How much money should I bring on the cruise?

[LindsaySky]

Hi there, everyone! Message board newbie here! My boyfriend and I will be leaving this Saturday for a RCI 5-night Enchantment of the Seas cruise. I am so excited, I can barely sit still here at work! Anyways, I am wondering how much money we should bring with us on the cruise for tipping, spending money, alcohol, etc. (We already booked our excursions online, so those are paid for.) We are both in our mid twenties and are looking to just relax and enjoy the time away from our busy lives. We will not be drinking excessively, but we do plan to drink and have a good time! We will be making reservations at Chops, and I am planning to hit up the spa as well. With all that said, between the two of us, how much $$$ should we plan to bring with us? Thanks so much!! :D

[Sue L]

Are you planning to use a credit card or cash for your seapass? If you are using a credit card then anything you buy on the ship like drinks, pictures, spa treatments, chops and even your tips can will be put on the cc. It is a cashless society. You can use cash for tips and not put in on your sea pass and that will be 10$ pp per day. so for both of you it will be 100$ for the week in tips. I don't go to the spa so I can't tell you how much that is. Drinks were about 7$ per and ask tell them no souvenier glass otherwise it is about 2$ more. We usually figure about 100$ a day for everything.

 

Bring small bills for on the islands for buying souveniers etc because sometimes they will tell you they don't have change and you will get back the change in the local currency.

[wolfcathorse]

The main gratuities you can put on your Seapass to be charged to your credit card at the end of the cruise. That way if you have a card that awards miles you'll accumulate some extra. If you're talking about tips to the people who aren't on the tip list (cabin steward, waiter, ass't waiter, head waiter are the only ones RCI hands out envelopes for), like the people working in the WindJammer then I'd say $500 per person MINIMUM for the 5 day cruise. You can easily use half of that just at the spa, so try and do that when they have their port specials to save yourself some money. Bingo costs $35 to play per session (cards are $5 each but they only sell the cards as packages). Chops will be $20 pp

[Cam6959]

Congratulations on your first cruise! As you read the boards you will find that for tipping the cruise ship personnel there is something called a tip calucualtor the TP Keller has on the boards I don't know how to connect you :confused: but go to search: tip calculator: and it should bring up all messages with it. But if you have a RC magazine then in the back it tells you how much per day per person. Waiter $3.50/day pp. Assist Waiter $2.50/day pp. Room Steward $3.50/day pp. or go to the tip calculator and it will break it all down for you.

Shore excursions I would leave about $5 for the two of you for half a day or $10 for a whole day for driver. Tour guide I double the amounts but up to you.

Any souveniers (spg) Most everything on the ship will be paid by your sea pass card so no money there. Other than tips credit card or sea pass card will take care of everything unless you do the casino and everyone has their own budget for that. I take a lot of envelopes with me broken down: Waiter, Assist Waiter, Room Steward, Maitre'd, porters, and then the different shore excursions per how long they are! However you do it just have fun. :D

[ravij9]

I have always taken about $500 in cash with me. I pay for all of the onboard expenses (tips, drinks, souveniers) with credit cards. I use the cash to purchase souveniers on the islands and in the casinos.

[OceanCruise]

The spa treatments add a lot. A regular massage is $120, hot stone massage is around $175, manicure is $35, etc. plus tips. The port specials will save 20-30 dollars on various treatments. Bingo is 1-2 times a day on sea days so that can add up quickly if you like to play. The cheapest bottles of wine are around $30 plus service charge. You will most likely want to buy pictures which can run another $100 if you buy 4 or 5. Soda cards will be about another $30 per person.

[LLSullie]

The spa treatments add a lot. A regular massage is $120, hot stone massage is around $175, manicure is $35, etc. plus tips. The port specials will save 20-30 dollars on various treatments. Bingo is 1-2 times a day on sea days so that can add up quickly if you like to play. The cheapest bottles of wine are around $30 plus service charge. You will most likely want to buy pictures which can run another $100 if you buy 4 or 5. Soda cards will be about another $30 per person.

 

I fyou wait until the last couple of days they usually have GREAT deals. I booked a deal $129, facial, full body massage, manicure.

 

I opted out of pics. Just asked random people to take our picture throughout the cruise. Nobody seemed to mind and it was a great way to meet people.

[sas80]

anything you purchase on board (drinks, spa items, gifts, chops, etc) will be added to your sea pass account.

 

you need to decide if you want your seapass account to be attached to a credit card, a debit card or a cash account.

 

In terms of actual spending money for ports of call - I agree with previous poster to take $200 in ones/small bills so you dont get stuck with local currency and/or street vendors who tell you they dont have change.

 

Remember that, should you run low, you can always get ca$h using your seapass at the casino. The premise is that you are getting cash for gambling, but you dont have to use it to gamble.

 

I've literally walked into the casino, requested $100 in small bills against my seapass, and walked right out, without a problem.

 

If you tie a credit card to your sea pass account this "charge" will show up as "entertainment" on your credit card statement, so no cash advance charges apply.

 

Hope that helps!

[kd6183]

Congratulations on your first cruise! As you read the boards you will find that for tipping the cruise ship personnel there is something called a tip calucualtor the TP Keller has on the boards I don't know how to connect you :confused: but go to search: tip calculator: and it should bring up all messages with it. But if you have a RC magazine then in the back it tells you how much per day per person. Waiter $3.50/day pp. Assist Waiter $2.50/day pp. Room Steward $3.50/day pp. or go to the tip calculator and it will break it all down for you.

Shore excursions I would leave about $5 for the two of you for half a day or $10 for a whole day for driver. Tour guide I double the amounts but up to you.

Any souveniers (spg) Most everything on the ship will be paid by your sea pass card so no money there. Other than tips credit card or sea pass card will take care of everything unless you do the casino and everyone has their own budget for that. I take a lot of envelopes with me broken down: Waiter, Assist Waiter, Room Steward, Maitre'd, porters, and then the different shore excursions per how long they are! However you do it just have fun. :D

Hi,

Enjoy your first cruise you will just love it and be hooked for life like the rest of us! Here is the link to TP's calculator. Happy Sailing!

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

 

[Fang]

I figure about $100 per day, some cruises I come back with money others I don't.

 

The Casino is a great option. You can always go there and get cash against you credit card and not have to pay any credit card fees.

 

I have seen people use the ATM and think "why are they paying these fees, when they can go to the Casino for free?"

 

If you buy things on shore, from a shop, they can usually take credit cards and the credit card company will convert payment to local currency. But, you will not get a good exchange rate.

 

Past expierences is to take cash and if you need more go to the Casino.