Is there such a thing as all-inclusive cruises?

If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff

"Cliff" wrote in message
news:Lk7lc.14839$kh4.832642@attbi_s52...
If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

There are cruises that will fit your bill... but how deep is your wallet?
The ones that are all inclusive are the ultra luxury ones that can cost
$10,000- 20,000 per week.

The real issue with things like over priced drinks is that on an all
inclusive, you're paying for everyone to enjoy the over priced drinks in the
base price. They've gotta cover the big drinkers... so they charge everyone
a lot more. I'd rather find a ship that is far less money, where I'm not
paying for someone else's drinking. since I'm not a big drinker. I'd rather
spend a few bucks for my non-alcohol pina coladas than spend a few thousand
dollars to fund everyone elses drinks.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Shore excursions can be expensive. Especially thing like swimming with
dolphins.

If you drink a lot... that can run up VERY quickly.

Casinos are there to take your money... not to give you money back.

--Tom

Talking to a good TA is the best first step.

You won't be bored on a cruise unless you want to be bored. There is
always lots to do, or if you prefer as I do for about half of the
trip, not do.

As for expensive drinks, if you're a big boozer, then live with it.
Otherwise, enjoy the sunshine and sea air without a mind fog. I
usually enjoy one or two days per cruise having a few drinks. The rest
of the time, I just don't find it necessary.

Dance music: There are usually many lounges on big ships. You can
choose which type of dance music you want.

Excursion time: Some people make the mistake of thinking that since
they're going on a cruise they need to do as many excursions as their
time on land will allow since they think they may never be back. If
you do your cruise right you will make sure you get back so don't rush
yourself. Define for yourself what your cruise goal is. For me it is
relaxing and frolicking. I only do excursions in half of the ports of
call. The other half is spent doing something simple like shopping or
enjoying a beach.

Kids: There are lines that have few children. There are also lines
that specialize in seniors. Still others keep children busy with
different activities and a designated childrens area. Most families
with multiple children don't go on cruises because they are cost
prohibitive for many medium to large families. If you want to avoid
children, don't go on a Disney cruise.

Newbie costs: The biggest mistake I can think of that a newbie could
make is to book multiple excursions and forget why they wanted to go
on a cruise vacation in the first place. If you want to relax and
recharge, at least half of your days should be unstructured which will
save you money. If you want to avoid costs, don't go nuts doing what
many of the simple minded people do -- stay away from spending the
family retirement on tanzanite or other semi (barely) precious stones.

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:11:55 GMT, "Cliff"
wrote:

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff

Cliff, shore excusions & alcohol will run your cruise tab up if you aren't
careful. many ports in the Carib can be done independantly of ship's tours.
Often you can just grab a local taxi driver & work out a nice tour thru him
which will be far less expensive. In deciding where to go, you should first
decide whether you'd rather cruise from Florida or someplace already in the
caribbean such as san juan. If you cruise from san Juan then you generally
can do 5 ports in 7 days as opposed to 3-4 ports when cruising from Florida.
john
"Cliff" wrote in message
news:Lk7lc.14839$kh4.832642@attbi_s52...
If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff

"Crescent" wrote in message
...


Newbie costs: The biggest mistake I can think of that a newbie could
make is to book multiple excursions and forget why they wanted to go
on a cruise vacation in the first place. If you want to relax and
recharge, at least half of your days should be unstructured which will
save you money.

With respect to shore excursions, there are certainly 2 opposite points of
view and everything in between. For example, I have seen posts where at
EVERY port of call, the person in question went to a beach. This certainly
kept costs to a minimum and may have been the appropriate thing to do if
that person had no other opportunity to visit a beach throughout the year.
Someone else may be interested in sampling the wares of an island to see
whether a more extensive visit is warranted at a later time. The choice is
yours.

In addition to the concerns you mentioned, there is the issue of how a
newbie views the casino. If it is strictly for fun, then have fun.
Clearly, the odds are in favor of the house/cruise line. However, I have
never seen "payback" percentages for the slot machines. I assume, given the
captive audience, they are not very favorable. In Las Vegas this is true at
the airport where paybacks are around 85% vs. in the high 90 percents for
casinos away from the normal tourist market. In this case you may want to
stay with a table game where the odds are more transparent.

"Cliff" wrote in message
news:Lk7lc.14839$kh4.832642@attbi_s52...
If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

Mainstream lines: Carnival, HAL, NCL, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity, all
charge for drinks, including soft drinks, expect tipping and entice families
with children. You might want to consider the luxury lines, Seabourn,
SilverSeas, etc.
They are considered all inclusive (though most shore excursions are extra)
and
because of their price point have very few children.


What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff

Crescent wrote:
If you want to avoid costs, don't go nuts doing what
many of the simple minded people do -- stay away from spending the
family retirement on tanzanite or other semi (barely) precious stones.



A good tanzanite is a great rarity and quite valuable. If you have
to ask the price ....

Just be sure it is three different colors from three directions
(blue, red and brown) and not all a deep blue which means
it has been ruined by heat treating. See, for example,
for two you can't afford, http://www.irocks.com/tanzies.html.

Doug McDonald

In addition to the concerns you mentioned, there is the issue of how a
newbie views the casino. If it is strictly for fun, then have fun.
Clearly, the odds are in favor of the house/cruise line. However, I have
never seen "payback" percentages for the slot machines. I assume, given the
captive audience, they are not very favorable. In Las Vegas this is true at
the airport where paybacks are around 85% vs. in the high 90 percents for
casinos away from the normal tourist market. In this case you may want to
stay with a table game where the odds are more transparent.



I have found that the best games to play in a cruise ship casino are craps and
blackjack. The house advantage is very close to that in Las Vegas. If you like
roulette it too has the same rules as Las Vegas; for me the 5.6% house advantage
is too high.

Dear Cliff,

You may want to consider Radisson or Crystal. While not all inclusive, with
Crystal non alcoholic drinks are now included and with Radisson, gratuities,
non alcoholic drinks and wine with dinner are included. With Radisson you
also get a mini bar set up in your cabin with 2 bottles of spirits included.
These lines do not usually attract a lot of children. Cabins are also much
larger then many of the 4 star ships. Quality is very high and in the
Caribbean their prices tend to be quite good. If you are considering a
balcony cabin anyway, you may find it is not much more expensive to sail
with Radisson or Crystal when you consider the cost of soft drinks and wine
added to a cruise line that does not include these things.

Hope this helps,
Regards,
Debra

"Cliff" wrote in message
news:Lk7lc.14839$kh4.832642@attbi_s52...
If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music, not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff

If you like to bunny-hop, do Carnival!
"Debra Abraham" wrote in message
u...
Dear Cliff,

You may want to consider Radisson or Crystal. While not all inclusive,
with
Crystal non alcoholic drinks are now included and with Radisson,
gratuities,
non alcoholic drinks and wine with dinner are included. With Radisson you
also get a mini bar set up in your cabin with 2 bottles of spirits
included.
These lines do not usually attract a lot of children. Cabins are also much
larger then many of the 4 star ships. Quality is very high and in the
Caribbean their prices tend to be quite good. If you are considering a
balcony cabin anyway, you may find it is not much more expensive to sail
with Radisson or Crystal when you consider the cost of soft drinks and
wine
added to a cruise line that does not include these things.

Hope this helps,
Regards,
Debra

"Cliff" wrote in message
news:Lk7lc.14839$kh4.832642@attbi_s52...
If so, who offers them and any pros or cons?
Wife and I are considering taking our first cruise later this
fall/winter.
Is that a good time of year to cruise weatherwise???

All that we have decided on is that is must be a Caribbean trip. lol

What we havent figured out yet is what part of the area or a particular
cruise line. Suggestions would be great.

I plan on talking to a local TA soon but would like to have an idea from
some of you experieced floaters before I sit with them.

My main worries are being bored, expensive drinks, crappy dance music,
not
enough time off the ship for excursions, too many kids on board.

What might be some things that a newbie thought was included but ended
up
costing him a right arm to do?

Thanks!
Cliff