New to the cruise world... a couple of ?'s

[Cruzin momma of 6]

Hello all... This is my first cruise with my cousin.. We will be going out of tampa on Feb. 8th..

So my questions are

1. How much money should we take? I dont plan on buying alot of stuff just maybe a few small things for the kids.. I'm not a big shopper.. I know we need money for tips and things and plan on putting about $200 on the s&s cards...

 

2. We are smokers.. Is there a limit amount of cigs we can bring?

 

Any other advice ya can give is awesome! This is all new :)

[KPfromCT]

Buy your cigarettes on the ship. MUCH cheaper.. 5 cartons for about $105:eek::eek:.

[Aplmac]

So my questions are

1. How much money should we take?

I dont plan on buying alot of stuff just maybe a few small things for the kids.. I'm not a big shopper..

I know we need money for tips and things and plan on putting about $200 on the s&s cards...

This is all new :)

Yes, I'd lay down $200 cash at Guest Services

- and keep another $300 in the cabin safe, in case you get carried away somehow somewhere!

 

AND have a card handy somewhere for the real excesses of Life. ;)

 

.

[Elaine515]

Hello all... This is my first cruise with my cousin.. We will be going out of tampa on Feb. 8th..

So my questions are

1. How much money should we take? I dont plan on buying alot of stuff just maybe a few small things for the kids.. I'm not a big shopper.. I know we need money for tips and things and plan on putting about $200 on the s&s cards...

 

2. We are smokers.. Is there a limit amount of cigs we can bring?

 

Any other advice ya can give is awesome! This is all new :)

 

 

 

Tips and everything you purchase on board the ship will get billed to your Sign n Sail Card, i.e, the credit card you have on file with Carnival..

 

As for needing money.. if you plan on gambling, you need cash at the tables but can use your sign n sail card at the machines (but keep in mind that money comes out of your credit card)... If you plan on purchasing gifts on the Islands, bring lots of $1, $5 and $10 bills and bargain... don't let them see you have lots of larger bills....

 

Also, $1 bills to tip the porters at the Port (usually $2 per bag is good) and if you use room service, again we always tip them $2 each time we use them...

 

Have a great time...

[cruisecraze96]

I took my first cruise last November and had a great time!

 

1. I took $100 per port (we had 3) and then an extra $100 for other tips and the casino since I prepaid my onboard tips. I did have a CC on file for drinks and a spa day :) I had $100 onboard credit and that got used up on the spa day pretty fast but my final bill was not that bad with the drinks on it.

 

2. I don't smoke but my mom does and was in her own balcony room. She just brought enough with her for the week and did not need to buy more. They did have some sales on the boat but you did have to buy like 5 cartons at a time to get the price and it was the $105 which is pretty good.

 

3. I tried not to overpack but I did, I ended up wearing more sundresses than anything else so next cruise I will pack those and leave out the stuff I don't tend to wear. I also forgot tennis shoes for the gym and I forgot to bring glide for walking. There was lots of walking on port days :)

[SweetPea0517]

You might want to check if there is a limit on how many cartoons of cigs you can take off the ship with you. I am not sure but I think there was one.

 

Yeah for us we don't have to worry about that anymore!

[KPfromCT]

You might want to check if there is a limit on how many cartoons of cigs you can take off the ship with you. I am not sure but I think there was one.

 

Yeah for us we don't have to worry about that anymore!

 

While there definitely IS a limit, and I always put it on my Customs form, they are so busy, they don't even look at my form. Just throw it in a pile and send us through:confused::confused: Yay for me, I guess, and I'm not sure if that is ALWAYAS the case, or I just happen to get lucky.:D

[irishnyc]

You might want to check if there is a limit on how many cartoons of cigs you can take off the ship with you. I am not sure but I think there was one.

 

Yeah for us we don't have to worry about that anymore!

 

There is a limit to how many you can take off duty free, although many times US Customs won't collect anything if you purchase more. Just be honest about what you take off, because the duty is much lower than the fine if you get caught. When DH was a smoker we always brought home at least 10-15 cartons when we traveled internationally, and never paid more, but always declared it.

Edited January 4, 2014 by irishnyc