22 Hidden Costs that SHOCK First Time Cruisers

If you're going on your first cruise, or you haven't been on a cruise in a few years, you might be surprised at what is NOT included on a cruise. These extra costs, fees & cruise extras can take rookie cruisers by surprise!

While some extra costs on cruise vacations are optional, others are mandatory & to be expected. These hidden cruise costs include taxes & port fees, as well as other cruise extras like crew gratuities, will be charged to your onboard account automatically.

Cruises are a great value, & there are a lot of things included (or free) on a cruise. However, it's important to know what is not included on a cruise ship, so you can plan your budget & save money on a cruise where you can.

This video is a must-watch for first time cruisers! Whether you are going on a cruise with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Voyages or Disney Cruises, this video is full of cruise tips you need!

RESOURCES I RECOMMEND

🛳 THE ULTIMATE CRUISE PLANNER 🛳

______
Please note that this video is not sponsored. The links in this description are affiliate links, meaning that I will make a commission on purchases you make through my links, at no extra cost to you.

As Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

CRUISE ESSENTIALS

Luggage tag holders:

_______
FTC LEGAL DISCLOSURE - Some links found in the description box of my videos are affiliate links, meaning that I will make a commission on purchases you make through my links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I personally like and trust.
_______

Please note that I am unable to give personal cruise and travel advice. If you leave a comment I try my best to answer.

ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.

____________
Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic

[joes]

I believe they should have a smaller drink package for a couple drinks a day. Prices are way above what I expected.

[sharonobryan]

My 5 year-old granddaughter watches these videos with me a lot. When you showed the Life Well Cruised ULTIMATE CRUISE PLANNER, she said "Oh, I need that!" I have no idea where/when she's planning to go! 😂😂😂

[mgweir]

We went on a 2 week European river cruise a couple of years ago. It was on a higher end cruise line and everything was included. Flights, transfers, food, drink, tips, excursions, etc. The only extra we had to pay for was the 2 night stay at a hotel in Amsterdam before the cruise. We are going on our first ocean cruise in May to Alaska. It does feel like we are getting nickel and dimed to death with all the extra charges. It's feels a bit dishonest. When we booked the river cruise, once you picked the cabin type, it gave you the price including all taxes and fees. Much better model in my opinion.

[sportsMike]

Gratuities should be included in the advertised cruise fare!

[jevs]

Really enjoy this channel. Thanks for the hard work and research

[LizKinch]

Boarding your pet/pets is an additional charge for us! 🐾💕🐾

[briannickerson]

Longtime cruiser. One way to avoid many of these charges is with onboard credit. Since we book our annual cruise onboard for the next year, one of the perks can be onboard credit. Then the next twelve months, you work the system on all fronts. Watch for price drops. Watch for onboard credit promotions. Watch for promotions where gratuities are prepaid by the cruise line. When we book onboard, we select our stateroom. At this point, we don’t worry about the price. Our most recent cruise, we kept vigilant during the 12 months and called when we saw a promotion. The price dropped twice during this period. Over that period, we got the crew gratuities prepaid, saving about $600. And our onboard credit was a combined $1150. It actually was difficult to spend all the onboard credit. There was $80 left unspent and we had it go to crew appreciation. Ways of amassing onboard credit: military or veteran $100. Purchase stock in the cruise line. Our annual cruise is three weeks. For any of the Carnival owned lines, a three week cruise gets $250 onboard credit.

[mjgorges]

Love, love, love The Ultimate Cruise Planner. I have used it for eight cruises so far. Love that you can use it over and over again and only need to print the pages that are relevant for each trip!!!

[adacotto]

When people stop buying all that Wifi, Liquor packages and so on extras, the cruises lines will lower the prices. But people keep accepting and paying and they keep bringing it up the prices. I don’t buy alcohol packages, not internet packages. I just use and enjoy what is complimentary. I buy every other night a glass of Prosecco and that is all. I understand people that have to work and be connected. For people that work doing cruise content the internet should be free. Other people that is why you are on Vacation 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 that is my humble opinion.

[_echobravo]

An unexpected expense could definitely be medical services, either onboard or at a port. Many don’t realize that their standard health insurance carrier won’t cover these expenses.

[peter_bazinet]

Gladly, we watched your videos for a full year prior to taking our first cruise, so we were surprised by almost nothing. I would say though that the Waiter and Chef tip line in the specialty restaurants were a surprise, but everything was so wonderful in each one, we had no issue whatsoever being generous in those situations.

[Cruisingthrulife]

After prepaying my gratuities on a recent cruise I learned that I would have to pay a additional $120 in gratuities on top of that If I wanted to purchase the drink package. Wow!

[tduck]

RC charges for pretty much EVERYTHING. So ridiculous. WiFi is still ridiculous. Refuse to pay it.

[zandanforth]

Thank you so much for the laundry service tip! Have a 12day cruise and I don’t want to pack my wardrobe! 44 days

[hopemyers]

So, on my last cruise, my husband and I didn't purchase the drink package. We wanted to see how much we would spend on alcohol, coffees, smoothies, and non-alcoholic beverages (for kids). We didn't limit ourselves at all. We ended up spending about 100 less. However, that is not the point. At one point in our cruise, a waiter asked if we wanted a pitcher of margaritas or mojitos for just $25. I was surprised at the cost and mentioned that to the waiter. He told me that they are trained to offer different options depending on whether a customer has the drink package or not. Since we did not, he was trained to offer us a pitcher of alcohol. It seemed much more cost efficient to me since just two drinks are approximately $25.

[wendicandiff]

Llana I love all of your videos! My husband and I are headed out on Odyssey of the Seas on April 7 for a six day Caribbean cruise and cannot wait! I have watched your videos religiously and I ordered the Ultimate Cruise Planner!🥂🥂It’s been great! I love all the detail and the separate pages. I was able to download it and pick and choose the pages I wanted to use right away. I was able to make extra copies and get super organized! There’s something for everyone thank you so much!

[loveykukahiko]

Thank you for not making us wait until Sunday to give us an update. So Glad you're home and reunited with family. That was a whirlwind. Whoo. 😊

[novadhd]

We are going on first RC cruise to caribean next week. Really excited about. Thanks for the good info!

[TonyHiggins]

We are big fans of Viking Ocean, and this video reminds me of several reasons why...

WiFi - included
Transfers to/from ship - included if you book airfare through Viking
Drinks package - only required for premium wines and liquor, or for alcoholic drinks not at lunch or dinner (can also be purchased a la carte)
Spa and gym - included; massage services are available at a cost
Room service - included
Dining - including at specialty restaurants; no items require surcharges
All activities on board - included
Shore excursions - one included free at each port, other choices at cost
Adult areas - the whole ship is adult only
Laundry - self-serve available at no cost; other services are available, cost varies by cabin class

When you add what other companies charge for these services, the cost difference for a Viking cruise becomes a lot less than it might appear.

[bobm]

Nice videos. You should branch out, and do travel videos beyond ocean cruises. Speaking of cruises, it appears to me that they are nickel and diming you on everything! Wow. If you pay to be on the ship, you should be able to enjoy all the amenities like roller coasters for example, for free. We are NOT going on any cruises, because we refuse to be held hostage for several days, getting our wallets squeezed for every last dollar.