the one thing I might never understand....

[newmexicoNita]

LOL. I'm a big boy. I can take it. :)

 

 

 

I said my "on board" expenses. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

You're reading my post wrong too. I'd rather be paying MORE (and expecting it) than losing the "things that used to be included in the price". But I wouldn't be complaining if the price was the same 20 years later and getting the same stuff. :p

ok, on board expenses and I gave you examples of how ours haven't gone up anywhere near 500%. of course with the cruise pricing staying pretty much the same as in years past, the cruise lines will find a way to keep afloat (no pun intended) I love the idea of being able to decide where I want to put my budgeted money. For some ship excursions are very important, others take their extra $$s and spend evenings in the casino and still others choose the sur charge restaurants or pay for expensive bottles of wine. Of course there are those who love the special spa treatments. To me and it is just my opinion, this is a much better way of pricing than to up the cruise rate across the board. Let's face it, cruising is no longer a vacation for the rich and want to play rich crowd.

 

Nita

[MrPete]

ok, on board expenses and I gave you examples of how ours haven't gone up anywhere near 500%.

 

Not sure how your figures would change my figures. :rolleyes:

 

When I started cruising, my charges ran about $200. Now they average $1000. None of these things include "the extras". It's the same stuff that used to be part of my fare. No spa, no casino.

 

I don't like the trend where, if you want tomatoes with your salad, sign here. And you want to meet the captain, your first born please.

 

At this rate, cruising will eventually cost as much as the Staten Island Ferry, and you will then be required to pay room, board, drinks, and then, on top of that, if you want the ship to move, a fuel surcharge. :eek:

[VanillaCruiser]

How could any vacation where I don't have to cook, clean, worry about what's for dinner or any other blah, blah. blah thing around the house,.......how could that EVER be a bad vacation.

 

 

My sentiments exactly!!:)

[bulgargirl]

Just out of curiousity, and because it kind of fits in here, does anybody have an opinion on which lines do the best job of incorporating absolutely everything into the price?

 

One of these days, I'm going to pay more for a line that has everything included to see how I like that option.....

[ute_fan]

MrPete -- as a fairly new cruiser (our first was in January, 2004), what things are now included in your onboard charges that didn't used to be? I'm not trying to pick an argument -- I'm just curious.

 

For us, the majority of our onboard charges reflect the tips (which would always have been expected, whether paid by envelope or charged to our account) and our shore excursions. We also normally have one soda card (which would possibly have been "included" before) and internet charges (which wouldn't have existed 20 years ago). What else do you feel that you're being charged for now that was previously included??

[hunter954]

YES!!! Finally somebody said it! Great post!

[MrPete]

MrPete -- as a fairly new cruiser (our first was in January, 2004), what things are now included in your onboard charges that didn't used to be? I'm not trying to pick an argument -- I'm just curious.

What else do you feel that you're being charged for now that was previously included??

 

Sure.

The ones that come to mind the quickest are:

The supper clubs. The good food (subject to opinion) used to exist in the regular dining rooms. Now you have to pay for it.

The Sweet shops. The good desserts used to exist in the dining rooms. Now you can buy it!

Coffee. But I still don’t understand anything Starbucksish. :rolleyes:

Soda with dinner. Now you can buy it!

Spa Pools.

Some entertainment (very limited)

Ice Cream (although on NCL, they charged me for it 18 years ago as well).

[ute_fan]

Thanks for the info. We haven't cruised any other lines than NCL, so my viewpoint is based strictly on that cruiseline.

 

We don't normally eat in any of the supper clubs or specialty restaurants that charge more. We've eaten in Le Bistro once, but the rest of the time we're been very satisfied with the main restaurants, (or, on NCL, the no-pay specialty ones).

 

I don't recall NCL having a "sweet shop" except possibly for pastries at the coffe bar. Again, we have enjoyed what's on the regular menu.

 

Not a coffee drinker, so that one doesn't apply either.

 

Haven't ever used a spa pool.

 

The only entertainment that we would have paid for was the bowling on the Pearl -- but the ship comped us a game at our meet & greet and ogranized a tournament for us.

 

Ice cream?? On NCL, it's free at the buffet.

 

I guess the things that are causing you to spend more are things that don't matter to us. For us, cruising is still a great value.

[MrPete]

And please bear in mind that my views regarding this subject are not NCL, but to mass cruising in general. The title caught my eye under “new posts”.

 

My point was that some accept these changes saying it doesn’t impact or doesn’t matter to them. Sometimes I wish the expert cruisers would post that these things are not in OUR best interest, and push back. I wish we were resistant to these extra charges as some have been to the fuel surcharge (which, surprisingly, I agree with!).

 

But I still think that cruising is a great value. As I said, during my last two cruises (non NCL), I was extremely disappointed in the service and quality of food. There’s nothing like being placed a plate with something that resembles what you ordered, and you know your can get the real thing “upstairs”. The quality has shifted away from the main areas to the specialty areas. In a way, it’s sort of setting up a class system. If you want better, you better buy up.

[bikergal78]

Can I get an AMEN?? :D

[greywillow]

Not sure how your figures would change my figures. :rolleyes:

 

When I started cruising, my charges ran about $200. Now they average $1000. None of these things include "the extras". It's the same stuff that used to be part of my fare. No spa, no casino.

 

I don't like the trend where, if you want tomatoes with your salad, sign here. And you want to meet the captain, your first born please.

 

At this rate, cruising will eventually cost as much as the Staten Island Ferry, and you will then be required to pay room, board, drinks, and then, on top of that, if you want the ship to move, a fuel surcharge. :eek:

Another suggestion if you don't want to avoid the "cheap cruisers" by cruising "upscale" cruise lines: Stop cruising and stop complaining.

 

I'm with Nita. Keep the cruise prices low and allow me to choose where to spend my bucks. Oh...meeting the captain does nothing for me. Nor does meeting the pilot, engineer on the train, or bus driver. I don't have an ego problem nor do I need to boast about dining with the captain.

[LateCruiser]

Sure.

 

The ones that come to mind the quickest are:

 

The supper clubs. The good food (subject to opinion) used to exist in the regular dining rooms. Now you have to pay for it.

I agree with this:) .

 

The Sweet shops. The good desserts used to exist in the dining rooms. Now you can buy it!

I actually thought the desserts in the Pearl buffet were pretty good:) .

 

Coffee. But I still don’t understand anything Starbucksish. :rolleyes:

 

Not to be arguative (is that even a word?:) ), but on our last cruise on the Pearl the coffee was free.

 

Soda with dinner. Now you can buy it!

That's why I stick with the Iced Tea and Coffee and Water.

 

Spa Pools.

 

Some entertainment (very limited)

All the entertainment on the Pearl was free.

 

Ice Cream (although on NCL, they charged me for it 18 years ago as well).

 

The Ice Cream in the Pearl buffet was free and very good:) .

 

****

[MrPete]

Another suggestion if you don't want to avoid the "cheap cruisers" by cruising "upscale" cruise lines: Stop cruising and stop complaining.

 

Not sure what you're really trying to say, but happy cruising!

[greywillow]

Not sure what you're really trying to say, but happy cruising!

I was referring to your unpleasant crack about "cheap cruises attract cheap cruisers." My suggestion was to cruise more upscale cruise lines if exposure to "cheap cruisers" offends your sensibilities so. Your on-board charges might even be less--making you, although I doubt it, happier.

[SeaShark]

Here's an idea:

 

Why don't we all write to either Host Star or Host Mama (our moderators) and ask that the designations under our names (Cool Cruiser, Blue Ribbon Cruiser, etc) be changed to "Sunshine Cruiser" to signify club membership!

[petesweet]

Thanks for the info. We haven't cruised any other lines than NCL, so my viewpoint is based strictly on that cruiseline.

 

We don't normally eat in any of the supper clubs or specialty restaurants that charge more. We've eaten in Le Bistro once, but the rest of the time we're been very satisfied with the main restaurants, (or, on NCL, the no-pay specialty ones).

 

I don't recall NCL having a "sweet shop" except possibly for pastries at the coffe bar. Again, we have enjoyed what's on the regular menu.

 

Not a coffee drinker, so that one doesn't apply either.

 

Haven't ever used a spa pool.

 

The only entertainment that we would have paid for was the bowling on the Pearl -- but the ship comped us a game at our meet & greet and ogranized a tournament for us.

 

Ice cream?? On NCL, it's free at the buffet.

 

I guess the things that are causing you to spend more are things that don't matter to us. For us, cruising is still a great value.

 

Ute, you're sure sounding like a Sunshine Cruiser!:)

[Toyz711]

ute fan is one of us!

[newmexicoNita]

Sure.

The ones that come to mind the quickest are:

The supper clubs. The good food (subject to opinion) used to exist in the regular dining rooms. Now you have to pay for it.

The Sweet shops. The good desserts used to exist in the dining rooms. Now you can buy it!

Coffee. But I still don’t understand anything Starbucksish. :rolleyes:

Soda with dinner. Now you can buy it!

Spa Pools.

Some entertainment (very limited)

Ice Cream (although on NCL, they charged me for it 18 years ago as well).

guess U missed something, last time I checked coffee, including capachino had no cost. The "olden days" they didn't offer anything exept regular coffee, how could they charge?

 

there was no spa pool, no super clubs and the entertainment was quite a bit less professional than now. As for ice cream, I thought it was free on NCL. When did they start charging? It must have been in the past 2 months.

 

Nita

[petesweet]

Here's an idea:

 

Why don't we all write to either Host Star or Host Mama (our moderators) and ask that the designations under our names (Cool Cruiser, Blue Ribbon Cruiser, etc) be changed to "Sunshine Cruiser" to signify club membership!

 

I think that's a great idea. What do our officers think?

 

This post came up in a funny place, and I thought you were offering some kind of suggestion to Mr. Pete. I thought you were going to suggest his be "Whiney Cruiser.":)

[SeaShark]

I think that's a great idea. What do our officers think?

 

This post came up in a funny place, and I thought you were offering some kind of suggestion to Mr. Pete. I thought you were going to suggest his be "Whiney Cruiser.":)

 

LOL :D

 

I was just trying to get us back on course.

 

(Can I be the Navigator?);)

[Toyz711]

the ice cream was free a week and 1 day ago.

 

i love the idea of being a "sunshine cruiser"...but since when you sign up be automatically become a 'cool cruise" they may not be able to change that. hope/wish they can.

[roosterhead]

What amazes me, is the people who complain about their cruises, but always seem to return to cruising with the same negative attitude? Why put yourself through this horrible experience time and time again?

[Queen_Of_Natick]

Face it, the price of everything has went up.

 

 

Take the the good Ol US Postal stamp for example. I remember when it didn't cost NEARLY as much as it does now. You also get a hell of a lot less service (at least good service ) at the post office too.

 

Now, granted, its not a cruise ship, but you get my drift.

 

Its really the same across the board, plus, the dollar does go as far as it once did (another consideration especially now)

 

 

-Q

[lidodeckbound]

Yeah it would take a lot to screw up a cruise!

[Toyz711]

i agree with roosterhead, why do something that makes you miserable?

and then repeat it?

what about the folks that had a bad time on my last cruise and then went to the roll calls for that ships next cruises and told everyone to cancel their trips? sorry but that was rude (and you know who you are)

 

BTW..the thread to the "sunshine cruisers" is now in the floataway lounge