Cruise customers warned of ‘rip-offs’ in new guide

Cruise customers are warned of the biggest cruise ‘rip-offs’ in the new Berlitz 2011 Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships.

The guide, due to be published on October 4, also exposes the best and worst scoring cruise ships.

The guide book tells customers to watch out for the following:

– Extra Gratuities – The major cruise lines typically imprint an additional gratuity line on signable receipts for such things as spa treatments or extra-cost coffees and bar charges, despite a 15% gratuity having already been added to the actual cost of the item.

– Transfer Buses – The cost of airport transfer buses in some ports, such as Athens, Barcelona and Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) is unacceptably high. For example, Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas charges up to $6 one way for the shuttle bus in some ports on its ex-UK Western Mediterranean cruises.

– Currency Conversion – When it comes to paying the bill for the onboard account, the price quoted is recalculated into a ‘guaranteed’ price which can be higher than the rate quoted by banks or other credit card companies. This does not necessarily occur on the day of the transaction, but later in the month when conversion rates could change to a passenger’s disadvantage. Passengers only learn about this when they receive their credit card statements at home weeks after their cruise.

– Mineral Water – The cost of bottled mineral water for shore excursions has rocketed. For example Celebrity Cruises charges $4.50 and then adds another 15% gratuity “for your convenience.”

– Navigation Bridge Tours – Cruise-goers like to see the view from the bridge, but access is restricted and costs are sky high. For example, Princess Cruises charges passengers $150 per person to be entered into a “raffle” to compete for a dozen available tickets per cruise to do ‘The Ultimate Ship’s Tour’ which takes in the bridge, among other ‘backstage’ areas.

– Bingo Cards – The cost of cards for a game of Bingo is rising dramatically. NCL, for example now charges $40 for a block of four cards.

The fully revised and updated edition of the Guide includes in-depth reviews of 285 cruise ships and previews of the 20 new ships set to debut between 2011 and 2014.

Among the new ships previewed is Queen Elizabeth, with a focus on why Cunard’s new liner, set to launch on October 11, 2010, should not be seen as a replacement for the much-loved QE2.

By Bev Fearis