Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
I would like to go on a cruise. But I don’t want to schedule it weeks or months in advance, and I want to know how much it will cost. That includes the cruise fee, taxes, port charges, wifi, cable TV, drinks, mandatory “gratuities”, and anything else that I will need to pay for. I don’t want any surprises. Am I being unreasonable?
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Sit down with a travel agent. Talk these things over. Once I became a seasoned cruiser I often made my own arrangements, but I did my first cruises through AAA. There is an AAA office near Spanish Springs, and there have been some other suggestions in previous posts.
You will know virtually all of your required costs because the travel agent will compute them and want you to pay in full before receiving the package of tickets.
There will be other expenses because you will want to do
optional things, such as drinks, use of wi-fi, alternate dining rooms, and especially shore trips. Shore trips vary greatly in cost but
should be taken to get a taste of the foreign countries that are your ports of call. No one can give you an exact price because these offerings are at
your option.
There has been lots of good advice on this thread. I engaged in forums on Cruise Critic for years. The Cruise Critic web site has an incredible wealth of information.
Once you make your first cruise you will better understand the entire process and you will probably choose to cruise every year.
Incidentally, Carnival Cruise Line targets a very young, and usually very noisy clientele. I prefer Princess and Royal Caribbean. Holland America targets the elderly and is very well run.
I will not book cruises that have anywhere in Mexico as a port of call, but that is a personal prejudice. I cruised the Eastern Caribbean, Eastern Canada, Pacific out of Los Angeles, and Alaska (Land and Sea.)
Sailing out of Port Canaveral will usually involve a stop in Mexico, or will be less than a week and go to the Bahamas. Longer trips into the Caribbean will often originate in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Only medium sized ships sail out of Tampa because Mega-ships cannot sail under the Sunshine Skyway bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay.
Your travel agent can explain all of this to you. Find one. Just sitting down and discussing a cruise should cost you nothing.