How much to budget for Onboard Account?

[MINIjen]

How much do you generally budget for your onboard account?

 

This is our first cruise and we're just trying to make sure we plan for enough! :o

[Apoggi]

It really depends on how much you drink, plan to spend in the shops, trips to the spa and excursions you are taking. We always spend at least $1000. There have been times when we spend considerbly less and considerably more. Remember the longer the cruise the more money you will spend.

 

What cruise are you going on? I am sure you will like it.

 

Ann:p

[Janet Foster]

Well .. we smuggle our booze onboard and our bill was still $500 for our first cruise, $700 for the second.. and $1000 for this last one. Depends on what you do. We had massages.. so that was costly.. the pictures are costly.. about $20 each.. Plus each time you order a cocktail they tack on a 15% gratuity.. so those charges added up. My advice is to plan ahead and keep checking your ship board account regularly.

[Retired LEO]

On our last cruise we started out with $450.00 of OBC. My bill at the end was nearly $1,500.00. So nearly $2,000.00 total.

[kittymom65]

We plan on $100 per day. This averages out pretty well.

[Micki Dee]

We always budget at least $1000 for onboard spending. We've always been able to stay within the range, but barely. It all depends on how much you plan to enjoy yourself...cocktails, pictures, excursions, massages, casino...it all adds up quickly. We've traveled with friends who've charged as little as $200 on their account, so if you have a small budget, it can be done.

[elleluv]

We're not drinkers... we'll sometimes have 1 or 2 drinks each or a bottle of wine or two the whole cruise and it obviously makes a difference... Our seapass bill has ranged between $200 and $500 for a week.

[barbarah33]

Seeing how this is your first cruise you are likely to spend more money than you would on your third or fourth, etc. I have been on several and I plan on $100 a day - which I don't usually spend. I would think $200 a day would be appropriate for a first cruise. Then again I don't buy souvenirs as I have everything I want already and I don’t take any excursions because in the Caribbean I have been fortunate enough to do all that I am interested in. If you have excursions through the ship you need to add a lot more. And I don't consider gambling money in that figure.

[MINIjen]

Thanks everyone!

 

We're going to Alaska on Radiance on June 1st! I can't wait!

 

I've got $1000 budgetted right now. We're really not drinkers, but we might have a bottle of wine. I really want to eat at Chops one night and I think I've read that that is a $20 per person charge?

[kittymom65]

Thanks everyone!

 

We're going to Alaska on Radiance on June 1st! I can't wait!

 

I've got $1000 budgetted right now. We're really not drinkers, but we might have a bottle of wine. I really want to eat at Chops one night and I think I've read that that is a $20 per person charge?

 

That's right--Chops is $20 per person, and you will want to tip extra because the service is outstanding.

$1000 for the week sounds right for your first time:D

[TEXASMUNK]

Gratuities for Cabin Steward, Busboy, Waiter, etc!!!!

[cb at sea]

Yes, it's $20 pp. Remember that you don't HAVE to buy all the junk they will put out for sale! Gold by the inch, pictures of you with your eyes closed, t-shirts, potions from the spa, the spa itself, etc.... You can have a wonderful vacation without spending on a bunch of stuff you really don't need!

[greatdanemom]

We always seem to average about $100 per day for the two of us together. That's consistent whether our cruise is 5 days or 12 days, Europe or Caribbean. Hubby has a few drinks each day, I buy some photos and odds & ends in the shops. We include the suggested tip amounts in there, too. For good service we always supplement with cash out of our pockets.

 

Cheryl

[kingsgirl]

A conservative estimate may be:

 

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[ollienbertsmum]

give or take 10% I should think

[FitzLA]

I usually budget $500 for just me. My partner budgets for himself, and we have no kids. That is just for onboard expenses. I budget more for shore excursions, meals in ports, drinking in ports, and more drinking in ports.

[Desert Cruizers]

We have been on 3 Cruises now, my husband stays with beer, I dink Ice Tea or Pepsi, buy some Photos, and except for our 17 day Cruise last April thru the Panama we ran between 1,000-1500 including tours. The Panama cruise we topped $ 2000.

[kingsgirl]

give or take 10% I should think

 

LOL.

 

Sorry to the OP. I had a momentary lapse in good judgment.

 

I don't normally drink so I budget $100-$150 personally. I have never spent over $100 though.

[digital_curator]

This is an important question as it really can add up. On our last cruise there was a bingo prize to wipe our your seapass account!

 

We usually budget $50 pp/day.

 

We do our own shore excursions and usually spend about $25-30 pp on these. I have usually pre-planned these and paid by credit card or bring cash, in envelopes labelled for the port, which I keep in the safe.

 

My husband will have a beer with dinner and I get the wine package that works out to 1 bottle every two days for the dining room. We each have another drink or 2 during the day. These range from about $3.50 to $7.95 each. I get the drink of the day and ask that it not be in a special glass (which costs extra). We do not eat in the specialty restaurants, because we like the dining room so much. We do eat at Johnny Rockets for lunch one day if we are on a ship that has one

($3.95 pp if you do not have a C&A coupon). We do not have specialty coffees or extras like that but we have done a wine tasting on the Navigator ($9.95)

 

We usually do the rasul treatment in the spa ($90) and last time we had a couples massage (can't remember the price- $150-ish?)

 

We don't buy many souveniers and never buy anything on board in the shops.

 

We might play the odd bingo game ($15) but other than that, we take part in a lot of the wonderful free activities on board (mini golf, skating, pool games, etc.).

 

We bring our tips in cash, parcelled out in envelopes for each staff member, and add a little bit at the end if they have been great (which is usually the case!).

 

Have a great time!