Cruising Ain't Cheap

                                                      Hello, My Cheap Cheetah Family

How are you today? Did I tell you cruising ain't cheap for a cheapskate like me? I'm back from cruising for ten days. I went to Turks & Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and lastly Bermuda, all on the Island Princess. The ship was about 22 years old, and you knew it. First, the air conditioning breaks down, and it's about 90 degrees in these islands, or better, then the toilets in some rooms back up, leaving you with a good awful smell, and let's not talk about the condition of the ship. It was small and only carried about 2,000 senior citizens in all kinds of walkers, wheelchairs, and with breathing devices. Some of the couples were cute, some had been married 50 years or more, god-bless them. Even they were complaining about the quality of services on the ship. I love my seniors, heck, I'm one of them. They tell the best stories. Anyway, getting back to the money part of the cruise.

It was 10 days, and for my partner and me, it cost about $3000, which wasn't too bad. Thank God. I got the extra package, which included free drinks under $15, two $5 desserts a day. Which I didn't eat, and the gratuities for the staff. There was so more stuff like use of the gym and specialty dining, which was a joke because the hot dog and burger stand that used to be free now they want to charge you for it.    The gratuities included were the only reason I paid about $60 per person extra. If I didn't do the plus package, it would have cost me about $25-30 per person a day in gratuities.   Anyway, can I tell you a can of Coke costs $4? A woman brought her own can of Coke onto the ship, and they still charged her the $4 .Crazy right? Alcoholic drinks were all $11 and up coffee was $4 and up. Taking personal pictures was $60-80 and up. Why take pictures? What do you have a cellphone for if not to take pictures?

Let's not talk about the gift shop, t-shirts were $50, sweatshirts $65, coffee cups $15, candy bars $5, tote bags $19. Do I need to go on? The crazy part was the meals they serve you crap food, but then tell you the better food is in the specialty restaurants that cost $55-60 per person. that's how they get you because you want to eat good,so you might just pay it. Not me, I ate what I had paid for the crap food until the end of the cruise. The casino on the ship was a joke. It was small, with the same type of slot machines that as made in a country you had heard of. They crammed the roulette and craps table together so you were always elbowing your neighbor. I saved my money with that because the casino on the ship just turned me completely off.

 I'll let you know how expensive the islands were next time. Did a cheap cheetah like me spend money? Heck no! Most of the stuff they wanted to sell you can get it cheaper elsewhere, like the 99 and above stores.    Stay tuned for part 2 of my cruise adventure. Oh yea, I heard some of the people got their trip free because of their casino points or super cheap, that should have been me. 

                  Have a Great Cheap Cheetah Day & Save that Money!