Travelling by Cruise Line (cruise ship, luggage, sail, backpack)

[sponger42]

Heh, I'm feeling a little sheepish asking this after talking about crewing a sailboat to get from place to place.

It turns out that--through various connections--my wife and I are able to book passage on a major pleasure cruise line free of charge. Due to economics, this will probably end up being our major mode of transportation as we travel around the world. Does anyone have any experience they'd like to share travelling from point A to point B via cruise ship? I've never actually been on a pleasure cruise before.

[sponger42]

I guess I should be a little more specific. I'm mostly interested in expenses. While the lodging/meals usually provided on a cruise will be at little or no cost, what other expenses can we expect to incurr?

Is there a charge to disembark if we are departing at a port where the ship does not dock (but stops)? We won't be carrying much luggage but is there a charge for bags (small backpacks)? Are there any hidden costs while aboard that can't be avoided? Are there common costs that we might not know about?

Thanks in advance for the info!

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by sponger42

I guess I should be a little more specific. I'm mostly interested in expenses. While the lodging/meals usually provided on a cruise will be at little or no cost, what other expenses can we expect to incurr?

Is there a charge to disembark if we are departing at a port where the ship does not dock (but stops)? We won't be carrying much luggage but is there a charge for bags (small backpacks)? Are there any hidden costs while aboard that can't be avoided? Are there common costs that we might not know about?

Thanks in advance for the info!

There is no charge to disembark, but if you take tours there will be a charge. You can go off on your own to a beach, shopping, but make sure your back on time. Listen to the time they say you need to be back on board, and make sure the ships time is on your watch. There is no charge for Luggage.
There is a Tip that some cruiselines take automatically. It depends what line your on, how much. You should be able to find that on the back of your cruise Brochure.
Extas-Soda, not included, but Iced Tea, Coffee, Lemonaide, Tea is included
Alcoholic Beverages, not included, Extra fee Restaurants, Speciallty Coffee
This should include the extras.

[sponger42]

Thanks! That's good news for us. Guess we'll be drinking a lot of tea!