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How much money do you bring?


upintheairwife

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First time cruiser leaving in 13 days for the Bahamas...Woo Hoo! We have included the pre-paid tips in our cruise already, but how much cash do you reccomend bringing for tips (waiters, stewards, etc). Are envolopes provided to pass out tips each day? Not sure how this all works. How much do you carry at port during excurstions for suveniers and food? I hear Nassau or most of it is cashless so we'll have our credit card. Lastly, how much is a good amount for 2 adults using the S & S card? We plan on not going too crazy with drinks and pictures. We'd rather save our money to use at port. Just trying to get an estimate going before we sail... Thanks in advance! :)

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If you pre-paid your tips the waiters & stewards are taken care of. If want to and I do, you can give them a little extra. I give my room steward a 20 as soon as I seen him or her and something for the waiter on the last night. as far as cash I bring $500. Also small bills for room service people, and a couple of bucks per bag for the porters.

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First time cruiser leaving in 13 days for the Bahamas...Woo Hoo! We have included the pre-paid tips in our cruise already, but how much cash do you reccomend bringing for tips (waiters, stewards, etc). Are envolopes provided to pass out tips each day? Not sure how this all works. How much do you carry at port during excurstions for suveniers and food? I hear Nassau or most of it is cashless so we'll have our credit card. Lastly, how much is a good amount for 2 adults using the S & S card? We plan on not going too crazy with drinks and pictures. We'd rather save our money to use at port. Just trying to get an estimate going before we sail... Thanks in advance! :)

 

If you pre-paid tips the waiters and cabin stewards are already taken care of, some people give them extra some people don't thats upto you. Envelopes can usually be found in the booklet on the desk in your cabin or you can get them at the reception desk. For gifts and food in port I carry roughly $100 in each port and rarely use it all. S&S card I'd estimate $800-$1000 more if you both like wine and dine at any of the specialty restaurants onboard that are extra $$$. Check with your cruiseline for the minimum balance for cash deposit for S&S if you plan on going that route, most just put it on CC if not then adjust accordingly.

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We don't usually bring a lot of cash on any vacation. We rarely take more than $200 each total in small bills. We take about $20 - $40 cash with us if we want a drink or two & to tip people. We rarely buy the silly souveniers. If we are going to make a big purchase it goes on the credit card.

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:D Welcome to the world of cruising. Since you have already prepaid the tips, any additonal is optional. I am not sure of Carnival, but envelopes are usually available at the Front Desk. We always extra tip our room steward, waiter and have ones available for room service. If you are doing excursions offered by the ship, you should be able to view them online and know how much they cost. In foreign countries we tend only to carry about $100 cash, and never use our credit cards there. Also we make sure it is in smaller bills 10's and less. It really depends on what YOU want to buy, it is hard to tell someone how much money to take with them on vacation. Drinks on board are standard bar prices, photos can add up quickily. As "idraconis" said $500, I would probably go with $100 day in ports, but again that depends on you. If you leave your "end of cruise bill"on your credit card, then you dont have to worry about having enough cash to pay the "end of cruise bill" for drinks, photos etc on the ship. Only take money for souvineers, taxis, or a bite to eat if you are adventureous. Have a great cruise!! :D

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We brought 400 just for tips and a couple thousand for spending money for a 7 day, but I also gamble in the casino on the slots. The casino provides me with comp cruises (I pay for upgrades and taxes and fees), so I spend a bit in the casino. This time, I came home with more money than I left with, it was our first cruise ever and I did good at the casino on first and last nights.

 

Our steward got 20 bucks 4 different time throughout the week, but he went above and beyond. As first time cruisers we had a lot of questions. We had a bar set up and had brought a soft, bag style cooler that he kept full of ice for us. He also picked up for us a few nights when we hurried out to entertainment or dinner and left changes of clothes all over. He'd come in to turn down the bed and straighten up. As important as tipping is to treat the steward with courtesy, kindness and respect. They get fed a lot of crap by enough people and do appreciate being treated nicely, even though it's their job to cater to you to some degree. We found that our steward was particularly nice and after noticing we were good people who cared about his situation ( away from his family 9 months of the year to feed them and give them a better life), he tended to make sure we were treated extra nice as well.

 

We probably could have tipped him 40 or 50 bucks, and the restaurants we probably tipped more than we should have. Bars I always tip a fiver if we will be there a bit, then 1 each time we get drinks.

 

Almost every service on the islands wants a tip. We had conch salad at Señor Frogs, made in front of us at a rolling portable setup, the guy opens the conch, takes out the meat and makes the salad right there. Tip him and he'll clean the conch shell for you and you have a 35 dollar souvenir to take home. Declare it though, I heard from a couple of people that because it's a shell I might have an issue. I declared the 2 we got, and had no problem.

 

We tipped 20 bucks for an all day speedboat/snorkel/swim/lunch/sightseeing excursion that cost 99/head and easily was worth double.

 

We also tipped most other services/bars/restaurants that we attended in the ports, taxis, guides, etc.

 

It is up to you though, and some people don't tip above what the DSC is. Others don't tip till the end of the week. I would recommend with the steward to tip something up front and again at the end of the week based on service. If you have extra special service, like we did, then you might want to tip more... I also should mention that I forgot to lock my safe one day on an excursion and came back to all of my money and valuables still sitting in the safe untouched. They aren't responsible for that kind of theft, and I"m certain if the steward had wanted to, he could have made 2 months salary in 5 minutes in cash in my room (we know what they pay them). So our guy deserved his tip.

 

My intent was to be helpful, but as I read what I've written it probably only made things more confusing for you lol.

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It's kind of a silly question (no disrespect meant) because everyone and everything is different. It's a totally different situation for everyone. For me, I wouldn't even consider cruising with less then $2,000 in my pocket. I plan on tips for porters, room service and small purchases. I also include the extra tips for room steward, waiter and assistant waiter. I also plan on paying the extras for my grown kids tips and expenses. It's a totally different experience for everyone. On my last cruise to Europe where I had to pay cash for tours I had around $5,000 in cash with me. The best thing about having cash is that if you don't use it, you can put it back in the bank when you get home. For me, I would never ever consider traveling with under $1,000 in cash in my pocket no matter where or when we cruised.

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First time cruiser leaving in 13 days for the Bahamas...Woo Hoo! We have included the pre-paid tips in our cruise already, but how much cash do you reccomend bringing for tips (waiters, stewards, etc). Are envolopes provided to pass out tips each day? Not sure how this all works. How much do you carry at port during excurstions for suveniers and food? I hear Nassau or most of it is cashless so we'll have our credit card. Lastly, how much is a good amount for 2 adults using the S & S card? We plan on not going too crazy with drinks and pictures. We'd rather save our money to use at port. Just trying to get an estimate going before we sail... Thanks in advance! :)

 

Couple of things.

 

Every time you buy a drink, a 15% tip is added right on the receipt, so, you do not have to worry about tipping every time you get a drink. If you find a favorite bar and bartender, a cash tip up front usually result in great service and great drinks, sometimes some on the house.

 

Take lots of small bills for tipping porters and various others that you feel should get tipped. Also, on the islands, if you buy a $2 trinket and give them a twenty, you might get $18 change in foreign currency.

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We take a minimum of $150 a day especially on port days. We like to eat, drink and hire taxis in port, so we don't want to be short of cash. On our last 7 day we took about $1300 in cash. We had four ports. Came home with about $500. I am not much of a souvenir shopper, so if i spend $50 the whole week it's a lot. We do gamble a bit, but that goes onto our cruise account. couple hundred bucks maybe.

 

Be sure to take lots of smaller bills for the ports, though. $20s at the largest. (for the Caribbean at least).

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We usually take about $1500-2000 for a week...seldom spend it all, and we have our credit cards, too. All of the shipboard expenses go on the card...the cash is for the casino and small purchases ashore.

We do tip in cash at the end, so that's part of the cash we bring. If you've already paid the tips, then no more is necessary, unless you order room service, and $1-5 is the norm.for room service tipping.

When bringing cash, bring large bills...easier to carry, and get them broken down on the ship, so you'll have smaller bills to take ashore. Don't travel with wads of ones and fives....too bulky!

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First time cruiser leaving in 13 days for the Bahamas...Woo Hoo! We have included the pre-paid tips in our cruise already, but how much cash do you reccomend bringing for tips (waiters, stewards, etc). Are envolopes provided to pass out tips each day? Not sure how this all works. How much do you carry at port during excurstions for suveniers and food? I hear Nassau or most of it is cashless so we'll have our credit card. Lastly, how much is a good amount for 2 adults using the S & S card? We plan on not going too crazy with drinks and pictures. We'd rather save our money to use at port. Just trying to get an estimate going before we sail... Thanks in advance! :)

 

I did a lot of research and wound up taking $200 in cash, mostly in small bills, specifically for tipping room service or unexpected cabs. We carried our own bags, so we didn't have porters to tip, and we never ordered room service. The service from our room service was great, and that is included in part of the regular gratuities. We didn't require anything out of the norm, so I didn't tip any extra. I used the same logic with dining room. I actually exchanged money for small bills at our hotel in NOLA, and was told I would not need it. That wound up being right.

 

I did forget to authorize my debit card for international travel, and that wound up being a big deal. I'm not a "cash" personal IRL, so I only estimated cash for necessities. I cannot imagine traveling with thousands of dollars. I was stressed out enough and put the $200 in the safe. Brought it back home and felt like I had money for weeks.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

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  • 3 weeks later...
We don't usually bring a lot of cash on any vacation. We rarely take more than $200 each total in small bills. We take about $20 - $40 cash with us if we want a drink or two & to tip people. We rarely buy the silly souveniers. If we are going to make a big purchase it goes on the credit card.

This sounds about like what we do. I take about $50 in ones and about $200 in tens and twenties for the entire cruise. We rarely sepnd it all. We use a credit card for excursions, etc.

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How much money to bring? About three times as much as you plan on spending. Emergencies happen, and I’d rather have extra cash than not enough. I see little downside of carrying more money than I need compared to the upside of having it. When I get home just deposit it back into my account.

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All the ship stuff goes to you ship card. I went to bank and cleared my credit cards to zero before last trip. This gives me the maximum room for any emergency. I took my debit card too. (Canadian banks allow a PIN of more than four digits but was warned many places in the world your card will then be unusable.) I took cash both on bills and travelers cheques which I get for minimal fee. Last day on boat used all the trav cheques against the ship account so less goes on credit card.

 

Personally, I never shy from cliche ...

"Bring half as many clothes and twice as much money."

 

Have fun

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  • 3 weeks later...
We brought 400 just for tips and a couple thousand for spending money for a 7 day, but I also gamble in the casino on the slots. The casino provides me with comp cruises (I pay for upgrades and taxes and fees), so I spend a bit in the casino. This time, I came home with more money than I left with, it was our first cruise ever and I did good at the casino on first and last nights.

 

Our steward got 20 bucks 4 different time throughout the week, but he went above and beyond. As first time cruisers we had a lot of questions. We had a bar set up and had brought a soft, bag style cooler that he kept full of ice for us. He also picked up for us a few nights when we hurried out to entertainment or dinner and left changes of clothes all over. He'd come in to turn down the bed and straighten up. As important as tipping is to treat the steward with courtesy, kindness and respect. They get fed a lot of crap by enough people and do appreciate being treated nicely, even though it's their job to cater to you to some degree. We found that our steward was particularly nice and after noticing we were good people who cared about his situation ( away from his family 9 months of the year to feed them and give them a better life), he tended to make sure we were treated extra nice as well.

 

We probably could have tipped him 40 or 50 bucks, and the restaurants we probably tipped more than we should have. Bars I always tip a fiver if we will be there a bit, then 1 each time we get drinks.

 

Almost every service on the islands wants a tip. We had conch salad at Señor Frogs, made in front of us at a rolling portable setup, the guy opens the conch, takes out the meat and makes the salad right there. Tip him and he'll clean the conch shell for you and you have a 35 dollar souvenir to take home. Declare it though, I heard from a couple of people that because it's a shell I might have an issue. I declared the 2 we got, and had no problem.

 

We tipped 20 bucks for an all day speedboat/snorkel/swim/lunch/sightseeing excursion that cost 99/head and easily was worth double.

 

We also tipped most other services/bars/restaurants that we attended in the ports, taxis, guides, etc.

 

It is up to you though, and some people don't tip above what the DSC is. Others don't tip till the end of the week. I would recommend with the steward to tip something up front and again at the end of the week based on service. If you have extra special service, like we did, then you might want to tip more... I also should mention that I forgot to lock my safe one day on an excursion and came back to all of my money and valuables still sitting in the safe untouched. They aren't responsible for that kind of theft, and I"m certain if the steward had wanted to, he could have made 2 months salary in 5 minutes in cash in my room (we know what they pay them). So our guy deserved his tip.

 

My intent was to be helpful, but as I read what I've written it probably only made things more confusing for you lol.

 

 

This was very helpful info for a first time cruiser (me!) so many thanks!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

We only bring a few hundred in cash. We typically pay for parking in cash, spend a little bit in the casino, have some funds available for incidentals while on our excursions, add some extra to our gratuities here and there and the rest goes on our card and is paid off when we return home. With very few exceptions, we always return home with the bulk of the cash. To be honest, we have cruised many, many times and don't spend as much as we did when we were new cruisers so I am sure that makes a difference too.

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I would avoid using a credit card in shops and restaurants as much as possible. First of all, you might be charged foreign transaction fees that can really add up, and second it's an invitation for fraud in many parts of the world--the Bahamas and Caribbean in particular. Of course if you plan on making an expensive jewelry purchase in an upscale shop it would be wise to use the card to offer you purchase protection, but otherwise, keep the card in the safe.

 

Nassau is not cashless, I'm not sure where you heard such a thing. The ship itself is cashless except the casino.

 

Unless you plan on buying a ton of souveniers, gambling, or giving a large amount of cash tips, $500 should be more than enough. most excursions either provide lunch or get you back to the ship in time for lunch, and even if you need to buy it, with a few exceptions it's pretty inexpensive there.

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