Mark's Cafe Moi: Cruising offers a big bang for the buck

I was reading David Webb’s new column, where he begins with his sticker shock at the gas pump, and it reminded me of what a good deal cruising can be. (He goes on to talk about “normalcy bias,” but I’ll stick to ships for this one.) Frank and I are heading off on a 9-night cruise this Saturday. I’d never cruised before I met him, and our first was a simple 4-day out of Brooklyn, just in case I got cabin fever and panicked. That didn’t happen. I loved it, and we went on a long cruise for my 50th birthday (some photos here) with his dad, since deceased, and a family friend. Being completely unfamiliar with cruising, I’d always thought it must be expensive. To the contrary, cruising is one of the most economical vacations you can take. For around $900 apiece we get 9 nights on the ship, plus day excursions to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Bermuda and a fourth island I don’t recall at the moment. I have a habit of not paying attention to the details until it’s time to go – plus I like to be surprised. Leaving out of Brooklyn also means we don’t have to fly to Florida or anywhere else to set sail. Yes, they nickel and dime you on the ship (be sure to take enough clothes so you don’t have to pay the exorbitant laundry fee), and if you like hanging out at the casino I’d suggest setting a budget for yourself. The last time I ended up spending as much on the ship and the islands as I did for the cruise, but the point is you don’t have to. All the food on a cruise ship is included. The activities are included. You could actually, in theory, take a cruise and not spend anything other than what you paid for the room. That’s not likely, but I am going to see how much more frugal I can be this time. And my own word of advice: do not use credit cards on the islands (and I never use my debit card for anything, anywhere, it’s strictly an emergency measure). They’re great places to visit, but if you end up with fraud on your Visa don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll be blogging from the cruise if I’m able – it all depends on the wifi available, its speed, if there’s any cost etc. I use my Droid to connect when we’re at our house in New Jersey (no high-speed landline connection until we move there), but I have a feeling there would be roaming charges that could break the bank. So think about a cruise if you haven’t. For the money we’d spend going to Los Angeles for a few days we can get 9 nights, lots of activities, islands, and endless food (alternated with hours at the ship gym?). Cruising is a great deal for the money, and an excellent getaway.]]>