any crazy costs?

[ready2travel54]

Had not cruised in 15 years until this month. Just returned from a Princesss cruise. Could not believe that you had to pay for soda. Also needed to pay to get a decent cup of coffee. soft serve ice cream was free and had to pay for the good stuff. Hubby kept saying bet it isn't this way on Royal Caribbean . So is it?? Might want to cruise again soon??

[MedicKen]

I'm very sorry to burst your hisband's bubble but most lines, including RCI, charge for those items.

[Retired LEO]

Had not cruised in 15 years until this month. Just returned from a Princesss cruise. Could not believe that you had to pay for soda. Also needed to pay to get a decent cup of coffee. soft serve ice cream was free and had to pay for the good stuff. Hubby kept saying bet it isn't this way on Royal Caribbean . So is it?? Might want to cruise again soon??

 

You described RCI perfectly.

[Langley Cruisers]

Individual cans of soda cost $2.25 on Royal, gratuity included. There is a soda card you can purchase; if you drink 3 or more cans a day, it would be worth it to you to buy this. You will also pay for specialty coffees, all alcohol, specialty restaurants, photographs, spa services. But... you certainly could go an entire cruise and pay for none of the extras and still have an incredible time. There are many foods, drinks, and activities included in your cruise fare; additionally, hard ice cream is available in the dining room at no additional cost, and they have a featured flavor each night. Very good. :)

 

The RCI website has a lot of good info in their FAQ section.

[cb at sea]

15 years...things have changed...A LOT!...and not for the better! yes..it's pretty much the same on RCI...you won't pay for frozen yogurt (soft serve), when available, and you can get ice cream (the real stuff) for dessert in the dining room. You will pay for specialty coffees and a lot of the food that used to be served in the dining room, has now been moved to the specialty restaurants for a fee. Cruising isn't what it was, but it's still a decent value for fun and relaxation received!

[negc]

15 years...things have changed...A LOT!...and not for the better!

Then again the cruise fares have dropped considerably over the past 15 years so your overall cost, even given those added costs, may end up lower than you paid years back, and the ships themselves and all that they have to offer have also improved considerably - more balcony cabins, more features (ice rinks, rock walls, flow riders, covered solariums, specialty restaurants that offer foods that were definitely not offered in the main dining room all those years back, new and more comfortable bedding, and a much wider range of itineraries world wide, just to name a few). Ships are more handicap accessible than they used to be and there are a lot more and better facilities for children. Entertainment is more professional and production values are much higher. Things change all the time and the cruise industry is not immune to change, but change is not necessarily a bad thing and not everything about the past was a rosy as we sometimes like to recall it.:)

[ehfl]

As the cabin prices have dropped, other fees have increased. It's a competitive market, and cruise lines have to have low base fares to compete. We always get really good deals....much less than any land vacation, so we don't mind spending a bit for an espresso, or milkshake.

[ready2travel54]

Thanks for the info. Yeah we may have been bitten by the cruise bug. Bet it won't take another 15 years to take another cruise. Maybe 15 months lol

[griffy116]

Lots of things have changed in 15 years and I think you saw the changes that have happened to ALL the cruiselines, including RCCL. We saw the changes slowly come about over the years. Must have been a shock :eek:!!!

[I&J Cruisers]

We have ben cruising since 1983. The product has changed tremendously, as noted by all privious posters. However, we all are paying much lower fares than we used to. If you combine your added on board costs to your current cruise fare, the cost isn't far off what we used to pay.

 

In 1983 we paid $2800 plus port charges for 2 for a cabin on B deck (next to bottom deck), with a porthole, 2 narrow beds in stationary position against opposite walls. The cabin was so small that we couldn't sit opposite each other because there was no room for our knees. There was nothing else to spend money on, no specialty restaurants, no shops, no casino. There was also no buffet as we know it today. Drinks were so cheap it was a joke. Photo's were all 3X5's and were $3.50 each. It's a different world today. Have to remember that this is a business. They have to make money somewhere. My guess is that they cover their costs with cruise fares and whatever they can get us to spend money on is the profit.

 

It's still a great vacation!

[firstplacechef]

Still a bargin and sometimes a steal! Room, decent meals, (3 times a day and then more if you want!), entertainment (some good and some not so good, ever paid for a movie and not like it?), unpacking once and waking up in a new place each day. All this can be had for as little as 60.00 pp/day on some cruises and even at 150pp/day what a deal!!! Sodas in a hotel are now as much as 2.50 each and drinks in a bar are priced about the same. Wine in a restaurant is usually priced double to 2.5 times what you can get in the store youself. Yes, you can spend more, but you do not have too! I tend to drink more on a cruise, but even then, it is a choice and I still get with a small bill at the end of the cruise. JMHO!

[lysander]

The one that gets me is the alcohol policies... In the old days (2002), you could bring your own wine and drinks, and, even better, you could buy bottles in the ship's duty free store or in the ports, and consume those on board. Now, all alcohol brought on board is confiscated.

Mind you, I am not a big drinker, but at $30 a bottle for 'cheap' wine, I'd rather bring three of my own on board...

[KG1924]

Still a bargin and sometimes a steal! Room, decent meals, (3 times a day and then more if you want!), entertainment (some good and some not so good, ever paid for a movie and not like it?), unpacking once and waking up in a new place each day. All this can be had for as little as 60.00 pp/day on some cruises and even at 150pp/day what a deal!!! Sodas in a hotel are now as much as 2.50 each and drinks in a bar are priced about the same. Wine in a restaurant is usually priced double to 2.5 times what you can get in the store youself. Yes, you can spend more, but you do not have too! I tend to drink more on a cruise, but even then, it is a choice and I still get with a small bill at the end of the cruise. JMHO!

 

It's funny that you mention that...we were just at a friends wedding a couple weeks ago and stayed overnight at a hotel. We got some late night munchies, so we bought a pop and some snacks. I couldn't believe it when I saw the prices!!! $3 for a diet coke and $8 for a small bag of Cheez-its :eek:!!! Now, I'm the idiot that paid those prices, but I was amazed by the costs. At least on a cruise I can get a good cocktail for those prices ;)

Also, we got quite a deal on the room since we were with the "wedding" group. It was $106 for one night.....no food or entertainment provided (except for the drunk man that apparently was locked out of his room and decided to sleep in the hallway....in his underwear!!!!!) Our upcoming cruise we are paying ~$110/pp a night, but that includes what I consider decent food and entertainment!! We are pretty easy cruisers though-we aren't "entertainment" people other than the singers in the bars and we are not foodies in the slightest. It's the darn booze that gets us every time!!!!

[Sequim88]

As the cabin prices have dropped, other fees have increased.

 

On the nice side of that equation is now the stuff that was built in to the price that you never used is optional.

 

What gets me is looking at the size of the ships now compared to back then. Most ships back in the "Love Boat" era were small compared to today's behemouths. As noted above many more features. Compare Monarch and Majesty to even a Radiance class ship and the differences are amazing. Not to mention the "ride" and handling of rough water. Stabilizers and azipods are great improvements.

Much credit for the lower fares are due to economies of scale. Moving 5-10 times as many people for the same or lower fuel usage as older ships. All this translates into a much better experience so if there are some elective add-on fees it's still not bad deal at all. We're certainly hooked.

[storm1of4]

Well I cruised with my folks in 1989 on the Sky Princess.....There was a charge for canned soda back then too. I dont think they even had fountain sodas...Only ice tea was no charge.