Taking cash....

[Mrs.C05]

How much cash do you take with you onboard for your cruise? We have our tips pre-paid and are unsure of whether or not we're doing excursions. If we do, they'll be pre-paid as well.

 

My husband and I are doing an 8 day cruise on Freedom, which only has 5 cruise ports. I wasn't sure how much was enough cash to take. I guess it boils down to how much shopping we do?

[*Mach*]

How much cash do you take with you onboard for your cruise? We have our tips pre-paid and are unsure of whether or not we're doing excursions. If we do, they'll be pre-paid as well.

 

My husband and I are doing an 8 day cruise on Freedom, which only has 5 cruise ports. I wasn't sure how much was enough cash to take. I guess it boils down to how much shopping we do?

 

 

Yep... that's pretty much the case. There's precious little to use cash for on the ship so it's really the ports that will use up your dollars.

 

I always bring cash for tips... room service... tips at the end of the voyage and such. We generally don't spend more than a total of a few hundred dollars in port. Then again, I know folks who buy jewelry in the ports that runs into the thousands...

 

 

:)

 

[klfrodo]

I've usually got about $3000 in cash just for the casino :eek:

[jennyleah25]

On a related note - we plan on bringing cash & our debit cards. Can you use Visa/debit cards in the Bahamas or should we just bring cash?

[Mrs.C05]

JennyLeah25~

I would bring cash to the Bahamas or a credit card (in case you need to dispute any charges). I wouldn't use a debit card on the ship or in any port. The cruise ship will put a hold on your debit card of the amount you want to put on your sign and sail account and I've heard that can case some problems.

 

I've always used my AMEX for sign & sail account charges.

 

My husband has his own money he's bringing for the casino, I don't support that addiction :D but I'll stand and cheer him on, haha!

[99Cruiser]

I've usually got about $3000 in cash just for the casino :eek:

 

I usually bring about $5k for this same reason

[Mrs.C05]

I wish I had that kind of money, but not to bring to the casino, lol!

[dlbutler5]

We bring maybe $30-$40. Anything else is plastic or we get cash from the casino.

[blindrid]

First of all, I'm a big enti-debit card overseas type of a guy.

 

Secondly, we're pretty normal (whatever that is and I'm sure my wife would dispute that in my case) and we take about $1000-$1,200 along. We've never needed that much as any major purchases have been credit card and I plan on breaking even at the tables so at the end of the cruise I'm either +/- a few hundred in the casino.

 

Cash is king when it comes to the small vendors so don't plan on CC's there.

 

Normally come back with at least half of it.

[golfadj]

We will typically take about $ 200 plus what we need for private tours.

 

Use credit card as necessary for any purchase in ports.

[pjpu]

We budget about $100 per port day. Not really big shoppers, but taxi's, food/drinks etc, plus some souvenirs - it adds up quickly! Not that we always spend that much at each port - but I'd rather have more than less in case of emergencies. Onboard - we spend very little, except for a few drinks.

[Barsnikel]

We take several hundred dollars. we use plastic for everything, but when shopping at local vendor markets, cash talks (ie: best bargaining prices). You wave cash in their face, and they become more aggressive

[tak81288]

We took about $500.00 per person along with a credit card in case of an emergency ocurred. We never needed the credit card and brought more than half the cash back home.

 

I figure it's better to have too much cash with you than not enough..You can always put the unused portion of the cash back in the bank as soon as you get home. How much you will need will solely depend on your spending habits.

 

Enjoy!

[Warm Breezes]

We are a family of four. I always take $100 per vacation day cash with us. During the vacation we use a mixture of cash and credit card. At the end of the trip I just deposit the cash we didn't use back into the bank. I can end up with 1/4-3/4 of the cash left when we return depending on our spending. I like to have the option to use either cash or charge depending on where I am shopping.

 

I usually save up all odd checks I receive the 2-3 months prior to a cruise and cash those for spending money. I currently have two car insurance reimbursements (had to have a tow truck driver change my flat tire once and tow me home another time when my altenator broke) and my rewards check from my credit card. These will cover over half the amount I want to take in cash. The rest will come out of our bank account.

[Wyattcruiser]

I know how much I need to bring........I can't possibly know how much you need to bring.....

[Max Circus]

Usually take $100 (all singles), another $100 (all $5's) and another $100 (all $20's). Use the first two for any tips for porters, room service and excursions.

[maldenmusic]

We usually bring about $800 for a 5 day cruise.

[richstowe]

I've usually got about $3000 in cash just for the casino :eek:

 

I usually bring about $5k for this same reason

 

 

WOW! I thought everyone won in the casino.

[Mrs.C05]

My husband was saying to bring $700 for this cruise we're going on. Sounds about right, if not a little less compared to everyone else.

[mikel24m]

Make sure you bring enough.My bank shut my debit card off on the first at sea day because I took money from the casino on the ship and they thought my card was stolen because I was in Miami

 

We bring around $5000 too mostly to gamble and whatever I need for tips throughout the cruise and excursions,taxis .

[Nana & Poppa P]

We budget about $100 per port day. Not really big shoppers, but taxi's, food/drinks etc, plus some souvenirs - it adds up quickly! Not that we always spend that much at each port - but I'd rather have more than less in case of emergencies. Onboard - we spend very little, except for a few drinks.

 

Same here we bring $100 per day cash and a credit card in case we find something really nice in port.

[soccersharon]

We budget about $100 per port day. Not really big shoppers, but taxi's, food/drinks etc, plus some souvenirs - it adds up quickly! Not that we always spend that much at each port - but I'd rather have more than less in case of emergencies. Onboard - we spend very little, except for a few drinks.

 

I agree with your amount per port - but I'm not a big spender! Just gifts for family and friends, mostly:)

[Bobby_Mac]

We usually take about $400 in a variety of denominations for bargining in the ports. We bring a lot of $1, $5, & $10 bills so we can bargain at lower prices. Plus the small stuff is good for small purchases and tips. I try to pay in exact change that way I don't get a counterfiet. I saw a counterfiet $20 bill in St Martin being used by a local at a local shop. The bill looked real bad. The cashier questioned it, but ended up taking it. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to end up in the hospital or jail and miss the ship.

[Shelbyjane56]

We take between 2000.00 and 2500.00...if hubby gets jewerly for me then we use the credit card, never ever a debit card. Better to have too much cash than not enough, we usually fly down a few days before the cruise and sometimes a few days afterward..we do the future cruise, but there is something fun in getting it back for our next cruise and the OBC

[ilovetheislands]

How much cash do you take with you onboard for your cruise? We have our tips pre-paid and are unsure of whether or not we're doing excursions. If we do, they'll be pre-paid as well.

 

My husband and I are doing an 8 day cruise on Freedom, which only has 5 cruise ports. I wasn't sure how much was enough cash to take. I guess it boils down to how much shopping we do?

 

 

There are a couple of threads on here as well as some articles out there about the "true" cost of cruising. For our family of four (knowing our likes/dislikes) and having planned our excursions ahead of time - I usually budget double the amount of my cruise fare for travel, spending, excursions, etc. What is cash vs. visa depends on how we are booking excursions. If we book independantly, we bring the cash.