Cruises are different things to different people. And those different things will turn out differently.
For example:
1) They are a way to visit several places and unpack/pack only once. Ditto check in/check out only once. This is a lot of vacation hourly overhead not lost.
2) They are a way for drunks to pay for a drink package up front and not keep track of it as they pour it down their throats drink by drink.
3) Some cruises go places you can’t get to any other way. For example tourism to Antarctica. Glacier Bay Alaska (you can get there on foot, but 99% of visitors are by cruise ship).
4) They are a way to lose even more money with a gambling addiction as cruise ship casino slots are set for far more money to the “house” than Vegas.
5) Infinite food, good or bad.
They offer things like entertainment and pool parties, but people don’t book for those. They book above.
We’ve been on Royal Caribbean 3 times; but the last time was over 6 years ago.
Any word on where RC fits into this upcharging? We truly enjoyed sailing with them (into the Gulf of America and the Caribbean sea each time).
My cousin has a bit of a gambling problem, so they give her really good prices on cruises. I’m too cheap to waste my money in the casino, but I do get to share her great rate. Works for me!
The cruise we went on offered a “drinks package.” I got the one with unlimited soft drinks, but some in our group got the alcohol package. They were limited to a number of drinks per 24 hours. Which seemed like a lot to me
Wife and I have done a couple of cruises with Norwegian Cruise Lines over the last year, and we’ve been happy.
The extra charge for WiFi is a ripoff, though.