first time cruising

[firstcruise1970]

hi, this is my first time cruising, 10 day, nov 10th, nor. dawn. I was wondering how much should I save to spend a day. I plan about 600 for gaming and 300 for my B-day(turning 35). But can't figure on the little things,ie bar bill, eating at cagneys, and so on. Are the port shops tourist traps.It's is only going to be me and her. I noticed, researching on the web, that in the last couple of days there are sales should I wait them out or buy small things(shirts and so on) for family at port. Thanks for any help

[Goldryder]

I recently did a 2 night mini cruise on NCL Jewel, mainly as a practice run for my big cruise on NCL Crown later this year.

 

I spent $100 on board ship, that can be broken down as gratuity ($10 a day), bar bill, Le Bistro (one night), shopping on board and extra gratuities. Granted I didn't use the casino as I am useless at gambling. For my big cruise I am looking at budgeting for $150 a day, and will keep myself to that limit come what may, I think, IMO, its down to alot of self discipline really.

 

I am also staying pre/post cruise in hotels, so they are going to have to be covered too, but $150 a day budget is pretty reasonable, to me at least. Oh and I am travelling alone, so obviously you have to multiply by how many are travelling.

 

Hope that is some help to you, its not easy trying to budget...this I know :)

[firstcruise1970]

thanks for the help, one thing I am doing is going with my parents who have gone on this ship before, I am having trouble getting a quote form them as I think that they want us to go so bad that they are comeing up with different prices all the time. I think that if I budget 300 a day( me and GF) plus add train, taxi to ship, and other things this will be OK and have a good handle on costs

[johnql]

$300 a day should be fine for two people. Many people spend less than that and many people spend more than that. It all boils down to how many extras you'll be opting for (casino gambling, excursions, drinks, more drinks, bingo, surcharge restaurants, souvenir shopping, etc.).

[WeBeGone]

I'm a cruise only TA and I suggest to my clients that they budget as much for spending money as they spent for the cruise. If you underspend, you've got money left over. If you overspend, as least the bottom line isn't so shocking.

[Two@Sea]

Basically, what you "spend" onboard will be charged to your shipboard account. Your cabin key serves as your "charge" card. To give you a better idea of what your individual costs may be the following may help, but remember that these are "averages" only, and costs per cruise line may vary slightly:

 

Soft Drinks - $1.75 + 15% gratuity

Alcoholic Drinks - $5 to $7 + 15% gratuity

Specialty Coffee (lattes, etc) - $2.50 to $3.50 + 15% gratuity

Shipboard Shopping - Similar to Department Stores (usually no tax)

Shore Excursions - $50 to $125 pp (varies depending on activity)

Specialty Restaurants Onboard - $20 to $40 pp surcharge

Gratuities - Minimum approximately $15 pp per day

 

Personally, I would have a hard time spending as much as I paid for our cruise on shipboard charges... but maybe I just haven't tried hard enough yet!

[Jane110]

I'm a cruise only TA and I suggest to my clients that they budget as much for spending money as they spent for the cruise. If you underspend, you've got money left over. If you overspend, as least the bottom line isn't so shocking.

 

 

Are you serious? Our cruises tend to run us between $5,000 - $8,000 per cruise for our trips to South America and Europe. (not including private guides and tours) While aboard, we're not cheap and don't pinch pennies, but if our onboard bill came to the same amount as our cruise, we'd fall over backwards into the ocean!

 

Do others here get handed shipboard accounts equal to their cruise cost?

[lmedw]

I'm planning to bring $500 for a 5 night crusie to Bermuda but I've already paid for my excursion. Hope that will be enough. If not - I'll hit the ATM!

[trish1c]

Imedw -- stay away from the ATM's. They will charge you $6 - $10 per transaction. You can put a lot on your sign & sail card or bring travelers checks. If you don't use them, you can either pay off your sign & sail card / bill or bring them home for a refund.

[johnql]

Are you serious? Our cruises tend to run us between $5,000 - $8,000 per cruise for our trips to South America and Europe. (not including private guides and tours) While aboard, we're not cheap and don't pinch pennies, but if our onboard bill came to the same amount as our cruise, we'd fall over backwards into the ocean!

 

Do others here get handed shipboard accounts equal to their cruise cost?

I think your cruises represent the minority. I could be wrong, but I think WeBeGone was probably referring to people who books cruises for $1200-1500 for a weeklong cruise, mostly to the Caribbean/Mexico/Alaska. I don't think it's unusual for someone to spend $200 a day, which would be roughly the same as the cruise fare.

[eyzwdeshut]

I think your cruises represent the minority. I could be wrong, but I think WeBeGone was probably referring to people who books cruises for $1200-1500 for a weeklong cruise, mostly to the Caribbean/Mexico/Alaska. I don't think it's unusual for someone to spend $200 a day, which would be roughly the same as the cruise fare.

 

i agree... we are going on a 7-day cruise to the caribbean & i think we could easily equal the amt that we spent for the cruise. actually, it shouldn't be that hard at all :D

[Jane110]

I think your cruises represent the minority. I could be wrong, but I think WeBeGone was probably referring to people who books cruises for $1200-1500 for a weeklong cruise, mostly to the Caribbean/Mexico/Alaska. I don't think it's unusual for someone to spend $200 a day, which would be roughly the same as the cruise fare.

 

 

Yes, you're right. If a typical cruise to the carribbean runs about $1200-$1500, then that equation would make sense.

 

And you're right again that $200. per day would not be unusual. I guess WeBeGone's business to lesser priced cruises and books people that don't take suites. I think a clearer answer would have been to say, about $200. per day, rather than the same price of the cruise.

 

Thanks for explaining what he/she meant.

[firstcruise1970]

stay away from the ATM's. They will charge you $6 - $10 per transaction.

Has anyone used an ATM card instead of a CC?

[firstcruise1970]

Imedw -- stay away from the ATM's. They will charge you $6 - $10 per transaction. .

 

Has anyone used a check/ATM card to pay the bill? At 34 I am a little old fashioned and don't believe in Credit Cards (I spend what I have:p , not what I can borrow. It's nice to to know I own what's in my home and if the economy goes north again I don't have to many outstanding bills)

[Andee]

Depending on your own interests, you can control your on-board spending. We gamble very little, prefer to explore ports on our own, and usually have one to two drinks per day per person.

 

Our preferred cruise line allows us to bring wine to drink in our cabin and doesn't charge for the specialty restuarants. Our onboard account is very modest.

[johnql]

Has anyone used a check/ATM card to pay the bill? At 34 I am a little old fashioned and don't believe in Credit Cards (I spend what I have:p , not what I can borrow. It's nice to to know I own what's in my home and if the economy goes north again I don't have to many outstanding bills)

Yes, it's possible to use a debit card to pay your onboard account. However, it's not as clear-cut as using cash, travelers checks or a credit card. With a debit card, the cruise line will place a hold on a certain amount of money in order to ensure that you will have enough in your account to cover your bill. After the cruise, the hold may still be in place for a while. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but it appears that the hold takes a while to "expire" even though you've already settled your bill. It's the hold that presents a potential headache for you after the cruise when you try to use your card again if you don't have sufficient funds to cover the hold in addition to whatever else you're trying to use the card for. I hope that makes sense.

[benjidog]

Has anyone used a check/ATM card to pay the bill? At 34 I am a little old fashioned and don't believe in Credit Cards (I spend what I have:p , not what I can borrow. It's nice to to know I own what's in my home and if the economy goes north again I don't have to many outstanding bills)

 

We use a credit card, but pay off the bill when it comes. It's easier then messing with a check, cash or debit card. And you might make a little interest on your money waiting for the credit card bill to come.

[Wennfred]

We usually spend close to 1500.00 a week, including Drinks, Bingo, Gifts shop items, Casino, Pictures and extra Tips. Going to tailor it more this Cruise to see where we can cut corners, Maybe no Casino this time around.

[spoonful]

my sis and i are going on our first cruise in several weeks and i can't imagine how i would even spend 100 bucks a day on top of what i paid for my cruise.

 

Food is included. my sis and i barely drink and don't gamble. we each have one excursion already booked but that was only 55 bucks. I collect magnets so i have to get one per port i haven't visited before but that isnt' a huge thing. i understand that tip is extra but, given what i have listed, am i missing some hidden cost here?

 

To be honest, i really wasn't budgeting to spend the same amount that i spent on my little inside cabin so this has me a bit worried.

[Goldryder]

my sis and i are going on our first cruise in several weeks and i can't imagine how i would even spend 100 bucks a day on top of what i paid for my cruise.

 

Food is included. my sis and i barely drink and don't gamble. we each have one excursion already booked but that was only 55 bucks. I collect magnets so i have to get one per port i haven't visited before but that isnt' a huge thing. i understand that tip is extra but, given what i have listed, am i missing some hidden cost here?

 

To be honest, i really wasn't budgeting to spend the same amount that i spent on my little inside cabin so this has me a bit worried.

 

You probably won't spend $100 a day, but if you budget that as your absolute limit, it does make things easier when those little temptations come past your nose. I spent $100 over two days on Norwegian Jewel, and that included eating in a service charge restaurant, the gratuities, drinks, service charges and a bit of souvenir shopping on board ship.

 

Sort out an absolute top line budget per day and then you will find it quite easy to stay under that. It sounds confusing and scary but it isn't really, you will be fine, relax and enjoy your holiday :)

[johnql]

To be honest, i really wasn't budgeting to spend the same amount that i spent on my little inside cabin so this has me a bit worried.

You shouldn't worry. It sounds like you've already planned out your budget and as long as you're disciplined about it, you'll be fine. I've read plenty of reviews where people have reported spending very little beyond the recommended tips. However, there are plenty of people who do drink (both alcohol and soda), gamble, play bingo, go to the surcharge restaurants, do expensive excursions in every port, love to shop, buy art at the auctions, etc. For those people, $200 a day is a drop in the bucket.

[TidePrideGA]

I think most of the people who spend $100/day (for me, DH and DS combined we are budgeting $200/day including ports) spend quite a bit of it on alcohol. Even if you have one drink by the pool, one pre-dinner drink, one glass of wine with dinner and one after-dinner drink, that can add up pretty fast! And of course, a lot of us drink more than that....

 

Since you state you "barely drink" you'll probably spend a lot less. One area of expense you didn't mention is pictures taken by the ship's photographer. That can add up pretty fast if you're tempted by such things....

[UberCruiser]

stay away from the ATM's. They will charge you $6 - $10 per transaction.

Has anyone used an ATM card instead of a CC?

 

 

If you know that you're going to need cash (shore snax, tips, etc.) use the casino cashier to advance chips on your cruise account, then cash them out later. Cash advance, no fees!

[caviargal]

my sis and i are going on our first cruise in several weeks and i can't imagine how i would even spend 100 bucks a day on top of what i paid for my cruise.

 

Food is included. my sis and i barely drink and don't gamble. we each have one excursion already booked but that was only 55 bucks. I collect magnets so i have to get one per port i haven't visited before but that isnt' a huge thing. i understand that tip is extra but, given what i have listed, am i missing some hidden cost here?

 

To be honest, i really wasn't budgeting to spend the same amount that i spent on my little inside cabin so this has me a bit worried.

 

If you do not drink and do not gamble, then you can do quite well on a lot less money.

 

I drink wine and my bar bill is always expensive. I also enjoy specialty dining so that is an added cost for me. I do not gamble, have never taken a shore excursion and do not buy souveneirs. I do not buy photos, play bingo or attend the art auctions. So the only expense I ever have is my bar tab and tipping.

 

Don't be concerned. There is nothing else hidden.

[Pegleg1]

A friend just got back from an Alaska 10-day cruise. Between buying a nice bottle of wine at dinner each night, and (I'm sure) more than a couple of drinks each day, just his bar bill was $1500!! It adds up quick!!