The kids’ summer break just ended, which means it’s time to talk about your family’s next summer vacation. This year, vacations cost families dearly. So our NBC Bay Area Responds team is giving cruises a second look, to possibly save you money in 2024.
At the Port of San Francisco, NBC Bay Area caught up with Tamika Smith, Aprel Miller, and their husbands about to set sail to Mexico.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Miller said. “Party, party, party.”
A five-day, four-night birthday cruise getaway, wasting no time or money.
“We’re from Vallejo, so it was close to home,” Miller continued. “We didn’t have to fly down or drive down all the way to L.A. -- save us a few dollars."
“Cruising isn’t just for old people. It’s perfect for groups. Perfect for families. Perfect for younger people,” said Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, a travel writer who is known as “Jet Set Sarah.”
Yes, her social media handle tells you she flies a lot. But Jet Set Sarah has also taken a lot of cruises -- more than 30 of them -- to inform her readers.
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Greaves-Gabbadon says that with airfares, hotel prices, and vacation rental rates all up this year -- and unlikely to drop next year -- cruises are the best value in vacations, especially since many cruise vacations are all-inclusive.
“It’s probably going to work out to a couple hundred, maybe $300 a day. That’s really hard to replicate if you’re going to buy a flight and stay in hotels every night,” Greaves-Gabbadon noted.
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She said cruise lines are forever fighting a 1970s “Love Boat” stigma.
But Greaves-Gabbadon noted that all sorts of cruise vacation options are available for 2024: mega-ship to small riverboat, beaches to glaciers, budget to luxury, and everything in between.
“I would say there’s a cruise for everyone. Don’t poo-poo it until you’ve tried it,” she said.
You can book a cruise a year or two in advance directly with a cruise line. But Greaves-Gabbadon says to call some travel agents too. They might actually offer lower fares.
When you book a room, you’re basically booking solo. But travel agents sometimes grab blocks of rooms at a bulk discount, which they pass on to you when you book with them. Bonuses are also possible.
“Go through a cruise specialist travel adviser because they can leverage their relationships with the cruise lines to get you perks or upgrades or better pricing,” Greaves-Gabbadon said.
Full disclosure: Some viewers over the years have complained to us about cruise line refunds, especially during the pandemic. And we helped. In fairness, we also handle airline, hotel and vacation rental refund complaints.
When you’re booking a cruise far in advance, weigh your refund options and whether or not you need travel insurance, in case you have to cancel.
Back to pricing, Greaves-Gabbadon offered another idea for shopping around.
“Look at the membership cards in your wallet,” she said.
Auto club? Warehouse club? Alumni association? Ask them about cruise deals.
“It’s all right there. One-stop shop,” Aprel Miller said of her cruise.
So how did Miller and Smith fare with their fare?
Smith told us her group got a, “very good deal. We paid about four something apiece.”
That’s about $2,000 total for four people. Four nights in their rooms, four days of transportation, four evenings of entertainment.
“And the free food. It’s gonna be very easy,” Smith said with a laugh.
Easy on the wallet!
One note about choosing a travel agent to book a cruise: Consider an agent licensed in California. California travel agents pay into a fund that repays consumers if a travel agent goes belly-up or doesn’t deliver. Travel agents in other states do not offer that same protection.
Have a consumer complaint? Let us know, so we can help.
