Average spend on Board

[smythy21]

Was just wondering what is the average people would spend on board??? all our gratuities and shore and land excursions are paid for and we will be purchasing the beverage package before we go. Sailing on the LOS for 7 night Western Caribbean and Majesty for 4 night for Bahamas cruise??

 

Any feedback greatly appreciated!!! ;)

[BroncosFan2010]

Was just wondering what is the average people would spend on board??? all our gratuities and shore and land excursions are paid for and we will be purchasing the beverage package before we go. Sailing on the LOS for 7 night Western Caribbean and Majesty for 4 night for Bahamas cruise??

 

Any feedback greatly appreciated!!! ;)

 

Mostly, it will depend on how much you drink. Drinks can be between $6 and $12 a piece, plus at 15% automatic grautity. If you plan on shopping on board you can buy clothes, jewelry, souviners, etc... These are all pricy. Pictures can range from $8 to $20, and you can buy several different poses. All of this will be added to your bill.

[Jason1187]

Hi I just got off my first cruise on saturday and our total bill was $592 for me and my girlfriend. This amount included $26 for a bottle of alcohol, $140 for tips, $32 for Bingo, and $39 for pictures. So we spent approx $356 on alcohol which averages out to approx $50 a day on drinks. We did not do the soda package.

[sweetlove13]

I don't know if there is an "average." It depends on what you do and how much you spend doing it (i.e., shore excursions, specialty restaurants, souvenirs, drinks, etc.). My first cruise (there were two of us) and we spent around $1,000 on a 7 day. My second cruise (just me) I spent around $150 on a 7 day. The difference was on that first cruise we did everything, drank a lot, did a specialty restaurant (where we splurged on a $100 bottle of champagne), did a bunch of excursions, bought a lot of photos. The second cruise I mostly laid around by the pool, read a book and had the occasional drink.

[ValerieJo]

We are doing a 'port intensive' 7 day next week and I am figuring on about $1,000 for the week. :eek:

[cb at sea]

Gambling and alcohol are the biggies, since you've already taken care of the excursions....it's almost impossible to say how much you'll spend!

 

We seldom, if ever, buy souveniers on the ship and usually just one or two photos, if they're any good (I tend to blink and have shut eyes!!!!)

 

We do quite a bit of drinking...and why not---were not driving!!!

 

You've been given some prices...you can start budgeting now!

[newbiecruiser09]

Hubby and i did a 4 night on Monarch last year. Out on board acct was about $250. We had some drinks, little bit of shopping, one picture and some CocoCay snorkeling. If you are planning on going to the casino, may I suggest setting a limit for yourself (either per day or per cruise) and bringing that amt in cash-they charge you 3% to take your money out in the casino.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

Our two one-week B2B's onboard Freedom in December, (Eastern & Western Carribean) brought us onboard account bills of just under $2000 in total for the two of us. This was alcohol ( including a wine package each week) and all shore excursions.

[negc]

I recently read about a survey that was published in the Cruise Industry News newsletter which reported the following estimates of per passenger daily spending on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian as follows:

 

Carnival $37 per passenger per day

RCI- $43.03 per passenger per day

Norwegian - $45.25 per passenger per day.

 

Don't know what criteria were used to arrive at these numbers and obviously any individual's spending pattern can be considerably different from the amounts reported, but thought the figures were interesting and might serve as a guideline for those who want to know what they might expect to spend onboard their cruise.

[yogimax]

I recently read about a survey that was published in the Cruise Industry News newsletter which reported the following estimates of per passenger daily spending on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian as follows:

 

Carnival $37 per passenger per day

RCI- $43.03 per passenger per day

Norwegian - $45.25 per passenger per day.

 

Don't know what criteria were used to arrive at these numbers and obviously any individual's spending pattern can be considerably different from the amounts reported, but thought the figures were interesting and might serve as a guideline for those who want to know what they might expect to spend onboard their cruise.

 

Interesting statistics. Carnival is probably the lowest since they seem to have the most booze smugglers.

[jerin]

Interesting statistics. Carnival is probably the lowest since they seem to have the most booze smugglers.

Maybe. Or maybe it's because they tend to have some lower fares to start with, which attract some cruisers. Some people are used to/have to work within tighter budget constraints than others, and unless they want to go home to a huge credit card bill, have to be budget conscious onboard and limit their expenses beyond fare, tips, etc.

[tkjohn25]

I would think that NCL is the highest because of all the specialty restaurants.

[copi2boys]

On our recent cruise, there were 3 couples. Each couple averaged about $650. That was with a wine package, buying rounds for each other, a little bit of shopping. No Bingo but did play in the casino with set limits, no pictures, no soda. Had a blast!

[Redheada]

On average - as a couple - we average $700 per cruise. That is with basic wine package, drinks daily, very little gambling (Bingo can really add up) maybe one spa service, and tips. A good average is $50 per person per day. If you like to drink alot, gamble or get spa services - double that.

[COMBOY]

Was just wondering what is the average people would spend on board??? all our gratuities and shore and land excursions are paid for and we will be purchasing the beverage package before we go. Sailing on the LOS for 7 night Western Caribbean and Majesty for 4 night for Bahamas cruise??

 

Any feedback greatly appreciated!!! ;)

 

The only thing I buy on board is my alcohol drinks and my bill is usually only around $350 for the week. Since all your food is included there really isn't else mandatory to purchase. Of course the spa, casino, gift shops, photos etc will add to your bill, but they are all optional. I'm not sure how meaningful any average would be since spending patterns from person to person would be so varied. Best thing is set a on board spending budget and stick with it. So for me $350/$7 avg drink price = 50 drinks/7 day = 7 drinks a day. Beers are cheaper and Martini/fancy frozen drinks are more so it average out for me around $7. Also, I never buys those ship board photos or play bingo...complete rip off. I just bring my digital camera and play the slots a bit with cash. I will occasionally do a shore tours and usually book and pay for that prior to the cruise.

[pltag]

We only do 7 day cruises...... have not gotten off one in a long time with a bill of less than $1,000 ! We drink .... A LOT :D , not expensive wine .....beers , rum & diet coke, more beer ..... repeat as needed ! :) We hit the specialty restaurants at least twice. Auto tips are charged to the room. No spa, no bingo, no art, no pictures.... some casino, but we do most of that with cash. No shore excursions, we do all of that stuff on our own!

 

$1,000 ??? It is possible....just stay focused , keep your drink on :), and don't take your eye off the prize !!! :D

[BND]

It really varies. We've been on cruises where we've bought jewelry, perfume and watches and others where we've only bought pictures. Of course this is in addition to alcohol and excursions. There's just no way to tell anyone what they might spend. An "average" is a useless statistic and means absolutely nothing to each individual. Especially since a lot of things can be pre-purchased and not figured in as "onboard" expenses.

[maitaiguy]

It is tough to say what average is. We don't usually spend much in the casino and book our own tours off the ship. We spend money on alcohol, pictures, a few souvenirs (I'm still kinda upset that my brand new Royal Caribbean XL polo shirt got so short after one washing it's about at the same level as my belt!!!), some alcohol, maybe a gym class and some alcohol.

 

Our bill is under $1,000.

 

We take cash or credit cards for shore excursions, lunch onshore and other souvenirs.

 

(By the way, no....I don't wear the very, very short RCI polo!);)