Looking back on the cruise it was a really nice vacation, but at the end of the day price needs to play a factor. I not only look at how much fun I had but also what the opportunity cost was. What I mean by that with only one vacation like this a year where do I want to spend that money and time. What opportunities am I missing out on.

The base cost of the cruise, especially considering we got an oversized balcony room and it was Christmas week which always has premium prices, was pretty reasonable at $3467.82. The initial deposit of $500 was paid at the time of booking and I was a little surprised that the remainder had to be paid in September. I would have thought we had more time. One of the interesting things to note, is the base price, which after discounts but before the taxes and fees (which is how the prices are listed on their website) was $ 1479 per person, for Christmas week. Looking at their website today, at the same cruise, the prices varies from $797 to $1550. That’s a massive swing. So because of the week we chose, we were at the high end, but if we had gone in September instead of December, it would have been $797, and that ”base price” would have been $1906 instead of $ 3467, a savings of about 40%.

The cruise add-ons and excursions were paid at various times in the intervening months which in part lessened the financial blow, but also ended up hiding the overall cost until the end. The extras were as follows and are the total price (minus tips I will show later) for both of us. I will share if I think each individual one was worth it, along with the total price for both of us, and Lee’s opinion.

1. Key Account $573.86 – This was a $41 per person per day fee which included very good internet for one device each (although you could sign off one device and sign on to another, so you could use your phone all day and then switch to an iPad or laptop to watch a movie), early and expedited entry onto the boat (Lee is a big fan and will happily give money to not have to stand around waiting any longer than he has to), dedicated seating in the entertainment venues (another excellent benefit allowing you to arrive just before a show starts and not have to worry about a seat), and a breakfast the day of departure. Overall I feel this was definitely worth it as we took advantage of all of the features that were offered.
   
2. Specialty dinner at Chops $132.12 – I am glad we got to try one specialty dinner on the trip but I’m on the fence about whether it was worth the price tag. Overall I would say yes, but Lee didn’t think the food was worth the money.
   
3. Cabo Coastal Tour excursion $131.98 – Although this was the cheapest excursion I don’t think it was worth it, and neither did Lee.
   
4. Zip Lining excursion $298 – Since this was Lee’s first time ziplining I think it was worth it but if you take that out of the equation not so much, but he feels that $150 per person for 12 lines was totally worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
   
5. Jeep Tour excursion $149.98 – 100% worth it and I would do it again in a minute, Lee was not as impressed, but it’s a pretty great price point for a half day of activity.
   
6. Ship’s Tour $221.98- 100% worth it although since it was all cruise ship resources it feels a little overpriced. Lee feels that the price keeps out kids who are too young for it and he’s fine with that.
   
7. Chef’s dinner $212.36 – Definitely worth it for the wine pairings alone. By far the best meal we had on the cruise. Lee thought it was a TON of laughter and fun and REALLY delicious food and wine for the same price you can easily spend for a mediocre dinner in a major city like LA. He had no complaints or recommendations for improvement on this experience at all.

The one thing we didn’t get was the drink package mainly because if one person in the room gets it you both have to, and at a cost of anywhere from $56 to $110 a day I didn’t think combined we would drink that much. Instead we paid as we went and even with the 18% added tips we never came anywhere near $110 in any one day, not even close. We did have an additional $929 in charges at the end of the cruise. That was a big surprise, mainly the $18 per person per day tip that I originally thought was included in the cruise. So the breakdown on that $929 was

$252 is the daily $18 per day per person gratuity.
$65.93 for laundry and other notions
$198.80 at the spa
$ 50 tips over and above for the Chef’s table dinner and Chops steakhouse
$ 362.27 alcohol, and that’s total between the two of us, plus tips. The minumum drink package is $56 per day per person, up to $110 per day per person, so we spent $362 against somewhere between $784 and $1540, so for us and our drinking style, we made the right choice.

Speaking of tipping that was really weird. Lee feels like the $18 per day per person gratuity is the minimum, like tipping 18% on a mediocre meal, and 25% on a really good time, so he added a tip on most drinks, and we also added tips to the Chops meal and the Chef’s table on top of the built in 18% that they put on the bill. I took $500 in cash for off boat shopping and tips and spent it all, mostly off ship but some went to my stateroom person in cash on top of the built in tip. So that additional $500 is part of the total price.

In addition to the money spent on the cruise, there was $140 for parking, which we paid instead of spending $150 each way on an Uber. And we spent $504 for 8 days of dog boarding.

So the “all in” total was $ 7261.10 and we both feel like it was a fair value, but I do wonder if we would have been better off spending more money upfront for a more inclusive cruise. Lee would happily do the same cruise again, but without the excursions, the spa, Chops, or the ship tour (since we already did it) on the cheaper week, and that total would be $4000, which would be an even better value.

Don’t get me wrong it was super fun and the most important thing was we determined a cruise could be a vacation option for us, long term. That was the number one goal for me for this vacation and we definitely accomplished that. I also think the cost was in the ballpark for more or less week long vacation as well.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes

Let me start by saying Lee had never been on a cruise. We had one scheduled for the February when COVID started and ultimately cancelled that trip, but finally we had an opportunity to give it a try. I have been on two other cruises (Princess and Carnival) over 10 years ago so this was also my first time in a post COVID world. So as you read these posts keep in mind they are solely based on our limited experience and when it comes to cruising your mileage will definitely vary. 

When we booked the cruise we spent a lot of time determining which packages we wanted, and what type of room, and because it was Lee’s first time we tried numerous options. Those choices ultimately resulted in a $6,000 cruise which from my perspective was on the expensive side. One of the best choices we made though was paying extra for a “Key” account. Being Key gave us a variety of perks including early entry onto the boat and a form of expedited boarding.

That meant we could arrive at 11am and since it was cheaper for us to drive and park ($20 a day) than get an Uber each way ($150 each trip for anything big enough to hold us and our luggage) we arrived pretty early. Key members had a special entrance and that helped us avoid a lot of the lines. I liked it because we got on board pretty early and were able to wander the ship and take advantage of a special key lunch.

One of the things I should mention is that ANY cannabis in ANY form is absolutely not allowed. Whether this is because of Mexican laws or the cruise ship wanting to bump up their liquor purchases is unclear but there were pretty stern warnings everywhere we went. Since California is a legal state it was kind of strange but the threat of being thrown off the ship was serious. I also should mention that the luggage didn’t arrive to our stateroom until 3pm. We had the option to check a bag with the key people they would take straight to the room, but we didn’t really understand and didn’t take advantage of that which we regretted since we were on the boat for so long.

 Instead to kill time we ate lunch and explored the boat. It was incredibly clean and Lee loves all things boat so we walked the entire ship before we even departed the port. 

One of the biggest costs for the trip (and our favorite thing) was we had a room with an oversized balcony. It was an incredibly nice room with a great balcony and we spent a lot more time in the room than we thought we would. We even moved the bed around so I could sleep next to the open door and hearing the waves every night was great.  I was worried about claustrophobia which I struggled with on my two previous cruises but the room was great and I had no issues at all. I was also worried about sea sickness and we got patches to help with that but didn’t need them until the next to the last day when the seas got rough enough that people were getting sick in open public areas. 

I liked the towels so much we went and watched a demonstration on how we could do it ourselves. Although it was entertaining I walked away thinking I don’t think I could do it at home 🙂

Speaking of entertainment everything is now on an app which is pretty handy. Occasionally the app would get a little glitchy, but it would allow you to select the things you wanted to do and put it on “My Calendar”. Unfortunately Lee and I couldn’t sync our calendars so we would spend some time everyday talking about what we wanted to do either together or separate and when we were going to eat.

That might sound easy but lots of things were at the same time and most of the best entertainment was either at 7:00 or 8:00pm. Since I had signed us up for My Time dining I thought we would have more flexibility but it actually caused us some huge issues. What I didn’t realize was that My Time dining didn’t start until 6:45pm and you still had to make a reservation or wait in a line. I also didn’t know the formal dining room takes 1-1/2 to 2 hours to eat in and since I didn’t want to eat at 9pm every night that forced us into the Windjammer buffet most nights. 

The buffet staff was great and there was always seat availability but the food was seriously uninspired. It was the same main fare every night and the fresh salad items were extremely limited. I remember the buffet food being excellent on my previous cruises but I was really disappointed, with the exception of breakfast that was terrific. And unfortunately the Windjammer was the only choice. Every other restaurant (except a small Mexican area by the pool) cost extra and even room service was an $8 fee per order. The only 24 hour food option was a very small café that had a limited amount of small sandwiches and deserts which again I found very disappointing. I remember the food being much better and available at all hours on my previous cruises.

Anyways more about the food later, but that first night we barely knew anything but Lee had read that the best place to leave port from was the top of the Lime and Coconut club. So we bundled up (it was a little chilly) and staked out a place to watch the departure along with the dance party. It was a fun way to start the cruise and we were looking forward to all the things we had planned.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes