Average spend per person, per week?

[cruisecrunch]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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[celebrity]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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No way for anyone to estimate your budget. The only constant is tips. Do you drink alcohol, go to spas, bingo or frequent the casino?

Specialty dining, shore excursions, photos, shopping onboard?

Only you know what interests you and what your budget will allow.

If you give us an idea of your interests we can give you some basic guidelines.

[davy jones]

Welcome to cruise critic!

 

Your question is difficult to answer, because the answer for you is based on the cruise that you are sailing and your preferences.

 

As we sail more, our onboard account gets smaller. Our spending these days is a few drinks and perhaps a shore excursion or a specialty restaurant. On our earlier (younger) cruises, we drank more, took more shore excursions, shopped more, and bought a lot of pictures.

 

No we mostly bypass the photographer, drink less (aging, I guess) and know that most onboard "sales" are nothing special. In port, we often go off on our own or book excursions online, depending on the port.

[Shippy]

....years ago but are a lot wiser now.

We only book with internet travel agents that throw in the gratuities and/or onboard credit.

When we started cruising decades ago, the bingo jackpots were based on the number of people playing so they were quite good. Now the jackpot seems small no matter how many play. The cruiseline keeps the rest. Also, the bingo cards have gone up. Instead of playing everyday...we only play the last day for the snowball jackpot.

Pictures were $4.95 instead of current $19.95. Do not even know where most of the old ones are that we bought. Now, the only one we buy is the first day where they make it look like a postcard with the date & name of the ship.

We finally hit diamond status so get the free cocktail hour before dinner.also.....google rumrunners :O)

We do play in the casino. In fact we are members of Club Royale their casino club.

Gets us discounts on our next cruise & free drinks in the casino. We have actually won every time we have sailed on the Oasis or Allure....not the others.

We only take excursion off the dock. There are always people there ready to give you a good excursion at much less than you can get on the ship. We have never been disappointed.

By being more thrifty....we get to cruise more often.

Also, we live by the San Francisco airport which is the hub for Virgin America airlines. They are as cheap as Southwest but have all the bells & whistles. Same with Jetblue.

The credit cards have NO blackout dates when you go to book flights so we usually can get a flight with just our points.

Just got the Jetblue one this year. They gave us enough points to go from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale one way for both of us just by getting the credit card! We are using that to go on our Oasis cruise in 2 weeks.

[Ourusualbeach]

Mine or my wife's?

[delirious9876]

Mine or my wife's?

Yours and what you'd like your wife's to be - lol

[Kamloops50]

I usually budget about $400 per week for two of us including gratuities , excursions , coffee card etc. The DW uses most of it because she usually some face products we can't get at home.

[Paulette3028]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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This is a difficult thing to assess......because you have to consider your likes and dislikes vs others.

 

Although we have gone on 15 cruises, we still like to go on excursions. We can still find excursions we want to go on, even though we have been to some islands several times....and if we can't no problem, walk around the port (to leave the ship for awhile, but we don't do much shopping -- I have found that there really is nothing there that I can't get at home, for less).

 

We book our excursions through Royal....even though people say they do it for less, from the pier. I like to know in advance what I am doing and feel more secure going through the cruise line. That may be just me.

 

We are not big drinkers, so our bar bill isn't much. Now that you can bring two bottles of wine onboard with you, we don't even buy a bottle in the dining room. Since we are Diamond in C&A, we have use of the DL, as well.

 

Sometimes we indulge in Spa services....but we use a travel agent who gives us some OBC.

 

Overall above the cost of the cruise price itself, we probably spend $1000, but not all of it is paid at the end of the cruise.....some of it is the excursions which we book and pay for before sail date, and we always have some OBC's as well to defray some on board billing that is on our sea pass account.

 

On our last cruise on Allure, we only did an excursion at Cozumel. It was snorkeling with turtles, and it was expensive at $150 per person. We got the full day pass for the waterslide on Labadee. Both were well worth it. At other ports we decided to enjoy the activities on board....doing flowrider and zip line and an empty pool. DH does some gambling in the casino, not much....and I have no interest in it.

 

I did not feel paying for use of the Sauna at $99 for the week was worth it. I don't like that there is an extra fee for use of the Sauna....but truth be told, I did not miss the 15 minutes per day I would spend in the steam or sauna before heading back to my cabin to shower and change for dinner. It just wasn't worth $99 to me.

 

So it all depends on what is of value to you, and how you will spend your time.

[cruisecrunch]

I think we'd be more into enjoying the ship than the ports in honesty! I have a fascination with the way the ship is stocked and what not at ports so think is be happy to sit on the ship at ports :) (strange man!)

 

We'd have to have decent coffee from somewhere a couple of times a day.

 

Wouldn't be at all interested in the photos. Not our kind of thing.

 

Like the look of the climbing wall, zip line, surfing etc., so not sure if they're chargeable. :confused:

 

We'd probably dine at the payable burger joint on one night, but eat in the buffet the rest of the time (we're not into posh food).

 

We'd probably drink a lot of soft drinks and bottles water, again I don't know if this is chargeable! I will pick up a couple of brochures when in town next. :)

 

 

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[KirkNC]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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We budget $75 per day for two.

[peteukmcr]

At least $50 per person per day excluding prepaid gratuities as we do MTD so they are paid upfront. So add the required $12 per person per day for gratuities. So rounded up say $450 per person per week.

 

Normally excludes excursions too as we prebook and pay before we leave home.

Edited August 9, 2014 by peteukmcr

[Paulette3028]

I think we'd be more into enjoying the ship than the ports in honesty! I have a fascination with the way the ship is stocked and what not at ports so think is be happy to sit on the ship at ports :) (strange man!)

 

We'd have to have decent coffee from somewhere a couple of times a day.

 

Wouldn't be at all interested in the photos. Not our kind of thing.

 

Like the look of the climbing wall, zip line, surfing etc., so not sure if they're chargeable. :confused:

 

We'd probably dine at the payable burger joint on one night, but eat in the buffet the rest of the time (we're not into posh food).

 

We'd probably drink a lot of soft drinks and bottles water, again I don't know if this is chargeable! I will pick up a couple of brochures when in town next. :)

 

 

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There is no additional charge for the rock climbing wall, or ziplining (where available), nor flowrider.......flowrider is fun....and in between your own surfing/body boarding you get to enjoy watching others do it.

 

Soft drinks and bottled water are chargeable....but they offer a drink package so you know exactly what you are spending if that is sensible for you.

 

To me Johnny Rockets for burgers is nothing I would be 'seeking out' -- but that is just me....and their isn't any more expense to have dinner in the MDR than the buffet. Tips are automatically charged to your sea pass card daily, either way -- the wait staff for the entire ship, are scheduled in both venues.

 

No one has to do a specialty restaurant, if they don't want to.

[dacsmom]

I think we'd be more into enjoying the ship than the ports in honesty! I have a fascination with the way the ship is stocked and what not at ports so think is be happy to sit on the ship at ports :) (strange man!)

 

We'd have to have decent coffee from somewhere a couple of times a day.

Room service and Windjammer coffee is included. On Oasis and Allure, Starbucks is not included in the drink packages but they do accept Starbucks gift cards.

 

Wouldn't be at all interested in the photos. Not our kind of thing.

 

Like the look of the climbing wall, zip line, surfing etc., so not sure if they're chargeable. :confused:

All included in your cruise fare

 

We'd probably dine at the payable burger joint on one night, but eat in the buffet the rest of the time (we're not into posh food).

Johnny Rockets is $5.95 for all you can eat. The yummy milkshakes are extra. Not everything in the MDR is posh, the burger sliders are pretty tasty.

 

We'd probably drink a lot of soft drinks and bottles water, again I don't know if this is chargeable! I will pick up a couple of brochures when in town next. :)Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The Royal replenish package is $20 per day/per person and includes:

• Premium coffee

• Premium tea

• Bottled water: Sparkling

(375ml) or Still (500ml)

• Fresh squeezed

orange juice

• Non-alcoholic cocktails

• Fountain soda withCoca Cola® souvenir cup

 

Gratuities are $12 per day, so $84 per person for the week (unless you are in a suite).

 

I try to have everything paid ahead of time and have very little due on board. At other times I have gone wild and spent way more than I needed to. It is all very subjective.

Edited August 9, 2014 by dacsmom

[cooncat_mom]

Like others have said, it depends on you and what you like to do. I don't drink much at all, though I do like my coffee and we do take excursions through the ship. I also prefer using a cash account rather than credit card so I pre-pay my gratuities, any shore excursions and get a soda package so I don't have to think about that. I usually budget for a specialty coffee a day and bottled water but this time the Replenish package (already paid for) will cover it. I put $100 on my account to start with and usually put a little more on if I buy a bottle of alcohol on the ship. I budget $400 total - on and off the ship, for little gifts and extra tips - for the whole trip and usually come home with $100 - $200 left.

[Tapi]

We pre-pay tips and usually only buy a handful of souvenirs or t shirts. It's not uncommon for us to spend less than $100 total for the entire cruise.

 

 

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[Spurschick]

We also prepay gratuities, drinks packages and excursions, as well as specialty dining where we can. That way it's paid for and just go with the flow and set a budget whilst on board:D

[aussielozzie18]

Our biggest expense is the cruise itself and the ship's excursions which we book beforehand. On board, we dont spend much. Our tips are pre-paid. Biggest expense was ship's wifi (for teens) and bottled water from cabin (we were cruising in summer and I drink alot of Evian water).

 

Things we didnt spend on but which you need to factor in if they interest you: alcohol, professional photos, casino, souvenirs, on board jewellery sales, on board art and spending money at ports.

[GUT2407]

One of the [many] things I love about cruising is that you can spend as much or as little as you want.

 

On one cruise a promised payment hadn't arrived before we left [and it was to be our spending money] and our attitude was "who cares"? We could still have a great time with no extra money. On the afternoon of our embarkation our daughter rang to say she had banked the cheque so we spent up pretty solidly after all that's what that payment was for.

 

On another cruise we actually spent nothing, it was to ports we wanted to see by ourselves just ate MDR and bistro but still had a great time.

[LMaxwell]

What I have been able to find through a quick Google search is that for mass market U.S. cruise lines you are looking at about $50 US per person, per day in additional spend. Those figures were lumped generally as onboard spend, I do not know if they included the gratuity amounts in that or not.

 

From many years of observation though, despite those averages, I think what you find is many seasoned cruisers fall well below the average spend and that excessive spending by a relatively tiny portion of guests drags the average way up. A person who spends roughly $2000 onboard balances out five others that spend $0 to hit that very same $50 per person, per day average. I am sure some spend considerably more than that.

 

For us, with some OBC added in (usually around $100 mark, we don't book the giant suits that net the big OBC), and not including the tips that are pre-paid anyways, our actual onboard spend has been around $250-300 total for the both of us. This allows for some specialty dining, an excursion or two, and a few other bucks here and there but nothing excessive or extravagant.

 

This number obviously does not include onshore spending, but that was not very high for us. We are not jewelry/fashion purchasers and haven't bought any big ticket items on vacation. We live near fabulous beaches that are free so paying for a beach club is better for those who don't have a beach in their backyard. On this board it was suggested to budget OVERALL (onboard AND onshore) spending to average out to around $100 per person, per day. I'd say these were realistic suggestions. We came in under that threshold by a good margin though.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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Gratuities are a fix amount, unless you want to tip above and beyond that. On 2 cruises we have spent almost exactly $200 on each. That's only drinking free beverages, a couple alcoholic drinks, no specialty dining, with a little nonsense spending thrown in.

 

Are you going to do excursions, book them on the fly, on the ship, or preplan? Our first cruise we found shuttle vans while in port, but now we like to book ahead. We spend about $160 at each port.

 

Careful in the art gallery and jewelry stores, not everything is as good of a deal as it seems and they prey on new cruisers! Not everything is a ripoff either, but I would buy some internet minutes and do some research.

[Thetrail]

Odd question to some I suppose, but I'd love to know what the average spend per passenger is including gratuities, drinks, meals (anything that gets billed to onboard account, basically)! Will help us to budget and guesstimate how much to save up for 2016 :-)

 

 

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Have no clue how anyone on CC could have that info for you???:confused::confused:

[cruisecrunch]

I usually budget about $400 per week for two of us including gratuities , excursions , coffee card etc. The DW uses most of it because she usually some face products we can't get at home.

 

Thanks for your estimate! This seems very reasonable to me.

 

To me Johnny Rockets for burgers is nothing I would be 'seeking out' -- but that is just me....and their isn't any more expense to have dinner in the MDR than the buffet. Tips are automatically charged to your sea pass card daily, either way -- the wait staff for the entire ship, are scheduled in both venues.

 

Thanks for your reply, I really don't see us doing the whole MDR thing, we're very laid back and don't like formalities whatsoever. We'd definitely give the formal night a miss, we'd feel like fish out of water. We wouldn't be avoiding in because of cost. :)

 

The Royal replenish package is $20 per day/per person and includes:

• Premium coffee

• Premium tea

• Bottled water: Sparkling

(375ml) or Still (500ml)

• Fresh squeezed

orange juice

• Non-alcoholic cocktails

• Fountain soda withCoca Cola® souvenir cup

 

Gratuities are $12 per day, so $84 per person for the week (unless you are in a suite).

 

Fantastic! Thanks for this reply, I haven't seen anything about this package, and it would definitely be right up out street! We much prefer to have everything paid for before going, we've only ever done AI holidays before discovering cruises.

 

We pre-pay tips and usually only buy a handful of souvenirs or t shirts. It's not uncommon for us to spend less than $100 total for the entire cruise.

 

How do you pre-pay the gratuities, I'd do that if I knew how! $100 for 2 people for the week, how do you manage that! I'd love that, since the cost of the cruise is hardly negligible to begin with

 

Our biggest expense is the cruise itself and the ship's excursions which we book beforehand. On board, we dont spend much. Our tips are pre-paid. Biggest expense was ship's wifi (for teens) and bottled water from cabin (we were cruising in summer and I drink alot of Evian water).

 

Things we didnt spend on but which you need to factor in if they interest you: alcohol, professional photos, casino, souvenirs, on board jewellery sales, on board art and spending money at ports.

 

Is buying bottled water at a supermaket at a visiting port and bring it back onboard to keep in your cabin not allowed? I was looking at buying a 4/6 pack of 1L bottles as I am a massive water lover

 

What I have been able to find through a quick Google search is that for mass market U.S. cruise lines you are looking at about $50 US per person, per day in additional spend. Those figures were lumped generally as onboard spend, I do not know if they included the gratuity amounts in that or not.

 

From many years of observation though, despite those averages, I think what you find is many seasoned cruisers fall well below the average spend and that excessive spending by a relatively tiny portion of guests drags the average way up. A person who spends roughly $2000 onboard balances out five others that spend $0 to hit that very same $50 per person, per day average. I am sure some spend considerably more than that.

 

For us, with some OBC added in (usually around $100 mark, we don't book the giant suits that net the big OBC), and not including the tips that are pre-paid anyways, our actual onboard spend has been around $250-300 total for the both of us. This allows for some specialty dining, an excursion or two, and a few other bucks here and there but nothing excessive or extravagant.

 

This number obviously does not include onshore spending, but that was not very high for us. We are not jewelry/fashion purchasers and haven't bought any big ticket items on vacation. We live near fabulous beaches that are free so paying for a beach club is better for those who don't have a beach in their backyard. On this board it was suggested to budget OVERALL (onboard AND onshore) spending to average out to around $100 per person, per day. I'd say these were realistic suggestions. We came in under that threshold by a good margin though.

 

Thanks for this reply very informative to the un-seasoned travellers like ourselves. We're not into shopping etc, we're not big spenders by nature. :)

 

Have no clue how anyone on CC could have that info for you???

 

The post wasn't intended to say: Tell me how much I will spend. As first-timers, we just want to know roughly what others tend to spend, that is all. :)

[Grandma Dazzles]

Thanks for your estimate! This seems very reasonable to me.

 

 

 

Thanks for your reply, I really don't see us doing the whole MDR thing, we're very laid back and don't like formalities whatsoever. We'd definitely give the formal night a miss, we'd feel like fish out of water. We wouldn't be avoiding in because of cost. :)

 

 

How do you pre-pay the gratuities, I'd do that if I knew how! $100 for 2 people for the week, how do you manage that! I'd love that, since the cost of the cruise is hardly negligible to begin with

 

 

Is buying bottled water at a supermaket at a visiting port and bring it back onboard to keep in your cabin not allowed? I was looking at buying a 4/6 pack of 1L bottles as I am a massive water l:)

 

 

Please do not miss the main dining room thinking it is "too formal." Even on formal night you will see people that are not formally dressed. As long as you are dressed in long pants, shirt, etc. you will be fine. There are lots of threads on dressing - very controversial subject. However, the MDR food and service are much nicer than eating in the Windjammer (buffet). It is just so much more relaxing to have someone take care of your order and serve you! There are always standard options on the menu if you don't like the choice of entrees for the evening (and there are usually around four main choices). You also have your choice of starter appetizers - soups, salads, appetizers, etc.

 

Your daily gratuities are $12 per person, per day. These are billed to your sea pass card account daily. If you wish to pre-pay ahead of time your travel agent or RC can take care of that. If you choose to do My Time Dining rather than early/late seating in the main dining room you do have to pay those ahead of time. All bar tabs (including those for soda or bottled water) will include a standard 15% gratuiting - again billed to your sea pass card.

 

You should plan a few dollars for tips if you choose to order room service. Room service is free until midnight. After midnight there is a service charge (I think it is around $4 or $5 per order). The actual food/order is free, but you are expected to tip the delivery person - usually $2 to $5 depending on the size of the order.

 

You cannot bring any bottled water back on board - no bottles of any kind (alcohol for example). If you do it will be held until you leave the ship and given back to you. Some people have said they do this, but don't count on it - it is against the rules. There are various drink packages - take a look at what you might like - remembering that there are lots of free drinks available.

 

There is always a charge for bottled water, but you can get a glass of ice water just about anywhere on the ship. You can also take a water bottle (like a sports bottle) and fill it yourself - just not from the tap at the machine - you can fill your own bottle with water or whatever other free driniks you prefer using a glass to pour it it. (Health rules permit putting your bottle to the tap on the machine.) Also, bear in mind that the water on the ship is perfectly fine for drinking, including in your cabin. Your room steward will bring ice twice a day - you have to request him to do this - but not a problem.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[LMaxwell]

Have no clue how anyone on CC could have that info for you???:confused::confused:

 

Google.

[Thetrail]

Google.

Purely a guesstimate at best and being very generous in saying that....:)