An Unconventional Way to Cruise: Seven Advantages

 

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article with an intriguing title: “The Secret to Sweet Dreams May Be Not to Sleep Together.” It described the not-so-uncommon situation of couples who sleep apart as a result of issues such as snoring, tossing and turning, insomnia, and CPAP machine noise.

What happens, however, when couples who sleep apart at home (or friends) go on a cruise and are confined together to a 200 to 300 square foot cabin for days? Often a series of sleepless nights that can put a sleep-deprivation damper on the cruise experience.

My husband and I were "in that movie" during a Mississippi River cruise last June. Not only did I get poor sleep (read: loud snoring), but he got sick and, a few days later, so did I. For our Panama Canal cruise in November, we decided to try an experiment: book one interior room and one ocean view room with a balcony directly across the hall from one another.

Our travel agent helped make this room arrangement possible as well as synchronize our mealtime preference and dining room table assignments. Once we arrived on board, we hung out exclusively in the verandah stateroom with a couch and a view as we would have with only one ocean view room.

Upon reflection, below are seven advantages (four of them financial) that we experienced by booking two separate rooms:

Better Sleep- Hands down, we both slept better. I caught a bad cold on Day 3 of a 12-day cruise (some passengers don’t cover their mouths!) and woke up several nights coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose. My husband’s sleep was not interrupted at all, nor did he catch my cold.

Less Chance of Infecting Each Other- We were not touching the same bathroom fixtures, TV remote, and other room items. Had I contracted COVID, instead of a bad cold, my husband might have had to be quarantined along with me (some ships enforce this by deactivating room keys) or we would have been separated anyway (i.e., if I was placed in a quarantine stateroom).

More Space- The interior room had about 180 square feet and the ocean view cabin had about 220 square feet, for a total of 400 square feet. The combined square footage was equivalent in size to some junior suites on the ship and we both had ample storage, closet, and desk space.

Double Gifts- Our travel agent ordered gifts for both rooms so we received two bottles of champagne and two orders of chocolate dipped strawberries instead of one. Ditto for two bottles of wine from the cruise line, one for each room.

Double Stateroom Credit- We both received separate credits for each stateroom. This included money from our travel agent (Cruise Planners) and AARP for each of us individually and extra credit for my husband as an Army veteran. The credits were applied to our separate stateroom bills to spend as we each wished (versus being combined).

Separate Billing- We registered individual credit cards for each stateroom. Therefore, each of us was free to spend money as desired without worring that our charges would show up on each other’s credit card bill.

Cruise Fare Savings- The cost for an interior room and an ocean view room, even with two single traveler supplements, was slightly less than the cost of having two people in an ocean view room. Crew appreciation charges are charged per person so there was no extra tipping expense.

A downside to having two staterooms was having to set up two apps and make separate specialty dining and excusion reservations (at the same time, of course) because these purchases were tied to our staterooms. Otherwise, it was a positive experience overall and we will probably do it again.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.