I stumbled across these two books last night while looking for new books for the Kindle app. I can honsestly say I have had problems setting them down. I read the first in one day and I'm already halfway through the second. The premise is very interesting and provides a rare peak into the innermost workings never seen by the average cruise ship guest. If you've ever wondered about who really keeps the ship running, where employees disappear to when in port, or what they really think of their American customers, you'll want to read these.
Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline: Where the Crew Lives, Eats, Wars, and Parties. One Crazy Year Working on Cruise Ships by Brian David Bruns.
This book details Brian's experience as the first American to succesfully complete a cruise contract in the dining room of a Carnival Cruise line ship. It provides several eye-opening descriptions of how hard (or how little)some employees work for their pay, how hard they party, and how little sleep they get while making their customers experience memorable.
Ship For Brains: Cruise Confidential, Book 2 (Volume 2) by Brian David Bruns.
This is a sequel to Brian's first volume, detailing his experience leaping from an indentured servitude food preparation to high-dollar salesman in the shipboard artwork auction world. It contains closure to circumstances setup in the first book, while detailing the author's personal and career growth. If you have any interest in the greater world of cruise ships, these books will share the nitty gritty details and inside dirt, as well as some of the more personal moments of the varied international crew.
If you decide to purchase any of them, please use my links so I will get credit. Brent A. Terwilliger is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Additional Cruise Costs
As my wife and I approach our holiday cruise (yes, I realize it is still three months away), I've jumped right into the only real aspect that requires any actual planning, shore excursions and shipboard extras. A week ago I submitted our final payment and also began to book the extras associated with cruising. In planning the financial end of a cruise, it is easy to overlook the additional costs, which include:
a) Prepaid gratuities ($11-$14 per person per day)
b) Supplemental dining cover charges ($15 - $39 per person, per meal)
c) Shore excursions ($10 to $5k per person per excursion, really the sky is the limit on the upper cost)
d) Pre-booked Spa treatments (massages, hair cuts, exfoliating treatments, etc...)
e) Pre-purchased wine/alcohol packages
f) additional ammentities/packages (unlimited laundry, suite treatment, spa packages, romantic packages)
All of these additionals can add up quickly, so I like to put a threshold value down for planning purposes. That way I reduce the potential for major surprises at the end of the cruise. I tend to alot $200 - $500 in incidentals in addition to pre-purchased items.
Before booking our shore excursions, I did some easy research on activities that are highly rated/recommended for a port. I started with the cruise line and checked what activities they offer for shore excursions. After, I checked TripAdvisor, looking specifically at the Things to Do category under each port. I also checked Cruise Critics forums and port reviews to find the top rated activities people talk about and recommend. Once I determined which specific activities looked interesting, I began attempting to locate private operators and their associated price.
What I found was that most private operators tend to be lower in cost and some, such as snorkel tours, offer more private experiences. The downside to using a private operator over the cruise line for booking excursions is that if the activity runs late, you run the risk of being held liable for missing the ship departure (and therefore you have to pay to get to the ship or next port of call). However, if you book through the cruise line, it becomes their responsibility to get you back on board. Ultimately, we opted to book two of our excursions through the ship, for a slight increase in price over the private operators, which will give us peace of mind (the point of the trip is to relax). The other two ports, we will disembark and wander around (Old Town San Juan) or relax on the beach (Half Moon Cay).
Our first excursion will be the Ultimate Snorkel in Grand Turk, which I've heard is an amazing experience. Our second excursion will be a Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel to St. John. As a huge snorkeling enthusiast (dived Cozumel, Key Largo reefs, Dry Tortugas, Wekiwa freshwater springs, and various Atlantic seaboard beaches), I'm really looking forward to the crystal clear waters of the caribbean. I may even bring my own dive mask and snorkel (I spent the money I might as well use them).
In addition to booking our excursions, we also made our reservations for dining in some of the alterate dining experiences on board. These dining experiences can be popular, so I did not want to risk not getting in by waiting until the last minute. The downside of making early reservations, is that you have to pay up front for the cover charge. We booked the Pinnacle Grill ($25 per person), Tamarind ($15 per person), and an Evening at Le Cirque ($39 per person, offered a single night in the Pinnacle Grill).
a) Prepaid gratuities ($11-$14 per person per day)
b) Supplemental dining cover charges ($15 - $39 per person, per meal)
c) Shore excursions ($10 to $5k per person per excursion, really the sky is the limit on the upper cost)
d) Pre-booked Spa treatments (massages, hair cuts, exfoliating treatments, etc...)
e) Pre-purchased wine/alcohol packages
f) additional ammentities/packages (unlimited laundry, suite treatment, spa packages, romantic packages)
All of these additionals can add up quickly, so I like to put a threshold value down for planning purposes. That way I reduce the potential for major surprises at the end of the cruise. I tend to alot $200 - $500 in incidentals in addition to pre-purchased items.
Before booking our shore excursions, I did some easy research on activities that are highly rated/recommended for a port. I started with the cruise line and checked what activities they offer for shore excursions. After, I checked TripAdvisor, looking specifically at the Things to Do category under each port. I also checked Cruise Critics forums and port reviews to find the top rated activities people talk about and recommend. Once I determined which specific activities looked interesting, I began attempting to locate private operators and their associated price.
What I found was that most private operators tend to be lower in cost and some, such as snorkel tours, offer more private experiences. The downside to using a private operator over the cruise line for booking excursions is that if the activity runs late, you run the risk of being held liable for missing the ship departure (and therefore you have to pay to get to the ship or next port of call). However, if you book through the cruise line, it becomes their responsibility to get you back on board. Ultimately, we opted to book two of our excursions through the ship, for a slight increase in price over the private operators, which will give us peace of mind (the point of the trip is to relax). The other two ports, we will disembark and wander around (Old Town San Juan) or relax on the beach (Half Moon Cay).
Our first excursion will be the Ultimate Snorkel in Grand Turk, which I've heard is an amazing experience. Our second excursion will be a Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel to St. John. As a huge snorkeling enthusiast (dived Cozumel, Key Largo reefs, Dry Tortugas, Wekiwa freshwater springs, and various Atlantic seaboard beaches), I'm really looking forward to the crystal clear waters of the caribbean. I may even bring my own dive mask and snorkel (I spent the money I might as well use them).
In addition to booking our excursions, we also made our reservations for dining in some of the alterate dining experiences on board. These dining experiences can be popular, so I did not want to risk not getting in by waiting until the last minute. The downside of making early reservations, is that you have to pay up front for the cover charge. We booked the Pinnacle Grill ($25 per person), Tamarind ($15 per person), and an Evening at Le Cirque ($39 per person, offered a single night in the Pinnacle Grill).
Friday, September 2, 2011
Updated Blogger Interface
Blogger.com has recently updated their online interface. While not perfect, it is an improvement for blogging from my iPad. In the meanwhile, I will probably continue to use BlogPress for offline writing on my iPad, computer, or Phone.
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