What type of cruise ship were you on? (experiences, excursion, europe)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Comparing a river cruise to a similar cruise line (ie. Viking to Celebrity, or AMA to Regent) the pricing is about the same. Compared to the bottom of the barrel like Carnival or MSC, of course it's higher--but you are comparing apples to oranges.
By the way, I seldom book a suite on a cruise ship. Our last cruise we had the smallest balcony cabin, the one before that we had a window cabin.
talk to an experienced travel agent and see what the tell you. I know they love to sell river cruises and upscale cruises ( more money) but they would all disagree with you on the pricing, unless you are talking about suite compared to standard, very small cabins on river cruises. I know how you feel about this, you love your choice in cruising, which is wonderful, but you just need to accept there is a huge difference in pricing no matter how you cut it and for many, river cruising is out of there comfort zone, price wise.
Care to share which cruiseline and ship? And why did it turn out to be "one of the best cruises we have had in years"? I'm just curious how other people critique cruises and ships. (And in our case, nmnita, we agree so often that I'm truly INTERESTED.)
Itt was NCL and it was a repo cruise. The best part was the friendly people. We ended up, the last 2 nights eating diner with friends we had made via Trivia. This has never happened before. The days at sea offered great afternoon entertainment, again, not a usual occurrence and we did more organized tours than usual; one we loved. usually we are a little too cheap to do ship sponsored: this time we did one and loved it. The ship itself was not our favorite and food wise, NCL has some good and some not so good. The cruise was no exception, but I think the people and the entertainment made all the difference.
talk to an experienced travel agent and see what the tell you. I know they love to sell river cruises and upscale cruises ( more money) but they would all disagree with you on the pricing, unless you are talking about suite compared to standard, very small cabins on river cruises. I know how you feel about this, you love your choice in cruising, which is wonderful, but you just need to accept there is a huge difference in pricing no matter how you cut it and for many, river cruising is out of there comfort zone, price wise.
I don't need to talk to a TA, the prices are all online.
Itt was NCL and it was a repo cruise. The best part was the friendly people. We ended up, the last 2 nights eating diner with friends we had made via Trivia. This has never happened before. The days at sea offered great afternoon entertainment, again, not a usual occurrence and we did more organized tours than usual; one we loved. usually we are a little too cheap to do ship sponsored: this time we did one and loved it. The ship itself was not our favorite and food wise, NCL has some good and some not so good. The cruise was no exception, but I think the people and the entertainment made all the difference.
I don't need to talk to a TA, the prices are all online.
And I would truly be beholden to you if you could find me a 7-14 day cruise on Viking that is priced anywhere near what I can purchase on Celebrity.
Ground rules include:
Inside guaranty for Celebrity unless the 123 package is included. Then you can use the price of an oceanview to qualify for the 123 package. Likewise, you can use the cheapest cabin on the Viking ship.
Similar time of year for travel.
Similar areas of the world - though obviously itineraries will be different.
And since we only take excursions in half or less of the ports, add $60/per person to one half the Celebrity ports.
We pay the standard $12/day/pp gratuity on Celebrity. We rarely eat in extra cost dining.
And I would truly be beholden to you if you could find me a 7-14 day cruise on Viking that is priced anywhere near what I can purchase on Celebrity.
Ground rules include:
Inside guaranty for Celebrity unless the 123 package is included. Then you can use the price of an oceanview to qualify for the 123 package. Likewise, you can use the cheapest cabin on the Viking ship.
Similar time of year for travel.
Similar areas of the world - though obviously itineraries will be different.
And since we only take excursions in half or less of the ports, add $60/per person to one half the Celebrity ports.
We pay the standard $12/day/pp gratuity on Celebrity. We rarely eat in extra cost dining.
What about soda, beer, wine? Bicycles to borrow while in port?
What about soda, beer, wine? Bicycles to borrow while in port?
What is the 123 package?
The 123 package is a Celebrity promotion that allows you to choose 2 of 3 freebies - the all inclusive classic alcohol package, free gratuities or onboard credit. The promotion is offered regularly on most Celebrity cruises, but some only allow 1 of 3 freebies. It is NOT available on Transatlantic cruises. It does require a booking of at least an OV room (my usual inside guarantee is would not qualify.)
I'll make it simpler and use our actual booking in Dec on Celebrity. OV cabin, 123 package allowing only one of the choices, 16 nights. We chose the all inclusive classic alcohol, valued at $44/day/pp. That allows us to have most labels of alcohol, beer and lower end wines with meals and whenever we want at bars, poolside, showroom, etc. (Alcohol for Room service and inroom minibar are not included.) Soda, water, specialty coffees are included. I'm willing to agree, upfront, that the wine selections will be better on the river cruise; however, the alcohol selections are very good. http://www.iglucruise.com/celebrity-...drinks-package
No bicycles. Since husband needs a knee replacement and I haven't ridden in 30 years, I think that's a non-issue for us. No excursions are included.
Thanks for the help - seriously, we would love to do a river cruise, but the prices have kept us away. I'd be delighted to find out that I was wrong, so thanks for 'stepping up to the challenge.'
Can you tell me the price you paid for your cruise, where you are cruising, if air is included in the price, and if there are any additional port fees, taxes, etc. Also are transfers and/or pre/post cruise hotels included?
Can you tell me the price you paid for your cruise, where you are cruising, if air is included in the price, and if there are any additional port fees, taxes, etc. Also are transfers and/or pre/post cruise hotels included?
No air, no transfers, no pre/post cruise hotels included. ALL of those I can do cheaper/easier on my own. (Take that back - I did book one of the OW airfares through Choice Air because the one way was cheaper through them. However, it's NOT part of the cruise fare.)
Yes, of course there are additional taxes and significant port fees. This is a Panama Canal cruise which ALWAYS has HIGH port fees. Between that and our OV cabin (instead of our usual inside guarantee), this will be the single most expensive cruise we have ever booked (though not the longest). So I thought that would be a good challenge for you to prove me wrong.
You come up with your best price for something with a similar number of days, or even a few shorter if you want as this cruise includes a fair number of sea days. I give you my solemn word that I will give you the full price of what we are paying, and I'm willing to provide documentation (via PM) to prove it.
Again, I'd love to find a river cruise that didn't make our eyes pop when looking at the prices.
No air, no transfers, no pre/post cruise hotels included. ALL of those I can do cheaper/easier on my own. (Take that back - I did book one of the OW airfares through Choice Air because the one way was cheaper through them. However, it's NOT part of the cruise fare.)
Yes, of course there are additional taxes and significant port fees. This is a Panama Canal cruise which ALWAYS has HIGH port fees. Between that and our OV cabin (instead of our usual inside guarantee), this will be the single most expensive cruise we have ever booked (though not the longest). So I thought that would be a good challenge for you to prove me wrong.
You come up with your best price for something with a similar number of days, or even a few shorter if you want as this cruise includes a fair number of sea days. I give you my solemn word that I will give you the full price of what we are paying, and I'm willing to provide documentation (via PM) to prove it.
Again, I'd love to find a river cruise that didn't make our eyes pop when looking at the prices.
Your challenge was for a river cruise in the same part of the world. There are no river cruises through the Panama Canal, or anywhere near it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
