THE CRUISE FARE IS ONLY YOUR ADMISSION TICKET
One of the greatest marketing
achievements of the modern travel industry is convincing people that the price
they see advertised is the price their vacation will actually cost.
Most of us have done it.
We scroll through
websites, watch television commercials, or browse colorful travel brochures and
see an Alaskan cruise advertised for what appears to be an incredible value.
The photographs are breathtaking. Massive glaciers stretch to the horizon.
Humpback whales breach beside magnificent ships. Bald eagles soar overhead.
Snow-covered mountains rise from emerald waters. Smiling couples sip wine as
the sun sets behind one of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth.
Immediately, our
imagination takes over.
We begin planning.
We calculate airfare.
We decide which cabin to
book.
We tell our friends.
We count the days until
departure.
In our minds, we've
already taken the vacation.
Then comes the number we
rarely think about.
Not the advertised fare.
The final bill.
There is nothing
dishonest about optional purchases. Cruise lines openly offer upgrades and
premium experiences, and many travelers are delighted to buy them. The
challenge is that most first time cruisers underestimate how many opportunities
there will be to spend more money once they board.
That is the lesson I
learned.
The cruise fare wasn't
the total cost of my vacation.
It was simply my
admission ticket.
Everything beyond that
became a series of decisions.
Some were worthwhile.
Some were tempting.
Some were easy to
decline.
Others required
discipline.
By the end of the voyage,
I realized something every future cruiser should understand before they ever
leave home.
The cruise fare gets you
on the ship.
Your decisions determine
what the vacation ultimately costs.
Walking Into a Floating Marketplace
The moment you step
aboard, you're entering far more than a means of transportation.
You're entering a
floating resort.
A floating hotel.
A floating entertainment
venue.
A floating shopping
center.
A floating casino.
A floating restaurant
district.
A floating luxury mall.
None of those things are
inherently bad.
In fact, they are part of
what many people enjoy.
But it helps to recognize
what you're walking into.
Every day presents
another opportunity to enhance your vacation.
Specialty restaurants.
Drink packages.
Premium coffee.
Fresh juices.
Internet packages.
Spa treatments.
Massages.
Salon appointments.
Professional photography.
Casino gaming.
Designer boutiques.
Luxury watches.
Jewelry.
Art auctions.
Wine tastings.
Cooking demonstrations.
Future cruise deposits.
Priority experiences.
Exclusive lounges.
Private cabanas.
VIP excursions.
Every one of these
experiences is optional.
Every one of them sounds
appealing.
Every one of them carries
a price.
The Psychology Behind Vacation Spending
Vacation changes the way
we think about money.
At home, you might
hesitate before spending one hundred dollars on dinner.
On vacation, you tell
yourself,
"We're
celebrating."
"We're only here
once."
"We deserve
it."
"This is a once in a
lifetime trip."
Those thoughts are
completely understandable.
They're also why vacation
spending becomes so effortless.
The little decisions
don't feel expensive.
A specialty coffee.
A photograph.
An upgraded dinner.
A massage.
A whale watching
excursion.
A helicopter ride.
Another souvenir.
Another drink.
Another keepsake.
Individually, they're
easy to justify.
Collectively, they
quietly transform your vacation budget.
It isn't one large
purchase that surprises most travelers.
It's fifty small ones.
The Ports Continue the Pattern
Then the ship arrives in
port.
Instead of the spending
opportunities stopping, they simply move ashore.
Excursions.
Transportation.
Restaurants.
Souvenirs.
Jewelry stores.
Candy stores.
Gift shops.
Local tours.
Adventure packages.
Photography opportunities.
Every destination offers
another chance to spend.
For some travelers,
that's exactly what they want.
Others may discover that
the greatest joy comes from simply walking the waterfront, talking with local
residents, taking photographs, and appreciating the scenery.
The best experiences are
not always the most expensive ones.
The Most Valuable Lesson
After several days aboard
ship, I realized something surprisingly simple.
No one was forcing me to
buy anything.
Every purchase was my
choice.
That realization changed
everything.
Instead of asking,
"What else can I
buy?"
I began asking,
"What do I actually
want to remember?"
The answer was never
another shopping bag.
It was the glacier
stretching across the horizon.
The humpback whale
surfacing beside the ship.
The bald eagle soaring
above the mountains.
The silence of Glacier
Bay.
The crisp air.
The waterfalls cascading
down cliffs thousands of feet high.
Nature wasn't asking me
for another credit card.
Nature simply invited me
to look.
If there is one lesson I
hope every future cruiser takes away from this article, it is this:
The cruise fare is not
your vacation.
It is your invitation.
Everything that follows
is a choice.
Choose wisely.
Spend intentionally.
Budget before you board.
Research excursions
before you leave home.
Decide which experiences
genuinely matter to you.
Don't confuse spending
more with experiencing more.
Some of the most
unforgettable moments of my Alaskan cruise cost absolutely nothing.
Standing on the open deck
before sunrise.
Watching a glacier
shimmer beneath the morning light.
Seeing whales breach
without warning.
Watching bald eagles
circle overhead.
Breathing some of the
cleanest air on Earth.
Those moments required no
package.
No upgrade.
No reservation.
No premium experience.
No shopping bag.
They required only that I
stop looking at advertisements long enough to appreciate the extraordinary
world around me.
That is the real lesson.
The cruise fare buys you
a ticket.
Alaska gives you the
memories.
And those memories will
always be worth far more than anything you could have purchased along the way.
Bill Conley
America's Favorite Life Coach
