cabin will be tight. We have done three (sharing with our son), a few times. Usually, we have booked one for us and another for kids (cousins). That worked better. We weren't always right near them. As long as one of the kids is very responsible, you shouldn't have any trouble. We would stop in a couple of times a day and clean up. Our son has always been a very neat kid, his cousins, not so much. However, they were all really good kids and very responsible.

That is a great cruise itinerary. One of our favorites.

Generally, we do non ship excursions because we have found better tours with fewer people for less money. Ideas can be found on the port boards. Sometimes, we pick a place we want to go and get there ourselves to see it. For example, we wanted to see the deMedici chapel in Florence because it's one of our favorite places, so took the train in and walked to the chapel.

We do get one variation or another of the non alcohol beverage package for DS and DH. DH doesn't drink alcohol and he gets his money worth. Also, that way, we found it gives the kids a bit more freedom to order drinks and not worry about the bill.

Just my two cents on traveling with kids. BTW- our kids (son and cousins) love to cruise and have always had a great time. I'm sure yours will, too.

Ohiodoglover

The kids are only 11 and 8, and this is a port intensive cruise. Four in one balcony cabin will be fine. In fact, I wouldn't be comfortable with my kids that young in their own cabin (unless it had an inside connecting door to my cabin).

I have two daughters, born two years apart. We cruised in one quad balcony cabin until they were 13 and 15 years old without any issues or regrets.

OP: we are budget cruisers. We do not buy into the extras like specialty dining, beverage packages, etc. There are plenty of beverages that are included in the cruisefare, so you won't go thirsty. The dining that's included is satisfying and abundant. There is no need to spend more on food or drink.

...If you are NOT on a Celebrity tour, you will tender into the port. There are then three ways to get up the hill to Fira: walk, donkey ride and cable car. The wait fot the donkey ride or cable car can be very long, especially if there are multiple ships in port, since almost everyone uses one of these to get up the hill.

 

However if you take a ship tour, a different port is used, (the ship docks there first) and you ascend the hill on your tour bus. This port is only used for tour passengers;if you are not on a tour, you cannot debark at this port. Your tour will end in Fira, and you will be provided with Cable Car tickets for the trip down. Of course, you can also walk down or use the donkeys....

We had read this prior to our first Med cruise in 2007 which included a stop at Santorini. It turned out we were the only ship in port that day and the lines were not too bad but we were still very happy we took a ship's tour as it worked out great. We took a morning tour that ended a little before noon. The ship only stopped at one anchor point but had separate tenders going to the Fira dock for passengers not on an excursion and to the dock where the buses come down the cliff to pick you up for passengers on a ship's excursion. Our tour visited some interesting places in the middle of the island including what I think was the highest point on the island with incredible views. We were dropped off in Fira with cable car tickets and took a taxi to Oia and spend the afternoon there on our own. A fantastic day at one of the most scenic places I've ever been to.

Concur with most of what has been said, even when it has been contradictory because I can usually see both sides of any issue:p.

Drink packages: the one important thing I learned from our purchase of the premium package was that it increased our water consumption considerably. We were usually too cheap to buy the water as we walked off the ship to go on a tour, and too hurried to spend time finding it in port, so we weren't hydrated. You would have to purchase 4 of these packages (because you couldn't share and it would be too frustrating otherwise), but it might be worth it so you don't have to spend time in the ports finding affordable water - and on your itinerary, you should be drinking lots of water. If you enjoy smoothies, etc., do consider the premium non-alcohol package for the choice of beverages. I'm not saying you should buy it, just do the math and consider it. If you don't buy these packages, do bring refillable water bottles - 2 each - for your trip.

Santorini: I agree with Larry on the ship excursion, though we didn't go back to Oia, we had a stop there and at a winery. We did it because we thought it was the smartest way off the ship, but it was a terrific tour. And we ran into Rick Steves in Oia. He was on our cruise, so it wasn't quite so surprising. We have found ship tours to be generally worth it in Europe and anywhere that you might have a problem getting back to the ship on time. The thought of seeing her sail without us has always been a motivating factor. I don't want to waste time getting back early enough to be comfortable with the risk - so on a ship excursion, there isn't the worry.

Cabin: Inside cabin - I did one once with my grandson and it was fine, since it was a short cruise and we were in port each of the three days, but my husband won't consider it. A balcony with 4 people would be crowded but - as has been suggested - if you go straight to the showers, leaving the cabin for the females to get ready, you should be fine.

Kudos to you: Whatever you do, the experience you are providing for your family is without measure. You will be learning to travel together, to talk to each other, to enjoy life together, and the budget discussion helps them look at life with honest eyes.

Beth

Carrying on you own drinks will save alot. As you say, the two bottles of wine at embarcation. Then you can also carry on sodas and bottled water in each port visited. We often stop right before reboarding the ship and buy some water. You get to see some of the local "convenience" stores, use the currency, and interface with real folks. Even if that store is bit expensive, it won't be anywhere as expensive as on the ship.

Thank you so much for all your help in this thread. Really sheds light on what's of common value to most.

That said, today was a glorious day! We cancelled our existing reservation originally made with Celebrity (2C, an obstructed view if you recall) and rebooked through the TA of our local wholesale warehouse store.

We were able to get a second room across the hall from our balcony, one deck higher, with no obstructed views, it includes the Classic Bev package for both of us, and applied the FB & Twitter codes, all for $10 less than we were paying before.

If there is value to be had, we’ll take it!

There's not much to add to that which has already been posted, except for adding my insight into the "Santorini question". On our Silhouette cruise this year we took a ship's tour. We also arrived at 7am, but chose not to risk getting an early tender, partly because there were other ships due in - you can check the port schedule at "whatsinport" - and also you can never be sure how many "Elites" will be in the tender queue before you! The cable car up to Fira can only take so many and it's not good to be at the back of a queue! As already posted by lsimon the ship's tours tender to a different port where the coaches are waiting to take you on your tour, thus avoiding the upward trip. We chose the Oia tour and when we arrived there it was still cool and quiet before most of the other visitors arrived. This is a lovely place to see and provides plenty of iconic photo opportunities with the early morning light and your ship sitting in the caldera. Type "Santorini" into a search engine and the pictures (particularly the churches with the blue domes) you will see are of Oia.

You don't mention any other ports you'll visit on your cruise, but Spilt and Kotor are also tender ports in that part of the world, however they don't have the cable car issues found in Santorini and it's easier to get to the dock!

Whatever you decide, you'll have a great time!!!

WT