And the tips are not that generous $10-ish per day per passenger is the norm for auto-tip. For tabl

Editor s Note : This is part three of a new Insider series on cruising. Here s the first part on whether you should cruise and part two, on where to buy a cruise . As always, please send me any suggestions on topics or content I may have overlooked.
I ve already spent a lot of time in this series discussing the value of a travel agent. Many of my cruise-related cases involve buyer s remorse, which is to say, a traveler bicycle tours europe was booked on the wrong ship, in the wrong cabin, or on the wrong sailing. Wrong sailing? Oh, yes. It usually involves a family with young kids being stuck on a theme cruise where folks let it all hang out. (Curiously, I never hear from swingin singles who are upset that there were children on the cruise, but I digress.)
Do your homework, kids, and this won t happen to you. And what if it does? Well, if you discover the problem beforehand, call your agent or cruise line and ask to move your sailing date. I have yet to come across someone who asked to be moved for that reason, and was declined. Missing the cruise is another matter one I ll deal with in detail later. If you find that you re on the wrong cruise after you board, bicycle tours europe it s really probably too late. A young couple that s looking forward to a restful week at sea that accidentally booked a Disney cruise not much that can be done about that. You re partying with Mickey!
Let me mention a few things. The $738 is not important to you, but it is to your travel agent. That s the number on which your agent s commission is based. I don t think any cruise line should quote the $738 quite as prominently because no one ever pays it. (But at least the total isn t displayed in microscopic print or revealed after you make a purchasing decision, as it used to be on airline websites before regulators intervened.)
The government taxes and fees, on the other hand, are relevant. Those fees are refundable if you cancel your cruise, even if the fare is nonrefundable. Also, it s a rat s nest of port fees, taxes and other government charges. Of course, the real charge you should pay attention to is the total that s what the cruise will cost. Probably.
Beware of other opt-in charges later in the booking. Those can include optional insurance, automatic tipping and shore excursions. If you think you ll have it easier with an agent, don t be so sure. I ve heard of unscrupulous agents telling their clients bicycle tours europe that insurance is required on a cruise (it isn t) and employing other hard-sell tactics ( Oh, it ll be a wasted cruise if you don t go snorkeling on the reef! ) to make more money from a booking.
Even the best cruise lines often broadside their guests with fees. Just yesterday, I heard from someone who inadvertently bicycle tours europe signed up for automatic tipping. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to get the cruise line to refund the generous tips that had automatically been deducted from his credit card.
Cruising used to be billed as an all-inclusive experience. It isn t anymore. Cruise lines make a significant portion of their revenues from ancillary fees, of which there are many. Starting with the welcome drink served on the lido deck (it s not always free) to a special request at dinner (I m not making this up a fee for the end piece of a roast) your cruise line is trying to monetize your vacation in ways you probably can t imagine.
There s only one way to make sure you don t get scammed by these fees. Learn the word no and use it often. Want a picture of you and your beautiful family? No. Care for a soda? No. Lunch in one of our specialty restaurants? No, no, no. It isn t that these items aren t fun to have while you re on a cruise, but that in many cases, they re ridiculously bicycle tours europe overpriced. Try getting wireless bicycle tours europe Internet access or making a ship-to-shore phone call if you don t believe me. Also, it helps to know another phrase: How much?
Note: If you want to see how much the cruise lines ancillary revenue pursuit can hurt, wake up early on the last day of the cruise and head downstairs to the front desk. The friendly faces that greeted you when you arrived are gone, replaced by stone-faced dudes with heavy Scandinavian accents, maintaing their cool while one passenger after another tries and usually fails to argue their way out of a surcharge.
By the way one of the worst gotchas is your magnetic room key. By default, it doubles as a charge card on many ships. Make sure you de-authorize it before handing it to your kids especially teen-agers otherwise they will make your vacation bicycle tours europe much more expensive. One reader contacted me recently, trying to get my help in removing a $400 charge her grandchildren had run up at the ship s arcade. Kids!
Every single cruise line gives you a copy of your bill the day before disembarkation and you can take care of any questions then; there is no excuse for trying to get refund on auto-tip after you get home.  (The reason they won t refund is probably because the money has already been paid out to the staff who earned bicycle tours europe it.)
And the tips are not that generous $10-ish per day per passenger is the norm for auto-tip.  For table service for three meals + twice-daily housekeeping, $10 doesn t seem out of line to me.  Not stingy, but not exactly extravagant either.
A cruise can be a good value and virtually all-inclusive for people who have self-control. I can find some cruises bicycle tours europe where the base price, per person, is $35 per night, inclusive of transportation, room, board, and entertainment; on many mass-market lines the top non-peak inside guarantee stateroom will not exceed $100 per person per night (taxes and fees do add a bit, but absent an unusual itinerary not an extraordinary amount). A hotel room alone at these prices would be good, and after adding in the transportation, meals, and entertainment, these prices become very good values.
But one has to say no many times. No, I don t want a fancy stateroom (I am on vacation to go someplace, not to spend time in my room). No, I don t want a ship-sponsored shore excursion (the independent bicycle tours europe operators are less expensive and more attentive). No, I don t want to spend $35 per person at a steakhouse on a vessel bicycle tours europe (I paid for food in my fare; I can pay to go out to a steakhouse when I m back home). No, I don t want to buy over-priced drinks (the coffee, bicycle tours europe tea, juice is fine). No, I don t want a photograph print (I can get better results at the photography studio back home). No, I don t want to buy art (especially given the scam that at-sea art auctions are).
I cruise because I gave up flying over ten years ago (commercial aviation is no longer a civil or dignified means of transportation). Cruising on a sea-going vessel bicycle tours europe is a nice alternative to going by train or bus (my last business trip from the east coast to California was westbound by Amtrak, eastbound by Celebrity Cruises). I pick my cruises by a combination of itinerary and schedule, with an eye on price. Keeping one s senses alert allows one to be able to do so with pleasure.
No, it s not. On a fare like that with Carnival, about $200 is an NCF (Non-Commissionable Fare). So the commission is paid on about $538 of the client s $885 cruise fare. Only on Carnival would anyone complain about tipping the staff! bicycle tours europe Gratuities are far from being excessive given the service you get about $10 per person per day but you don t mind paying a $15 tip for 2 hours at a nice restaurant?
I can see it coming. The Dept of Transportation and the Dept of Trade will be convinced by consumer advocates to make new rules so the cruise bicycle tours europe lines advertise just like the airlines TOTAL PRICE ONLY! Ha ha ha.
Why do you laugh at this? A consumer should be able to easily compare prices for cruises and make an informed bicycle tours europe choice and not be knee deep into a booking before seeing the entire cost of their vacation
Cruising, just like any other form of travel, requires research. Even for experienced travelers, your first-ever cruise will always be a learning experience. I think after the first one, you ll better know what questions to ask and what factors bicycle tours europe really matter to you. The more picky you are, the more you should rely on a travel bicycle tours europe agent, though. I rarely cruise, but on a RTW trip a few months ago, I snagged a Rome to Ft. Lauderdale cruise for about $63/day (as a single traveler!) and spent a very relaxing Caribbean cruise with my family. There are lots of plusses to a cruise but also many more options that need to be considered than a land-based vaca. Do your research and then enjoy!
Tips: as were previously mentioned, bicycle tours europe are usually suggested at about $10/per person/per day. Every ship I ve been on has offered this as an opt-in, or as a clear opt-out (a letter on the last day telling you this will be added to your account unless you request bicycle tours europe a change.) This is an industry-wide practice and should be anticipated in advance.
Drinks: bicycle tours europe coffee, tea, tap water, maybe fruit juice are usually freely available. Soft drinks are usually not. Expect to see $1-$2 per 12oz can, plus an automatic 15% tip added.  Alcohol is similarly overpriced and includes the 15% tip.
Meal requests: I haven t seen a fee for special requests yet, but I don t doubt some lines have started bicycle tours europe them. I also avoid specialty restaurants. No one ever complains about not having enough food on a ship. (Enough *good* food is another question, but I ll leave that to your tastes.)
Photos: They take lots. They stop you almost every time you get on or off the ship. I have yet to be forced to buy any of them. Skip the photo gallery and you won t be tempted. Personally, we get dressed up for formal nights and make a run of all the various settings. If we like the results, we have formal portraits we wouldn t otherwise have made the time to get. If not, no cost to us.
Casino: The house always wins in the end. No different on a ship. May well be worse odds than regulated casinos. Bingo is another bicycle tours europe common gambling practice on the ship, and will be pushed bicycle tours europe heavily. (Even on the Disney ships, which have no casinos.)
Spas: Expect 50% markup over land prices, and a HAR