TrueCrimeCruise Cost
Free • Updated weekly
Investigation · 2026

The cruise you're about to book has $1,500 to $3,000 in hidden fees the brochure won't show you.

Enter your ship, sail length, and party size. In 60 seconds, see every gratuity, package upcharge, WiFi tier, and shore excursion fee that's about to hit your final bill — itemized, free, and in your inbox before you put down a deposit.

Free forever No credit card 60-second result
The Anatomy of a Cruise Bill

The industry calls it "yield management."
You'd call it getting nickel-and-dimed.

A 7-night cruise advertised at $1,899 for a family of four routinely settles above $4,200 by the time you walk off the ship.

Gratuities run up to $25.50 per person, per day. Drink packages cap at $15 per drink at bars where the cheapest cocktail is $14. WiFi is per-person, per-device. Room service now carries a "convenience charge" plus an 18% gratuity on top of the charge.

The cruise line has every reason to keep this fuzzy until you've already paid your deposit. We have every reason to make it crystal clear before you do.

Hidden!
7-Night Caribbean — Family of 4
Royal Caribbean · Symphony of the Seas
Brochure fare $1,899.00
Daily gratuities + $700.00
Drink packages (×2 adults) + $910.00
Premium WiFi (×4 devices) + $672.00
Shore excursions (3 ports) + $456.00
Specialty dining (2 nights) + $360.00
Room service + convenience fees + $84.00
Real total $5,081.00
What you'll get

Three things every cruiser should see before they book.

01 / Real Total

Your real number, in 60 seconds.

Enter your ship, sail length, and party size — we itemize every gratuity, drink-package upcharge, WiFi tier, room-service fee, and shore excursion so you know whether that $1,899 cruise really costs $2,400 or $4,200.

02 / Skip the trap

The upgrades that aren't worth paying for.

Drink-package break-even math, WiFi tier traps, "convenience charges" on room service — we run the numbers on every add-on so you stop paying for things you won't use.

03 / Compare Lines

Cruise lines on a level playing field.

Royal vs. NCL vs. Virgin vs. Carnival — same trip, same party, side-by-side total cost. The fare you see and the fare you pay are almost never the same number.

How it works

Three steps. Sixty seconds. Zero spin.

No account. No credit card. We don't sell cruises — we have no incentive to push one over another.

01

Tell us your booking.

Cruise line, ship name, sail length, number of guests. Takes 30 seconds. No personal details.

02

We run the math.

The calculator pulls from current fee schedules across 10+ major cruise lines, plus aggregated passenger spending data on drinks, WiFi, and excursions.

03

You see the truth.

Itemized, downloadable as a PDF, broken out per person and per day. You'll know exactly what to budget — or whether to walk away.

Stop guessing

See the real number before you book.

The calculator is free. It takes 60 seconds. And it might save your family $2,000.

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