Which cruise line will not nickel and dime us?

[thebeesknees]

DH and I are planning to take a cruise this summer. We really enjoyed the Carnival cruise we took a few years ago, especially since there were not really any "hidden" fees. We knew ahead of time that soda would be extra, and that we'd have tips to pay, and planned for that. The destination we are thinking of is serviced by several different cruise companies, though, and we were thinking about trying Norwegian, Royal Caribbean or Celebrity this time. Does anyone know if any of these companies have extra hidden charges? For example, I've heard that some places have mandatory service charges that you don't find out about until you are ready to leave. I'd like to know ahead of time what to expect if we go with another company. Oh, and if you have been on one of these other ships, did you have a good experience? Thanks!

 

[lovetoscrap]

You should check out the cruisecritic.com boards. They are the best for learning everything there is to know about cruising the different lines-- except for Disney and the DIS has them beat by a mile!

You can read about each of the different lines and ask questions of those experienced on each one.

 

[clearyds]

Hello,
we took our kids 11 and 9 on the Freedom of the Seas in January and had the greatest time ever. As long as you know ahead of time about the suggested gratuities about 10 per day for cabin steward and waitstaff, I did not find too many extra costs that I didn't expect. They did have a Ben and Jerrys, Johnny Rockets and two specialty restaurants that all had additional fees, but we found the Dining Room food to be great, hit B&J's once and went to the pizza place for our late night snacks!
There were extra costs involved in jet ski rentals, scuba diving, other excursions but it is clear beforehand.
But, inculded in the price was ice skating, rock wall, simulated surfing, mini golf, great shows (although we missed many late night shows/entertainment with the kids) great pools and adult only area with hot tubs that hang over the sea, plus great kids programs so we could enjoy them! It really seems to be a great value! I really recommend Royal Carribean!!
cruise critic dot com is a great resource to check out as well.

 

[MaryKLady]

We've cruised wit Princess, Carnival and Disney. I can't remember ever being nickled and dimed on any of them. Just be aware there are gratuities that are expected which are not included in your fare and you'll have to pay for "grown-up drinks". There are also port taxes but they usually make you very aware of that up front.

 

[caribear]

I think that the "mandatory service charges" you are referring to might be gratuities. Many lines have now added gratuities automatically to your final bill at the end of the cruise. You can always tell them to remove the automatic gratuities and that you will be paying in cash. I know that on my last Princess cruise this was the case. The norm is now $10-13 per day/per person in your stateroom.

Gratuities are also added to your drinks that you purchase onboard.

I think there are alot of ways to spend extra money on a cruise; specialty restaurant, classes (art, yoga, etc..), drinks, casino.....but these are thing that you "choose" to do...not that you "have" to do....so you can get away with spending as little or as much as you want.

Have fun planning!!

For an adults only cruise I really like Princess....I have heard great things about Celebrity also.

 

[mtblujeans]

We just got back from a Carnival cruise and the gratuity had changed since we cruised with them a couple of years ago. We cruised on the Fantasy and they no longer take cash or credit cards onboard. As we were being checked in, we were told that every person in our party (5 of us) had to have their room key activated to the responsible party's credit card and each room key would be charged $10.00 per day for gratuities. There was no way to opt out. On our 5 day cruise, that came to $250.00 total. We hadn't expected that and weren't made aware of it until we checked in at the dock.

In addition to that fee, everything you purchase, food/drink related, has an additional 15% gratuity added to it as it is charged to your room key. If you utilize spa facilities or excursions, you can add any gratuity that you would deem appropriate. I bought a Carnival travel cup at one of the bars and I was charged the additional 15%.

 

[thebeesknees]

PP, thanks for mentioning that Carnival has changed their gratuity practice. This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know. I checked out Cruisecritic, but wasn't seeing that type of information on there. When we went with Carnival 3 years ago, it was tipping as you wished, not a mandatory amount, so it is good to know ahead of time what to expect. That way we can more equally compare the total price of the cruises we are looking at. Thanks!

 

[Butta]

We just got back from a Carnival cruise and the gratuity had changed since we cruised with them a couple of years ago. We cruised on the Fantasy and they no longer take cash or credit cards onboard. As we were being checked in, we were told that every person in our party (5 of us) had to have their room key activated to the responsible party's credit card and each room key would be charged $10.00 per day for gratuities. There was no way to opt out. On our 5 day cruise, that came to $250.00 total. We hadn't expected that and weren't made aware of it until we checked in at the dock.

You can go to the pursers desk on board and they will remove the tips, if you don't want to tip.

You can also put a cash deposit and link the cards to that. It doesn't have to be you CC.

OP, I've cruised Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. They all charge for soda and alcohol. They also automatically charge a 15% gratuity to these purchases. They usually have a separate pay to eat restaurant that you can try if you'd like but it is not mandatory.

NCL calls the tips a service charge instead of gratuities.

 

[mjkacmom]

I really don't think of it as nickle and diming. We cruised NCL, and it was so much easier to have them figure out the tips for me, instead of tipping out myself at the end. Yes, you have to pay for soda, but I don't drink it, and a soda card is still much cheaper than spending thousands more on DCL (which we have also done).

Yes, you pay a service charge for the specialty restaurants, but you don't have to go to them - back in the day, you just had the main dining rooms. I happen to like the smaller feel of them, and to me, they're worth an extra $15 - $20 a person a few times each cruise.

The reason I like NCL is that there is no set time to eat - maybe I won't feel like eating at 6 pm, and I don't like buffets.

 

[mtblujeans]

You can go to the pursers desk on board and they will remove the tips, if you don't want to tip.

You can also put a cash deposit and link the cards to that. It doesn't have to be you CC.

OP, I've cruised Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. They all charge for soda and alcohol. They also automatically charge a 15% gratuity to these purchases. They usually have a separate pay to eat restaurant that you can try if you'd like but it is not mandatory.

NCL calls the tips a service charge instead of gratuities.

I don't know what the "cash" procedure might have entailed. When we checked in before boarding, we were told that a credit card had to be given before boarding.

However, I did hear, at the end of the cruise, that if Carnival owed you any money, they would issue you a check attached to your final statement. I am, now, assuming that might have something to do with the "cash option".

ETA: I heard that the "soda card" was $25.00 for that particular cruise (5 day).

 

[janets]

It's important to remember that a cruise in not an all inclusive vacation.

Yes, your basic dining, entertainment, many on board activities are included. As are drinks like lemonade, iced tea and regular coffee.

Specialty restaurants, soda, alcohol, specialty coffees are not included. Tips/gratuities are not included. Things like bingo and the casino are not included.

NCL offers "freestyle" dining. Most of their restaurants are pay extra options. You don't have to utilize them, but they are extra. Royal, Princess and Carnival all have the main dining room as well as at least 1 specialty restaurant on most ships. But you certainly can do the main dining room exclusively and you'll be fine.

Royal still allows you to tip in cash at the end of your cruise. Most of the others have adopted a policy of charging your seapass for daily gratuities. You can have them removed, but why would you? Cruise staff work hard to make your vacation enjoyable. So you should expect and add those gratuities into the cost of your cruise.

Each line and each ship has something to offer. Depending on what you want from your cruise would help to determine which you should consider.

Just be aware of what is included and what is not and you should not be caught off guard with additional costs.

 

[Donnask8pro]

There is also cruiseshiptalk dot com go and ask question. Everyone there will help you and a few of the members are TA's

 

[tink713]

DH and I have done Princess Cruises before and we didn't feel nickle and dimed. We did have to pay for sodas, like every other ship but besides that there really wasn't "hidden" charges.

 

[dis-happy]

Nickel. I just had to say it.


Anyway, there's one high-end cruise line that doesn't do gratuities at all, plus drinks and alcohol are included, but they charge so much for passage you don't save anything. But it's nice not to worry about it! Seabourne Cruises.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I'm glad you asked this - DH and I are hoping to cruise next year!

 

[mtblujeans]

Carnival offers this info on their site: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/first_time_cruiser.aspx?cid=

I haven't looked at it yet....not sure if it's helpful.

ETA: Now that I look it over, you have to (pretty much) know what to look for in there. This page seems to offer a listing of what is not included in your cruise.

 

[Cindy B]

RCCL charges a $3 or $4 delivery charge for room service orders between midnight a 5 am. That is a deal breaker for us. My teenage son eats everything in sight all the time so he can (and will!) call room service every night after the teen activities --he did this on our last cruise.

Carnival does not assess a room service charge fee.

 

[ilovebassets]

only the truly luxury cruise lines (none of which have been named in this thread so far) are inclusive. of course, their ticket prices are so high that for the vast majority of people, sailing one of the more mass market lines and paying out of pocket is the better deal. but if you're interested in a splurge luxurious vacation, there are definitely almost all-inclusive cruise experiences out there.