completely avoid onboard charges

[DiploTraveler]

 

:eek: WHAT?

Why would anyone want to go on vacation and play that sort of game with themselves? That is not my idea of fun and enjoyment. If I can't afford to buy a drink, buy a t-shirt, order a bottle of wine, get a manicure/pedicure, go to Pinnacle, I'll save longer and wait for my vacation until such time as we can afford it. I would rather not go than be so stingy with oursevles.

 

You asked!!!!! You don't really mean it, do you? :confused:

 

Do you travel with others? Do they do that also?

 

 

No, I asked because I did the opposite: I had more charges than I expected... which I expected to happen. So, maybe I really did expect that amount of charges. :confused:

[snbr]

We did a 14 day transatlantic, and i think were charged for 2 glasses of wine and 1 magnet and perhaps a postcard. Of course, we paid very little for our cruise as well. I was not intentionally avoiding charges, just was able to entertain myself and eat well without them. I smiled when I filled out a customs form that included the 2 weeks we were in Europe before our cruise and the cruise itself with $5 worth of purchases. I spent a lot more on the memories, and when i do stuff like bring local sodas from Spain on the trip or walk a port town like Cadiz rather than pay for an excursion I can afford to go on more trips and feel more connected to the location I visit.

No problem with those who spend lots, but I'm just not one of them!

[fridayeyes]

I think I've done this once, but it was only a 3 night cruise.

[iamaqt2]

I'm going on a 1 night cruise, and I've already pre-ordered a bottle of rum and a 100.00 drink card. (It's not all for me, I swear) :p

This will eliminate all but the service charge on my bill.

I think lots of people pre-buy now to avoid unexpected expenses at the end of a cruise. Pre-budgeting is so much wiser.

So as you can see, it's not about going without, it's about going with what you've planned!

[wldflr]

We just saved $900 on our balcony cabin last week when the price dropped...wanna guess where that extra money will go??? Woo-hoo!!!

[pascalburns]

for the first couple of days no other charges,but after that,

need i say more.:)

[ehschief]

We were on a Carnival Cruise in August and they took our rum out of our luggage, so I told them give it back or we will spend absolutely nothing on the ship. We did pretty good but had to do Bingo and we bought 2 beers. Had they given it back we would have spent a lot more, lucky they didn't take our wine so we were okay...

[Boytjie]

We did it one time. It wasn't planned; just worked out that way.

 

We don't drink or gamble; prefer water to soda, can't handle caffeine, no spa (I have massages at home, why do the same old thing on vacation?), no photos (we didn't like any of them), didn't book any shore excursions (arranged our own) found slim pickings in the gift shop, and have never felt the need to dine in a speciality restaurant.

 

We were actually surprised to come to the end of the cruise and realized we hadn't spent anything on board.

 

But you spent money off board... so not sure what it all means in the big scheme. You spent money while on vacation, does it really matter where the charges were made? :confused:

[Boytjie]

Seems like most people that have zero or close to zero charges (after the service fee) all seem to mention that they don't gamble. I like to play some money in the casino and have never once charged it to my shipboard account, so it doesn't really say anything about anything, IMO.

[PathfinderEss]

huh, what, not spend any momey never happen!

[Jalex63]

Zero onboard charges? Wow, I can't imagine even trying something like that. However, being retired on a fixed (modest) income we have found a way to spend, although somewhat conservatively, by going down a notch or two on stateroom. I mean we had always wanted an OV or VER, but realized that most of the time we seldomly used the Veranda and who ever sits and looks out the stateroom window? Thus, in order to afford to take some of the cruises we want to do we have actually downgraded to an inside. We are taking the Rotterdam to Hawaii/Tahiti in Jan to celebrate our 25th anniversary and had we booked a Veranda it would have taken our travel funds for two years to pay for it. The difference in costs allow us to have all the money we need to have a good time and not have to worry about the total cost of the cruise being more than we can comfortably afford. I mean, other than to shower and sleep we spend 90% of the day on deck or ashore in ports. And it is nice to know that once that stateroom door closes behind you, you enjoy virtually all the same amenities as everyone else aboard.

 

Don't take me wrong, I still prefer the nicer cabins and will still book them occaisionally on shorter cruises where I can make a reasonable deal, just not when it really is more than I can afford in the circumstances.;) But, the smaller cabins are no hardship for us. We lived aboard and cruised the caribbean on the boat in my Avatar for over two years with a master stateroom that was about 10 x 15. Total living space on the boat was about 500 sq. ft. so any HAL stateroom seems like a palace to us. We just love the sea and all the adventure that comes along with it.:D

[luvcruisn']

Some cruises I spend very little onboard, except for a few HAL shore excursions, and a few T-shirt or other purchases in the shops. As I mainly prefer tea and water for my drinks, I don't spend much on soda and other beverages. Travelling as a solo, on some cruises I go to the specialty restaurants, but on others, I only go to the Canaletto, MDR, and Lido, which are no extra charge. I prefer the sauna and swimming pool to the spa. I always have a great time, so am not actively trying not to spend. On my last one night cruise, I didn't buy anything at all. I couldn't find anything I wanted in the shops, and I had to figure out a way to get the remaining $39.00 from my stock credit (after the hotel service charge) out of my account.

[English_in_Spain]

Just looked at last year's bill on the Noordam.

 

We managed (2 of us) to spend nearly $600 on the first day :o and that did not include any excursions.

 

2 Beverage cards $135

3 glasses wine $13.50

Iced coffee $2.70

Laundry package $140

Spa pass $199

Internet package $103.95

 

Total on first day (excluding HSC) $594.15

 

Luckily the other 34 days onboard were a bit cheaper.

 

Over the full cruise (35 days) we averaged about $60 a day (including HSC) for the 2 of us and I don't think we deprived ourselves of anything we wanted.

[GeriatricNurse]

No spa?

 

Overpriced! :eek:

[GeriatricNurse]

Seems like most people that have zero or close to zero charges (after the service fee) all seem to mention that they don't gamble. I like to play some money in the casino and have never once charged it to my shipboard account, so it doesn't really say anything about anything, IMO.

 

 

Well, HAL will NEVER make any money from me so long as they permit smoking in the casinos! :mad: So, it is a win-win for me! :) Besides, apparantly only mostly those who smoke, gamble! :eek:

[sapper1]

Our onboard bill has dropped considerably since we started pre-booking the Pinnacle Grill and buying the alcoholic beverage cards online. We also pre-book all shore excursions. Aside from the hotel service charge, maybe a photo or two and a nail fill on a longer cruise, there is little to be on the bill.

 

I avoid the spa if at all possible but since the nail fill has to be done every two weeks, that is unavoidable on a longer cruise. On our recent 7 day Zuiderdam cruise I broke a nail unpacking, so the next day I went up to have it repaired. While she was working, the nail tech asked me how long it had been since my last fill. When I told her it was only four days she insisted that I have a complete nail fill as "they aren't going to last". I told her they would last just fine and declined her offer. She continued to badger me about booking a complete fill all the while she was fixing the nail, which annoyed me no end. I just kept saying "no". Then she charged me $15 for the fix. I paid it as there was no choice but felt that it was robbery and it put me off booking any other service.

The nails lasted perfectly well until my next regularly scheduled fill, by the way.

 

I would love to book a nice facial or massage on a cruise but visits to the spa are not relaxing due to the constant pressure to buy products. Whenever I have my nails done there is no end to the products the tech wants to "give" me. I wonder if they would do more business if they were to lighten up. I know they would get my business.

 

I guess I have rambled a bit off topic, but it was still about onboard spending.

[Randyk47]

Let's see....a zero bill other than the hotel service charge....only in my dreams! :o Admittedly we've talked about controlling our spending but quite frankly it's our major vacation so we've more or less reached a silent agreement just to let happen what happens. We did kind of reduce our final bill on our last cruise by pre-booking and paying for a few things on line before the cruise but that's kind of cheating on the idea of not charging anything. :)

[ehschief]

I believe the casino is not part of the cruise ship per se, it is contracted from some other company, as is Bingo, but it is still an expense. When we tried to not spend anything on our Carnival Cruise I mentioned above, we did gamble..but it was not on our shipboard bill.

[gelo7]

We have never had anything other than hotel charges (gratuities). We don't drink, gamble, shop on board, buy pictures and we book our own excursions.

[Caribbean Chris]

On longer cruises, especially in these days of limited checked luggage to avoid big fees with the airlines, we find we have to rely on the ship's laundry a time or two, and pressing service for tuxedo.

 

Sailed transatlantic a couple of times with HAL, and loved the savings of the RYndam coin self service laundry..but those are disappearing on all the lines. During 21 days on a ship, laundry is inevitable and the cost can be high.

 

We've had a bag put in our stateroom for a $20 fee, I believe it was, for all the laundry you could stuff into it. But not on every HAL cruise. Maybe it depended on the stateroom category? Does anyone know?

 

I love HAL but Celebrity gives coupons to past passengers for freebies or savings on laundry and pressing. Their loyalty program really offers much more than HAL does...with fewer cruise days required to earn lots of benefits.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Most of the time we only have the tips .

[sapper1]

I guess I forgot about the odd bag of laundry and one or two rounds of slots in the casino.

[Brad1185]

My final bill is usually just the tip, I don't buy one thing. Not drinking makes it easier.

[PalmBeachMom]

Blasphemy. I consider it almost a personal responsibility to spend on the cruise given I usually pay so little for the cruise itself and the bottom line is HAL has to make money to be viable..

 

We usually average $50.00/per day (2 of us.)

 

THANK YOU. Someone had to say it. I have no reason to want to put HAL out of business!

[Dollhouse Duchess]

We pay for our excursions in advance, don't gamble, don't buy alcohol or soda (medical diet and preference), buy an occasional teeshirt, have never tried the alternate restaurants since we find so much good food in the MDR...I too don't find their massages a luxury I want...will wait for our own MT when we get home. We never feel we have missed anything in our cruise experience...but...we will be adding laundry on our 30 day cruise next week.