If you're watching this, then you likely enjoy taking a cruise and realize there is a lot
to like.
From the value, to having room, food, and entertainment all included to the relaxation
that comes with being at sea, there's a lot to like.
But veteran cruisers -- myself included -- will tell you that not everything is perfect.
And there is one thing about cruising that seems to be universally despised according
to hundreds of cruise passengers I talked to...
I mean, they seriously seem to hate it.
I'll tell you exactly what it is... and how to avoid it... right now.
So if you've watched much of this YouTube channel, then you've likely heard me mention
Cruzely.com.
This is a website that I publish with tons of information on cruising.
Each day tons of people head here for information on everything from what to pack to where to
park.
A few weeks ago, I sent out an extremely simple survey to my subscribers on Cruzely.com.
I asked people what their favorite cruise line was (surprise, a perfect tie between
Royal Caribbean and Carnival), their favorite departure port (in this case Port Canaveral
eked out Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale), and even how many cruises they'd been on.
Here more than 55% had been on more than 10 or more cruises.
In other words, the more than 700 people that responded to this survey have been on a ship
or two in their day.
But the question that I thought had the most interesting answer was one that was essentially
an afterthought.
On a whim, I put in a question asking "What do you find to be the biggest frustration
about cruising?"
Then I offered up a few suggestions of things that I've heard passengers complain about
before, whether in person online.
Believe me, over on Cruzely and on this YouTube channel, I get all sorts of wild complaints.
So included a few choices, including things like food quality, the number of other passengers
and too little time in ports of call.
And then I also included a free response section where people to vote for whatever they wanted
if they didn't like my choices... and boy, it sounds like y'all need to be a little nicer
to each other because rude passengers came up several times.
But that's not what was by far the biggest complaint.
I'll tell you exactly what it was in about 30 seconds, but first I want to talk about
two other major frustrations that passengers mentioned, because I thought they were extremely
interesting.
Now, things like the food quality and too few things to do on the ship?
They weren't big frustrations, with percentages in the low single digits.
So no big deal to most people.
But in third place with about 18% of the vote was that there are "too many people on the
ships."
That's something I can definitely see as cruise lines continue to push bigger and bigger ships
that hold more passengers.
It's obvious that a huge chunk of people don't like it.
Unfortunately for them,I just don't see any change coming to that anytime soon.
The second most-voted frustration in cruising?
Coming in with about 20% of the vote was "too little time in ports."
Anyone who sails knows that you normally get about 8 hours in a cruise port.
Arrive at 8 a.m., back aboard at 4 in the afternoon.
So yeah, it's not a lot of time to explore a place.
But some trips are changing this.
In fact, you can find some cruises with late night or overnight stays at some private islands.
So if this is a complaint of yours, then at least there is some good news there.
But forget short time in port or too many people.
By far the biggest response as to the biggest frustration in cruising among more than 700
people who responded?
With nearly 41% of the vote was "extra charges, like gratuities, drinks, and activities on
board."
If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense.
Just being on the ship you're going to be hit with a gratuity charge at around $15 a
day.
Want a drink?
That's extra with a helping of gratuity tacked on top of that.
And if you want to eat outside of the buffet or main dining room, then that's normally
an extra charge too.
Even the cruise fare is like this.
You see a small headline price on the cruise line website, but then you're charged double
occupancy for the room so you can double the cost right off the bat.
And on top of that are the port fees and taxes that add another $100 to $200 per person.
It can feel like what you actually pay for the cruise is just a fraction of the cost
of your trip and the numbers just keep going higher.
The good news?
While this may be the biggest frustration, it doesn't have to be this way.
Here's how.
Now, let me get one thing clear -- you really can't avoid many of these charges.
Things like port fees and gratuities are simply a fact of life.
And you'll also have to pay for drinks, specialty dining and the other extras if you want them.
But that doesn't mean they have to be as big an annoyance as they so obviously are to so
many people.
Truth is that the cruise lines know that passengers don't like the extra charges either.
But they also don't want to just remove the charges for them and lose that revenue.
Instead, many lines offer something that the industry calls bundling.
This is just where they lump in the things you normally pay extra for into the cost of
the cruise.
For example, Norwegian Cruise Line is known for their "Free at Sea" offer.
With this deal, you can book your cruise and get things like the drink package, specialty
dining, wi-fi, and shore excursions included.
Now to be sure, the price for this offer does run higher than the bare-bones "sail away"
cabin without them included.
However, the cost can be less than if you paid the base fare and then added them on
later.
But more importantly to the people frustrated by the extra charges, it includes practically
everything that you spend more for on a cruise.
So you pay one fee when you buy the cruise, and then you're largely done.
And it's not just Norwegian.
Princess offers something similar with a deal offering wi-fi, drinks, and gratuities included.
Celebrity offers a package with the same sort of things included in your cruise fare as
well.
So you can get on board and essentially the only money you have to spend is in the casino
and when you're in port.
And these bundles have grown in popularity with more lines introducing them.
So for those hundreds of people that answered the survey about how much they absolutely
hate the extra charges they see on cruise ship -- and the literally millions of passengers
they represent -- there's good news and bad news.
The bad news?
Nothing is free on a cruise.
Whether it's part of a higher cruise fare or a feeling of constant extra charges, you're
going to pay.
The good news?
That doesn't mean you have to go through the frustration of being nickeled and dimed.
There are ways that the cruise lines help you get around it... but just don't think
you won't end up paying one way or another.