Researching our upcoming cruise

For those of you who missed the news a few weeks ago, we are going to be on the Princess Emerald doing a 16 day cruise to Greenland and Iceland departing on July 31st.

Our friends Glen and Steve have done a lot of cruises, and a couple of weeks ago she sent me a few ideas regarding how to make your cruise better.

So I was going through them yesterday and doing some more research online and watched a couple of videos from people who also cruise on a regular basis.

The Emerald Princess.

One interesting fact is that if you own shares in Carnival Cruise Lines (who also owns the Princess brand), the shareholder benefit can be worthwhile.

The onboard credit associated with being a shareholder is substantial. For a 16 day cruise like ours, a shareholder receives a $250 USD cabin credit that can be used towards pretty much any onboard expense. That goes a long way for us!

You need to own a minimum of 100 shares, so that's what I bought. I paid $23.80 USD per share. They have an earnings announcement coming up tomorrow, and I decided I wanted to buy prior to the announcement. Time will tell if that was a wise choice or not! But either way, CCL stock is fairly cheap, trading at a forward P/E of less than 13. On the downside, they are carrying a lot of debt that is leftover from the Covid debacle. 

Not something I would normally buy, because I believe the big money will be made in gold and silver miners over the next year or two, but buying the 100 shares of CCL is not a huge investment and I believe I will get my money back. The $250 USD credit means that if I lose up to 10% on the transaction, I'll still feel okay about that!

The next interesting fact is regarding tipping. From what I've read and from the videos I've watched, tipping is a very contentious subject! Which I don't really understand, because why would anybody care how much somebody else is tipping?

Anyhow, most cruise lines now add a "per day per person" fee to your cabin account that covers "crew appreciation". The standard fee on Princess cruises is now $17 USD per person per day! Yes, that would add $544 USD ($750 CAD) to the cost of our 16 day cruise!

From the research I've done, most people simply pay the fee without questioning it. But many people also don't realize that fee can be adjusted up or down, or removed completely simply by going to guest services once you are onboard the ship.

Interestingly, the fine print says how Princess distributes that fee...

All of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses.

I find that very ambiguous. 

Anyhow, we will be removing the fee, and tipping in cash the crew members who make our trip memorable. That way, we know it is going directly to the crew member rather than being absorbed by administration fees. 

We said goodbye to Tony and Helen yesterday.

With their motorhome Vinnie (Vincent Van Go!).

We are headed out to do some exploring today!

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