[Denny]

My wife bound a bargain Alaska cruise on the net, from Anchorage to Vancouver, for $555 a person. Even after adding in the taxes and fuel surcharges it came in at under $1300 for the two of us.

I have a hard time understanding how they do that wih such high oil prices. It seems cruise ships devour oil like its pouring out of a pipeline. You would not think crude is at $130 or more a barrel.

For a luxury vacation that is pretty cheap. Though we have to fly to Anchorage, we got a deal on that, it came in at under $800 to get ourselves to Anchorage, mind you its a three legged journey.

[Novus]

I don't know where they get the food to feed all the people on board for a weak. An empty cabin doesn't save any fuel costs but food is another story. The airlines at least don't have to feed you so them giving tickets away for $100 makes sense. With food prices the way they are I can't imagine how cruise ships stay in business.

[misterno]

%99 of the employees in these ships are working for $1/hr

That is why the price is cheap

[mobil1]

Shipping something by sea is supposed to be 4 times cheaper than by rail which is 4 times cheaper than by truck, which is probably cheaper than plane, but depends on distance.

So if the "something" they are shipping is you, your luggage and your fraction of the ships' weight, I guess it's cheaper than flying.

I've no idea how much it costs them to feed you but I don't think they spend much on entertainment.


Anyway, I heard they REALLY built up the cruise ship fleet and sizes the last 10 years or so, because cruising became popular and perhaps because oil was cheap.

There have been enough horror stories about fires and other bad stuff like food poisoning or quarantines, and low employee pay and morale, that I have to wonder what will come if they start cutting costs to try and offset high oil prices.

Is cruising doomed ?