Onboard Spending - Unsure how much to take

[numbersgirl]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if anyone could give me a rough idea on how much they spend on board per day, although i do realise that everyone is different.

 

I have elected to use cash on my onboard account and will need to convert from aus to american before we go (as ive heard the rate on board is not that good).

 

Therefore I'd like to make sure that i change enough over.

 

I'm going on the cruise with my mum, aunt and uncle so I'm not likely to be drinking heaps (maybe a cocktail every couple of nights) so my main vice will be lattes i think.

 

So if you werent planning to drink much and maybe have 3 lattes/day how much would you take on a 14day cruise?

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Oh and we are going on Voyager from Sydney to New Zealand

 

Renae

[printingchick]

Are you covering the on-board account for the entire group, or just yourself?

[numbersgirl]

Hi,

 

No mum and I are sharing a cabin and will each put money on the account.

 

I was taking $400 and putting half on when we board and then topping up if needed but really unsure if thats enough or not.

[Mark_K]

Hi,

 

No mum and I are sharing a cabin and will each put money on the account.

 

I was taking $400 and putting half on when we board and then topping up if needed but really unsure if thats enough or not.

$400 each is more than enough for lattes, and a drink every other night. Have you prepaid excursions? That can add quite a bit, as can specialty restaurants, photos, souvenirs, etc. if you're going to go for those.

[luvscruising2007]

It depends. Will you putting tips on your account? How about any excursions?

Pictures, spa, specialty restaurants? All of these can go to your account. $400 is not much for a 14 day cruise. That's less than $30 per day. We usually plan on $100 per day. Often we don't spend that much, but I would rather have too much than not enough.

[Dayenu]

Account for gratuities if they are not pre-paid, forgot the exact amount, something like $10-12 per night per person.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Have you looked into a coffee package? It may be worth it if you did many lattes.

[callmewhatever]

If you are not planning on drinking cocktails every day that is enough money & you can always top up. Rember that you have to allow for tipping also whatever way to plan to do that. When is your cruise? Enjoy. We are going on her in Feb, can't wait!

[stevea36]

$400 each is more than enough for lattes, and a drink every other night. Have you prepaid excursions? That can add quite a bit, as can specialty restaurants, photos, souvenirs, etc. if you're going to go for those.

 

Don't forget gratuities

 

Steve

[Mark_K]

Don't forget gratuities

 

Steve

I don't. ;)

 

I'm not sure about the Aussies but in the UK, prepaid gratuities are included at time of booking unless you ask that they be removed.

[tillydog]

I was told to allow for US$100 pp per day. But I was advised that by an American! Hubby and I are going on Voyager in January - only Aussie ports of call. So at the moment, we've got US$300 each put aside. We're not big drinkers, I'll probably buy the soda drinks package at lunch on embarktion day, which is what we did on Rhapsody last year. And then apart from that, I'll probably only spend at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and a visit to Johnny Rockets!

If we find that we're going through the US$$, we can always exchange at one of the ports of call. But for us US$300 each should be enough for an 8 night cruise.

[tillydog]

Forgot to say, if you havent prepaid the gratuities, then allow for that too.

We do prepaid, so that we dont have to worry about it.

[sublarry]

We usually get the fountain card as we do not drink alcohol. We usually buy a few things at the gift shop and bottles of water to take on excursions. We usually spend about $100 on pictures to give to our parents at Christmas. Other than that just a bit At the casino. Overall $100 a day total for us.

[wingatesl]

The wife and I usually budget $100 per person, per day for the trip. Sea pass is usually around $1000 for us both on a 7 day.

 

 

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[numbersgirl]

Thanks you've all given me some things to think about

 

Are you able to buy a coffee card/package for Voyager?

 

We have prepaid our tips so that's all covered and I think other than the photo on boarding we won't buy any others.

 

Excursions are seperate - we haven't prepaid for those - so i need to look into a travel card with nz dollars.

 

For those that allow $100/day is that including excursions?

 

I guess some days you wouldn't spend much on board as you'd be in ports?

[wingatesl]

Yes, for us the $100 typically includes everything. We don't really do the "excursions" and prefer to research the ports and plan our own days

 

 

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[Clarea]

Thanks you've all given me some things to think about

 

Are you able to buy a coffee card/package for Voyager?

 

We have prepaid our tips so that's all covered and I think other than the photo on boarding we won't buy any others.

 

Excursions are seperate - we haven't prepaid for those - so i need to look into a travel card with nz dollars.

 

For those that allow $100/day is that including excursions?

 

I guess some days you wouldn't spend much on board as you'd be in ports?

Royal does not have a coffee card or package. Ship excursions would be paid in USD.

[poolboyclay]

Yes, for us the $100 typically includes everything. We don't really do the "excursions" and prefer to research the ports and plan our own days

 

 

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We budget about 125 per person, not including tip but with excursions, which we do on our own. We do drink a little more. ;)

[wingatesl]

We may drink, she may go to the spa. We just know that if we exceed $200 that day, we should probably take it easy the next ;)

 

 

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[numbersgirl]

ok thanks.

 

I don't think we are booking any shore trips through royal caribbean so will be able to pay in nz when there

[MrsToad]

This is kind of a hard question since it will so much depend on what you plan to do.

 

We just got back from a week on Oasis and my cash account for the week was only $29. My DH's was $130. On my account, $13 of it was internet charges at .65 cents a minute checking on the kids and grandkids. The only souvenir I bought on the ship was a Christmas ornament.

 

I don't drink alcohol at all and DH drinks only a little. He bought a carton of cigarettes, a few drinks, and spent some money in the casino. Neither of us buy any food that is not complimentary or eat at any specialty restaurants. There is just too much available free for us to justify it on our budget.

 

We did buy a soda package for DH that I believe was $50 for the week. We paid for it in advance so didn't have to figure that into our spending money. We also paid for our shore excursions in advance so it was one less thing to budget for.

 

As far as port spending, not including the price of excursions, we spent a total of about $600 between the two of us for the week. Yep, that's where we splurge a bit. :D

[Thanna63]

We did a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Voyager last year with prepaid gratuities and excursions so our onboard account was used just for the little extras. Our total was right around $500 for the week and included an internet package, a few sodas and specialty coffees, casino visits etc. If we'd skipped the spa visit it would have been significantly less but that massage was so worth it!

[printingchick]

I've taken about 10 cruises and in all cases my on-board account came in at around $400. (I typically take 7 days cruises.) I'm not a big drinker, but do drink more when on a cruise. (Those foo-foo drinks by the pool are irresistible and a glass of wine with dinner makes the meal feel classier!) However, I also typically buy some photos and occasionally buy something in an on-board store. I think $100/day would be really excessive for me, but $50/day is probably a good rule of thumb. I don't drink lattes so I can't determine your cost per day for those. (Sorry)

[royalcruz]

$20 a day should easily cover coffee, soft drinks, and one alcoholic drink. Bring more if you plan on buying photos or merchandise, or donating to the casino. Prepay for gratuities and excursions if you decide to do any (it's good to prebook them because some of them fill up prior to sailing).

[fi'fi]

Hubby n I do not drink nor gamble. So. We bring enough money to spend around 100 per day. Due to no drinking or gambling. We spend our money on dinner , excursions, souvenirs.