Does Carnival Loose Money On You?

[loujerb]

Our first cruise our S&S bill was a little over $700 for a 5 day cruise and our last cruise was $420 for a 7 day cruise. Will be going on the Dream in May, so we will see if we can drop it a little bit more. We also have 2 more cruises this year and will try to drop the end price each time.

[KG1924]

We budget $2k for spending money total on a cruise. This includes excursions (almost ALWAYS private) tips, booze, and ornaments from the ship and each island for our travel Christmas tree. We maybe spend one night in the casino, if that. Have yet to buy a picture. Our cheapest bill was our first on RC at ~$950 (that's when we could get a tall Miller Light for ~$4....my how times have changed!) and our most expensive was also RC on the Oasis at close to $1800 (we got married on that trip, so I justify it-we really let loose that one!). Sadly, that's almost ALL booze :p And yes, we do remember our cruises....the late nights get a little fuzzy....

 

Now w/ the drink programs, we are back down around $1k for the S&S bill alone. We are going on an 8 day next, so we will probably be a bit over. I plan on pre-paying our gratuities just so I can feel better at the end of the cruise that we stayed close to 1K....now if I can just get my husband to stop tipping extra EVERY time he gets a drink, even on the cheers! I think we should when we get good service, but it's funny to see the charges-they start at $1-$2 here and there and the later it gets, you start seeing $3-$5 tips, every time. At this point we're spending just as much as if we were to pay as we go!

[cmdknw]

We budget $2k for spending money total on a cruise. This includes excursions (almost ALWAYS private) tips, booze, and ornaments from the ship and each island for our travel Christmas tree. We maybe spend one night in the casino, if that. Have yet to buy a picture. Our cheapest bill was our first on RC at ~$950 (that's when we could get a tall Miller Light for ~$4....my how times have changed!) and our most expensive was also RC on the Oasis at close to $1800 (we got married on that trip, so I justify it-we really let loose that one!). Sadly, that's almost ALL booze :p And yes, we do remember our cruises....the late nights get a little fuzzy....

 

Now w/ the drink programs, we are back down around $1k for the S&S bill alone. We are going on an 8 day next, so we will probably be a bit over. I plan on pre-paying our gratuities just so I can feel better at the end of the cruise that we stayed close to 1K....now if I can just get my husband to stop tipping extra EVERY time he gets a drink, even on the cheers! I think we should when we get good service, but it's funny to see the charges-they start at $1-$2 here and there and the later it gets, you start seeing $3-$5 tips, every time. At this point we're spending just as much as if we were to pay as we go!

 

 

Hilarious--My tips tend to get larger the more drinks I've had...after 3, DF will just go pay for me when we're at bars at home!

[PortSideCruzan]

Does Carnival loose money when you sail? Or, should they be sending you an invitation to the annual Shareholder Banquet?

 

I am not cheap, but I have to admit, when I sail, my Sign and Sail is VERY tiny. I rarely drink... I don't gamble... I rarely buy anything in the on-board shops (its always the same stuff)... I don't play Bingo... I don't buy shore excursions...

 

How about you?

 

 

Hi CarnivalPlatCruiser :)

 

Cruise lines certainly make money from my wife & I. After saving and

planning for 12 to 18 months at a time, the things we like to do and

purchase on a cruise are already factored in during our saving process

long before the vacation. When the time comes, we spend it.

 

So many aspects add up. We rarely drink at home, when on holiday we

have drinks. Soda card. Coffee card (not on Carnival). After three decades

of cruising we still buy MANY photo's, love 'em, especially gangway photo's.

 

We always eat at a specialty restaurant at least once per voyage, twice

depending on the main dining room menu. If the cruise line we are traveling

has more than one specialty restaurant, we of course eat at both at least

once, sometimes twice.

 

The Chef's Table is also a must for us during every cruise.

 

Typically we don't book excursions, we plan our own. All factored into the

saving/planning process in regard to how much money we want/need

to have available for us at each port.

 

We buy trinkets and all sorts of souvenirs. However we do not buy jewelry

on vacation, or gamble in the casino. However my wife likes bingo.

 

Any food that is of extra cost, we also indulge & enjoy. Milkshakes, speciality

coffee, snacks, etc etc etc..

 

Then there are tips we factor into our save. Porter service when embarking

and when disembarking. Daily $11.50 automated ship tips. Extra tips for our

stateroom steward & assistant. Extra tips for main dining room servers, and

our favorite drink server if we have one.

 

Spa services. That can certainly add up also depending on what service we

have planned. I think I'll stop listing things right here, startin' to feel a lil'

bit sticker shock, hahahaha!!

 

But seriously, as I mentioned above, our saving process takes us anywhere

from 12 to 18 months. Within that time there is also a ton of planning involved.

I don't/won't discuss dollar amounts in any post. I'll simply say that

the final bill is high.

 

We know what our personal preferences are prior to a voyage, along

with proper planning and saving; sticker shock does not come into play..

 

:)

[stewartgirl721]

I have vowed not to step foot into land casinos...so yes while on the ship I do hit up the casino a lot. However if I hit I cash out and leave. During my 2 and 3 cruise I hit enough to pay off my bill and never stopped at another machine. Most times I rack up enough points to have free drinks in the casino so I don't have a high bar tab. Normally pre-purchase the soda/pop package, prepaid tips, pre booked spa treatments, pre booked excursions with cruise line (if i'm doing anything). I like to have most things arranged before leaving. (I'm a planner)

 

Even with pre planning I normally budget $1000 for a 7 day.:eek:

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Wow i buy the 240 minute package and have some problem using it up.

 

Seems you could use that up just trying to print your boarding passes.:D

 

Bill

[Scott D]

I wish we did spend so much. But we our on Vacation !

[YubaSutter]

Does Carnival loose money when you sail? Or, should they be sending you an invitation to the annual Shareholder Banquet?

 

I am not cheap, but I have to admit, when I sail, my Sign and Sail is VERY tiny. I rarely drink... I don't gamble... I rarely buy anything in the on-board shops (its always the same stuff)... I don't play Bingo... I don't buy shore excursions...

 

How about you?

 

With our stock credit, our bill at the end of a cruise is usually less than $50. We smuggle all of our booze onboard, which saves us over $500.

[KatieCharlotte]

We don't drink on board, we don't gamble, we've never bought a photograph, we bring our own sodas, I've never been to the onboard spa, I hate shopping, and we prefer private tours and taking taxis. They made a little on us on our last cruise, only because we actually went on an expensive ship-sponsored excursion when there wasn't a better option available. We pre-paid, so our final balance was negative as usual. :)

[3ricT]

Past 7 day cruise - about 1700-2000 for the two of us

 

Next cruise, doing the cheers pkg, which will save us several hundred and not buying any excursions - likely grab a cab so I would think we would be closer to 1200 with cheers + casino

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Well let's just say I try to even up the playing field.

 

Had a spa room, took a free pilates class. It was great! (But $12? never gonna happen.) Bought one coke zero because of the 'motion in the ocean'. :eek: Cost me almost $2 for a can. So... I was definitely the loser there. Bought a Twisty cool neon green Frozen drink thingy but it disappeared while I was sitting on lido. (Did it blow away? Did someone nab it? What about housekeeping? I asked but they said no. The world may never know...:( ) I only filled it once. It cost like $14. They refused to replace it. So I was another loser, no reduced refills and no souvenir cup to have at home. That was the end of any drink sales by me the rest of the cruise.

 

I refuse to ever spend a dime on bingo, lets just say its against my religion. And if you want to lose $20 in 10 min or less, just give it to me. On the plus side, I DID enjoy their shops! I loved the flower hair clips that change color in the sun AND found mermaid mood stone necklaces! So a win-win for CCL for selling it to me and win for me for being happy buying it! Oh, speaking of jewelry, got suckered into one of these ridiculous roller derby style bracelet stampedes. After several broken ones, I did finally find a nice one that had palm trees and starfish and was green and blue as a complete set, so I have $40 'cruise' jewelry.

 

And paying for food on a cruise? fahgeddaboutit.

 

Always leave on autotips but definitely didn't tip above that. It was sometimes rude, always slow and chaotic. Rooming guy only asked for tips the only time we saw him.

 

I also felt like at over $500 pp, that it was definitely the most I have paid on a Carnival. I sure wasn't going to give them any more than absolutely necessary for fun. Did try to buy an excursion from them, but it was full, so we met up with the tour on our own and tipped the tour guide for allowing us to come along.

 

My friend on the other hand, owns every huge souvenir cup there is (the giant coconut or blowfish, disco ball, etc how does she have room to pack it all, I don't know) and I KNOW they are always grateful when she goes a-cruisin!

[BenjiRodney]

I don't think they lose money on me, a couples drinks at night, money in the casino, money in the shops, the pictures, bingo, steakhouse, shore excursions.

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

2 of my biggest reasons for cruising is nonstop drinks and food! So our bill for the 2 of us (hubby drinks as well) is about $1000. We take 1-3 shore excusrions and buy lots of pictures too

[T. Advisor King]

Does Carnival lose money on me? Do they lose money on any passengers? It is hard to say because the costs of running a ship are largely fixed (capital cost of the ship plus semi-fixed cost of the permanent staff). Even the fuel cost doesn't vary depending on whether I'm on board or not. So there is really very little variable cost that they incur on a per-passenger basis, other than perhaps the food.

 

In addition, our cabin's portion of the semi-fixed staff costs are largely covered because we always pay the auto-tips.

 

In terms of variable spending, we usually do very little, other than an occasional ship's excursion in specific circumstances.

 

We do buy some internet time and we will buy a couple ship's photos. I have to say, I would probably buy 10 photos at $10 (for a total of $100) but keep myself to more like $40 or $50 because of the prices they charge). Since there's no cost to printing them (they print them whether we buy them or not) it is hard to understand why they price themselves so we spend so little, but I guess they have some smart people who have figured that out.

 

We don't buy beverages because the carry-on limits are more than enough (we usually end up taking soda off the ship).

 

We don't gamble in the casions, eat in the premium restaurants or pay for other premium services. We did have to buy sunscreen once because we foolishly ran out. And we have paid for kids club activities, although I think those days are behind us now.

 

We are more do-it-yourselfers in the ports (didn't buy a single excursion -- ship's or private - during a week long Med cruise. We just rented cars and used trains and found our own way around). But we have bought the ship's tour on other cruises when we thought safety could be an issue or when we wanted to sightsee so far afield that the risk of some sort of breakdown or delay was more than negligible).

 

Other than the auto tips, I would expect our on-board charges (for a family of four, two cabins) to be in the $100-200 range.

[n6uqqq]

Well they would lose money I would normally spend on drinks...You only have to drink 7 to get your money's worth a day...so technically they aren't losing money on me but they aren't making as much as they could.

 

I am thinking it is a win win. You are happy and Carnival is happy. You get the better deal on drinks and Carnival has a cruise long commitment for alcohol purchases. In general terms, many people buy cheers and don't come close to the 15 drink max per day. Personally I buy a few buckets of Fosters here and there. I don't think Carnival loses money on very many passengers. The cost of the cruise alone is probably slightly profitable and onboard spending is the gravy.

[rolaur]

Well I'm happy to say that I help Carnival stay in business and my Carnival stock price high.

 

Last 7 day cruise over new years, 6 people in three extended balcony cabins 2 of which are underage so no drinking, our S&S was $3600. Cheers for two of us, two of us had drinks on us from the casino when we got on the ship and wine from the casino every night at diner. All of us did the Behind the Fun tour, some got watches and others got jewelry, massages for 4 of us, wife hit the card for slots money and we took a few ships excursions.

 

On the other hand, if you reduce the S&S by our casino winnings, our bill would have only been about $400 so yes we spent money but luckily won a lot back.

 

I guess we work hard and play hard too. It's a vacation so spend it the way you enjoy!

[Sparky2]

Does Carnival loose money when you sail? Or, should they be sending you an invitation to the annual Shareholder Banquet?

 

I am not cheap, but I have to admit, when I sail, my Sign and Sail is VERY tiny. I rarely drink... I don't gamble... I rarely buy anything in the on-board shops (its always the same stuff)... I don't play Bingo... I don't buy shore excursions...

 

How about you?

 

 

We do gamble but usually come home with a little more than we left home with or at least break even.

 

My SO doesn't drink and I drink moderately. My $100 OBC as a stockholder pays for my nightly Mocha Chocolate Getaway.

 

No longer buy anything in the shops, either. Last year we didn't buy any photos, but this year I think we will buy one. We should be getting a discount photo coupon with the Ocean Player's Premium Bon Voyage Package.

[ffmikey]

We do our fair share of supporting the bottom line of CCL. We are after all on vacation. We do a few hundred $$in drinks, several pictures and occasionally a watch or jewelry. $700 - $1000 is not uncommon for a 7 day cruise. I take my hat off for those who get off the ship with a $100 S&S bill.

[Luluwa]

Good question.

 

Always spend about 100 on internet package and on occasion we buy booze or jewelry which is from an outside company..

 

Do go steakhouse about every other cruise.

 

Have no idea

 

We average between 3 and $ 400.00 a cruise on our sign and sail

[wrigley80]

They are definitely not making any money on us. We buy a few things in the gift shop and the bottomless bubbles package. Then were good to go for the week

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cruse2loose]

no money made on me. I pre pay my tips, I do not drink, gamble, play bingo or buy the pictures. I drink what is free, eat what is included, do the ports on my own. I may buy a t shirt on board, that is about it

[Stacy_C]

Our motto on cruises is, "If it ain't free, it ain't for me!"

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I am thinking it is a win win. You are happy and Carnival is happy. You get the better deal on drinks and Carnival has a cruise long commitment for alcohol purchases. In general terms, many people buy cheers and don't come close to the 15 drink max per day. Personally I buy a few buckets of Fosters here and there. I don't think Carnival loses money on very many passengers. The cost of the cruise alone is probably slightly profitable and onboard spending is the gravy.

 

Here is a link to a show aired on CNBC in 2009 that is very interesting about cruising and the cost involved.

 

It is called cruise inc. Money on the high seas.

 

 

Bill

[n6uqqq]

Here is a link to a show aired on CNBC in 2009 that is very interesting about cruising and the cost involved.

 

It is called cruise inc. Money on the high seas.

 

 

Bill

 

Thanks for the link. Very informative. I watched the whole video. The big money makers have not changed since the 60's............ Booze and gambling! I drink but don't gamble. I think I buy enough buckets of Fosters so Carnival is not losing money on me :D Interesting how it is too expensive to fly under the American flag with taxes, regulations, etc. One more side note, 1100 cameras onboard! Wow, like the movie 1984. Big cruise brother is watching!

Edited January 17, 2014 by n6uqqq

[PaulMedik]

Does Carnival loose money when you sail? Or, should they be sending you an invitation to the annual Shareholder Banquet?

 

 

 

I eat more than my share of food, but in all other respects Carnival makes $$ on our sailings. :D