Cruise Budgeting

	Solo Cruisers Finally Get a Break!
	Unlike typical singles cruises where the focus is meeting a mate, SoloCruiser vacations are comprised of sophisticated adults with a passion for travel, are traveling alone or with a friend or relative, and want to mix and mingle

By Anne Cambell

The purchase of a cruise ticket pays for approximately 80% of your vacation since it covers your stateroom, meals (except those eaten in a ship’s alternative restaurant, which have surcharges of up to $30 per person), entertainment and fitness facilities (except for spa treatments). But for those on a budget, it pays to plan ahead to decide which items you’ll want to purchase and those you’ll forgo aboard the ship and ashore. To make that easier, I’ve listed the extras most likely to pop up on your cruise. First of all, money never changes hands on a cruise ship. When you check in on the pier, an imprint is made of your credit or debit card. Anything you purchase is signed to your shipboard account. On the last evening, you’ll receive a statement in your cabin; if there are inaccuracies, take them up at the Purser’s Desk. Otherwise, charges will be billed directly to your credit card.

Gratuities: Cruise companies’ suggested amount for tipping has increased little over the past decade. Staff who receive tips include your stateroom steward/stewardess, dining room waiter and bus boy plus maitre ‘d (but only if he performs a special service). The recommended collective gratuity for waiter, bus boy and room steward is roughly $10-$12 per person, per day depending on the cruise line. On some cruise ships an extra cash amount for room service is also recommended for meals and beverages delivered to your stateroom after breakfast. Here, the standard amount is a $1 tip for room service. When you check in on the pier, you’ll pre-pay gratuities on your credit card; you can, however, adjust the recommended amount up or down at your discretion.   All beverages purchased aboard ship – spirits, wine, soda, bottled water -- have a 15% gratuity built in to the price of the drink or soda, except aboard the high-end ships.   Gratuities are frequently included in SoloCruiser’s “All Inclusive” voyages.   And, gratuities are included in the price of luxury cruise lines, including Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn Cruises and Silversea Cruises.

Spa/Beauty Salon: No matter what the spa is called on your ship, it will, with a very few exceptions, be operated by an outside concession, Steiner’s of London.   This is one area of the ship I always avoid because my experience with Steiner’s has been less than satisfying. During a 50 minute massage (roughly $110) that is below quality compared to what I get at home, my masseuse will attempt to push hundreds of dollars of products on me, stressing that I need them. Steiner’s staff gets much of their salary from commission on selling the company’s over-priced products. Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ spas are operated by the fancy Paris spa, Carita, and I’ll be the first in line on Regent’s ship to sign up for a massage.

Art Auctions: This is a big revenue area for all cruise lines and they will remind you constantly to attend the “auctions”. If you fall in love with something and the price seems reasonable, buy it (they’ll ship it directly to your home). It will be a wonderful souvenir of your cruise. However, never purchase art on a cruise ship as an investment or as something you can only buy on the ship no matter what the art salesman claims.

Wine, Spirits and Soda: Sorry, you’re not allowed to board a ship with a bottle of alcohol for consumption your stateroom. With the x-ray check of carry-on bags, totes and purses every time you board the ship, staff will take it away and return it to you the last night of your cruise. Those purchasing a SoloCruiser “All Inclusive” voyage will frequently find that wine, spirits and soda are included in the price. Charges for alcohol, soda, cappuccino, and fancy bottled water are comparable to what you’ll find in a resort or hotel. The luxury cruise lines (Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn and Silversea) include all alcohol in the price of the ticket.   TIP: Free ice-tea and fruit juices are always available in the ship’s “Lido” (buffet) restaurant, located next to the pool.

Shore Excursions:

On nearly every escorted SoloCruiser voyage we’ll offer you a private excursion ashore in one port. But in the rest of the ports on your itinerary, you’ll have to purchase a shore excursion of plan your own sightseeing. Shore excursions are a huge source of revenue for all cruise lines and are normally priced much higher than similar arrangements you can make on your own. For example, last year aboard a ship I noticed the shore excursion daily price for a Budget rental car was $70. I went to the ship’s cyber-café and booked the identical Budget car on my own for $30 per day.   But the only way you can save money and arrange your own tours and excursions is with advance research. In SoloCruiser’s pre-departure kit you’ll receive a brochure listing the ship’s shore excursions and prices (you can frequently book these online at the cruise line web site). This is when you run to Google, pull up the port or country you’re visiting and see what you can set up on your own. When cruising in Europe, I search out local travel agencies offering tours to the places I want to visit. In many instances, the port is the main attraction so no tours are necessary at all. If you’re a beach person cruising in the Caribbean, Mexico or Hawaii ask the staff at the Purser’s desk for advice on the best local beach and the approximate cost of a taxi.

Still, there will be times when the cruise company’s shore excursions make sense, such as when you dock in a major city and have but a few hours ashore. Traveling in the cruise line’s motor coach will give you a broad sweep of the city with a stop for lunch.

CAVEAT: One advantage to buying a shore excursion from the cruise line is the ship won’t leave without you. When hiring local guides and services, it’s up to you to get back to the ship on time; otherwise, it will sail without you and it’s your responsibility to fly to meet the ship in the next port. Arrange your private guides and tours early in the morning. TIP: In your daily program you’ll find the cruise line’s local port agent listed, including a telephone number. Take this with you just in case you run into a problem; it’s your only link to the cruise line. And, don’t leave the ship without the name of your port written in the local language. Barcelona, for example, has two cruise ship terminals and you have to know the proper name of the terminal to get there by taxi. In many European and African countries taxi drives don’t understand English.

Email and Phone Calls

I sincerely hope you can forget email and phones on your cruise vacation but that’s not always possible. Every ship has a cyber-café where there’s a hefty charge ($.75 per minute is common but the price goes down if you buy internet time in a package; rates vary from one cruise line to another.) But you can save a bundle by going to a cyber-café in port where charges are more likely to be $3 per hour.   You can use Google to locate a cyber-café in each port before departure but I rely on the Purser’s staff to direct me to a local place. Outside the US cyber-cafes are prevalent in every destination I’ve visited (except Antarctica). Because I travel quite a bit, I use T-Mobil as my cell phone provider because I can use it in Europe at $1.00 per minute rate. But more phone companies are adding international phones as well with rates of up to $5.00 per minute. If you want to call home from a public phone, the Purser’s office can also direct you to local public phones that don’t charge a huge surplus to make an international call.

How Much Money Should You Take?

With ATM’s located everywhere on earth (except Antarctica, natch) and credit cards accepted worldwide; I normally don’t leave home with more than a few hundred dollars in cash. In the Caribbean, Mexico and, of course, Hawaii and Alaska, dollars are preferred currency. And, many store in Europe will accept dollars (although they’ll grumble about it). You’ll always get the best rate when making purchases ashore by using a credit card.   In Europe and Asia, I change a small amount at the Purser’s desk or use an ATM ashore to get walking-around local currency.   I suggest checking with your credit card company and bank about international surcharges. If you have an account at Bank of America, you can make unlimited withdrawals, with no fees, from ATMs operated by Barclay's (UK), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Paribas (France), Scotiabank (Canada), and Westpac (Australia).   But be sure to check your bank’s surcharge for using a debt card: there may be a prohibitively high surcharge. You lose no more than about one percent in exchange costs with a Visa card from Capital One or USAA bank, or a MasterCard or Visa from one of the smaller banks and credit unions that issue such cards.

What About Shopping?

Since I consider myself a black belt in shopping, I feel safe in saying forget shopping for anything but souvenirs unless you’re in Asia. I’ve shopped my way through Europe for decades and found wonderful deals. But today the U.S. dollar is so weak I can only afford a bottle of olive oil in an Italian airport duty free whereas pre-Euro, I hauled home loads of things. TIP: I head for large department stores in major European cities where the prices seem to be the most reasonable when the itch to buy becomes overwhelming. With the Internet and sites like Amazon and Ebay, you’ll find the best prices at your computer and local discount mall. If you’re interested in purchasing an item in St. Thomas or St. Maarten, go armed with knowledge of how much the same item will cost on the Internet. Print out the price and take it with you to negotiate prices. The same goes for perfume, high-end ceramics and glass.

Copyright Anne Campbell, 2006

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