Family of 5 - How much will a 7 day cruise cost?

[Kay&Harry]

Hi! My husband and I have 3 daughters (24,16 and 14). We were wondering how much money we need to allow for expenses on the ship and islands. Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated!

[paul929207]

That is really going to depend on you and your spending habits. I will try to give you some of the costs so you can figure.

Tips $10 to $12 per person per day

Beverages - $2.25 or so per can. Unlimited Soda sticker is about $4 to $6 per day for each person getting one. Plus 15% tip. Most figure if someone will average 3 sodas per day the sticker is cheaper.

Alcohol - $5 to $10 per drink plus 15% tip. Wine $20 & up plus 15%

Excursions $30 and up.

Gambling, Bingo, gifts,etc - up to you.

[firefly333]

You can spend nothing except for tips .. or you can spend more.

 

I know lots who dont spend any money, walk around the ports and just sightsee what they can walkign around, and do free things on the ship.

 

You dont need to budget for anything other than tips.. figure out what is important to you.

[serene56]

Not h kids could. U. My kids spent nothing. Soda case I'll cost. Frozen slushies are 5.00

 

Depending on your ports/excursions. Really hard to say. Are you going to drink. Go to casino

[momof3cruisers]

Hi! My husband and I have 3 daughters (24,16 and 14). We were wondering how much money we need to allow for expenses on the ship and islands. Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated!

It's probably a good idea to figure out shore excursions if you want to do them by looking at your cruise line's website. Many of them have the excursions listed and what they will cost so you can plan ahead. Figure in tips PP as a poster has already said. Then, I basically decide how much am I going to budget for myself for anythign else. I went on a trip with my sisters a few months ago and decided I would do one DOD and one can of Coke a day. Allowed myself $40 for the casino total and some cash here and there for incidentals like small souveniers and the specialty coffee bar. I chose not to play bingo but had fun watching my sister. (And she won so that was even more fun)

[pbc1]

Do your research here on cruise critic, check trip advisor, you can do excursions alot cheaper on your own.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Not h kids could. U. My kids spent nothing. Soda case I'll cost.

 

:confused: I have no idea what this means. :confused:

[letsgoplaces]

maybe it means one too many cocktails this evening:)

[sprint180]

hello, I just got off the Elation with 5 kids age 13 - 23. The older ones took their own money and I took $500 for me and the two youngest and that was good.

If I were you I would book excursions before hand that way you know the cost. Also tips are included $10-$12 per person. Don't forget to figure in a shuttle or taxi expense. So that leaves what you want to spend on t-shirts and other goodies.

Drinks on board $8-$10

Bingo $20

Photos $11 (I think)

I also used my money to pay for food the day before and after the cruise and for gas as it is a 250 mile drive to my local airport. It really doesn't have to cost you much if you don't want it too.

[griffy116]

We buy soda cards, a couple of excursions, 1-2 frozen drinks a day, travel insurance, tips and a small amount is spent in the casino. The photos are ridiculously priced and we've stopped buying them. If it's your first cruise, however, you might want one or two. Don't buy any photos until the last night and then choose only a couple of them. Soda cards for those under 18 are cheaper than adults, but run $30+ for a 7-day cruise. Frozen drinks run $7-8 each, tips on RCCL are $88 per person and travel insurance depends on the type policy and age. Your children's ages look like you'll pay very little for theirs. We set an amount for the casino and when it's gone, so are we. We buy a small souvenior or two and we choose an excursion based on what's really important to us on a couple of the islands. Some of the islands, we wander around and shop or just grab a cab and go to a beach...no excursion. Don't forget that you may want to leave the day before and spend the night at a hotel near the port. Think about all the cruisers who were stranded (San Juan) when the ship left 4 hours early and they were on a plane. We ALWAYS go one night early.

[serene56]

a family photo- taken on "formal" night will cost 23.00 (no sitting fee and no obligation)

[serene56]

:confused: I have no idea what this means. :confused:

 

 

 

sorry- it was right after that post I found I needed a new keyboard.

I said- not much onboard for kids to buy- soda/arcade. When I cruised with my kids I turned their cards off for spending and I did not buy soda cards. Free iced tea and lemonade is available 24 hours a day on the lido deck.

[paul929207]

If you are buying the frozen Drink of the Day at the pool. It comes in a glass you pay for and get to keep. You can request it in a normal glass and save the cost of the glass.

 

Be careful with the kids and cell phones and the internet. They can quickly run up a substantial bill. Phones should be turned off when you board and turned back on when you disembark unless you know and accept the charges. Kids can sign on and run up a bill on the internet. Someone complained their child ran up a $400 bill on the internet.

[Nebr.cruiser]

This is such a tough question to answer because what people spend is so variable. Are you in the 'it's my vacation and I'll spend whatever I want' group, or the, 'the kids are getting a great cruise and don't need to spend much extra' group, or somewhere in between? Some people spend thousands on board, others, like us, very little. Our biggest expenses are tips, and excursions (though, having been to most of the islands more than once, we do less often).

 

Do you gamble? Drink alcohol? Drink soda? Plan on letting the kids hit the arcade? Want to go to specialty (cost extra) restaurants? Are you wanting to go on excursions in every port? Is shopping a huge priority? How about Bingo? Spa? Etc. There are plenty of places to spend money on a cruise, but no one makes you.

 

We recently took 7 grandkids on a cruise, and being in the 'they're getting a great cruise and that's enough' group, they didn't spend anything extra on board. We did buy a few photos, using some OBC that we had. They don't get pop at home and didn't on the ship either. They all had some cash from parents for souveneers; $20-30 each was plenty.

 

It was a 5 day cruise with only 2 stops, one being a private island, which was no cost. On Jamaica we took a bus to the beach and had a great day for less than $10 pp. Ship excursions are more expensive, but maybe more in the comfort zone for a new cruiser. We always book private excursions or figure out what to do in port on our own, using these boards for recommendations.

 

For us, tips are automatic, at $10-$12 per day per person. You actually don't have to spend anything else on board, unless you want to, so make a list of what you will let the kids do/spend, figure out what, if anything, shore trips and shopping might be, and go from there. Bring some extra for unforeseen circumstances.

 

And, I agree with being very careful with internet/phone usage! We took all the phones and games which could connect to the internet, turned them off and put them in the cabin safe. We had kids ages 5-11 and they had a blast with no extra spending on board needed.

 

Your kids are old enough that they could be bringing/earning their own spending money, too. Somehow they are much more conservative at spending when it's their own hard-earned money at stake.

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC,

 

How do you like to vacation, eat, entertain, collect trinkets, and excursions.

 

You could spend nothing, or easily couple hundred a day, no different than life in-general.

 

Everything costs money beyond what is included on the ship.

 

Hi! My husband and I have 3 daughters (24,16 and 14). We were wondering how much money we need to allow for expenses on the ship and islands. Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated!