Do you budget your cruise expenses?

I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

 

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

 

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

Wow - and I thought I was a planner. For me, I would call that budget everything to the dollar...LOL. But yes, you do have "wiggle room!" Goes to show you everyone's perspective is a bit different!

I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

 

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

 

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

YES!!! I love spreadsheets. I have a To-Do (before trip), Packing (which is divided by suitcase and carry-on bag), travel schedule (which includes routes, stops, and times of arrival and departure), and trip budget (which includes everything from cabin to clothes to toiletries and tips. Budgeting is a habit for me. I have spreadsheets for my personal monthly budget and my honey. I've even been asked by my friends to budget their lives-- for payment!

~Profile Says Everything~

The only thing I budget for is my money for the casino. Husband doesn't really play in the casino. Saving now and what I have at the time of cruise gets divided up for how much I can spend each day. Put in envelopes and labeled for each day. (So I can't cheat). I'm sure My husband has a number in his head for what we will spend. He always has a number in his head. (Should have been an accountant)

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I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

 

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

 

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

This 'DW' doesn't think you're crazy at all and that's exactly how we do it. If he didn't to a spreadsheet then I would :)

Budget with about 10% wiggle room. That 10% is at least $300 (includes cruise fare) and that gives us enough to be free to be splurge at least once or twice during our vacation. Prepay as much as possible so then we can already see most of the 'damage' (lol) before we even leave home.

I have a small pocket notebook that I keep track of expenses in and each category gets it's own page, so photos will be on one page along with what we budgeted for that, souvenirs on another, etc. At the end of each day I make a quick note of how much was spent in each category so we have a rough idea of what is left in each category's budget. It's become a travel journal for how much we spent on vacation.

There's an app for that! I downloaded a few so that I could keep up with my tab. But. . . I believe with the carnival app you can actually see your portfolio, so I'm not sure if I'll need the apps I downloaded. [emoji3]

NCL Sunward 1974

NCL Starward 1978

Costa Daphne 1982

Carnival Triumph 2001

Carnival Conquests 2005

Carnival Magic 2014

I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

 

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

 

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

I spreadsheet too! I also try to prepay as much as I can.

We budget a bit differently.

We plan for one photo and two drinks a night. Since we cruise from our home port we know how where we'll probably end up for meals. Sometimes 'tourist', sometimes 'local'.

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I know about how much we have to spend. We don't really do excursions and bring cash for the islands. Once that's up that's it. We don't buy a lot of souvenirs. Our budget goes to alcohol and if we decide we want to do something on the island. Now because I venture into the casino...I have to say if I loose this much money that's it...don't keep going back for more or I will be in there all the time.

We create a budget for our vacations so we know how much to set aside each paycheck for them. We are always putting money aside for vacations, but create the budget so we can see how close we are to having it all saved up. We factor in parking, gasoline, airfare (if we have to fly). We look back at our S&S account from previous cruises to get a feel for what we actually have spent on drinks, souvenirs, pics. This is how we determined that the Cheers package would not benefit us. We look over the excursions & what we are doing in various ports to determine how much cash we will need. We use our Carnival mastercard for booking the trip as well as the onboard account to get double points. Then, use the points accrued when we get back for a statement credit toward the expenses.

I have spreadsheets going back to about 2001 with vacation data. I find it interesting to go back to my pre-vacation spreadsheet & update with the actual numbers.

Our first cruise we did not budget at all since we had no idea what to expect and ending up spending more on the cruise than what we paid for the cruise. Since then we have always had an idea what we would spend and did a pretty good job staying close to that.

On our upcoming cruise I have created a full budged in Excel and have included all expenses related to the vacation(dog boarding and such) that I never counted before. I have also broke it down to what will be pre-cruise and pre-paid expense, what I expect to be charged to the Sail and Sign account, and cash for casino and ports. I only use cash for the casino because I have a wee bit of a gambling problem and doing it this way helps me(actually my wife) keep myself in check. The casino is really the only aspect of my budget we normally have strict adherence. I just love using spreadsheets and it keeps me excited for my cruise.

We budget all of our expenses, including vacation. We prepay as much as we can ahead of time spend very little on the ship. We bring a set amount of cash for on shore purchases. When we run out, we run out.

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We pay for as much as possible up front with discounted cards and offers etc, then we have a vacation budget (with wiggle room) once we are on the actual vacation. We have cash with us to put on the S&S acct but with most everything paid for already we dont really worry about what we are spending and if it gets close to zero we just put more cash on the account (has never happened and we typically get a refund at end).

I make a list of all projected expenses, including travel day there and back... I have had trips where I stayed pretty much within budget, but I have also grossly exceeded it a few times too.

Only limit I put on myself and my wife is $250 each per day in the casino. Other then that, anything goes...

I don't budget anything else, I'm sure as heck not budgeting my vacation. Just spend reasonably like any other day.

We sort of know what we normally spend extra on cruises ... but no hard and fast rules or actual budget.

Guess we're in the "Don't Fret-on-it Group" if it's more than normal. :D

The cruise, excursions, and travel costs are all known and we do budget what we spend on those. Like a lot of the other respondents, we will spend a some money on board for drinks and gambling, but not a great deal on either, and don't usually give that spending a thought. Our biggest non-budgeted expense is shopping. We will buy things we see (including artwork, watches, clothes, etc.) but do not ever have a budget for that.

The only thing not paid before the cruise is any extra tips for the cabin steward and dining room staff plus buying a t-shirt or two. I always see that as one of the benefits of cruising. Not redo g to spend once onboard

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I don't budget anything else, I'm sure as heck not budgeting my vacation. Just spend reasonably like any other day.

I think this comes down to the root of things.

I budget for everything in my day to day life. When I see that my expenses are increasing I make changes. I know what I'm spending, what I expect to spend and where I expect to spend it.

I give myself lots of flex in the "other" category (so if there's a sale on, I can buy or just on a whim, I can splurge) but I still budget.

I have to save for a vacation. I save for excursions, tips, and alcohol. I don't budget to the penny, just save for the predictable expenses. Anything else can go on the credit card and will be paid when the bill comes. I don't pinch pennies but feel better knowing I can have fun and not think about money

Love this thread. I'm in the pre pay as much as I can camp. We have one income & at times a very tight budget. Part of the appeal of a cruise was so much being included, for a base price. For us, the cruise cash program has helped. I admit to not being all that disciplined or I'd spend money on other things, household wise. We've purchased our max in cruise cash. Purchased a bit in bar cash. Pre paid tips. We will also have back up money in our vacation bank account. Hubs & I set a $150 pp alcohol limit. (I don't drink much, so Cheers isn't for us) Our kids know how much they can spend total. Once their money is gone, its gone. 24/7 food, included, was a big selling point for me. My kids are older w very healthy, eat anything, appetites.

Our splurge was a cabana on Half Moon Cay.

I know to some cruising is considered inexpensive. To us, it's our entire year of our travel budget. This is our first family cruise. I hope it's not our last.

Pre paying a lot & cruise cash gives me peace of mind & I'll be able to relax. (I'm kinda tight wound, usually)

The problem with a thread like this is that income between posters is all over the board, so everyone plans and spends very differently. There is no one answer. Some can't afford to prepay, some can. And everything in between.

The problem with a thread like this is that income between posters is all over the board, so everyone plans and spends very differently. There is no one answer. Some can't afford to prepay, some can. And everything in between.

Exactly! I booked the cruise Bc it fit in our budget & it's something new for our family. We usually go camping for vacation & take several trips a year. (We own a nice camper) Cruising is a change for us.

We all spend differently & have varied incomes. Right now, I have to budget tightly & plan in advance. Maybe one day we won't have to be as frugal & can book closer to sail away.

Exactly! I booked the cruise Bc it fit in our budget & it's something new for our family. We usually go camping for vacation & take several trips a year. (We own a nice camper) Cruising is a change for us.

We all spend differently & have varied incomes. Right now, I have to budget tightly & plan in advance. Maybe one day we won't have to be as frugal & can book closer to sail away.

We need to use our camper more. Cruising hasn't been good for camper usage :)