All inclusive fares are one of the great advantages of cruising. With meals, entertainment, transportation from port to port, free or heavily discounted air fare, vacation budgeting should be easy and fairly accurate.
But it`s not. Additional costs, some expected, some avoidable, can add a hefty amount to your vacation tab.
Here`s a rundown on potential expenses. With this knowledge, your budgeting should be more accurate and the final bill less of a shock. All expenses are on a per person basis.
Getting there
Port taxes are imposed by ports of call for wharfage, head taxes, assorted fees, the U.S. International Departure Tax. Port tax charges, one of those fine print items in the back of the brochure, are added to the final cruise payment.
Taxes for a seven-day Caribbean cruise average $50. Variations in itineraries and the number of ports themselves account for the differences among the lines-$35 on Royal Caribbean to $108 on the Royal Odyssey, which visits more unusual ports.
No separate port taxes are added to fares for Club Med I, a computerized sailing vessel, or for the ultra-luxurious Sea Goddess vessels.
Trip cancellation/baggage protection insurance. After a designated deadline, penalties are stiff for cancellation of a cruise.
Travel agents and many cruise lines sell trip cancellation/interruption and baggage loss protection policies.
The average fee is $50 for a seven-day cruise. Royal Viking charges 5 percent of the cruise rate for fares under $25,000. Seabourn and Club Med I include such protection in their fares.
Carnival and Royal Cruise lines have very comprehensive packages, including trip accident and medical evacuation coverage: $59 for seven days on Carnival; $99 for nine days on Royal.
Baggage protection is another fine print item. It usually covers just the cruise portion of the trip, but luggage losses and damage are more likely to occur on your flights or on the pier. If you`re on Carnival`s air program, your baggage is protected from the time you leave home until you return.
Air transportation
Many cruises include air transportation in the fare. If you prefer to make your own arrangements or cash in frequent-flier miles, you`ll receive a credit-$200, for example, on the Crystal Harmony`s Panama Canal route, $250 for Caribbean cruises from Miami or San Juan on Royal Caribbean.
Vacation extensions. Pre- and post-cruise packages, such as Royal Caribbean`s two-night stay at Miami`s Doral Resort & Country Club ($195 to $267) are, obviously extra. Renaissance Cruises` fares include a one- to three-night land package. Passengers not wishing to participate receive a credit.
Onboard expenses
Some expenses-bar bills, laundry, tips, beauty salon-are expected. Others are not. Heavier competition and the resulting discount wars are forcing cruise lines to look for other sources of revenue to increase that bottom line. They`ve found it by encouraging passengers to spend more onboard the ships.
Here`s a look at what you may expect, starting with the standard expenses, then moving on to the more imaginatively imposed charges.
– Bar bills: Don`t worry about them on the Sea Goddess vessels or on Song of Flower. Drinks, wines and champagnes (with the exception of pricey vintages) are included. Seabourn does not include drinks, but they are reasonably priced ($1.50 for a scotch and water), and in-suite bars are stocked with four complimentary liquor at the beginning of a cruise.
Club Med I serves complimentary private label wine at lunch and dinner, but charges $5 for a Chivas from your mini-bar.
This category is a tough one to budget. Even the lines can`t come to an agreement on averages for a seven-day cruise. Holland America says $50, Celebrity Cruises say $70 to $150 and Royal Caribbean estimated $200.
– Tipping: Totals, per person, per day, of the suggested amounts for waiters, busboys and room stewards or stewardesses runs from $4 on Royal Cruise Line to $10 for Princess and Queen`s Grill-level passengers on the QE2. The average is approximately $6.
The recommended amounts often do not reflect shipboard services. Carnival and Crystal suggest $7.50, but the highly polished, personalized service on the Crystal Harmony is vastly superior to the less skilled, less competent service rendered by the Carnival staff.
Fifteen percent is the usual addition to bar and wine tabs.
The maitre d`hotel and/or head waiter are tipped only when they`ve rendered services beyond their expected duties. Examples are making changes in seating arrangements, tableside cooking, special orders. Celebrity Cruises is the only line to suggest tipping the maitre d` and chief steward; $3.50 per cruise to each.
Of the ships with a no tipping policy-Seabourn Pride and Spirit, Song of Flower, Sea Goddess I and II, Club Med I-Seabourn`s is the most strongly enforced. Seabourn crew members are absolutely forbidden to accept gratuities. No soliciting for gratuities is the policy for the Windstar and Holland America ships, the result being, for example, that passengers on Holland America tend to tip about half the amount given on other cruise lines.
– Laundry: There are complimentary launderettes on American Hawaii, Princess ships (except the Island and Pacific Princesses), the Crystal Harmony, Seabourn and Royal Viking. Holland America and Carnival have coin-operated machines.
The cost of laundering and pressing a man`s dress shirt varies. At Carnival`s 75-cent fee, you might as well bring all your dirty shirts. American Hawaii, Royal, Cunard Countess and the QE2 come in with the highest cost, $3.50. Kloster Cruises charges $2.50 on the ships in its Norwegian Cruise Line fleet, but $3.25 on its Royal Viking ships, where, presumably, passengers paying higher fares must have nicer shirts.
– Babysitting: If you have young children who need supervision during the evening, you`ll usually find a crew member happy to pick up some extra money. Fees are negotiable on American Hawaii, Royal Viking, Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises.
Other lines have set rates. Carnival charges $3.50 per hour for one child, then $2.50 for each additional child in the same family. It`s $8 per hour on Costa, the same on Royal Caribbean, with a three-hour minimum.
Premier`s complimentary supervised children`s program runs until 10 p.m., then it`s reasonably priced group babysitting with Disney movies, pillows and blankets.
Less expected costs
– Additional charges for food: The norm is all meals (often including orders for special dishes), various snacks, afternoon tea, the midnight buffet. Party trays for bon voyage and cocktail parties are extra.
Indulgences can run up your bill. If it`s not on the menu, Renaissance charges for caviar. Royal Cruise Lines does the same for lobster and caviar, which are served once a week. Norwegian Cruise Lines charges for lobster and caviar.
The Sovereign of the Seas, the Star Princess and the new Crown Princess have wine and champagne bars which also serve caviar-$26 for a two-person serving of beluga on the Sovereign.
On the other hand, there are some nice complimentary extras, such as pizza parlors on the Princess, Premier and Costa. Ice cream bars, most of which have the makings for imaginative sundaes, are complimentary on Premier, Holland America, the Crystal Harmony, Costa (gelato in the afternoon), but not on Norwegian Cruise Line ships.
– Alternative dining rooms: The newest trend on ships is the separate restaurant, which offers a more sophisticated menu and a more intimate setting than the regular dining rooms. These restaurants add a bit of variety to the cruise experience, and sometimes a good deal of money to the cruise line coffers.
Dining at the Royal Viking Sun`s Royal Grill on a Paul Bocuse-designed a la carte menu is $45 plus wine, plus gratuity. The Seaward`s Palm Tree Restaurant has a fixed $35 menu and a la carte service, plus beverage and a 15 percent gratuity. When the Norway emerges from an extensive refurbishment in October, she`ll have a similar supper club.
Praise goes to the Crystal Harmony for offering two alternative restaurants-one Italian, the other, Oriental-at no extra charge other than a suggested $3 gratuity.
The Seabourn vessels` Veranda Cafes occasionally turn into Italian cafes, the Club Med I serves theme dinners in its Odyssey restaurant and the Seaward`s Big Apple Cafe sometimes has buffet dinners. All are complimentary. – Cabin service: While tipping for cabin service is a nice thing to do, imposing a $2 fee for cabin service, such as Norwegian Cruise Line has done, is not so nice.
There`s no charge for cabin service on Club Med I, but there is for the food delivered: $2.50 for a cheese sandwich, $6 for a chicken sandwich.
– Fitness centers/spas: Shipboard fitness centers with an extensive array of equipment, classes, trainers, saunas, whirlpools, all complimentary, are common. The exception is Costa`s $3 charge for a sauna.
Spa and beauty salon services are, of course, added costs. These range from a massage ($40 on Princess) to more extensive programs, such as the $185 Body Design Program (facials, personal advice and various treatments) on Carnival`s Fantasy.
The Norway soon will have the 6,000-square-foot Roman Spa, the first true spa at sea. But if you even want to wet your toes in the sea water pool, you`ll have to sign up for a treatment package-$99 for a half-day introductory program to $689 for six days of customized care. The ship also will have a complimentary fitness center.
Expenses ashore
– Sightseeing: Princess Cruises gives a guideline of $100 for shore excursions for a one-week, four-port Caribbean cruise, based on half or full- day basic sightseeing tours in each port at $17 to $29 each.
Knowledgeable travelers can save a lot of money sightseeing by hiring their own drivers or a rental car.
Especially in the Caribbean, there`s no reason to be crammed into a van with a dozen or more other passengers. On your own, the basic St. Thomas sightseeing tour is $10 a person-and your party will have a van to itself. The cruise lines charge $14 to $21 for similar tours.
– Sports: On the courts, greens or in the water, you`ll want to take advantage of fine weather, new challenges.
Premier`s $27, all-day snorkeling program includes equipment, instruction and a T-shirt. Water sports rentals are available-$9 per hour for a windsurfer.
Norwegian Caribbean has Dive-In programs at $30 for one day to $70 for three days.
Carnival rents snorkeling equipment for $9 per day or $19 per week.
When the Seabourn ships anchor, a marina unfolds, forming a salt water pool whose teak deck becomes the base for an array of complimentary water sports-waterskiing, windsurfing, sailing, pedal boats, snorkeling. Water sports platform and complimentary equipment are on the Windstar, Sea Goddess, Club Med I, Clipper and Renaissance vessels.
Golf and other sports can be arranged on shore. Royal Caribbean`s Golf Ahoy at Jamaica`s Runaway Bay Country Club is $43. Horseback riding on Barbados, through the Cunard Countess` SeaSports program, is $45.
Truly miscellaneous
Shipboard services you might need: medical, ship-to-shore telephone, fax or telex.
The rest are items for which only you can determine your budget:
shopping, shipboard photos, Bingo.
And don`t forget the casino. A lucky few (very few) might win back all that they`ve spent on those cruise-enhancing extras.
