What should I expect to pay for once on board?

[October17]

Also, there might be different rules for what is included in the cruise fare depending on consumer protection and marketing regulations. OP has location UK, so might be a bit different. In my country gratuities are “included in the fare” because of how the travel age ts can market the services and travel.

[jocap]

5 minutes ago, October17 said:

Also, there might be different rules for what is included in the cruise fare depending on consumer protection and marketing regulations. OP has location UK, so might be a bit different. In my country gratuities are “included in the fare” because of how the travel age ts can market the services and travel.

Yes, in the UK both P&O and Marella include gratuities in the fare.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

Also it helps to be aware of ALL expenses and not just ship related. For example we drive down to the city our airport is in the night before. We stay at a hotel that allows us to leave our vehicle at the hotel and then take a shuttle to the airport. So you have the hotel fee, possible food & drink and then tips to the shuttle driver (our air was paid months earlier, but still factor in to the grand total). That is just in the first few hours. Then we will most likely get some of that expensive water at the airport and a small bite to eat. You get the idea.
All of our cash is counted out before we leave the house, then we know how much we spent when we get back home. Any other expenses go on a card.

We learned early on, those non-ship costs can add up quickly and surprise you if you don't plan accordingly.

As I have posted many times, what you are referring to (in part) is what I call the "net daily rate" (which is most often the total door-to-door cost of a cruise divided by the number of itinerary days).

Of course, if there are pre/post land trips not essential to the cruise (other than reasonable pre-cruise night[s] in the embarkation city and the airfare between home and the start/end ports [which may be included in some cruise lines' base pricing]), you could leave them out of the calculation to get just the cruise's net daily rate (i.e., air, cruise, required/optional extras). 

FWIW, it was starting to use this "net daily rate" calculation many years ago that gave me the "aha!" experience of "how much is this REALLY costing?" Very quickly, I started to realize the true value of premium cruise lines when both "bottom line" AND quality comparisons were made with mass market offerings. 

 

As always: When you do the math, do all of it!👀

[pc_load_letter]

Stick around here long enough and you will also soon enjoy the "nickel and diming" threads that come up about once a week where people complain that they only received a free drink for their 50th cruise or some such nonsense. That is a made up example but the threads are always along those lines.

[Hlitner]

On 11/6/2020 at 5:05 PM, pc_load_letter said:

Stick around here long enough and you will also soon enjoy the "nickel and diming" threads that come up about once a week where people complain that they only received a free drink for their 50th cruise or some such nonsense. That is a made up example but the threads are always along those lines.

My favorite perk is what HAL gives Mariners (frequent cruisers).  A free lunch!  And there are many fans which makes it all the more amusing.  We learned many cruises ago that when they have those Mariners Lunches (always in the MDR) it is the best day to go up to the Lido Buffet...since it is not crowded :).  

 

Hank