The article calls cruising a vacation value option this summer. It quotes a representative of the cr

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The Ponte Vecchio in Florence , Italy, hotels key west florida at dusk which is when you'll need to be back on your cruise ship, if you're seeing Europe via a cruise. Photo: Sisse Brimberg, hotels key west florida National Geographic Image Collection
I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't warn potential cruisegoers that yesterday's New York Times Travel section article entitled As Dollar Sinks, European Cruises Could Be A Bargain left out some crucial caveats.
The article calls cruising a vacation value option this summer. It quotes a representative of the cruise lines who says, There is tremendous value in European hotels key west florida cruising this summer because you pay for everything in dollars before boarding, which helps remove the vulnerability of fluctuating exchange rates. The article goes on to state that much of the value comes from the nature of cruises, which, regardless of size or itinerary, generally include cabins, meals and most onboard activities for a single fee priced in dollars rather than euros or pounds. Alas, the article never mentions any of the reasons why a European hotels key west florida cruise may NOT be a good value, compared to a European land-based trip :
(1) On most cruises, your time on land is limited to about 8 hours perday. That's not including the time it takes to get from the port toyour destination and back to the port again. Your ship may bedocked in Livorno, Italy, for 8 hours but, once you factor intransportation time to your destination of Florence and back, you've got only about 5 hours to see Florence. By comparison, if you're hotels key west florida staying at a Florentine hotel and you've got only one day to see the city, you'll have about three times as many hours.
(2) The shore excursions (prefab group tours) that the cruise lines sell can be very pricey. The expense of getting from each pier on your itinerary to each place where you want to spend your day is not included in the cruise hotels key west florida cost. This means you need to calculate into your budget the cost of shore excursions and/or private transportation to your destination . Getting from the pier at Livorno to the center of Florence on a groupbus organized by the cruise line, for instance, can cost $100 perperson (the cost depends on the cruise line). Renting a car or hiring a taxi is even more expensive.
(3) You'll probably end up double-paying for lunches. You'll likely want to eat lunch at the destination you've come to see instead of having to go back to the ship at lunchtime. Say you decide to eat in Florence and the cost is $40. You've just paid $40 on top of the shipboard lunch you've already paid for (since meals are included in the cruise cost). If you're smart enough to be on a cruise that spends some evenings in port (allowing you more hours for sightseeing), you may well want to eat dinner ashore too. Dinner at a local trattoria or enoteca is, after all, a lot more authentic than dinner on the ship.
The bottom line: If your goal is to sightsee in Europe affordably, there are better ways than a cruise. My Perrin Report entitled Pain Management hotels key west florida tells you how to cope with the weakness of the U.S. dollar and avoid sticker shock by finding a hidden-gem three-star hotels key west florida hotel, hotels key west florida using public transportation, going light on restaurants with waiter service, and shopping where and when the locals do.