Why Cruising Isn’t That Costly

You might know from my previous post that I had some misconceptions about cruising, and I’m going to start tackling them full on to show why I was wrong. The first of these is this:

“Cruises are way more expensive than other holidays”

Since I’ve been writing about cruising I’ve seen the light, and realised that it really isn’t that costly, and while some of the numbers might look a bit scary, when you consider what you get for that it makes sense.

For example, let’s imagine you’re going on a city break somewhere a couple of hundred miles away. Firstly there’s the travel to sort out.

You might decide to drive, but this means you need to spend hundreds of pounds on petrol, potentially get lost in some obscure one-way system, figure out parking costs, and sometimes you even have to pay more money just because you’re driving somewhere a bit busier, and all while the veins in your neck throb as some clown cuts you up.

Or, you can get the train, either re-mortgaging or booking well in advance, then worrying if you’re in the right seat, if you’ll even get a seat, how to ask the old lady in your reserved seat to move, if you’re on the right train, if it’ll be delayed…

Phew. I’m stressed just thinking about it. Still, by this point you’ve arrived. Either again paying a huge amount for a decent B&B in the city centre, or staying on the outskirts and having to spend even more to get in and out each day. But you’ve got your room.

So it’s time to try some attractions. Now on a cruise ship, you can have an arcade, a casino, sports hall, gym, library, shops, swimming pool, mini golf and spa all within a short walk of your bedroom. You can’t have that luxury with any other kind of holiday, unless you drag a caravan round the city with you, and who’d want to do that? So you can taxi it everywhere, or learn the bus system, or wait for trains. Pfft. I’d rather spend my time actually doing rather than waiting.

Then it’s food. A hotel might do you a full board package, but that’s rare, and usually you’ll be out in the city at a nice restaurant buying a great meal and then trying to stop your eyes from bulging out of your head at the sight of the bill.

On a cruise ship? All included. You may need to buy your drinks, and speciality restaurants might have a cover charge, but for breakfast, lunch and dinner you’ll have a choice of places to go, and it’s all part of your fare. Dangerous for me, as I could easily demolish a cruise buffet, but who cares when you’re on holiday?

All of this would be irrelevant if a cruise holiday was a ridiculous cost. It’s no good me sitting here telling you that cruises are packed with things you’d otherwise have to pay for if you’re still going to end up paying a huge amount more than any other kinds of holiday. That would completely void my argument, and the last hour it’s taken me to write this. Trust me though, there are plenty of cruises available where you don’t have to pay through the nose. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to, you can spend thousands and thousands on a cruise holiday, if you want an ultra-luxury suite room for weeks on end as you tour the world. But for a ‘normal’ holiday, in a typical stateroom, on the majority of cruise lines, you’ll find you get even more comfort for a combined price that works out better if not similar.

So I think I’ve made my point here – you get a lot more with a cheap cruise holiday than you would in a typical land holiday, even one that’s all inclusive.  My next blog post will cover the idea that everyone on a cruise is old and why that’s a load of rubbish. See you then.

By Ian Lewis
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