On Board Balances

[Nickles]

My husband and I are planning on cruising the Oasis for our 10 year anniversary next May. We haven't booked yet, but we are looking at our budget before we do so. One aspect that we are looking at is the on board balance at the end of the cruise.

 

On average, what is your final on board balance? To give you some perspective, we are not heavy drinkers (maybe 1 - 2 speciality drinks per day) and we are not soda drinkers either. Should we budget about $500 for our final on board balance? We've never cruised before, so we honestly have no idea what to expect. Any insight on this is appreciated. Thanks!

[figgyva]

I think that $500 is a reasonable figure. Assuming that you pay gratuities during the cruise with your account (say $150 for a week), drink a couple drinks each per day ($250 for a week), and maybe hit a specialty restaurant, you could do it. We generally stayed at the $250 per person mark, though we also got a wine package that pushed us a bit past that (four four adults).

 

One thing to keep in mind, though, is if you plan to do any excursions. Those will add up quickly. Folks on CC would recommend going private to cut the excursion costs in half. We generally just took taxis to the beach, but they are not cheap, either. I suggest budgeting some for the ports.

[CaribbeanCrush]

$500 is a nice budget, sounds like you could easily come in under that depending on whether or not you decide on doing excursions.

[Sequim88]

Biggest budget blower might be photos. Photographers are thicker than mosquitos in the northwoods. Very hard to resist the urge to go see the pictures, and then buy some.

 

Budgeting suggestion.... buy yourself some gift RCI certificates and then go online before the cruise to deposit them as OBC. Not for the whole $500 but enough so the net bill at the end is not so big.

[cello56]

We always pre-pay our gratuities so that we don't have that big chunk on our Sea Pass bill. It totally depends on how much you drink and gamble and like excursions. DH and I did a four night Monarch in June and our final bill was $28 for the two of us!! That was one drink for DH and one costume jewelry necklace for me!

[cruiseguy1016]

Another consideration is shore excursions. If you add those to your on board account, $500 will probably not be enough. Depending on the type of activities you do, shore excursions run between $25 - $150 per person. We usually book and pay for our shore excursions ahead of time. For our on board expenses we usually budget $100/day for the two of us. That usually works out real well for us unless DW finds something in one of the shops that she "has to have".

[cb at sea]

Aside from tips, don't forget photos (they'll be taking your photo every time you turn around!) and most folks will buy some or all of them.....$$$$$.

Most 1st timers spend alot more than those who cruise often....about 1/2 of the cost of the cruise on "misc" expenses.

[Camlott]

My husband and I are planning on cruising the Oasis for our 10 year anniversary next May. We haven't booked yet, but we are looking at our budget before we do so. One aspect that we are looking at is the on board balance at the end of the cruise.

 

On average, what is your final on board balance? To give you some perspective, we are not heavy drinkers (maybe 1 - 2 speciality drinks per day) and we are not soda drinkers either. Should we budget about $500 for our final on board balance? We've never cruised before, so we honestly have no idea what to expect. Any insight on this is appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would suggest booking and paying for as many things as you can prior to your cruise (specialty rest., excursions, gratuities, spa etc.). This way you can avoid a lot of surprises. Obviously onboard accounts will vary greatly from $0 to $(sky is the limit). But $500 doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

Most drinks are under $10, so $250-275 for drinks should more than cover it based on what you said you think you will drink.

 

We typically make two onboard budgets. One for the casino and one for everything else. Our "everything else" budget is usually $50/pp per day. Our casino budget is usually $25/pp per day for port days and $50/pp for each sea day.

 

We do usually have leftover budget at the end, but I would rather plan for more and spend less than the other way around!

 

When booking our cruise we try to do as I suggested and book and pay for as much as we can prior to the cruise (even if we book independent tours).

[Mainer59]

Dont forget the jewlery $tore (ouch). Ours was $500 on the last cruise without it. Considerably more after. But it was on sale!!!:eek:

[CaribbeanCrush]

Dont forget the jewlery $tore (ouch). Ours was $500 on the last cruise without it. Considerably more after. But it was on sale!!!:eek:

 

You might also factor in some money for incidentals. One year my wife forgot her water socks and we were planning to climb Dunn's River Falls. Last cruise I forgot a tie!