In this YouTube video, hosts Josh and Rachael Fillbrandt break down what is typically covered by a cruise fare and what costs extra. They start by explaining that the fare includes the cabin (interior, ocean‑view, balcony, or suite) and basic amenities, but excludes gratuities, transportation to the port, and most alcoholic or bottled‑water drinks. They outline the included beverage options (water, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, and self‑serve soft drinks) and the range of entertainment that is free (theater shows, trivia, live music, dueling pianos, promenade parties) while noting that the casino, arcade, and many specialty classes are extra. The hosts discuss health‑and‑wellness offerings: gyms, walking tracks, fitness classes, and pool facilities (towels, chairs, slides, water‑sports) are included, whereas spa treatments, premium fitness classes, and premium pool amenities like cabanas or daybeds cost extra. They explain that private‑island visits are generally part of the fare, but shore‑excursions at non‑affiliated ports are not and must be booked separately (they share a tip about booking early and re‑booking to save money). The video also covers limited ship Wi‑Fi that only supports the cruise line’s app and messaging; full internet access requires a paid Wi‑Fi package. Dining basics—main dining rooms, buffets, quick‑service cafés, and pizza—are included, while specialty restaurants (steakhouse, Italian, sushi, hibachi, themed venues) carry an upcharge. They mention that pool deck seating is free, but premium daybeds and cabanas are not. The hosts reference their experience on multiple cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Carnival, Princess) and specifically on the Star of the Seas ship. A brief sponsorship segment promotes Turo, a car‑sharing service, describing how it works for airport pickups. Finally, they note that kids‑club details vary and suggest researching specific ships, and they close with calls to like, subscribe, and follow on social media.
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Hey everybody, I'm Josh, and I'm Rachael. Cruising has become one of the most affordable family vacations available, yet some people don't know what's actually included in their cruise fare.
We've discovered that it can be budget-friendly or as extravagant as you want it to be.
Here's what we've learned is included and what's not included in your cruise vacation.
Let's go! All right, so let's start with the basic cruise fare. You're going to get your room included, which may include an interior room, an ocean view or window room, a balcony or veranda, or all the way up to suites. There are many different classes, and you'll know that upon booking your cruise.
Now, some things that are not included in that is going to be your gratuities, which goes towards your main dining room waiter, waitress, As well as your housekeeper. Your amenities in your room can vary based on the cruise ship you're in, so that might mean no conditioner, no lotion. And then this may seem obvious, but your transportation to the cruise ship. So that could be an Uber, a Lyft, it could be an airplane ride and a hotel room before. Now, drink things that are not included is going to be anything that you're getting at a bar service. So that's going to be your bottled water, your sodas, your alcohol. You can get drink packages for most of these. One of them might just be for soda package where you can get a cup that you fill up on your own, while others are going to to include alcohol. They do vary in prices though, so watch that.
So what is included when it comes to drinks? Your water, your iced tea, your lemonade, your hot coffee, which is just your basic coffee, and hot teas. Most of that you can find at self-service locations like you see behind me. All right, so the next thing that we're going to talk about that's included in your cruise fare is entertainment. That comes from shows in the main theater all the way to trivia and everything in between, including dueling pianos, live music, comedy shows, jugglers, parties in the promenade. There are so many things you're including, you're not going to miss out.
Some of your entertainment options that are not going to be included with your cruise fare is going to be things like the casino, the arcade, and there's also other classes that you can sign up for and pay a fee for. We've done it with sushi rolling, cupcake making, pizza. We've done tours, but you can always see that on your app or when you're signing up for your cruise activities.
One of my favorite parts that's included in your cruise fare is the gym. Now there are many different machines. There's also a walking track on most cruise ships. There's some classes. I know they have water or aqua aerobics and fitness classes in the Promenade that are also included, including stuff on the Sports Deck. More than just your basketball, you also have pickleball, you have ping pong, you have shuffleboard. Those are just a small amount of the options included with your cruise fare.
Now, some of the things that are health and wellness related that are not included in your cruise fare is gonna be over at the spa. So if you're looking to get a massage, go to a thermal suite, you're probably gonna pay an upcharge for that. And also, if you have certain classes that you like to take, some of them may come at an extra charge. That includes like your spin classes or different types of fancy yogas and stuff that we don't end up doing, but you could.
All right, on your itinerary, you may see a private island listed from your specific cruise line. That is included in your cruise fare. So another key piece to remember when booking your cruise. And a lot of times on those private islands, your drink package and dining package will cross over. So even the food and drinks on the island are going to be included in the cruise fare. So just make sure you check on that before you get off the ship.
Now, your cruise ship is probably going to take you to other ports that are not affiliated with your cruise line. At those, you can go ahead and explore on your own. Book privately or book through your cruise ship to have an excursion, but just know that all of those are going to come at an extra cost. We like to book very early, and then we sometimes will cancel and rebook, watching those sales, because that's a huge money-saving tip for us, and it would work for you. Real quick, we want to take a moment to say thank you to the sponsor of today's video, Turo.
Recently, we needed a car for our weekend getaway, so we skipped the rental counter and rented a car on Turo.
Turo is the world's largest car-sharing marketplace. You can choose from an extraordinary selection of over 1,600 makes and models shared by local hosts who list their cars for rent. We picked a car up at the airport with Turo and it was super simple. All you gotta do is type in the search bar looking for the airport that you're gonna be landing at, and then all cars in the results can be picked up at or near the airport.
So when you're planning your trip and getting ready to rent, you use filters, you pick the options you want, such as we got to pick a Dodge Challenger, one of the cars we've been wanting to drive for many years.
When you get off the plane, you'll have instructions on Turo telling you where the car is at. Depending on the airport, you'll pick up your car at designated airport parking lots, garages, or even curbside.
So no long lines, no rental counters, just a faster, smoother pickup and drop-off. That was the key. The drop-off was easy as well. When renting on Turo, you get to pick the exact car you want, whether EVs, budget-friendly, or even sports cars. You can even add accessories such as child seats and ski racks. You'll never have to guess What car you're picking up. Turo is available at over 140 airports in the US and Canada. So skip the rental counter and rent on Turo. While you're at sea, you're not going to have access to your phone, but what is included in your cruise fare is access to the ship's Wi-Fi. And that is key in planning your days. The app for each cruise line is going to be specific to what is available for you to plan, and there is limited messaging available through that app. That is included in your cruise fare. With the limited messaging, that's generally to those within your party or on the cruise ship, and you can add those people as you make new friends.
Now, while you do have access to the cruise ship Wi-Fi, that doesn't mean you have access to the internet. The cruise ship Wi-Fi is only going to give you access to the app and to that limited messaging, whereas if you want to go on Instagram or Facebook or just do an internet search, you're going to have to upgrade to the Wi-Fi package, which can sometimes be up to $30 a day. So that is an extra charge if you really want to be truly connected.
Okay, let's talk food. What's included in your cruise fare? Main dining room, buffets, quick-service cafes, and quick-service bites such as pizza. That's all included in your cruise fare, and it's delicious.
There are a lot of special dining restaurants on most cruise ships, including a steakhouse, usually an Italian restaurant, maybe an upgraded seafood restaurant, and sushi restaurants, and hibachi. And we've even done such things as like a very private, like 50-person restaurant where it was a jazz band there just for us and the other 50 people around. And we've even done something really crazy where it was like a fake train where you and I think it was probably like 30 to 40 people were able to be on that one. So there's a lot of different specialty dinings and they all come at a charge.
Okay, on your floating city is how we like to refer to it. There will be many things included, including pools and hot tubs, and that includes your pool towels. You may have to check them out, but you still get the pool towels included. Additionally, most of the chairs up on the pool deck are going to be included. If there's water slides or a FlowRider, that's included in your cruise fare. Mini golf, rock wall, So many different activities, um, outdoors and indoors that you can enjoy while on your cruise. We've also seen indoor activities such as game rooms and libraries for your use while you're on your cruise.
Now, as Rachael mentioned, most seating on the pool deck are available. However, there are daybeds and other cabana-type setups that are going to come at an extra cost. There's also a lot of random activities that you might see on different ships and even different classes of ships depending on the cruise line that you're on. We've done everything from an escape room to glassblowing to skydiving indoors to an observation pod and a lot of different other things that each cruise ship really does provide. And you should just research your specific cruise ship to know which ones to do. Now, this is not an all-inclusive list of everything that's going to be free or at an expense on your cruise. However, hopefully it helps you prepare for it.
Yes, and we have cruised on multiple cruise lines from Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, and also Carnival and Princess. So this is a pretty generalized idea of what can be included on your cruise when you're booking it.
And if you want to see specifically this cruise ship that you've been seeing throughout this video, this is Star of the Seas. We have a whole series about it if you want to check it out.
One more aspect that we don't know anything about because we don't cruise with children is the kids clubs. We have heard from our friends who do cruise with children that there are pieces of it that are included in your cruise fare and there are upcharge items that, like I said, we don't know that much about, but you can easily research on your cruise.
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