An example of the TOTAL cost of a cruise

[ducklite]

Does nobody allow for gambling? We are not BIG gamblers..slots maybe some Black Jack but we are budgeting $100 per night each. We may not play each day but for our eight day cruise we are budgeting $1600! I thought that was kinda low? But as I said.. we are not big players. Are we the only ones???:eek:

 

We don't gamble at all. We have no issue with it, it's just not something either of us enjoys.

[Ricden]

Wow was great to see all the differences in prices it's a great break down, will be cruising for the first time in Feb and now I know what to budget for thanks everyone :)

[donaldsc]

Does nobody allow for gambling? We are not BIG gamblers..slots maybe some Black Jack but we are budgeting $100 per night each. We may not play each day but for our eight day cruise we are budgeting $1600! I thought that was kinda low? But as I said.. we are not big players. Are we the only ones???:eek:

 

I would say that $100 per night per person is big gambling. My betting limit when I go into one of my local Vegas casinos is $1.

 

DON

[Chloesmom1]

Can I ask about port fees? We're going on our first cruise in a few months and I just pulled the invoice; it says we may have to pay the fuel surcharge but doesn't say anything about port fees. I thought they were included in the "taxes/fees" section but I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong. Can anyone tell me where to look to see? We're going on Celebrity and stopping at Nassau and Key West.

 

Thank you!

[1313steve]

Can I ask about port fees? We're going on our first cruise in a few months and I just pulled the invoice; it says we may have to pay the fuel surcharge but doesn't say anything about port fees. I thought they were included in the "taxes/fees" section but I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong. Can anyone tell me where to look to see? We're going on Celebrity and stopping at Nassau and Key West.

 

Thank you!

 

Yes, they are included in the taxes/fees section.

[terri-eddie]

I always prepare a pre-cruise budget estimate, then fill in the actual costs after the trip. I keep this list to make planning for the next trip easier. I can see where I under-estimated or over-estimated on expenses.

 

One thing I forgot to budget for, on our first trip, was the food we had to buy in airports on our way to and from the cruise. Airport food is a lot more expensive than you might think! I'm diabetic, so I can't really get by with just carry-on snack foods, and skipping meals is not good.

[kcwingwalker]

Costs can be a lot lower if you leave off a few things.

 

When I figure ship costs, I do not include the actual cost of the cruise, tips, taxes, port charges, etc. since none of these are optional - we have to or should pay them. I also do not include excursions (I probably should) as the cost of excursions varies so much from trip to trip. If I did include both ship book excursions (which I avoid like the plague) or private excursions, you should add anywhere from $500 - $1000. Also, in many cities we just wander around interesting parts of the city or go to a good museum (we are museum nuts).

 

I also have not included transportation to and from the cruise as this varies considerably and also because we frequently stay 1 to 2 weeks pre and/or post cruise. As long as we are there, me might as well extend our vacation time. It also amortizes our transportation costs of a longer time period than just the length of the cruise on a daily basis. For example, our last cruise in Europe started as a 14 day cruise and morphed into a 40 day trip. This means that our $2400 transportation costs dropped from $171 per day to $60 per day.

 

On-board drinks - zero. We bring sufficient wine on board whether it is allowed or not. Two bottles each in our suitcases plus 1 each in carry on gives us 6 bottles of wine. We have not been caught yet (knock wood) and spreading out the wine spreads out the loss if you are caught.

Photos - zero. They are overpriced and generally of poor quality.

Spa and personal treatments - zero.

Casino - zero. We ldo not gamble and if we did, we live in Las Vegas so why should we gamble on the ship.

Souvenirs - usually zero unless we find a piece of indigenous art that we like. We do not buy any crap souvenirs.

Extra tips - $50 max.

Internet - zero. We get 500 minutes for free. Use almost none of it. I find no need to be in constant contact with everyone.

Extra cost on-ship dining - zero (usually) to $60 (occasionally).

 

You can do cruising without spending a lot of extra money if you want to.

 

DON

 

Have to agree! There are so many costs that you do not need to incur. Many of these costs add up rapidly.

 

Add a couple of excursions and a trip to the spa and you'll see how quickly it adds up. I don't do excursions unless it is something special.........most are not.

 

Spa services are not for me and am not interested in listening to the hard sell of their "premium" products.

 

You will never go hungry on a ship. Specialty restaurants are just that..........for special occasions.

 

Tip appropriately and only extra for exemplary service.

 

Bring cash for spending in ports. Do not use a credit card. It's safer to use cash and you'll think twice before depleting your cash.

 

I do buy drinks, but my bar bill is never high. Forget the frilly drinks and the souvenir glasses. Don't have drinks delivered to your room, get off your duff and go get them.

 

Stay out of the ship's shops. Items are pricey and unless you really need the item think twice. Here's an example a bottle of PowerAde costs .69 (on sale) at my grocery. On board I have seen it priced at $3.00.

 

On board and in ports is not the place to buy jewelry. It's overpriced and often of questionable value and quality. The same goes for "fine art".

 

Sometimes we go to the casino and sometimes not. Have always noticed that the photos of the "big winners" look a little worn out.

 

Usually I have a good amount in my on board account and when I board everything is paid for. No surprises at the end and I like getting a refund from the cruise line. I find that by prepaying what I expect to spend that I actually spend less.

 

You can and will have a great cruise by being thrifty. With all the money you didn't spend, you'll be ready to start planning your next cruise.

[attilamom1217]

Does nobody allow for gambling? We are not BIG gamblers..slots maybe some Black Jack but we are budgeting $100 per night each. We may not play each day but for our eight day cruise we are budgeting $1600! I thought that was kinda low? But as I said.. we are not big players. Are we the only ones???:eek:

 

We budget in gambling - you are not the only ones. for a 7 night cruise, we bring about $500/person - so you are gambling more than we are (at least $ wise).

 

We had balconies on Carnival to Bahamas for $1300 for two people including port fees, taxes, etc.

We took excursions - but only bought one expensive one (total $300 for two people)

Parking - $105 at Baltimore

No air fare/hotel required - 35 miles from home

2-3 drinks per day per person - $25-$30/day per person

Grats of $161 for two people were prepaid

We did do the Chef's Table ($150 for 2 people)

 

Our total bill when we left the ship was $900 (included a wine package we shared with friends)

 

So - 1300+161 paid before we boarded + $105 parking + on board purchases (excursions, alcohol, chef's table, a couple of cans of soda, afternoon specialty coffee, etc.) - $900 = just under $2600 for two people.

 

On the other hand, our upcoming cruise, we have already spent the $2600 on the cruise fare and prepaid grats. We do have a beverage package - so no drink expenses and OBC from TA. We are flying to this one so we need to add air fare, hotel, cab to port, and have not yet planned excursions so will need to budget for that possibility.

[DonTreadOnMe]

Great thread for folks new to cruising. I figured I would post my budget for our upcoming FOS cruise in Jan. We decided to go fairly inexpensive this time and not splurge on excursions and such.

 

$1,325 -- Cruise, Tax, Fees, Insurance, and Pre-paid Gratuities

$240 -- Fly Snooze and Cruise transport and hotel from MCO

$90 -- Bernards Tour on St Marteen

$40 -- Transport to beaches

$50 -- Drink/Ice Cream/Other fund

$40 -- Airport Parking

$100 -- Meals to and from cruise

$69 -- Chase Card Fee

 

Total $1,954 for 2! We don't drink or gamble. Flights were free after signing up for Chase SW card. I had hoped to get in under $2k which we should be able to do no problem.

 

Last time we went on a cruise it was @ $2,400 IIRC and the first time on Navigator was basically free since I had gift cards to pay for the cruise and flights. :)

[Sailingpeace]

Steve, nice post and good info.

Like you, I've found people get all excited they see a cruise fare for 399.00...and then are shocked with the additional expense.

 

For new cruisers who have to fly to the port:

check out the airfares as soon as they become available and get your pricing cost. Then watch, watch, watch for them to drop and jump on it :)

and

Please fly in the day before. The amount of delays and cancellations nowadays are greater than they've ever been. You don't want to miss your anticipated cruise because you are stuck in an airport somewhere.

 

Figure in the roundtrip air fare, a hotel the night before and transportation to the ship as part of your cruise cost.

 

and don't forget transportation back to the airport on the day they force you off the ship :D

 

And tips and meals at the hotel.

[citrusflorida]

Great thread! I guess we are super thrifty ( or cheap ) lol. I guess that's why we can go 2 or 3 times a year. First off, we live in Florida , so no flights. 2 hours to Tampa or port Canaveral 4 or 5 to ft. Lauderdale and Miami. This helps a lot. Another thing is we always do inside cabins, which are very inexpensive. I have been told that once we go balcony we will never go back, but so far we have resisted. We don't gamble much, so maybe 40.00 total. We park at offsite park and rides so parking is half price. We do drink, 40.00 a day at the most for both of us. We bring on allowable amounts of wine, sodas, and water. So here's the thrift couple's breakdown of our "biggest " cruise and our "smallest" cruise. Of our 16 or so cruises , they have almost all been " small" and we have enjoyed them all!

 

January 2013 8 night on RC Independence of the Seas...

1400.00 inside cabin, this includes port fees and tax.

184.00 Prepaid gratuities.

120.00 excursion in St. Thomas. Only did 1, had 4 ports total.

160.00 drinks. We carried on 4 bottles of wine. The couple we were with do not drink wine, so they gave them to us.

60.00 gas

64.00 parking

300.00 misc, which is probably high, but I'm sure I'm not remembering everything.

Total 2288.00

 

October 2012 5 night Carnival Ecstacy

338.00 inside, including fees and tax

No excursions

115.00 gratuities

100.00 drinks, carried on 2 bottles wine

40.00 gas

40.00 parking

40.00 gambling

100.00 misc

Total 773.00

Hope this helps with someone's info gathering!

[griffy116]

We've found that costs can be all over the place depending on the time of year, ship, ports, and whether it involves flights.

 

We went on a short 3 night cruise ($399 pp) for very little. It was to Nassau. We had been there several times before and the cruise was in the spring and intended to have a few days of rest. We didn't buy any photos. We shockingly broke even on the casino money. We didn't do specialty dining. No excursion and we were able to drive. We did purchase a soda card and had a couple of drinks every day. We didn't bother with travel insurance.

 

The next cruise was a Med cruise with $1200 pp. Flight was over $1,000 each, hotel over $250 per night, travel insurance, soda card, private tours ran well over $100 per person per day. Three days/nights pre-cruise and one night post cruise, 12 nights for doggie spa for our dog; airport parking for 12 days, meals on excursions, photos, drinks amounted to more than a couple a day, internet cost to check on the dog, souvenirs, entrance fees, tips at hotels and for drivers, taxi service, meals at airports, snacks, gambling and lots of etc., etc., etc.

 

The totals were quite different.

[esimon]

very interesting - we don't gamble and aren't big drinkers but if I can't do a balcony pretty sure I'm not going.

[Sailor_Sally]

I just returned from a five day cruise on the Carnival Legend. It was out of tampa so we drove .

Cruise - $700 for a oceanview

Parking - $ 75

Excursion-$115

everything else including gratuities, gambling , drinking & internet - $430

 

$1315 for two

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Thank u. All the break downs are very interesting to see :-)

 

Don I am so glad u made your comments re the gambling :) I was choking at what people budget!!! I think it is great though that u budget for it and are aware of what u spend!! I too would be sulking for days if I lost anymore that $2 in a sitting ha ha ha:rolleyes:

Cheers and thank u all for sharing your costs. It's very generous of u to take the time to enter it etc.

[deladypilot]

2013 Cruise to Alaska – NCL Sun

Northbound – Vancouver to Whittier

 

We booked a Mini-Suite Cabin. We flew from Baltimore, Md to Seattle, Washington. Stayed 1 night there, took the train from there to Vancouver and stayed 1 night there pre-cruise

 

Cabin – 3198.00

We had a mini-suite – Nice balcony and nice size bathroom, but not a full suite with all of the perks

Port Charges & Fees – 342.00

Ports of call included, Ketchikan, Skagway & Juneau as well as a sail day through Glacier Bay

Pre-Paid Gratuity – 168.00

Air Fair – 975.00

We flew from Baltimore to Seattle and then from Anchorage back to Baltimore

Pre Hotel Stays – 231.00

1 Night in Seattle & 1 night in Vancouver

Amtrak ride from Seattle to Vancouver – 86.00

Specialty Resturant – 40.00

Excursions – 600.00

We booked a private Whale Watching tour in Juneau and a horseback ride in Skagway

Photos – 160.00

This was our 25th Anniversary trip so we purchased a large Canvas photo of us by the staircase as well as some smaller ones for my mother. This is the one and only time we have bought photos

Soda Card – 60.00

Only 1 of us did this

Alcohol – 125.00

Total bar bill for both of us that included a bottle of wine

 

Transportation from ship to Airport – 196.00

It is a 1 hr drive from the Whittier port to the Anchorage Airport

 

 

I did not include anything we purchased on land such as sodas, souvenirs etc.

 

 

Total for Cruise - $6121.00

[PinkUK]

Just in case anyone is interested in the cost from the UK, my family and I (four adults) enjoyed a twelve night cruise of the Mediterranean this summer. Our total spend which included: two Aqua Class staterooms, all excursions and money spent in port, all gratuities, all money spent on board (we do drink but we don't gamble), airfares from London to Rome, taxis from our home to the airport and back and from the airport to the port and back, one night in a quad room at a hotel in Civitavecchia and luggage storage on our disembarkation day came to a shade over £8000.00 (approximately 12000.00 USD).

 

HOWEVER my father is retired BA staff and I got really cheap flights and though I didn't realise it at the time it seems that the price we paid each for the cruise which was £1275.00 was a bargain (very last minute booking); if I were to book the same cruise now the price per person is approximately £2500.00 :eek:. If you include today's price for the cruise and the 'real' price for the flights this would increase the overall cost by about £5500.00! Giving a grand total of £13500.00 (approximately 20000.00 USD) :eek: :eek:! I am VERY glad we went when we did. :D

[terracool]

Great thread. I break up cruises as my "cost to be on the boat", which is everything that is required (which I consider to include the extra tips on top of the DSC). For my 10-day E. Med RT from Rome, it broke down as follows:

 

Stateroom - $1800 OTD mini-suite w/balcony mid-ship.

RT air - $1300 (USA-Rome RT, not flying from the east coast or hub city)

Port transfers incl night-before hotel - $350

Insurance - $180

Parking - $150

Prepaid tips - $120

Onsite tips (incl airport porters, bus drivers, NCL personnel, etc - $100

Airport/transit food estimate - $60

 

Total = $4060.

 

(FWIW, my 7-day Alaska incl hotel night before was pretty close to this for a standard balcony room. E-Meds in Oct/Nov is the greatest cruise deal going, and AK has a very high sticker price for a variety of reasons - port fees, etc).

 

But from this point, you can theoretically do the cruise for free. I don't, but I keep costs low. I DIY ports, light-moderate drinker, don't gamble. I go to specialty restaurants 4-5 times, hit the sushi bar during sail-away, and have to pay $100 or more for internet to keep up with work (which is why I can go).

 

I also buy the Future Cruise Credit for $250 getting the immediate $100 OBC. The $100 is nice, but having the FCC mostly assures that I won't let time slip away from me for more than 4 years without doing something for vacation.

[CCC's]

Thought I might throw in an Aussie perspective here as well - 12 night Australia to New Zealand cruise on Celebrity Solstice (in 2 days time!!) for 2 persons, balcony stateroom :-

 

Cruise Fares + prepaid gratuities - $4076

Flights to/from Sydney - $316

Accommodation before & after cruise - $280

Boarding our Cats - $300

Shuttles to/from airport - $60

Taxi fare - $25

Luggage storage 1 day $30

Travel Insurance - $140

Car parking at airport $120

Excursions Sydney & New Zealand - $450

Specialty Restaurant (1) - $70

Misc.+ drinks/coffees on ship - $600

Ship tour (bridge, galley etc) - $150

TOTAL = $6617

 

Oh dear..... didn't think it would be that much! But, most has already been paid before we even start cruise. Hope this helps our Aussie cruisers.

[ducklite]

This was the breakdown of our B2B last year. I've converted the Euro and Kuna to US dollars except where noted. This includes 21 days of travel.

 

Tip to airport shuttle driver, $2.

 

Airfare: one r/t ticket MCO to PHL $230, free upgrade to first. DH was already in the Philly area on business so only I had to fly to PHL. Two R/T coach tickets PHL>FCO>ATH>PHL. Upgraded to Envoy for free with vouchers earned as a far too frequent flyer. $2482 for two. Total airfare $2612.

 

Lunch on departure day: $150. We had six hours to kill so decided to have lunch at a nicer place and ordered a bottle of wine to go with it.

 

Train to Rome $36

 

Gelato $7

 

Hotel $894 for two nights. I would choose a different hotel in the future. We felt that the one we stayed at on the cruise line's suggestion was overpriced. We still could have gotten the free transfer to the port, we would have simply had to show up at the hotel they chose to catch the motor coach. We could have saved $200 and been in an equally nice and convenient hotel a few blocks away. (We traveled carry on only so walking with luggage was not an issue). Breakfast was included in room rate.

 

Lunch (pizza and carafe of house wine €15, added tip of a couple Euro plus remaining coin change.)

 

Dinner, pasta with house wine $30 including service. Left remaining coin as well.

 

Pre-paid phone card, €5

 

Metro card x2 €8

 

Coffee at Mc Donald's €1

 

Half day walking tour of Colosseum and Forum, $244. Partially refunded due to strike at Colosseum. Tip to guide €20

 

Lunch/snack approximately €5.

 

St. Peter's Dome climb, $26

 

Dinner pizza and carafe of house wine €20, added tip of a couple Euro plus remaining coin change.). High price due to being near Vatican.

 

Vatican Museum Night Tour €62. No tip as "tour guide" was Sistine Chapel curator.

 

More pizza (are you seeing a pattern here?) €4

 

Two glasses of Champagne at the hotel bar, an outrageous €36, but they hit the spot! Service included.

 

Cruise fare for two for two weeks $11,340, including insurance, fuel surcharge, wine, transfers.

 

Additional insurance policy $105.

 

Laundry package $216

 

Ship excursions for two adults:

We tipped a few Euro each on each of these tours

 

Pompeii. $198

Dubrovnik Winery and history $190

Hvar Winery and History $198

 

 

Private tours for two adults: Tips included.

 

Kabula Winery and lunch $590

Tenuta San Michele Winery and lunch $590

Doges Palace Secret Itineraries Tour (I can't remember and can't find the receipt, I think $40 per person)

 

 

Misc. donations and fees for the ports where we dIY'ed it, example wall in Dubrovnik, gondola and bus fare to Oia, vapporetti in Venice, various churches and small museums, etc. roughly $150

 

Spa treatments and gratuities $700. This was for both my husband and I.

 

Misc. snacks, drinks, etc. in ports $75

 

Cold medicine from Pharmacy in Montenegro €12.

 

Bar tab on ship for two weeks $34.25

 

Souvenirs and sundries from ship shop/photos for two weeks $300 (included a bowsprit photo session.)

 

$336 hotel service charge on ship for two weeks. $400 in additional tips handed in cash to servers, bartenders, steward, even a maintenance guy who made our trip amazing. (About half of that went to one person and 1/4 went to another. The rest was divvied between 4-5 others.).

 

Taxi from ships hotel to the one we were staying at in Athens €7 including tip. (We were allowed to take the free shuttle to the Grande Bretagne even though we weren't staying there.)

 

Hotel in Athens was free in Hilton points, our room included an Acropolis view.

 

Metro cards in Athens €16

 

Acropolis Museum entry €10

 

Cupcakes in Athens €4,50 and worth every cent!

 

Acropolis/Parthenon €24

 

Rooftop Dinner in Athens. €145

 

Lunch and drinks poolside €41

 

Private car to airport €50

 

Souvenirs and gifts $450

 

Wine purchased in Croatia (not available in US) roughly $200

 

Airport parking $20--we had enough accumulated points to pay for all but two nights at PHL and I got a ride both ways.

 

Tip to airport shuttle driver, $2.

 

 

I hope that helps people trying to plan this sort of a trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[russianmom]

I thought I would add mine in as well. This is for a cruise out of NOLA in Feb 2014 with a night before and after.There are 2 adults and 2 children traveling. We book our own shore excursions and don't drink much other than the wine we bring on board. We only eat in the specialty restaurants and use the OBC we have for that. My husband has his own gambling funds- I'm guessing about $100/night. We booked the cruise in June 2012 and the airfare and hotels in Feb 2013. So 12-18 months in advance.

 

Cruise in a forward SE suite on NCL $3875

DSC 12/pp $336

trip insurance $175

Airfare- paid for 2 tix, used points for 2 $670

luggage fee 3 bags only-75/each way $150

ride to/from NY airport 0

NOLA transportation-cab 14/pp $60

hotel $170

lunch Sat (Mother's) $40

dinner Sat (Mulate's) $75

breakfast Sun (Café du Monde) $20

transportation to pier-7 cab/1.25 streetcar $12

porters 2/bag $8

wine use OBC 0

Specialty dining- use OBC 0

Cozumel Nachi Cocum $144

Belize scuba $140

Roatan scuba $95

Costa Maya- Maya Chan $178

concierge tip can use OBC 0

butler tip can use OBC 0

porters 2/bag $8

transportation to hotel 7/pp $28

hotel (inc bkft) $135

dinner- not sure yet ?

transportation to airport-cab 14/pp $60

scuba rentals $35

 

Total is roughly $6129. Hard to beat that for 9 nights for 4 people.

Edited November 2, 2013 by russianmom

[JustCruiseMe]

We vacation frugally. It's how we like it. We prefer more trips than lots of spending on one trip (we aren't rich but go on some nice vacations because we are frugal). Everyone has a preference, we understand that.

 

Our first cruise last month

 

Inside Cabin with upgrades 7 days 1150 (we wouldn't sit on a balcony, we just sleep in the room)

flight 400

hotel pre cruise 100

transportation to/from port 60

excursions 120

Speciality Restaurant 70

Extra gratuity 40

auto gratituty 144

food pre/post cruise 20

Souveniers 15

We don't drink alcohol

_____________________

Total for 2 people 2099/2=1050 per person and we had a BLAST we are planning one now for this coming February BECAUSE we can afford to!!

[hansolosmom]

I find this thread fascinating since I budget like crazy before we cruise because I know how much money I have therefore how much I can spend. I like to pre-pay as much as possible.

 

But I have to say one thing you are all forgetting in your budgets is any new clothes needed for the trip :D

Edited November 5, 2013 by hansolosmom

[ducklite]

I find this thread fascinating since I budget like crazy before we cruise because I know how much money I have therefore how much I can spend. I like to pre-pay as much as possible.

 

But I have to say one thing you are all forgetting in your budgets is any new clothes needed for the trip :D

 

I don't buy new clothes for vacations. If I need something, I buy it when I need it, not just for a vacation. For example at the beginning of 2012 I realized that my bathing suits had all seen better days, so I bought a new one, and took it on my cruise. In the process I tossed three that were ragged or the elastic was shot. The only thing I bought specifically for the cruise were closed toed walking sandals, which I felt I would need in places like Pompeii. (I did). I'll wear them on other trips for years to come.

 

I will be buying another new bathing suit before our Tahiti cruise because I only have the one (and a ratty old one piece that I swim laps in), and a dress to wear for our vow renewal ceremony. I would have bought both of those items even if I were staying home though. I think I found "the dress" yesterday, and it was well below my budget. :)

 

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[littlered87]

I find this thread fascinating since I budget like crazy before we cruise because I know how much money I have therefore how much I can spend. I like to pre-pay as much as possible.

 

But I have to say one thing you are all forgetting in your budgets is any new clothes needed for the trip :D

 

You nailed it! This thread is very interesting & im about to post both of our cruises but i was sitting here thinking am i really the ONLY one who bought new clothes?