Total cost for Med cruise

[eaglewar]

I grew up in a lower middle class family. My parents took us on trips by bus to show us (3 brothers) that there is a better life to be had if you work hard and study ! I love to travel and have tried to instill in my sons the fact that other ways are OK ! We have taken some wonderful trips thru saving and points.

Life is a journey not a destination !

I have lost many friends who coveted money over travel but died young !

if i die tomorrow, I have had a wonderful life and have seen people in their natural surroundings enjoying life. travel opens your eyes.... America is not the only place on earth... just the best !

 

Eaglewar

[eaglewar]

If you are worried that the euro will keep going up, buy your euros now !

 

for international air fares: www.vayama.com !

 

Remember: prior planning prevents poor performance ! the 5 P's of success !

[KellyGA]

Hi Tom,

I saw that you were doing the Legend of the Seas Med cruise in August. We did the July 6 cruise and just returned from Europe on Wednesday. I posted a super detailed port by port review under Europe Ports of Call yesterday if you're interested. You're probably all set by now though!

[nycgirl0618]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who considered cancelling my Med. cruise. My cruise is 2300 for two people. Pre cruise hotel for 2 nights in Venice, about $800. About $2000 if I'm lucky for airfare. I did go overboard with the hotel but it's important to me to have a Grand Canal view. I know a lot of people think it's stupid but for me to sit on a terrace as the sun goes down on Venice is worth it. I kept telling myself that you can't put a price on memories, but I think you can. I spend about $3500 on Caribbean/Mexico vacations and stay at 4 star hotels. I'm really starting to wonder if this is all worth it. I haven't even factored in the cost of food, excursions(at least that's in dollars) and photos. UGHHH!!! :eek:

[KellyGA]

$1,500 sounds a bit steep for airfare. I'm wondering if you could you PriceLine and put in a low fare to see what happens? (They can always reject it.) Has anyone out there ever tried PriceLine for airfare? I haven't but I've thought about it. I also heard about a website where you can see what people are bidding and priceline is accepting (esp for hotels) but I don't know what it is. (I HAVE use priceline for hotels and it's worked out fine -- esp when I know the area and click on 5 or 4 stars and try low bidding. It will be interesting to see what people say!

[threeofus]

This is one expensive trip that's for sure.

We have to go june 08 because we have teen going with us. We just booked our airfare. We used Kayak.com -a great site to compare airfare. We decided to get in early because there's a huge difference from one flight to the next as far as hours between connecting flights. When you choose a different time frame - from afternoon to evening the price changes significantly.

Make sure you join the frequent flyer club...get the most out of your miles.

 

Buying Euro's early is a great idea - thanks for the heads up.

 

It's a BIG anniversary cruise for us so it's a dream come true - but a very expensive one that's for sure.

[Hlitner]

We travel to Europe about twice a year and generally stay a few weeks on each trip. The OP is correct that Med cruises have gotten quite expensive. I posted a topic about this a few weeks ago and got more than my share of "flames" when I suggested it is often cheaper to do a land trip than take a cruise (we routinely do both). But, there are most definitely ways to reduce the cost. Regarding air, travelers need to be very vigilant for decent air fares, shop around on multiple web sites (places like Kayak.com are good) and compare the cost of air from various airports. As to tours, the truth is that cruise line tours are generally very overpriced (they are a major profit center) and can sometimes double the cost of a cruise. Private tours can sometimes be a better deal, particularly if you have a group of 4 or more. The least costly way to see Europe is to simply go on your own, and this can also be the most fun for those who do some planning and have the right attitude. Many years ago the cruise lines used to be very helpful for those wanting information on how to go on their own at the European ports. These days, the port lecturer is generally a provided by a private company that only profits from the tours, so the lecturers do everything in their power to encourage passengers to use their tours including some scare tactics, failure to explain alternative options, etc etc. The cruise lines do their part by giving tender priority (in ports where they tender) to their own tours and often making independent passengers wait (sometimes for hours). We have pretty much stopped taking the typical Med cruises (we tend to take only transatlantics) because of the cost and the fact that they pretty much go to the same ports every year. But, we still think that Med cruises are the best way for a first time European traveler to see many great places in a short period of time.

 

Hank

[quanmama]

$1,500 sounds a bit steep for airfare. I'm wondering if you could you PriceLine and put in a low fare to see what happens? (They can always reject it.) Has anyone out there ever tried PriceLine for airfare? I haven't but I've thought about it. I also heard about a website where you can see what people are bidding and priceline is accepting (esp for hotels) but I don't know what it is. (I HAVE use priceline for hotels and it's worked out fine -- esp when I know the area and click on 5 or 4 stars and try low bidding. It will be interesting to see what people say!

 

We only use Priceline for hotels. No way we will use PL for airfare. Have heard too much negative experience about it. I like to have control on which airline and what routes/time we will fly.

 

Yes, if we want our preferable airlines with good flight times and minimal numbers of stops, it will cost more or less about $1500.

[quanmama]

I grew up in a lower middle class family. My parents took us on trips by bus to show us (3 brothers) that there is a better life to be had if you work hard and study ! I love to travel and have tried to instill in my sons the fact that other ways are OK ! We have taken some wonderful trips thru saving and points.

Life is a journey not a destination !

I have lost many friends who coveted money over travel but died young !

if i die tomorrow, I have had a wonderful life and have seen people in their natural surroundings enjoying life. travel opens your eyes.... America is not the only place on earth... just the best !

 

Eaglewar

 

I absolutely agree with you! We love to see the world. There is an old Chinese saying "Rather travel ten thousands miles than studying ten thousands books" (I am Chinese). My parents were the opposite--never brought me anywhere and I think that is part of the reasons why I like traveling so much nowadays....

[quanmama]

We travel to Europe about twice a year and generally stay a few weeks on each trip. The OP is correct that Med cruises have gotten quite expensive. I posted a topic about this a few weeks ago and got more than my share of "flames" when I suggested it is often cheaper to do a land trip than take a cruise (we routinely do both). But, there are most definitely ways to reduce the cost. Regarding air, travelers need to be very vigilant for decent air fares, shop around on multiple web sites (places like Kayak.com are good) and compare the cost of air from various airports. As to tours, the truth is that cruise line tours are generally very overpriced (they are a major profit center) and can sometimes double the cost of a cruise. Private tours can sometimes be a better deal, particularly if you have a group of 4 or more. The least costly way to see Europe is to simply go on your own, and this can also be the most fun for those who do some planning and have the right attitude. Many years ago the cruise lines used to be very helpful for those wanting information on how to go on their own at the European ports. These days, the port lecturer is generally a provided by a private company that only profits from the tours, so the lecturers do everything in their power to encourage passengers to use their tours including some scare tactics, failure to explain alternative options, etc etc. The cruise lines do their part by giving tender priority (in ports where they tender) to their own tours and often making independent passengers wait (sometimes for hours). We have pretty much stopped taking the typical Med cruises (we tend to take only transatlantics) because of the cost and the fact that they pretty much go to the same ports every year. But, we still think that Med cruises are the best way for a first time European traveler to see many great places in a short period of time.

 

Hank

 

We don't want to join any ship excursions. Had done a few and only couple were acceptable. DH and I felt like we were sheeps on the others.

[quanmama]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who considered cancelling my Med. cruise. My cruise is 2300 for two people. Pre cruise hotel for 2 nights in Venice, about $800. About $2000 if I'm lucky for airfare. I did go overboard with the hotel but it's important to me to have a Grand Canal view. I know a lot of people think it's stupid but for me to sit on a terrace as the sun goes down on Venice is worth it. I kept telling myself that you can't put a price on memories, but I think you can. I spend about $3500 on Caribbean/Mexico vacations and stay at 4 star hotels. I'm really starting to wonder if this is all worth it. I haven't even factored in the cost of food, excursions(at least that's in dollars) and photos. UGHHH!!! :eek:

 

When is your med.cruise?

[tomko2]

Hi Tom,

I saw that you were doing the Legend of the Seas Med cruise in August. We did the July 6 cruise and just returned from Europe on Wednesday. I posted a super detailed port by port review under Europe Ports of Call yesterday if you're interested. You're probably all set by now though!

Kelly, heading over to read your review now. Thanks

Kathy

[nycgirl0618]

When is your med.cruise?

 

It's not until next Sept 2008. I actually changed it from August 2008 to save a little money. The cruise went down $600 but the hotel remained the same. Hopefully the dollar will recover a little and help all of us.

[olga77]

I guess it depends on how much you CAN spend and how often you are willing to DO it. My husband and I like to travel every year to Europe. But we can only afford certain hotels, cruises, trips, etc. I usually get great prices on http://www.travelzoo.com and http://www.gate1.com. I love those sites and all of our trips are being purchased from those sites. Unfortunately, if you only can go during the summer it's a real bummer. We usually go during the fall, winter, or spring. Anyway, during the summer we don't really want go anywhere since it's so hot and crowed everywhere. Our cruise to Greek isles and Croatia was purchased recently. We're going in November and it costs: cruise - 700 pp, no pre-cruise stay (it's was a really unplanned vacation since we're taking another one in December-January that we planned), airfare - about 600 pp, we're taking only one excursion in Olympia -120 euros for 2, we don't drink alcohol that much, so we're not planning to buy anything during the cruise, since a price for a bottle is outrages; maybe might buy 1-2 bottles of Greek wine and bring them on board. That's it. With all the taxes it's about $3200. We would never be able to afford a trip for $15000 unless we would go every 5 years and try to save all these money. :) I mean some poeple need the greatest cabins, private tours, pre or post stay in the cities. You can always skip it if you don't have enough and rather go every year. The last time we took a cruise it was in November, 06 roundtrip from Rome. We're in Rome before and didn't stay there before the cruise.

[olga77]

I got cut off, so let me continue. I mean you can always save $$ on the hotels; I wouldn't ever spend $300-400 per hotel room. It's outrages!! You can always book a little further from city center and take public or a cab. Anyway, my point is to try to go every year because we all need a vacation and escape from your hometown. Taking a vacation in US might not be

necessarily less $$. I had a friend who spend more $$ during her Virginia shore vacation that 2 of us in Rome for about the same time stay. It's the matter of how much you'll have on budget and how much you're willing to spend. If I had $10000-15000 per one trip available I would definitely split it to 2,3.... You can! Our trip to Rome for 6 days was $1400 for 2 people with hotel, breakfast, and airfare in March, 05. And we lived walking distance from Colosseum. We do save a great deal on tours and private excursions since my hubby is an expert on history and we just need a good map and we're good to go. Do some research and use cool travel sites as we do and you'll be OK.:D

[Maryutah]

We went on Carnival, and got a discount with RCI, our time share company, so we saved a few dollars there. Three of us was about $4,000 ($1600 for first 2, and $750 for third passenger).

 

We got great deal on air by using points from our credit card, for three of us the total Salt Lake City to Rome (via Atlanta) was $1500.00 - half price!

 

We used Carnival for the excursions we took, including transfers to the ship and from ship to airport - about $1700.00

 

Pre-stay hotel for 2 nights and tours/food in Rome before cruise about $600.00

 

On board wasn't too bad, including pictures, souveniers, and yes we tried the Fat Cake! $500

 

So about $8,300 for the three of us

 

However, getting ready for the cruise was a pricey affair as well - but that's not something you HAVE to do - but we chose to do - some new luggage, a new digital camera with zoom, fancy outfits for formal nights etc., that we don't count :D

 

A few tips, spread out costs, we started buying cruise dollars from Carnival months ahead of time so when we got on the ship we had a few hundred dollars each onboard credit and that really helped out. Also looking for good deals through programs your already associated with - we saved over $2,000 with our credit card points and our discount with RCI - so look to see if you can get in on something like that to reduce some of your cost.

 

Good luck, hope you can make it work! It was the trip of a lifetime for sure!!!

[quanmama]

We went on Carnival, and got a discount with RCI, our time share company, so we saved a few dollars there. Three of us was about $4,000 ($1600 for first 2, and $750 for third passenger).

 

We got great deal on air by using points from our credit card, for three of us the total Salt Lake City to Rome (via Atlanta) was $1500.00 - half price!

 

We used Carnival for the excursions we took, including transfers to the ship and from ship to airport - about $1700.00

 

Pre-stay hotel for 2 nights and tours/food in Rome before cruise about $600.00

 

On board wasn't too bad, including pictures, souveniers, and yes we tried the Fat Cake! $500

 

So about $8,300 for the three of us

 

However, getting ready for the cruise was a pricey affair as well - but that's not something you HAVE to do - but we chose to do - some new luggage, a new digital camera with zoom, fancy outfits for formal nights etc., that we don't count :D

 

A few tips, spread out costs, we started buying cruise dollars from Carnival months ahead of time so when we got on the ship we had a few hundred dollars each onboard credit and that really helped out. Also looking for good deals through programs your already associated with - we saved over $2,000 with our credit card points and our discount with RCI - so look to see if you can get in on something like that to reduce some of your cost.

 

Good luck, hope you can make it work! It was the trip of a lifetime for sure!!!

 

Thanks for the suggestion. We do have some FF miles but not quite enough to get three tickets yet. We may have enough to upgrade but that means we have to pay full fare economy which would cost a fortune!

I am looking at everything to try to scale back--hiring less private guides, looking for better hotel deals, still shopping for airfares...

[mahdnc]

The total cost of Med. cruise seems getting a bit out of control. We have booked a Med. cruise for June 2008 on Summit. We REALLY would like to go on this cruise. The cruise fare seemed fair so we booked and did not realize how much everything would cost until after we booked.

 

I estimate this trip may cost us around $15000!!!

 

Folks who just finished their Med cruises, tell me how much you had spent?!

In the worse case scenario, we may have to cancel the trip.

Help!!

 

Since you asked:

 

We just finished the 6/18/07 Venice to Barcelona cruise aboard Millennium which is the same exact cruise as the one you have booked except for 1 year earlier. We had 4 people in an FV balcony cabin and stayed in Venice and Barcelona for 3 nights each. We booked all day private drivers in Athens, Amalfi Coast + Pompeii, Rome (shared with 2 other people), Pisa/Florence, and Villefranche (shared with 4 other people) with licensed guides at Pompeii and the Vatican. All told, we spent just a hair under $20,000. This figure would have been higher if we hadn't had 3 Freq Flyer tickets to work with, a $775 on board credit, and we came out a couple hundred dollars ahead in the casino.

[Maryutah]

Thanks for the suggestion. We do have some FF miles but not quite enough to get three tickets yet. We may have enough to upgrade but that means we have to pay full fare economy which would cost a fortune!

I am looking at everything to try to scale back--hiring less private guides, looking for better hotel deals, still shopping for airfares...

 

Doing some studying about the ports of call can help you save some dollars - for example in Rhodes we didn't do any tours, I think the full day cost me about 30E (lunch, the museum and some olive oil soaps).

in Instanbul folks took taxi's to the Hippodrome, from there it's easy to navigate to the three main tourists places, and then a short taxi to the Bazzaar, this is one place it doesn't have to be pricey - depends on your interests really (and which ports you have).

[mahdnc]

(I am Chinese). My parents were the opposite--never brought me anywhere and I think that is part of the reasons why I like traveling so much nowadays....

 

Same here for me.

 

By the way, if I were going to cut back on cost, I would definitely try to do many of the ports on own and I would have limited (or eliminated) our pre/post cruise stays. We ended up spending alot more than I would have guessed for lunch as we found ourselves going to sit-down restaurants/cafes almost all the time because we needed the break (sometimes it was from the heat).

[tinkr2]

Olga77- You sound like someone i would like to travel with. alittle bit of research goes along way.

I have been shopping med cruises so it took my breath away when I saw the prices. However, I am pretty thrifty. I like to travel and always get the books and research out the cheaper way. we just came back from a land vacation on the Mayan Riviera. Taxis were 15 to 30 dollars to go anywhere. The bus, 2to 3 dollars. It was alittle tricky figuring it out with poor spanish but we did. Saved us at least $100 each. And it was a great adventure when we got "lost".

[Culater]

I just returned from a 14 day cruise on HAL on the Prinsendam, Italy to Amsterdam. I don't have a lot of time to go into specifics, I may answer again later. Here's a couple of things...

 

If you are looking at minor things, ice cream and laundry(self serve) were free of charge on the Prinsendam.

 

We do many things on our own. We docked at Monaco, then took the train to Nice (about 5 euros per person). Read up and see things on your own. Legs can sometimes be the best way to see a town, a bus is good too. Transportation in most towns is good with some pre travel study, a map and some interaction with the locals who don't always understand you.

 

I was lucky, I had miles for the airfare. I see from most people it could even be more than the cruise. It is something you have to live with unfortunately. If you keep hunting you might find lower fares, but it may not be how you want to get to your destination. Sometime, you might be able to get into one destination (Frankfurt for example) for cheaper and then transfer to a cheaper airline to your final destination. But you may have to sacrifice time and convenience. This is up to you.

 

good luck

[bunnyette]

We don't want to join any ship excursions. Had done a few and only couple were acceptable. DH and I felt like we were sheeps on the others.

 

LOL - that's how we feel, the first time I ever saw DH get really mad was on a poorly planned ship's excursion.

[barante]

All posts have been instructive. Here is my two cents' worth. We are going to take a 2008 westbound trans-Atlantic from Venice to Fort Lauderdale.

He haven't yet addressed the flight question because it's too early to make bookings. However, prices are all over the map. Try cheapair com.

Our ship, the Emerald Princess, starts boarding the day before departing Venice. That saves us hotel/meal costs for one day. (Lots of people want to "do" Venice for lots of days; we'll be satisfied with an overnight. We want to soak the atmosphere and will be happy to take waterbuses).

We'll do all touring on our own. That alone will save a bundle. But, then, we are again doing this for atmosphere and won't be trying to see everything in each city.

Are we going to Pompeii? Yet bet. Are we going to Rome? You bet. After that it gets hazier. We may or may do Florence, or perhaps we do a smaller destination. We have been to Cannes/Nice/Monte Carlo so we again just soak the atmosphere.

Barcelona is easy to do on your own. In Cadiz, we'll just enjoy the historic city next to the port and won't even try to do Seville. In Lisbon we may do a commercial tour, depending on what is available. I've been there before, my wife hasn't: It's a fabulous city.

We are not going to spend money on outside eating. If anyone else wants to spend money on a $40 cup of coffee listening to music ouside St. Marco's, more power to them. That's not for us. We are not going to buy a lot of trinkets, which all come from the same factory in China anyway.

Will we feel like we cut corners? I doubt it.

If you think prices are bad, just wait. If the dollar keeps sliding, the airlines, in quoting prices, may one day shift to a steadier currency like the Euro or a basket of currencies. If that happens, U.S. tavelers will be truly hurting.

[azzy]

Really easy to take the train to the Port from Rome 13 euros for 3.

Be aware in Italy the taxis and rails strike at a moments notice.

We were unlucky enough to be in Rome for the one day taxi strike (6/1/07) and staying at the 5 star Hilton which is very far from town.

Food in Italy is very reasonable.

We hired Seahorse limo in Naples 340 euros plus tip but that is good for 6 people.

You can also share the limo to the Port and back to the airport to save.

I don't know how much more it cost to have an Oceanview cabin but really that is such a wasted expense. Just walk outside.

Hotel Alimandi www.alimandi.com provides a free shuttle to the hotel near the Vatican.