Since drinks and tips are paid for, will I spend anything?

I've got an upcoming 12-night Adriatic cruise. I originally booked an inside cabin, but decided to upgrade to Aqua class, which in total cost an additional $1,850 for the two of us. It included the drink package for my daughter and me, plus prepaid tips, which I valued at just over $1,200. So I essentially paid $650 extra for a balcony and the right to eat at Blu, and I think that's a good deal, even though it turned my super-bargain cruise into not such a bargain.

With these things paid for, are there any other expenses that I can expect? I do plan to pay the $120 to upgrade to the premium drink package, and my guess is I might have four or five glasses that go over the limit and for which I have to pay the difference. I don't take ship's tours, but I assume there might be some $5 or $10 shuttle rides. Obviously I might charge something in the gift shop. But are there any other hidden charges that I might expect?

I'm just trying to figure how much I'm going to be spending. My daughter and I are spending a month in Europe, and I'd like to think that my 12 cruise days are pretty well paid for.

It's possible to spend nothing extra,merely depends on if you want to do any shopping, and what you want to do on shore.

We've came back from cruises with bills ranging from just under $8 to just over $5,000. So it can vary. (Oh and they were virtually the same cruise).

Depends on you.

You can have a spa or salon treatment. Choose to have a dinner in a specialty restaurant. Spend a few dollars (or a few thousand) in the shops. You can buy an Internet package. Send out some laundry. Play bingo. Go to a wine tasting. Buy art at an auction. Take a scrapbooking class. Purchase photos. Play in the casino. Have a personal training session or take a Zumba class. Treat yourself to a special bottle of wine.

if your credit card holds up you can do them all. Or, you can do none of them. Your cruise, your choice.

Besides the ones listed we have done some excursions that we hadn't planned, using OBC. We'd been to St. Maarten so many times, but we'd never paid attention to the America's Cup Yacht racing. It was great - kind of $$ so we used the on board credit, booked it the evening before the excursion. Consider some unusual excursions or splurge excursions.

We also used it for golf tee times. I bought a Celebrity windbreaker with a hood that is really really nice. I've been wearing it for 5 or 6 years all year long. Got it in the shop with OBC.

Bought a smallish Michael Kors bag with some credit.

Bought some Apple cords for extras.

Definitely do some specialty restaurants.

We usually buy extra internet to supplement our Elite + minutes, but lately we've been given unlimited internet or have been buying it with OBC.

We've taken some out to pay extra cash tips.

We came off our recent Silhouette TA with a bill of $45, which was for dinner at the Lawn Club on a 2 for 1 deal that we couldn't resist. We had prepaid our gratuities. We don't use the spa, casino or play bingo and only buy in the on board shops if we have OBC. We are Elite+ so have enough free internet and laundry for our needs.

I forgot about the Internet! I will spend on that. But I was just trying to make sure there weren't a lot of other hidden fees, and it sounds like there aren't.

No need for speciality restaurants since you are in Blu. As you mentioned maybe a shuttle or 2 but on our last few cruises they have been in the $15-18 range. With the Premium Beverage package the only charge we have had is for a 20 year Tawny Port for DH which I think was $1.75.

So barring any major shopping onboard you have it covered. Enjoy your cruise!

No hidden fees but often unexpected purchases. A large part of the cruise business model is the idea of a captive market. Now with a European itinerary you're not quite as captive as on some routes (i.e. transoceanic) but it can be easy to do "just this once" splurge more than once for all the things mentioned and more. Cruise lines are adept at finding things to sell their customers. If you know that it's not in budget, stick hard to your current plan. If you know it won't break the bank, set a limit and allow yourself to indulge with what you want.

We came off our recent Silhouette TA with a bill of $45, which was for dinner at the Lawn Club on a 2 for 1 deal that we couldn't resist. We had prepaid our gratuities. We don't use the spa, casino or play bingo and only buy in the on board shops if we have OBC. We are Elite+ so have enough free internet and laundry for our needs.

i would love to come off a cruise with that type of bill. I just have to figure out a way to keep my DW out of the jewelery stores on whichever ship we are on.....:):):)

Bob

You could easily spend nothing and easily spend hundreds - it really depends on you. There is plenty to spend your money on - spa, speciality restaurants, bingo, shopping (from odds and ends to top of the range), internet, photographs, laundry, etc etc - however we often come off a cruise with a bill of nothing - once your drinks and tips are prepaid - nothing else is really necessary!! My two weaknesses are laundry (covered now we are elite) and internet (depends on itinerary whether I bother to buy more than elite minutes.) Last cruise we had $300obc and struggled to spend it!!

No hidden costs but lots of temptations! As others have pointed out there are plenty of things to spend money on!

Only other cost to consider is getting to and from the cruise port, worth checking the cost of a range of possibilities from shuttle coaches, taxis, public transport...

Hope you and your daughter have a great cruise!

We got the GO 123 with drinks, tips, internet and $300 on board credit. We plan on using it for laundry. Unless there is a real deal, the spa is too expensive. When were in Cozumel, I booked a 1 hour couples massage for $140.

We've been on cruises where we've had $400 in obc (RCI) and had prepaid our tips but we still managed to spend every penny and then some by buying drinks and eating in specialty restaurants. Our upcoming Summit cruise, we have prepaid tips, classic drink package and $300 in obc. We won't upgrade the drink package as it covers what DH and I want and DH only drinks occasionally anyway. We're also elite (D+ on RCI) which means we get 90 minutes of free internet each(I think it's 90) so no need to buy internet time as we can easily spread that total out across 7 days.

So, our dilemma is other than Tuscan Grille one night, what do we purchase onboard? We've bought watches and jewelry onboard cruises before, so we'll just have to look around. Prob won't use it for excursions since it's Bermuda and we know how to get around there since we've been twice before.

Spending really does vary from person to person. Some never spend a penny onboard, other's spend more than their cruise cost.

You could or could not spend more $. There are many ways to spend money. Spa, specialty restaurants, excursions, wine tasting, transfers, casino, shops, internet time,photos, laundry, medical, etc. You will be tempted by the staff hard selling stuff. If you have unrefundable OBC, use it or lose it. If you don't have OBC to spend and want to keep your cost down, resist the temptations. Your cruise includes meals, tips, and drinks. If you don't need extras, you can keep cost down. I have done it. Good luck!

We came off Solstice (Hawaii-Vancouver) with 5 sea days. We had drink pkg, gratuities, & $300 obc. We upgraded our drink pkg & did a little shopping. Our final bill was $1.75!

Our upcoming Summit cruise, we have prepaid tips, classic drink package and $300 in obc. We won't upgrade the drink package as it covers what DH and I want and DH only drinks occasionally anyway. We're also elite (D+ on RCI) which means we get 90 minutes of free internet each(I think it's 90) so no need to buy internet time as we can easily spread that total out across 7 days.

 

So, our dilemma is other than Tuscan Grille one night, what do we purchase onboard? We've bought watches and jewelry onboard cruises before, so we'll just have to look around. Prob won't use it for excursions since it's Bermuda and we know how to get around there since we've been twice before.

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Photos, maybe?

We zeroed out the NR OBC with a couple of bottles of rum last year. We didn't need anything else they were selling.

We boarded with the same as you. Drink package and tips paid. Our bill when we disembarked was over $900. We upgraded the drink package, three dinners in Specialty Restaurants, one shore excursion, couple of pieces from the jewellery store, upcharge on some 20 year old port and 25th anniversary martinis. It can add up. Just depends on what you want to spend it on.

Photos, maybe?

We zeroed out the NR OBC with a couple of bottles of rum last year. We didn't need anything else they were selling.

What's funny is our TA are friends and we had dinner with them last night. She was talking about what to gift us since we dont' need obc or bottles of wine. She settled on a photo :-). As it is, as D+ on RCI, we get one free photo each and that's all we ever get anymore.

What's funny is our TA are friends and we had dinner with them last night. She was talking about what to gift us since we dont' need obc or bottles of wine. She settled on a photo :-). As it is, as D+ on RCI, we get one free photo each and that's all we ever get anymore.

Gift? A bottle of Wine? If you don't get somewhere around $300 OBC or more depending on how much you spend for a stateroom, which is refundable to your CC if you don't use it, I would think you need to get a new TA, friend or not. :rolleyes:

If you have a drink package and tips paid, there is nothing else that you will be charged for without your consent or knowledge. We actually had to visit the shop on board to use up the last bit of OBC. Just make sure you stick within the drinks allowed with your package unless you upgrade. Otherwise, any other spending is within your own control, eg speciality restaurants or rip off art and jewellery!

On our last cruise we had $650 in OBC for three of us. Two of us upgraded our beverage packages to the premium alcoholic. The other upgraded his classic NA to premium NA. Tips for the third person were then paid for. Some of the OBC was refundable and yet there was still about $80 to spend. So I got lucky and my parents gifted me the money to buy a new Michael Kors clutch.

So really....we couldn't find anything to spend the money on as my parents are both elite and got laundry and internet. We actually only used one of the laundry bags, never needed the second. So really, I am one of those people who doesn't spend much on a cruise as I can always find free things to do. Enjoy your trip! A month in Europe sounds amazing!

Gift? A bottle of Wine? If you don't get somewhere around $300 OBC or more depending on how much you spend for a stateroom, which is refundable to your CC if you don't use it, I would think you need to get a new TA, friend or not. :rolleyes:

There's a difference between a booking incentive (OBC) and a gift. I usually receive the former from the agency and the latter from my TA.

My TA knows we like a glass of wine in the cabin in the afternoon so she usually buys a bottle for us, even if we have the beverage package. That way we're not having to trot back and forth to the bar.

There's a difference between a booking incentive (OBC) and a gift. I usually receive the former from the agency and the latter from my TA.

 

 

I've talked with people whose TA gave no OBC but a bottle of wine, and think they are doing them a favor.

Gift? A bottle of Wine? If you don't get somewhere around $300 OBC or more depending on how much you spend for a stateroom, which is refundable to your CC if you don't use it, I would think you need to get a new TA, friend or not. :rolleyes:

They are extremely good friends and were doing only corporate travel for the company DH works for. They did personal travel for anyone at the company as a favor. They are not a large business and we refuse to ask them to give up their commission (how they make a living) . I think your comment is very rude. They are not a large online company and you do realize that when you get a large obc from a TA, it's because they give up all or part of their commission, right? Wow. Friendship comes first, period.

A lot of times, TA's who book a lot of cruises will bundle their reservations and once they book a certain number of cabins on a cruise (8 or so), they get a free cabin which they usually sell, which is where they make a profit. Educate yourself.

We've cruised before when everything has been included, such as our specialty dining and Blu, gratuities, beverage package, etc and had absolutely no charges on our folio.