Actual Costs

Hey everyone and thanks for the great advice! I am still trying to get a handle on the actual costs. So if you book a cruise for say $599 pp what are you actually likely to spend in terms of gratuities (15% i think) plus additional 'mandatory' or 'very likely' costs??

 

I know each ship is different but a range would be greatly appreciated. I wouldnt want to budget $2000 for a trip and end up short or having to scrimp everywhere. I do realize spas, casinos etc are extra to this number as well!

 

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

Each cruise line is a bit different regarding gratuities... On a standard cabin (non-suite) tips will run about $13 per person per NIGHT....bar tabs will have 18% added to the cost of a drink (or to the cost of a "package" if you decide to get a drink or dining package)

 

Those tips cover your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter in all included eating venues.

 

Other costs, which are totally up to you, would be: spa treatments, fitness classes, photos, gambling, bingo, trinkets and junk they sell, specialty restaurants.....I'm sure there are more things that can really eat into your budget! Oh...EXCURSIONS can be pricey!

 

You will want to tip the porters that take your luggage curbside...$1-2 per bag is standard. Of course, you'll need $$ for your ports, if you decide to go ashore and do anything....cabs, food/drinks, etc... To get the most out of your time ashore on the "cheap", get a guidebook from your local library (reference section), and research your ports, and all there is to do. If this is a Caribbean cruise, those ports are VERY easy to DIY...much cheaper than ship's excursions!

Each cruise line is a bit different regarding gratuities... On a standard cabin (non-suite) tips will run about $13 per person per NIGHT....bar tabs will have 18% added to the cost of a drink (or to the cost of a "package" if you decide to get a drink or dining package)

 

Those tips cover your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter in all included eating venues.

 

Other costs, which are totally up to you, would be: spa treatments, fitness classes, photos, gambling, bingo, trinkets and junk they sell, specialty restaurants.....I'm sure there are more things that can really eat into your budget!

 

You will want to tip the porters that take your luggage curbside...$1-2 per bag is standard. Of course, you'll need $$ for your ports, if you decide to go ashore and do anything....cabs, food/drinks, etc...

 

Thank you! Someone also mentioned when you check in they preauthorize your credit card for a certain amount per night, is this in addition to the gratuties etc or is this to cover all the costs you rack up?

Thank you! Someone also mentioned when you check in they preauthorize your credit card for a certain amount per night, is this in addition to the gratuties etc or is this to cover all the costs you rack up?

 

 

 

All onboard expenses will be charged to credit card you provided

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

As a rule of thumb I expect total outlay after embarkation to run around $100 per day for the two of us, including gratuity, drinks, excursions, specially dining, etc. Possibly higher in highest cost areas like Alaska or Scandinavia.

Thank you! Someone also mentioned when you check in they preauthorize your credit card for a certain amount per night, is this in addition to the gratuties etc or is this to cover all the costs you rack up?

 

It's a temporary hold on your credit card line of credit in anticipation of additional on board charges. This is to make sure that your additional charges are covered when you check out. Once your final bill is known and submitted the hold is released. Note it may take a few extra days for the bank, not the cruise line, to release the hold.

 

The credit card hold is common on land based hotels and gas stations. I recently did an over night in Santa Barbra, CA and a hold of $50 was placed on my card by the hotel. I check my account nightly. Later the hold was replaced by the correct charge.

As a rule of thumb I expect total outlay after embarkation to run around $100 per day for the two of us, including gratuity, drinks, excursions, specially dining, etc. Possibly higher in highest cost areas like Alaska or Scandinavia.

 

You also might want to tip your room steward (if he goes that 'extra mile' as 99.9% of them do) a little extra at the end of the last night of the cruise. That decision, is entirely up to you. But, odds are, you'll never see or get a more grateful 'Thank YOU !' in your life, (IMHO):)

 

Mac

Thank You all so much for the feedback!!!

Hey everyone and thanks for the great advice! I am still trying to get a handle on the actual costs. So if you book a cruise for say $599 pp what are you actually likely to spend in terms of gratuities (15% i think) plus additional 'mandatory' or 'very likely' costs??

 

I know each ship is different but a range would be greatly appreciated. I wouldnt want to budget $2000 for a trip and end up short or having to scrimp everywhere. I do realize spas, casinos etc are extra to this number as well!

 

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

 

Don't forget that the advertised "$599" does not include taxes and port fees which vary widely based on the ports in the itinerary. If you go all the way through the booking process (but stop before actually booking), you will be able to see what the cost with those taxes/fees is.

Don't forget that the advertised "$599" does not include taxes and port fees which vary widely based on the ports in the itinerary. If you go all the way through the booking process (but stop before actually booking), you will be able to see what the cost with those taxes/fees is.

 

Yes I looked at one on expedia and folllowed it through and an extra $70 pp appeared as taxes and fees. I assume this is always at the time of booking and not a fee that pops up later.

You are correct, the port taxes and fees are charged at time of booking and do not pop up again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You are correct, the port taxes and fees are charged at time of booking and do not pop up again.

Well, unless the taxes/fees change between booking and embarkation. For example, on a Panama Canal cruise the line passed along an increase in the per person transit fee assessed by the canal authority. This is a more extreme example (Panama Canal cruises have higher taxes and fees than most other cruises, so when they increase it's a larger change) but even the the increase was only on the order of $27 per person on around $700 per person in total taxes & fees for the cruise. I don't think the fees have increased on other bookings of ours

Did a balcony on Adventure out of San Juan on 10/21 for 7 nights.

We don't drink a lot and don't do soda or specialty coffee, so no drink packages, no specialty dining.

It was $549 pp for 2 people so here is the run down.

$1098 for cruise tickets

$118 for travel insurance

$189 for prepaid gratuities

$800 for Airfare

$123 for taxes and fees

$820 Excursions on 5 islands ($130, $110, $210, $140, $40, $90 + $100 for tips on the excursions)

$100 for tips to porters, head waiter, steward.

$500 for stuff on board ($300 for spa, $100 in alcohol, $100 in misc stuff)

~$250 for souvenirs and stuff on the island

Total $4000.

+ Money for stuff for the trip, clothes, suitcases, passport renew, etc.

 

Yeah, it adds up fast.

BTW, this was our first cruise. $200 of the Spa we wouldn't do again as that was my wife's nails, as she didn't get to them before we went.

Edited November 8, 2017 by shadowcat67
Add info

here is my breakdown for Regal Princess in November:

 

$639 per adult (2), $99 per kid (1)

my parents are going on the same cruise, and they got $619 pp base fare

$135 pp tax

$94 pp gratuities

 

if you don't buy anything else while on the cruise, this will be your final price. Drinks, excursions, massages, gelato, spa treatments, specialty dining, casino, etc. - all the expenditures are highly individual and depend solely on your wants.

 

Our other necessary expenses in addition to this:

roundtrip tickets to FLL

parking at the airport ($100+)

travel insurance ($136 for 5 people)

taxi from airport to port and back $25-30 each way

tipping

 

unnecessary expenses would include the cost of excursions and transportation to fun places at destination.

The bare minimum extra fees are per-person-per-day gratuity of $12-14 depending on the cruise line, taxes and port fees are a flat cost paid at time of booking... and that's technically it as you can eat for free the entire time and you are not expected to tip at all on board (because of the $12-14 per day).

 

Drinks: packages are $50-90pp per day (varies by cruise line) or budget for $10 per drink (beer is a bit less, cocktails are a bit more). Alcoholic drinks have gratuity added on automatically. Soft drinks are not free.

 

Excursions: budget for $90 per person per excursion, but price varies greatly.

 

Specialty restaurants: Budget for $35 per person per restaurant visit.

 

Tips: If you feel inclined to tip extra, you really just need a small amount. Any additional tip is greatly appreciated by staff, e.g. $1 per two drinks, $1pp at dinner.

 

I can't weigh in on spas, I don't use them at all.

Edited November 8, 2017 by laurenofalltrades

I'm booked on a short little 3-nighter on Enchantment of the Seas for February with my husband and daughter. Fees:

 

Cruise fare (for 3, in a suite): $3635 less $910 (BOGO sale)

Insurance: $207

Prepaid gratuities: $148.50

Taxes & Port expenses: $271.50

 

Total for booking: $3352

 

I have added on (or will be before we go):

 

3 night beverage package for 2 (includes 18% gratuity): $318.60 less $100 onboard credit

Stringray excursion for 2 (daughter is free): $118

 

Total thus far: $3688.60

 

We will be adding on parking at the port and probably just drive over that morning. You may want to consider adding a hotel stay to the front of your cruise if you're flying. While we prepaid gratuities I will probably also tip a little extra to the steward and potentially the concierge. I do not tip extra on drinks and have never had a problem with excellent service.

 

We won't be adding on any specialty dining because it's a short cruise and our daughter is only 2. For longer cruises we do typically add specialty dining of some sort. We also won't do an exursion in Nassau because it's possible we won't even get off the ship. Excursion pricing really depends on where you are and what you're interested in. When we went to Alaska we spent $3500 on excursions alone, but there were 5 of us and it involved things like custom tours and helicopter rides. Hey, gotta to Alaska right. But for Bahamas? As you can see we're not spending much on excursions this time around.

 

Some ships offer unique/fun classes that are an extra charge. The Rediel wine glass course on Celebrity is amazing and absolutely worth the $100/person fee. Internet is usually also an extra charge and we will be skipping it for this cruise. I have no desire for people to reach me and it's only 3 days. Our upcoming 7 day cruise is in a suite which includes internet, but the 3 day cruise did not.

 

When cruising I setup a spreadsheet to track all of my expenses, including pre-cruise wardrobe shopping. It helps me decide if I can splurge on that extra excursion or not, to have a handle on how much cash I need to take along. I typically try to prepay as much as possible so that I can just relax when I'm on the ship rather than mentally tallying the bill each time I order something.

 

Here's my list of columns from Alaska:

 

On the Ship: Cruise fare, port fees & taxes, insurance, prepaid tips, birthday decorations, spa passes, cash for tipping (We didn't have drink/dining packages added on because the room included them)

 

Getting There & Back Again: airfare, hotel, uber/shuttle, Space Needle, airport parking

 

Shore Excursions: (listed by port)

 

Add ons: meals in transit, spending on ship (bonus budget for splurges - which we stayed within!), souveneirs, binoculars, jackets/fleeces (This section is a budgetary amount for extras/fluff that I work into my spreadsheet to help with complete costs. Binoculars won't need to be bought again, fleeces are not always something we have since we're in Florida.)

 

Hope that helps!

Hey everyone and thanks for the great advice! I am still trying to get a handle on the actual costs. So if you book a cruise for say $599 pp what are you actually likely to spend in terms of gratuities (15% i think) plus additional 'mandatory' or 'very likely' costs??

 

 

 

I know each ship is different but a range would be greatly appreciated. I wouldnt want to budget $2000 for a trip and end up short or having to scrimp everywhere. I do realize spas, casinos etc are extra to this number as well!

 

 

 

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

 

I’ve skimmed through previous responses. One cost element I don’t believe has been mentioned...

Depending on how close you are to your embarkation point, you’ll probably have substantial travel costs to get there. Many (myself included) will recommend getting there at least a day early, and don’t try to rush to the airport when you disembark. So besides transport, add in a hotel stay before and maybe after the cruise. Plus meals etc during that time.

I don’t have the details at my fingertips, but on my upcoming trip out of San Juan, we’ll fly down the day before (using Miles), have an overnight (discounted due to ongoing hurricane repairs) prior, then pay many dollars to fly home two days after we get back. Plus two more (discounted) overnights, plus meals etc. Even on the cheap it adds up. And in this case the paid portion of the flights will cost more than the 11 day cruise fare.

In general, I think you can safely assume that your total cost will equal cruise fare times two. As a very rough guideline for preliminary planning.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

7 day cruise estimate $3000-5000 total you should be good unless you doing a suite or luxury Line

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

One thing I discovered when starting to plan cruises is that the costs can vary wildly. There are MANY factors. (That said, real cost breakdowns are a great way to see what people are spending... I will include one at the end of this post.)

 

There are a few approaches to booking the cruises. One is to book what is the bare-bones fare. Little to no "perks" or "included" at a base price and then you add on what you'd like. This can be beneficial as you aren't paying for what you don't use. This is tricky however if you do add on what many cruisers DO use and do pay for. The other option is to book with a promotion that includes various on-board spending and/or is a reduced fare for multiple people in the same cabin, or a reduced rate for a single occupant cabin.

 

 

Example #1 PROMO BREAKDOWN

7 night- Cost for two: 2900 total (mini suite with balcony)

Included in fare:

$500 on board credit (combo of promo credit and big-box warehouse agency credit)

Paid gratuities (the standard $15/day per person service charge)

$100 worth of internet minutes

All taxes

 

Onboard credit spent as follows:

Spa pass for two for week

1 full day excursion (includes drinks/meal)

Soda Card

 

Additional Costs:

$200 on food/drinks/souvenirs at ports

$50 in cash tips (room service, porters, taxi)

$50 pics taken by ship photogs

 

TOTAL: $3200 for two

 

Example #2- LOWER FARE

7 night cost for 2- 1700 (balcony cabin)

Included: $120 onboard credit

 

Onboard credit spent on:

Soda Card & a few speciality drinks (maybe 3?)

Souvenirs on ship

 

Additional Costs:

$175 Ship-auto gratuities

$210 taxes

$250 spa passes

$200 excursion through ship

$100 private excursion

$200 on food/drinks/souvenirs at ports

$50 in cash tips

$50 photos

$75 internet minutes

 

 

TOTAL: 3010 for two

 

 

Notes:

-We don't drink alcohol

-Travel to/from the cruise not included

-Where you go, which ship, and itinerary will affect the actual numbers

-We aren't gamblers

One thing I discovered when starting to plan cruises is that the costs can vary wildly. There are MANY factors. (That said, real cost breakdowns are a great way to see what people are spending... I will include one at the end of this post.)

 

 

 

There are a few approaches to booking the cruises. One is to book what is the bare-bones fare. Little to no "perks" or "included" at a base price and then you add on what you'd like. This can be beneficial as you aren't paying for what you don't use. This is tricky however if you do add on what many cruisers DO use and do pay for. The other option is to book with a promotion that includes various on-board spending and/or is a reduced fare for multiple people in the same cabin, or a reduced rate for a single occupant cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

Example #1 PROMO BREAKDOWN

 

7 night- Cost for two: 2900 total (mini suite with balcony)

 

Included in fare:

 

$500 on board credit (combo of promo credit and big-box warehouse agency credit)

 

Paid gratuities (the standard $15/day per person service charge)

 

$100 worth of internet minutes

 

All taxes

 

 

 

Onboard credit spent as follows:

 

Spa pass for two for week

 

1 full day excursion (includes drinks/meal)

 

Soda Card

 

 

 

Additional Costs:

 

$200 on food/drinks/souvenirs at ports

 

$50 in cash tips (room service, porters, taxi)

 

$50 pics taken by ship photogs

 

 

 

TOTAL: $3200 for two

 

 

 

Example #2- LOWER FARE

 

7 night cost for 2- 1700 (balcony cabin)

 

Included: $120 onboard credit

 

 

 

Onboard credit spent on:

 

Soda Card & a few speciality drinks (maybe 3?)

 

Souvenirs on ship

 

 

 

Additional Costs:

 

$175 Ship-auto gratuities

 

$210 taxes

 

$250 spa passes

 

$200 excursion through ship

 

$100 private excursion

 

$200 on food/drinks/souvenirs at ports

 

$50 in cash tips

 

$50 photos

 

$75 internet minutes

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL: 3010 for two

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

 

-We don't drink alcohol

 

-Travel to/from the cruise not included

 

-Where you go, which ship, and itinerary will affect the actual numbers

 

-We aren't gamblers

 

 

 

You're somewhat in the ballpark of comparison shopping. I suggest that you consider using what I call the "net daily rate,"'which is the best way to compare the quantitative cost factors between and among cruise lines on similar itineraries.

Since we prefer Oceania, transportation to/from start/end ports enters the equation because O fares include air or provide a DIY credit. That $500 to $2000 per person is a great equalizer when comparing "net daily rate" with supposedly less expensive lines (without air or air credit!!!).

 

And then, of course, there's the quality factor (hard to consider the mediocre-at-best eats on a discount line as "value laden.") Cruising is an area where you definitely "get what you've paid for."

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums