Land vs Sea

Wow, I had planned on posting immediately but the past few weeks have been busy. Aside from doing our favorite non-cruise activity – tax preparation (not!) we’ve had a lot of first time cruisers contact us.

For those of us that love to cruise, we know about the multitude of benefits. However, it seems that our best kept secret is now out … the value! It’s long amazed me how many people have yet to try a cruise. The only reason that I can come up with is that they mentally look at the cruise fare as they would the cost of a hotel. Most people, I think, don’t really look at the total cost of lodging; meals; transportation; entertainment and other activities when they plan a trip. While they may plan a budget, how many really come home and add up everything they have actually spent? It’s easy to say “Oh, I’ll plan $100 for meals per day.” Sticking to it is another story.

Last month, I went on a land trip (I know, it felt strange to not have it attached to a cruise!) but, I got to spend my birthday with my oldest and dearest friend in the world so it was worth it:-) However, I couldn’t stop comparing it to my cruises especially since I could see the ships in the harbor.

The first morning at breakfast, I decided to forgo the small glass of juice after seeing a $5 price tag and opted for coffee and a waffle. While the food and service were good, I really did not think it was worth $20 for just one person. It was definitely a drastic difference from what I would experience on a ship. When I looked at all the tables around me I was astounded at not only what they were spending but what they were really getting for it. While I love to travel and spend money, I like knowing that I’m getting the best value for my hard earned dollars. This was definitely not the case here.

That feeling grew as the day wore on and I watched families spend a small fortune on mediocre pool side fare and shell out money for the water toys to keep the children entertained. I overheard diner planning as well as nightly entertainment choices and a few heated debates over the cost of a particular performance or activity over another. One couple sitting nearby wanted to go see a traditional island dance show but knew that their young teens wouldn’t enjoy it. Plus, the husband didn’t want to spend what it would cost for 4 tickets. Needless to say they weren’t going to leave them alone in their hotel room nor let them go off on their own.

It took all of my restraint to not run over and tell them that if they were on a cruise they wouldn’t be having this discussion. Not only would they be able to go to a show and not pay extra for it, they could stop worrying about what their children were doing because they were busy having fun with kids their own age; supervised by trained staff in the teen lounge at no charge. How about families with younger kids – they have to tailor every land based activity around them and the adults’ wants go unfulfilled unless they want to shell out big money for a babysitter. Definitely no special nights out with just the two of them … not so if they had been on a cruise!

Our own night time plans once again had me shaking my head. We had reservations to make; taxi fares; fees for the show and while dinner was great, the bill was outrageous. Yes, I realize that costs to import items to the island are high and thus, the finished product is more than we’d pay at home but I just couldn’t help comparing it to my cruise experiences.

My best advice to first time cruisers: When looking at the cost of a cruise, take the total and divide it by the number of passengers and then the numbers of nights sailing. This will give you the per diem cost for each of you. Now, compare that to what you spent for lodging; meals; activities and entertainment on your last vacation. You'll wonder why you haven't tried a cruise sooner!

In the end, I had an absolutely wonderful time and don’t regret the money that I spent because you can’t put a price tag on the experience; spending quality time with my friend and the lasting memories. However, the cruise lover in me couldn’t help thinking what an outrageous time we would’ve had on a cruise for less money.