HIDDEN ONBOARD CRUISE CHARGES

After saving and saving, you have finally put aside enough money to take
a wonderful cruise, something you have longed to do for years.  You chose
a reputable cruise line, found a cruise ship that is geared toward
people in your age group and one that features the type of activities you
enjoy, and so the packing begins.  First, remember that for all you will
get while on the cruise, this type of vacation is a tremendous value.

Cruise ships provide passengers with delectable food, many free
activities, fascinating ports of call, and more.  Therefore, you
should not feel a cruise is a bad value for the price.  However, it is
important to understand that there are many hidden charges onboard a
cruise ship that some passengers are simply not made aware of, until
they are onboard and find they are short of money.

The reason is that cruise ships charge for "hidden" items, not always
disclosed.  Now, they are not trying to trick people into anything but
they do try to make money over the base price of the cruise simply because
operating a cruise ship is expensive.  Therefore, it is important to
remember the price you pay covers so much such as the cabin, meals,
entertainment, numerous activities, some port charges, government
charges and taxes, and so on.  However, you need to be aware of the "other"
charges associated with a cruise so you do not find yourself limited
when onboard.

Start with the tips, which are offered to the housekeeping staff and
dining room attendants among others.  Some cruises will set gratuity as
part of the cruise price but some times, passengers are allowed to
remove this from the price and offer their own tips.  Therefore, if the
cruise line allows you to bypass the built-in gratuity and go with
tipping on your own, you could save a little.  Even so, you should
routinely tip 15% considering these people are working hard to make
your cruise a wonderful experience.

The next area of hidden charges has to do with drinks, whether alcoholic
or not.  While beverages are included with the meals, when you are up on
the deck jogging, sun tanning, or playing games and want something to
drink to cool off, you will pay and unfortunately, the price is not
cheap.  The key here is that many of the drinks can simply be put on your
room tab.  Therefore, when you go to check out, you have an enormous bill
that you were not expecting.  Try to drink slowly and not go overboard.

Ports of calls or excursions are another area where money can add up
quickly.  For the cruise lines to stop over at various islands or
destinations, a lot of time and effort goes into play.  The excursions
are carefully organized so you have a great time while being in safe
company.  The issue is that for the cruise ship passenger, the price is
generally high.  To save a little, you would have to pass the excursion
and stay onboard the ship or organize your own tour, which is an option.
However, this also means you are taking a chance of finding a reputable
tour company.  The problem seen most often with this is the tour company
not getting passengers back to the ship in time for departure.

Other hidden charges found on cruise ships include shopping,
gambling, photography, spas and gyms, etc.  With shopping, you will
find wonderful shops where you can buy just about anything you want.  The
excitement of the cruise takes over and before you know it, you have
purchased some type of souvenir that is twice the price.  For the higher
priced items, you will find that you have no guarantee so if something
should break, you are out of luck.  Gambling is a large part of cruises
today.  Just as with Las Vegas, the casinos have bright, glitzy colors
and lights, making them very intriguing.  If you do not know how to gamble
well, you would do better to get involved with other cruise ship
activities.

Cruises also have photographers onboard, eager to snap photos that you
can take home to remember your wonderful vacation by.  While there are
occasions when the photographers would be helpful, they are also very
pricey.  Typically, the ships photographers walk around the ship
taking photos at will.  Then, they will approach couples or families,
showing them some of the photos taken.  Again, getting caught up in the
excitement and sometimes, high pressure sales, the photos are bought.
Again, just do not go too overboard in that you could spend a fortune just
on the photography alone.

As you will discover while onboard the cruise ship, there are many
hidden charges.  You want to play Bingo, expect to pay.  If you want to
participate in a wine tasting party, you will pay.  If you want to take
Pilates or yoga, charges will apply.  Whether playing golf on the
computer, taking a special class, betting on horse racing, and so on,
all these activities while fun, also cost money.  Therefore, when you
take a cruise, unless you only want to enjoy things onboard that are free
or possibly stay onboard while at ports of call, you will need to save a
little more for the hidden costs.