Total Cost of Cruise

edited April 2011 in JoCo Cruise
Hey everyone,
I'm totally in love with the idea of going to see my favourite performers on the second Joco Cruise Crazy, and I'm interested to know approximately how much I'm going to be spending on the Cruise itself. I'd be interested to know what the average person spent on the trip, so I can save up accordingly
Thanks a ton!

Comments

  • I went pretty minimal and probably spent about $2000. (I didn't keep track on purpose because it would have been too depressing.)

    The following numbers are guesses at this year's costs, extrapolated from what I paid last year;
    • Cruise ticket itself: $700+ (assuming shared room; having a room to yourself is a 50-100% surcharge)
    • Entertainment fee (what we're paying JoCo & Co): $300-400
    • Cruise taxes & gratuities: ~$100 + $77 + any extra tips you give
    • Transportation to embarkation city: Varies. My plane ticket cost about $400.
    • Hotels, taxis, car rental on way to cruise: Varies. I spent about $200 on hotel, taxis & food.
    • Soft drinks and alcohol: ?? I brought $80 worth of wine on board and otherwise stuck to juice, water & coffee, which are free.
    • On board internet: Really expensive. Packages started at about $80+ for 100 minutes. I was Temperance Brigade so didn't pay attention.
    • Shore excursions: ~$15-200 per destination, depending what you want to do.
    • On-board expenses (fancy restaurants, spa, shopping etc): Varies. I didn't do any of these, so have no idea what to expect from cost.
    At absolute minimum, I'd expect to pay $1200 + travel costs to Ft. Lauderdale or San Juan or wherever they're sailing from. If you want to do a lot of shore excursions and take advantage of all the amenities on board your costs may climb quickly.
  • Are any JoCo-specific grants available? For example, a $3000 Pell-Mell subsidy would be welcome!
    Or perhaps there are Coulton-cruise-friendly banks that provide low-interest, low-monthly payment loans, a.k.a. the JoCo LoMo loan?
    Of course, there's always the Millionaire Girlfriend option, I suppose.
  • Since chicazul gave the minimal cost, I can give you an idea of the other end, and you can figure out the average from there... :) I'll just show the differences...

    * Cruise: $2300
    * Travel/cancellation insurance: ~$200
    * Hotel booked through HAL: $300 per night for 2 people

    All numbers are per person, except where noted

    I would not recommend booking hotels through the cruise line. It was much more expensive than booking directly. It did include full transportation between port and airport, but they forgot to send anyone to pick us up for our flight home. They also booked us in a hotel quite far away from the port and airport. Looking at hotels near the port/airport, I could have booked a nicer hotel and paid for a taxi for 2/3 the cost. Lesson learned...
  • More costs, my wife and budgeted $100 per day per person for booze, incidentals, and shore spending money, turned out to be spot on for us, but we were drinking heavily and deeply into the wine list a few nights. We ended up spending a bit on excursions as well ~$400 which gave us a good number of things to do on the overall trip. With Grimiore on the booking costs for hotel, but the shuttle was nice, and other friends I had who booked their own hotel and taxi said it ended up being more expensive than they thought it would be. And I can't stress enough, DO get a hotel for the night before the cruise, unless you live in the town it is departing from you want that extra few hours to get there.
  • I didn't buy any booze or soft drinks (juice tastes better than either, and who needs chemical fun when there's so much real fun to be had?), but I did buy shore excursions for two out of the three islands, and although they were fun, in a way I regretted it because it meant getting up early after I'd been out having fun the night before. Some people have mentioned they stayed on the boat the whole time, or went on land but didn't do any shore excursions, and I'd say this is a perfectly feasible option, especially if you're on a tight budget. The islands are nice (even Jamaica, up to a point) but by far the best stuff about the cruise is on the boat (this might be slightly less true when most of the geeks are off the boat, but all it takes is four people and a uke still on board on a lazy Grand Cayman morning and you have a verandah concert/brunch [the verandah room costs more, though]) I also bought the 1000 minutes internet package, of which I had time to use something like 700 minutes, but could have mostly done without since the best things about the internet were on the boat with me. I was really only bragging to the outside world that I was on a boat with the internet and they couldn't have it.

    So if you stay on the boat and don't drink alcohol (except at the exclusive first-250 welcome party, where there was free alcohol) or use the internet then there are no additional costs on the cruise itself except for the default tip of $11 a day. The food and everything else you need on the ship is free, even if it's 4a.m. and your only option to get food is to send some poor guy to his room to play Rock Band while waiting for room service to bring to the game room. ;)

    I would recommend bringing $55 to get your hair braided on Half Moon Cay, if you have long hair, because it means you don't have to comb it for the rest of the cruise, and you'll look more like a typical tourist during the cruise and more like that rich asshole that just went on a Caribbean cruise afterwards. (It's cheaper and quicker in Jamaica, but we may not be going there, and if you're going to stay on the boat, that's the island to stay on the boat for. Booked shore excursions are fun but just wandering around being harassed for tips isn't.) Apart from that, just budget for airfares, hotels before and after if needed (maybe shared with other sea monkeys), and I guess something for whatever food you need before and after and whatever souvenirs you would typically buy, and even if you don't have a cent to spare you'll be set to have an awesome time. But this is partly speculation since I in fact did book shore excursions and use the internet. If I recall correctly, HAL recommends pre-authorising $60 a day on your credit card for such additional expenses, and they don't expect many people will spend more than that (although this only counts for purchases on the boat or on Half Moon Cay, which is owned by the cruise line so you can charge everything there to your ship account.) On the other hand, Paul did joke at some point that the noise we hear just before the concerts on port days is them throwing overboard the 100 people who spent the least that day, so be careful.

    Here are the prices for the internet, copied from an email about the last cruise:

    Here's the deal: You can purchase WIFI onboard, albeit at a more expensive rate, so don't feel compelled to pre-purchase a package. The WIFI service is available in virtually all of the cabins and virtually all of the public spaces throughout the ship. The least expensive (by the per-minute charge) package you can purchase onboard is 250 minutes for $103.95 (that's over $0.41 per minute). They also offer, onboard, 100 minutes for $78.95. If you're looking to save a few bucks, I can get the following WIFI plans for you:
    250-minute plan at $90 ($0.37 per minute)
    500-minute plan at $140 ($0.28 per minute)
    1,000-minute plan at $240 ($0.24 per minute)
    Plus a $3.95 credit-card processing fee.
  • edited April 2011
    At the risk of overposting, I cut and pasted the text from the former JoCoCruiseCrazy website "Pricing" information page. Hopefully, this should give you an idea... Apologies if this annoys anyone...

    -Kate

    -----


    Pricing

    There are two elements to the JoCo Cruise Crazy price: the cruise and the entertainment. We’ve divided them this way in
    case anyone wants to go on the cruise but doesn’t want to attend the shows/events—maybe you want to bring Grandma
    along so she can watch the kids, and she absolutely HATES songs about monkeys.

    Entertainment Pass Cost
    The entertainment pass grants you access to all concerts and JoCo-related shipboard events (see Entertainment). If you book before October 1, the entertainment pass fee is $320; if you book after October 1, this fee increases to $375. This portion must be paid in full within 30 days of booking, or by October 1, whichever comes first. (see FAQ)

    Cruise Cost
    The cruise cost itself varies, depending on how fancy a room you get. Prices range from $599 to $2399. Click here to jump down to the complete Cabin Pricing Table. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. You must pay a minimum $350 per person deposit on this portion at time of booking; the balance of the cruise cost must be paid in full by October 1. (see FAQ)

    Early Booking Bonuses
    If you book soon enough, you can enjoy the following discounts and privileges:
    *Everyone who books before October 1, 2010 saves $55 on the entertainment pass fee ($320, vs. $375 after October 1)
    *The first 250 people to book their cruise/entertainment pass may attend the exclusive First Night Cocktail Party with Jonathan and Friends
    *The first 250 people to book their cruise/entertainment pass also receive preferred seating at the two Jonathan Coulton shipboard concerts

    Included in the Cruise Price
    All your meals (excluding optional meals in the private shipboard restaurants)
    24-hour room service
    24-hour pasta bar
    Tea, coffee, juices, and milk
    Use of the gym
    Top-flight Las Vegas-style entertainment in the large show lounge every evening.

    NOT INCLUDED in the Cruise Price
    The following are not included in the cruise prices listed below:
    Government taxes ($76.80)
    Gratuities (Holland America automatically charges your cabin $11 per person per day)
    Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks
    Use of the spa
    Casino action
    Holland America shore excursions
    Any expenses of a personal nature (purchases made in shipboard stores; travel to/from Ft. Lauderdale; pre- and/or post-cruise hotel; shuttle to/from airport; etc.)

    NOTE: Taxes and fees are subject to minor change. Holland America also reserves the right to instate a fuel supplement charge for all guests up to $9 per person, per day, should the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) increase above $70 USD per barrel. (The fuel supplement is currently not instated on this cruise) And as mentioned above, the JoCo Cruise Crazy entertainment pass fee is not included in the cruise price.

    Early Signup Bonuses!
    Book before October 1 to save $55 on the entertainment pass.
    Be among the first 250 to book for admission to the First Night Cocktail Reception with JoCo and Friends, plus preferred seating at both Jonathan Coulton shows!

    Stop talking! I want on the boat! BOOK NOW!

    Cabin Pricing Table
    The following prices are per person, based on double occupancy, and do not include taxes (currently $76.80, subject to minor change).
    For single occupancy of cabins with a balcony (all “V” and “S” cabins), there is a premium equal to 100% of the listed price (Example: a single-occupancy “VF” cabin would cost $899 + $899 premium, or $1573 total); for cabins with no balcony (“MM” through “C” cabins), the premium is 50% of the listed price (Example: a single-occupancy “MM” cabin would cost $599 + $299.50 premium, or $898.50 total). Third and/or fourth occupants of a cabin (where applicable) will cost $299 each (plus the $76.80 per person taxes, subject to minor change).

    For details and virtual tours of each stateroom category, click here to view the ms Eurodam interactive deck plan (requires Flash); or click here to go to the ms Eurodam main page and select the “Staterooms” menu option. Alternately, contact InSight Cruises at [email protected] or 650-787-5665 and they’ll be happy to answer all your questions.

    Category Price Max Occupancy
    MM $599 2
    M $609 2
    L $619 2
    K $629 2
    J $639 4
    I $649 4
    H $699 3
    GG $719 2
    G $739 3
    F $759 4
    E $779 4
    DD $799 4
    D $819 4
    C $839 4
    VF $899 4
    VE $959 3
    VD $1,019 4
    VC $1,079 4
    VB $1,139 4
    VA $1,189 3
    V $1,239 3
    VQ $1,289 2
    SS $1,449 3
    SC $1,999 3
    SB $2,199 4
    SA $2,399 4
  • I am personally abstaining from air travel whenever possible until this TSA thing goes away. (I know, I may not ever fly again.) My wife and I drove from central PA to Ft. Lauderdale. I found nice hotels along the way for as little as $40/night. After gas and hotels, it came to about $200, round-trip.

    Over the course of the cruise, I would say we only spent $300/each, but we splurged on a nicer room, so we conserved in other ways. :)

    The shopping was passe (we're not into jewelry or HAL sweaters), but the duty free shop was cool--I got a tremendous deal on a rather large bottle of whiskey! Just have to remember that duty free purchases like that are delivered the night before disembarking, so you can't enjoy it on the cruise (they want you to buy from their bars).
  • In some ways I'm glad I can't go on this - being in the UK just getting to the states is hassle enough, let alone the costs for the cruise itself.

    In other ways I'm really sad that I won't be able to go, again.

    ttfn
  • I booked the cheapest ocean-view room there was, having never been on a cruise before and thinking having a window might be nice. I actually did really like the window, but I'm torn between whether I'd go cheap or splurge on a verandah on JCCC2. I did get bumped up to a nicer ocean-view room for free.

    I was one of the not very many people who traveled alone and didn't have Insight/the cruise line pair them up with a roommate. I don't know if the fee I had to pay was a flat rate or a percentage, but my cruise fee was $759 and my single person premium was $379.50. (The room I got upgraded to was in the $800 plus range.) I haven't had a roommate since college and am consequently kind of squirrely about sharing space, so I'll probably plunk that down again unless I'm traveling with a friend, sharing with one of last year's Sea Monkeys I already know and feel comfortable with, or magically acquire some kind of sustainable romantic entanglement between now and when it's time to buy a cruise. Which probably means I will have a room to myself again.

    I had the cruise line set me up with a hotel beforehand, which wound up being the Westin Ft. Lauderdale, at $229. I know for sure I could have gotten something cheaper on my own, maybe even something cheaper at the Westin on my own since my company usually has negotiated rates there, but I also met very excellent new friends in the lobby while we waited for the shuttle to the port.

    I'm frankly embarrassed to tell anybody what my final tally on shipboard incidentals was. It was inflated by a trip to the spa, which is not something I'd repeat. The spa was lovely, my therapist was lovely, and my treatment was lovely, but I spent five years as a professional massage therapist, three of them at one of the ritziest spas in the South, and as a result I am very, very particular. Plus I learned that one of those things they tell you in massage school is actually true: If you go get a massage on vacation after days of drinking, rich food and too little sleep, you might just feel like crap afterward. I had thought that was frou-frou MT B.S., but no! It is not.

    I had a phobia of flying at the time and took a luxury bus service called Red Coach from Atlanta to Miami for a cost of $80 round-trip. The cruise line transferred me to and from Miami, although they forgot me in Miami on the way in. They made up for that with free wine and an apology. I think the only way I would do that again is if I paid for a hotel room the night after and took the morning bus up the next day. But I can get on an airplane now, so in spite of all the TSA things, I will probably fly.
  • Oh right, I forgot parking. The parking deck was nice. For covered parking, it was $12/day, but I must have hit some kind of perfect arrival/departure timing or bulk discount or something, because I only paid $90 for the whole time.
  • Thanks for all of the super-awesome information. I'm glad to see it isn't monstrously expensive, and now I know how much to save up. Although I'll be paying much more just to get down to the port (Canada- Florida = sadness), I'm sure hoping that I'll be able to make it. Again, thanks for the great information, you guys (and gals) rock!
  • I don't know if the fee I had to pay was a flat rate or a percentage, but my cruise fee was $759 and my single person premium was $379.50.
    The "single-person" premium on Holland America is either 50% or 100%, depending on the room category.
  • Twistntie: Where in Canada are you from? I'm in Vancouver, but it is significantly cheaper for me to fly out of Seattle--even if I have to pay $100 round-trip to get to the airport. It's worth it to check out prices from other airports if it's all possible for you to get there.
  • I'm in Vancouver, but it is significantly cheaper for me to fly out of Seattle--even if I have to pay $100 round-trip to get to the airport.
    I second this. In some cases, it is as much as half the price to fly out of Seattle as Vancouver. Unfortunately it does mean running the risk of getting the nudie scan or safety grope.
  • Chicazul: I'm in Toronto, and not really able to get to the States as I don't have a license. I do remember we had gone on a trip and left from Rochester once, I'll have to check that out. Although I'm not a HUGE fan of those super fun pat downs.. >.<
  • Seattle at least does not seem very big into the backscatter treatment--the only time I've ever been forced into the radiation-or-pat-down line was in Fort Lauderdale, on the way home from JoCo Cruise Crazy. That is unfortunately one of the risks one must take when visiting a foreign nation.
  • What? You don't think USA-bound suspicious "art-enjoying" types *deserve* such treatment, American citizens being terrorized (as they are) by monkey-pony hybrid monsters and threats of finding giant squids in their drinking-water supplies?!?
  • Would you say that the cruise is worth the money, compared to just going to a show or two? Especially having to do all of that traveling and messing around with the States' TSA and junk.
  • @Twistntie Very YES. You can't really simplify the experience into "concerts on a boat". Yes, that's probably a major selling point, but if I could break out the other features of the JCCC experience, it would be:

    - 6 Concerts (almost 18 hours or so of pure stage entertainment)
    - 6 day Gaming/Geek convention (we set up some the "panels" and events on our own, but a game room is provided and other celeb hosted events will be had as well)
    - 6 day cruise (If you've never been on a cruise, they are just great! Meals are paid for, and you pretty much can stay on the boat for the pool, "casino", ship events, just laze about in the sun with a terrific ocean view or...)
    -3 days of shore excursions in the Caribbean (As long as it's not Jamaica... If you haven't been to a Caribbean island, they are a treat!)

    Add to the fact that the "celeb" will pretty much be among us as normal folks having a good time and vacationing as well. It's one big fun party for fans and entertainers alike. To me, it's definitely worth the money and travelling hassle. You might ask Angelastic, as I believe she traveled the farthest of anyone that I know of. I mean, if travelling to the States before had not been hassle enough for any other reason before, this is worth it even more so.
  • edited May 2011
    Would you say that the cruise is worth the money, compared to just going to a show or two? Especially having to do all of that traveling and messing around with the States' TSA and junk.
    Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. The first thing I did when the bonus fairy came this year was put money in the bank for JCCC2 so that no matter what financial circumstances might happen between now and then, I'd already have the money set aside.

    I thought before the first one that it was just going to be a nice vacation with some shows every night and maybe I'd meet some nice people. But what really happened was that every minute I was awake was fantastically, mind-blowingly cool. And being asleep was also cool because (unless you're prone to seasickness I guess) sleeping on the ship is AWESOME, because you're being gently rocked and there's soothing white noise from the engines all the time. I met new friends I would not trade for anything, and I came home inspired to work on all kinds of creative projects I had been procrastinating over for ages.

    I can't speak for every single person who went or anything, but zero people I have talked to put the cruise into the "meh, it was OK" category.
  • I was quite excited, when I finally finished unpacking my suitcase some time in March, to find a card in there saying it had been inspected and repacked by the TSA. I'd never have noticed otherwise. Yay, I got inspected by the famous US TSA! It was kind of disappointing when I flew to Austria and back a while later and didn't so much as have anyone look at my passport or any other form of ID.

    I second everything MJPM and vilicious said, and would add: 7 days of living inside the internet for realz in 3D, with 450* of the most awesome people ever**.

    * chicazul's estimate for JoCo Cruise Crazy 2
    ** Actually, I believe that all people are created equally awesome, but the people on that boat were awesome in such a way that the projection of their awesome vectors on mine was particularly high.
  • @villicious @angelastic Forgive me. It wasn't that I forgot about the awesome people factor. it's just been such a given for me since the cruise that it slipped my mind as a bonus. On the ship, all Sea Monkeys are famous.
  • edited May 2011
    We got a veranda room that had a nice big tub, but this was the first time we ever regretted splurging for the nicer room, as we were in it so little that we never even tried the big tub (we just took showers), let alone used the veranda. On normal cruises we tend to keep to ourselves, and we've had problems on other cruises with finding a nice, quiet, shady place to relax (there always seems to be either some event going on, or screaming children running around, or annoying music playing, or all of the above), but on this one we were just about always hanging out with other Sea Monkeys, so the nicer room was pretty much a waste. Next one we'll just get an inside cabin.
    Would you say that the cruise is worth the money, compared to just going to a show or two?
    Others have already said it better than I could, but oh, hell yes. The shows were only a small part of what made it so awesome.
  • For anyone curious about actual costs of onboard beverages, beer was about $5, standard size tropical mix drinks were about $7. Soda is $2.24 per can including automatic gratuity, but you can buy a $50 soda card for $25. Inexpensive wine started around $7/glass. On the whole, it's about what I'd expect to pass at a hotel bar.
  • Soda is $2.24 per can including automatic gratuity, but you can buy a $50 soda card for $25
    Or you can bring a 12-pack or 2 onboard with you (at least with HAL you can), which I will be doing so even if I don't intend to drink soda; it's much nicer to drink a $0.25 can than the exact same can for $2.24.
  • Not long after boarding the ship, I left my room and walked to the conveniently located bar that was right outside my room. There were Ghalidrim and company enjoying mojitos, and somebody said, "You can buy a $100 drink card today for $90." I said, "I would like to buy a $100 drink card, please."

    As I said that, I was thinking, "OK, can I really use an entire $100 drink card by myself?"

    I finished the last of my $100 drink card on Wednesday.
  • "OK, can I really use an entire $100 drink card by myself?"
    The wonderful "secret" is that those cards have absolutely no risk. Whatever you don't use is refunded back to your account at the end of the week. Yes, I verified this when I bought a couple on an earlier cruise. This is true for the soda cards as well. So even if you think you'll drink only $20 during the week, you can get that for $18 by using the drink card. Everyone, buy one!
  • Would you say that the cruise is worth the money, compared to just going to a show or two? Especially having to do all of that traveling and messing around with the States' TSA and junk.
    My experience of the cruise was a little atypical, because I went with the express intent of meeting as many people as possible. That said: the first cruise was a ridiculous expense that I could not really afford. I cried on the last night because I knew there was no way I would be able to do it again.

    I'm still going to try to make it happen.

    Things that happened on the cruise that have not happened to me at concerts:
    • Completely butchered a JoCo song at karaoke, with Jonathan Coulton sitting six feet from me.
    • Watched Storm come to dinner in a Star Trek uniform.
    • Took over a disco to dance with a dozen other JoCo fans/friends.
    • Participated in an official Fancy Pants Parade.
    • Spent a week in the Caribbean.
    • Met over a hundred people, many of whom I still stay in touch with (I can't actually count how many; I'm just going by facebook/twitter connections.)
    There's more of course, but those were a few of the highlights. It was a wonderful experience, and I can't imagine not at least making an effort to hang out with these awesome people again.
  • Completely butchered a JoCo song at karaoke, with Jonathan Coulton sitting six feet from me.
    May I add, 'sitting six feet from you, somewhat drunk, and amazed by your I Crush Everything corset.'

    The karaoke was so awesome that even I'm considering completely butchering a JoCo song next cruise. And I've barely sung in front of anybody since that time I sang 'Angel of Music' during morning tea at school when I was six and realised everyone was looking at me. Imagine you know a singer who has the best fans in the world. Now imagine you can borrow those fans for five minutes, and they'll love it just as much when you screw up as they do when he does. That's what it looked like.
  • The karaoke was TERRIFYINGLY awesome. Even though I was really far too scared when I got up there to cope with the situation I found I had plunged myself into. Everyone was terribly nice about it afterwards though....
  • Wow, sounds like this thing is the BEST thing ever! I hope everyone can make it, I really can't wait to go now. What's the drinking age on the ship, if anyone knows?
  • What's the drinking age on the ship, if anyone knows?
    If it's Holland America, it's 21. Since we haven't confirmed it's HAL yet, most other lines are also 21.
  • I'm a little late, but we got off the boat and planned how to save for the next one. There is no doubt in our minds that we will continue to go so long as they are held and we continue to be able to drive to airplanes to get to them. Basically seconding the things everyone else said. It was like being in another world where everyone was awesome and none of the dicks managed to evolve.
  • Do you suppose that it would be cheaper to fly down, or train (the verb of train..? ) down? I've been looking around and I'm not sure what route we would have to take.
  • Do you suppose that it would be cheaper to fly down, or train (the verb of train..? ) down? I've been looking around and I'm not sure what route we would have to take.
    It probably depends on where you are coming from (and where we're going to... it's still possible that we're sailing out of Puerto Rico). Last time, I looked into taking Amtrak from New Hampshire and it was almost the same price as a plane ticket, but about a 36 hour ride by my recollection.
Sign In or Register to comment.