The single most overpriced item on a cruise ship is the beverage package, which can cost $75–$110/person/day and rarely pays off for moderate drinkers — but shore excursions, Wi-Fi, and specialty dining are close runners-up with markups of 200–400% over comparable land prices.
Photo: Royal Caribbean International
The cruise industry has perfected the art of luring you aboard with a reasonable base fare, then quietly extracting another $150–$300 per person per day in extras. Some of those extras are worth every penny. Most aren't. Here's the honest breakdown of where cruise ships take the biggest bites out of your wallet — and which one deserves the crown.
The Winner: Beverage Packages Are the Biggest Rip-Off on Most Ships
The "Deluxe Beverage Package" (or whatever your cruise line calls it) is the reigning champion of cruise overpricing. Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package runs $89–$109/person/day in 2025. Norwegian's Premium Plus lands at $99–$119/person/day. Carnival's CHEERS! package sits at $65–$84/person/day depending on sail date and itinerary.
Do the math: on a 7-night cruise, two people paying $99/day each for Norwegian's package spend $1,386 before they've had a single sip. To break even at $13–$15/cocktail, you'd need 7–9 drinks per person per day — every single day of the voyage. Most moderate drinkers average 3–5. The package is mathematically designed to profit the cruise line in the majority of cases.
The dirty secret? The "value" drinks included — beer, wine by the glass, cocktails — are systematically priced at $13–$16 onboard precisely to make the package look attractive. It's a pricing feedback loop built to confuse you.
Photo: Royal Caribbean International
The Full Rogue's Gallery: Overpriced Items Ranked
| Item | Cruise Ship Price | Comparable Land Price | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beverage Package (per person, 7 nights) | $455–$763 | $200–$350 (same drinks, 7 days) | 100–200%+ |
| Shore Excursions (per person) | $89–$299 | $35–$120 (independent booking) | 80–250% |
| Wi-Fi (per device, 7 nights) | $140–$210 | $0–$50 (hotel/café) | 200–400% |
| Specialty Dining (per person, per meal) | $45–$125 | $25–$75 (comparable restaurant) | 50–100% |
| Spa Treatments (per session) | $150–$350 | $60–$120 (land spa) | 100–200% |
| Bottled Water (1.5L) | $3.50–$5.50 | $1.00–$2.00 | 150–250% |
| Photos (printed, per photo) | $25–$40 | $2–$5 (print at home) | 500–800% |
| Gratuities (added, per person/day) | $18–$24 | N/A — but worth knowing | — |
Photos deserve a special mention. At $25–$40 per printed photo (or $300–$500 for a full voyage package), cruise ship photography is an almost comical markup. The photographers are talented, the backdrops are beautiful, and the pricing is highway robbery.
Photo: Royal Caribbean International
Key Factors That Drive These Insane Markups
Captive audience economics. Once the ship leaves port, you have zero alternatives. Every pricing decision made onboard exploits that fact. Want a beer? Pay $10. Want Wi-Fi? Pay $35/day. There's no competing bar next door.
Bundling obscures the true cost. Beverage packages, dining packages, and excursion bundles make it nearly impossible to calculate per-unit cost. That's intentional. When you're paying $99/day for a package, you stop tracking what each drink costs.
Convenience as a premium product. Booking a shore excursion through the ship guarantees the ship waits for you if it runs late. That peace of mind is real — but the cruise line charges 80–150% more for it than independent operators.
Spa pricing follows a formula. Prices jump 20–40% on sea days when there's nothing else to do and demand spikes. Book on embarkation day or the last sea day for better deals.
Wi-Fi pricing hasn't kept pace with reality. Satellite connectivity has gotten dramatically cheaper in 2024–2025 (especially with Starlink rollouts on ships like Norwegian, MSC, and Royal Caribbean), but Wi-Fi package prices have barely budged. You're still paying 2019 prices for 2025 technology costs.
Practical Ways to Avoid Getting Fleeced
On beverage packages: Do the honest math before you buy. Multiply your realistic daily drink count by the average drink price ($13–$15). If it doesn't exceed the package price, skip it. Many savvy cruisers pay-as-they-go and come out $200–$400 ahead.
On shore excursions: Book directly with local operators through Viator, GetYourGuide, or destination-specific forums. Save 40–60% on most ports. The only exception: tendered ports where missing the ship is a genuine risk. In those cases, the cruise line guarantee is worth the premium.
On Wi-Fi: Check if your plan includes free Wi-Fi (NCL, Celebrity, and Virgin Voyages frequently include it in promotional fares). If not, buy the single-device plan and use your phone as a hotspot for your tablet/laptop. Many cruise lines are moving to Starlink in 2025–2026, which means speeds are finally worth paying for — but prices haven't dropped yet.
On specialty dining: Book onboard on embarkation day — most ships offer 20–30% discounts at the restaurant podiums before the crowds arrive. Or look for dining packages pre-cruise, which are typically 15–25% cheaper than booking each meal individually.
On photos: If you want memories without the markup, bring a good phone camera and ask a fellow passenger or crew member. If you love one professional shot, buy just that one image rather than a package. The digital download of a single photo ($20–$30) beats $400 for a photo book you'll look at twice.
On spa: Book only on embarkation day (when they're desperate to fill the schedule) or on port days when the spa is quietest and staff are sometimes authorized to offer deals. Avoid sea days entirely — that's peak pricing.
On bottled water: Most cruise lines allow you to bring a case or two of water onboard at embarkation. Royal Caribbean allows up to 12 sealed 17oz bottles per stateroom. Carnival allows two cases of water per stateroom. Check your line's policy and pack accordingly.
The One Thing Worth Paying Full Price For
Not everything onboard is a rip-off. Specialty dining at truly excellent restaurant concepts (Wonderland on Royal Caribbean, Le Bistro on Norwegian, Murano on Celebrity) often delivers a $45–$75 per-person meal that genuinely competes with high-end land restaurants at similar price points. If you're a foodie, that spend is defensible.
Similarly, certain ship excursions — particularly those in ports with safety concerns, complex logistics, or hard-to-reach destinations — justify the premium. Alaska glacier helicopter tours, Santorini private transfers, and Belize cave tubing through the ship are examples where the cruise line's infrastructure and safety vetting add real value.
The rule of thumb: pay cruise line prices when they offer something genuinely unique or logistically irreplaceable. Skip the package deals that mathematically favor the house.
Want to know exactly which extras are worth it on your specific sailing before you book? Run your itinerary through CruiseMutiny to get a real cost breakdown — including which onboard charges you can skip and which ones actually deliver value.