Since we don’t drink alcohol so we will be saving a lot on that end and I have planned one activities for each excursion this time so the cost is more manageable. Thanks for the tips on the food (lunch). That will help us on lowering the cost on this cruise.

Cruise lovers probably think otherwise, but if you combine a hotel and a mall into a boat, you get a cruise. And maybe some disease for everyone to share. Frankly, I would rather spend a full week or two (or longer, I wish), staying at a small hotel in the most appealing port of call.

This has nothing to do with the relative costs of cruises or land-locked vacations. Just get me as far away malls on vacation, as possible!

That being said, I cannot wait to take another cruise. In time, the wife and I are definitely going back to Alaska. I highly recommend it if you haven’t done it.

excursions: there are a number of local companies that offer excursions to cruise customers. I don’t remember a specific one we used, but these excursions are often both cheaper and better (less people) than those from a cruise. It’s probably relatively easy to find and there are reviews from people who used one or the other of these companies. One only needs to make sure the company brings you sufficiently in advance of departure to allow for eventuality. Also, in some ports some companies use tenders to bring people to shore. When this happens it takes longer to get to shore. What you can do is to ensure you are on the first tender – the one reserved for people going on excursions with the ship. On our first such excursion, we simply explained the situation to the lady at the front desk, complained that the information about tenders wasn’t listed in arrival/departure times. She lead us directly to the first tender. The second time we simply went there directly and told that we were going on an excursion.

food: when the ship announcement says that a particular port doesn’t allow you to bring food with you, they really only meen meat, fruits and vegetables. You can still take croissants, bread and cheese with you in liew of lunch. In most ports they don’t check; in Fort Lauderdale, they opened a bag of one of my friends and made him open his sandwitches to make sure there is no ham or butter. But as it was only cheese and bread, they told, it’s fine. So, as long as you don’t mind bread/chease sandwitches for lunch, you don’t need to buy food.

wine: on Norwegian cruise lines if you order a bottle of wine for dinner and don’t finish it, they’ll put it into a refrigerator for you, then you can ask for it at any restaurant on subsequent days. There is also free champaign on art auctions. Don’t need to buy anything; can even win a limited edition framed print in a lottery – I did (still didn’t get around to sell it on e-bay).
I avoided ATMs since you can buy pretty much everything on a ship with a credit card. I also didn’t care about internet – surely one can do without it for a week.

Well, these people didn’t have many possessions. They did actually still have residence in Florida, but it was a very small and completely paid off place. It wasn’t what they wanted to live in. But aside from keeping a few possessions at the home, they said they just didn’t need anything other than what they could carry on, or use on the ship.

And while they said they “lived” on the various ships, they did occasionally take a few days or a week back home in between some voyages, but were literally on the ships virtually 90% of the time. I would assume they were able to take care of laundry and other basic chores during those brief visits.

As far as cost, I would guess that they were comparing similar lifestyles. Sure, you can get a decent condo for pretty cheap, but if you compare the type of amenities that the cruise ship has and try to find a condo or community with similar features, I’m sure you could exceed the cruise price pretty easily. Not to mention the association fees, taxes, etc.

So, comparing similar lifestyles, I can see the cost benefit, but you can still certainly live on much less than that if you choose.

I can understand the appeal of cruises, but I have never really considered going on one. Personally, I rather camp or just be lazy.

Jeremy, I wonder what that couple with their possessions. Maybe it’s storage. Still, I know some pretty condos in Florida, so have a hard time believe that it’s much cheaper. I also wonder how they do their laundry. I think that service was available, but it was very expensive on the ship.

In terms of relaxing, nice weather, and new sights, a cruise is great for all of the reasons you mentioned. They can be had for relatively cheap. When you’re spending less than $100/day on the cruise itself, that is probably less than a standard hotel room. Tack on all the food and entertainment you have included on the ship, and you just can’t compare.

Of course the alcohol restrictions and some of the excursions can impact the overall cost a bit, but if you plan ahead, you can still find the total experience to be much cheaper than other alternatives.

They are so cheap that we met an elderly couple who had been living on cruise ships for the past 3 years. They didn’t even own a home. They just stayed on various ships from week to week and said it was cheaper than what they were paying for their condo in Florida, not to mention all the other necessities like food. Plus, they enjoyed having a 5-star meal every night and room service.

Now, I’m not sure I could do that, but when you think about it, that isn’t a bad way to live in retirement.

I have to admit that I’m stunned with how cheap cruises seem. Last night I tried comparing a cruise to staying a few nights in Aruba, and the difference is amazing. The nice resorts in Aruba run around $275/night. But from what I’ve read, you’d be lucky to find dinner for much less than $80-$100/person.

Compare this to some cruises I’m looking at for $350 TOTAL, and it’s a huge difference. Which is too bad because in a way, I’m like you and would almost rather just lounge around.