How many of you spend nothing extra while on a cruise?

[boogs]

We never purchase ship sponsored shore excursions and typically prepay our gratuities. We usually have some amount of OBC on board and with our loyalty status on RCI have BOGO's for the specialty restaurants, have complimentary bottles of wine in our stateroom, and have access to the Concierge and Diamond Lounges for complimentary cocktails between 5:00 - 8:30 each night which covers the majority of our alcohol consumption . We gamble very little and rarely spend on board for spa's, etc., (but also have discounts for that if we do).

 

So as a result, our typical on board account is very low and on one cruise - as just the two of us - we actually had a credit back. But even when it is with family members our on board spending is usually pretty low.

 

This is not what the OP asked. The question was what extras did you purchase. If you prepaid for excursions, had OBC to use on drinks, etc., you actually DID spend money on extras during your cruise. OBC is a form of money given to you as a benefit or gift. Prepaying means you spent the money earlier than later. You still spent money on those extras you purchased with it!

Edited September 23, 2014 by boogs

[Warm Breezes]

I have never come off a cruise spending nothing, but I don't spend a lot either. We usually purchase less than 5 drinks total. Shore excursions depends on the islands. Sometimes we don't spend any, sometimes a taxi to the beach, sometimes an outside cheaper excursion, and sometimes through the cruise line. It all depends on what we want to do. We usually play at least one game of bingo if the kids are with us and do a little gambling, but not that much. We've done spa massages 2 times out of 12 cruises and DD and I have had manicures done 2 times. Sometimes we purchase a few small souvineers and sometimes we don't. DS always gets a ship model unless we've sailed that ship before. If the kids are with us we will get pictures. How many depend on the pictures. If they are not we don't. We have never done the steakhouse on a Carnival ship but we have gone to specialty restaurants a few times on DCL and NCL. We usually come away pleasantly surprised with our out the door balance due....especially when we have OBC to knock most of that out.

[TC1957]

I'm wondering if I'm an anomaly when it comes to spending money on cruises. In our four cruises, we haven't spent hardly anything. $20 for a bus to the beach in Port Canaveral once, and maybe a drink or two on one cruise ($15 total?). And we will pick up some duty free liquor on occasion since it's very cheap compared to the ABC stores in our state (I don't consider that a cruise-related expense as much as a grocery/alcohol expense).

 

 

 

 

How many of you never:

• Purchase shore excursions
  
• buy alcoholic drinks or soft drinks on board
  
• dine at premium retaurants
  
• purchase photos
  
• visit the spa
  
• gamble in the casino
  

We enjoy looking out at the ocean, dining in one of the handful of free restaurant venues on board, drink mostly water or the free juices or coffee/tea, and exploring on foot or public transit in the ports where that's possible.

 

Anyone else spend nothing or almost nothing on a cruise other than the cost of the cruise itself plus transportation to/from the embarkation port?

 

I figure cruise lines make tons more profit from those who buy the extras compared to cheap bastards like me that pay $1300 or $1400 for a family of 4 for a week.

 

I had the idea for this thread as I watched a guy with a three page print out of all his hundreds of on board purchases, whereas my sheet had 2 cabins on it, and it only had 5 transactions (gratuities for 4 people and the $68 in duty free liquor).

 

• Purchase shore excursions - Sometimes...if it is a tender port
  
• buy alcoholic drinks or soft drinks on board - Only to use the C&A coupons. We are very light drinkers.
  
• dine at premium retaurants - Never. If the cruise line cannot provide quality food for the amount I have already paid they sure as heck are not getting any more of my money for food.
  
• purchase photos - We buy two...so we can use the C&A coupon which makes them more reasonable in price.
  
• visit the spa - Not any more. On our first cruise the wife did...we realized you can get better services for less on land and don't have to deal with the hard sales pitch (some people just will not listen).
  
• gamble in the casino - Never.
  

Now on our last cruise we did each purchase a couple of shirts. Both my wife and I have lost a lot of weight and we picked up a couple of long sleeve items cheap for the winter weekends (it doesn't typically get real cold in Texas). Normally we do not buy clothing on the ship.

[geoherb]

On our last cruise, my shipboard account ended up with 11 cents owed to me after an adjustment made after I got off the ship. (I had been erroneously charged for an item and got it credited back to my account.) We started the cruise with a generous amount of onboard credit (future cruise credit, promotional credit, and shareholder credit) then received a refund as a credit for port fees after missing a port (due to a tropical storm). The money we spent doing a shore excursion on our own ($50 total for ferry, lunch, and drinks) was offset by the money I won in the casino.

[sloopsailor]

.... but we don't do anything differently on a cruise than in everyday life.

 

Why not? Isn't the idea of taking a vacation to DO things differently than in our everyday lives? Why not just stay home and save yourselves the cruise cost if you don't do anything different? This makes absolutely no sense to me! :eek:

Edited September 23, 2014 by sloopsailor

[cruisemom42]

It's not that I don't spend money while I'm traveling, but I tend to not spend it aboard the ship.

 

I do not pay for ship excursions. I'd rather do the port on my own or use a private tour. However, one cruise line I frequently travel on includes most shore excursions anyway.

 

I'm not a gambler. Nor do I visit the ship spa after one experience with the "hard sell" that's frequently mentioned.

 

In more than 40 years of cruising, I've only ever eaten in two specialty restaurants, and one was included as a perk from my TA. I'm more of an "old school" cruiser that likes eating in the MDR and feels they should provide a nice enough selection of food and atmosphere as part of my fare.

 

I will pay for drinks -- glass of wine or two with dinner, sodas, the occasional cocktail or after-dinner drink. Again, on the line I cruise with most often, wine with dinner is included anyway.

 

Trust me, I have plenty of fun doing the things I want to do -- visiting the ports. That's the main reason I cruise. Also, while on board I enjoy the "quaint" (but free) options that have always been available to cruisers -- reading in a comfortable lounge chair on deck, watching the sea, listening to interesting lectures, etc.

[Dayenu]

I don't think we ever prepaid tips, so here is one expense.

 

We buy drinks and sit listening to music (if we like the music) but not every night.

 

In Europe we don't buy cruise tours - it's safe to go off on our own.

 

Never paid for photos, bring our own camera. Don't play bingo. Husband "gambles" a little playing penny slots only, not much.

 

I check the shops on the ship, hardly ever buy anything, but love to buy souvenirs on shore, and bring them for family and friends.

 

Editing: don't go to the spa, don't go to pay restaurants, my goodness, don't they have enough food on cruises? Make my own "free" mocha using those cocoa packets they have in the buffet.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Dayenu

[BlueRiband]

Many years ago a friend and I desperately needed some R&R so we impulsively went on a cruise to Alaska using my income tax refund. We were broke. Broke. The last thing we could afford was onboard spending. In order to have sufficient cash to tip the crew (the days before auto-tipping) we just walked around the ports. We "splurged" one night on pre-dinner drinks, and another night we each had a glass of wine with dinner. I think our bill was around $28.."

 

It's very risky to travel when broke. An industry insider who often posts here commented on seeing more and more travelers who really can just barely afford to be on a cruise or traveling anywhere. Running into unexpected situations is pretty normal when traveling. This usually involves having to spend money to resolve those situations. And hopefully the lesson will not be too expensive.

[Husky61]

We do everything you listed except the photos. We have more cruise ship photos than we need.

 

But we do spend a great deal of money on the ship and a lot in the casino. Several specialty restaurants, good premium drinks, massages, etc.:)

[kebhouse]

My first couple of cruises I spent almost nothing- maybe one drink and a cheap souvenir. Just walked around all the ports instead of doing shore excursions. But now that I'm not a poor college student and have actual income, I take advantage of the extras to make the cruise more fun for me. Drinks, spa services (even if overpriced), maybe a night in the specialty restaurant make things more enjoyable and as long as my budget is fine with that, so am I. ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[marco]

We've sent off the ship, but a couple of times next to nothing on. We had pre-paid gratuities and the beverage package as perks. The casino is the LAST place I'd want to go to on a cruise. With a digital camera you can take (or ask someone to take) a photo and have it made into a 5X7 at Walgreens or CVS for 99 cents, not $20. We occasionally go to a spa and have massages/treatments at home. We did once on a cruise. We thought them mediocre at best and more expensive then at home. Specialty restaurants don't interest us and shore excursions not through the ship are a much better value. However......It's YOUR cruise, spend (or not spend) on what you enjoy doing regardless of what other folks may think. It's your vacation and time and money spent on what YOU enjoy is all that's important.

Edited September 23, 2014 by marco

[Sat1]

 

How many of you never:

• Purchase shore excursions
  
• buy alcoholic drinks or soft drinks on board
  
• dine at premium retaurants
  
• purchase photos
  
• visit the spa
  
• gamble in the casino
  

I haven't, don't plan to all of above. ;)

[CowPrincess]

It's very risky to travel when broke. An industry insider who often posts here commented on seeing more and more travelers who really can just barely afford to be on a cruise or traveling anywhere. Running into unexpected situations is pretty normal when traveling. This usually involves having to spend money to resolve those situations. And hopefully the lesson will not be too expensive.

 

Thanks for your concern :) We both had credit available but I don't use credit if it isn't necessary.

[screwsmcernst]

We don't try to not spend money on board. If we want something, then we get it. We ate in the steakhouse one evening, and it was probably one of the top 5 meals we have ever eaten, land or sea. Well worth the $$. But usually, our sail and sign bill isn't 10 pages long either. If we want to gamble, we bring money for that and when it's gone, we are done. We budget for things. So, anything we spend usually isn't a problem or a surprise.

[grandebarca]

Make my own "free" mocha using those cocoa packets they have in the buffet.

 

I had to laugh at that. My wife made her own mocha the same way. Well, they had actual hot chocolate dispensers on our last cruise (Carnival Glory) so she did half and half coffee and hot chocolate.

[grandebarca]

Trust me, I have plenty of fun doing the things I want to do -- visiting the ports. That's the main reason I cruise. Also, while on board I enjoy the "quaint" (but free) options that have always been available to cruisers -- reading in a comfortable lounge chair on deck, watching the sea, listening to interesting lectures, etc.

 

The free things are what attract me to cruising. Great food in the MDR and usually elsewhere on ship. Free coffee and tea all the time. Ice cream and snacks (or more!) nearly all the time. I've never been hungry enough by dinner time to want to pay anything extra for a meal!

 

Free shows, free music, free lectures. Some aren't that great, but the last few cruises have offered excellent performances in the main theater. I was disappointed with the lack of lectures on our last cruise with Carnival, however.

 

Even though we usually get inside cabins, we always enjoy sitting in the shade in the topside deck chairs and enjoying the sea breezes and watching the ocean or the ship's wake.

 

We rarely go out to drink at bars at home, and at the most might order a beer or a margarita or martini with a meal very infrequently. Same thing on the cruise ship - we'll take a free glass of wine or champagne when offered it, and carry on wine if allowed (and we used to sneak a little something on board too!). But we pretty much dine and drink on the ship as we do at home.

 

For us, the real attraction is the ship, and the ports of call are secondary in importance. We've enjoyed some ports, and didn't really care for others. We almost skipped a port call on the last cruise, but got off the ship for an hour or two just to walk around, sit in the shade on the beach under some palm trees, and take a look in the stores (ended up buying nothing).

 

We look at the cruise as an inexpensive way to get out on the ocean, relax and be waited on, and not have to think about anything (other than read the next day's newsletter and see if we want to make it to any activities or shows). So far we haven't exhausted the free options on any cruise we've been on, so we didn't have any interest in the premium options.

 

We could easily afford to spend tons on board, but prefer to leave it in the vacation fund for subsequent trips (cruises, land based trips, or air travel). Since we tend to spend only ~$1300 on 7 nights for a family of 4, it wouldn't take much to double the cost of our cruise with add ons. Taking a few shore excursions, having a few drinks for each of us each day, and an evening at the premium restaurant would just about do it. I'd rather go on a second cruise personally.

 

We tend to be lazy while on cruises and don't want to have a schedule to stick to if we just want to relax on a particular day. That in itself is a form of luxury without a price. :)

 

Of course I don't begrudge anyone the right to spend and consume whatever they want. It's your vacation after all! I was just curious if there were other people like me that didn't spend hardly anything on cruises. On our last cruise, I kept seeing the same couple that tended to sit near us and they spent most afternoons lounging on the deck and reading books or napping. Sounds good to me!

[Bookish Angel]

We paid for the cruise and don't want to spend much above that cost. We have had end of cruise bills for under $10 - for 2 people.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Bookish Angel

[cb at sea]

No way I'd vacation without drinking.....hell, it's almost 5 o'clock now...wine time!...

 

We don't do excursions, or buy the photos (as they're always awful!...or maybe, we're just ugly!) and I HATE the specialty up charge....sort of pisses me off that we have to pay to have better food....used to be ALL INCLUDED!

No "spa" stuff either....don't care for it.

 

We do gamble, but I don't consider that "cruise related", as we will go to casinos anywhere! And, we NEVER "charge" gambling expenses! Cash we can afford to lose is all we gamble with.

[dreamer320]

Why not? Isn't the idea of taking a vacation to DO things differently than in our everyday lives? Why not just stay home and save yourselves the cruise cost if you don't do anything different? This makes absolutely no sense to me! :eek:

 

Nope, for us the idea of taking a vacation is to experience things different than our everyday lives. Experiencing new sights, sounds and cultures don't necessarily need to cost money. If you think doing things differently takes money, then that makes no sense to me.

 

If we feel like splurging, we can and do, on a land or sea vacation - but we don't often feel the need to splurge on things like booze or gambling. Not knocking those who do, but it's just not our lifestyle. Why is that so hard to understand?

[myjillian]

In the beginning we spent money on specality drinks, special dinners, photos, side trips etc. After 54 cruises all around the world we still enjoy ourselves without the drinks, special dinners photos etc....maybe some would say we're jaded...others "been there done that" I don't care, we always have a great time and look forward to the next cruise...and don't miss those "extras" at all:D in less than a month we'll be on a 4 and 5 day B2B on Princess then in April 28 days in the Med on NCL...maybe we can afford them...because we've already overdosed on photos, drinks etc;) and now, just enjoy the ride !

[A2Mich]

I'm wondering if I'm an anomaly when it comes to spending money on cruises. In our four cruises, we haven't spent hardly anything. $20 for a bus to the beach in Port Canaveral once, and maybe a drink or two on one cruise ($15 total?). And we will pick up some duty free liquor on occasion since it's very cheap compared to the ABC stores in our state (I don't consider that a cruise-related expense as much as a grocery/alcohol expense).

 

How many of you never:

• Purchase shore excursions We used to, but not so much anymore
  
• buy alcoholic drinks or soft drinks on board We buy some, but are buying the soda package foe next cruise.
  
• dine at premium retaurants We did one time, but don't feel the added expense is really worth it
  
• purchase photos Only if there are any REALLY good ones
  
• visit the spa We don't use spa services at home, and don't feel the need on a cruise either
  
• gamble in the casino IMHO, gambling is a complete waste of time and money, unless you can set a reasonable limit and stick to it. I know several people who have ruined their lives over gambling only to lose EVERYTHING.
  

 

We enjoy looking out at the ocean, dining in one of the handful of free restaurant venues on board, drink mostly water or the free juices or coffee/tea, and exploring on foot or public transit in the ports where that's possible. I do enjoy my pop and an occasional alcoholic drink, but realize it does add up very fast. I also don't agree with the principle behind the alcohol drink packages - I feel that they may contribute to over-indulgence in several ways, but that's not my concern.

 

Anyone else spend nothing or almost nothing on a cruise other than the cost of the cruise itself plus transportation to/from the embarkation port?

 

I figure cruise lines make tons more profit from those who buy the extras compared to cheap bastards like me that pay $1300 or $1400 for a family of 4 for a week. I can understand being a cheap b*****d as well. No sense wasting money foolishly, though I also don't agree with depriving yourself of an occasional treat just for the sake of saving a few bucks.

 

I had the idea for this thread as I watched a guy with a three page print out of all his hundreds of on board purchases, whereas my sheet had 2 cabins on it, and it only had 5 transactions (gratuities for 4 people and the $68 in duty free liquor).

 

No worries here - I can't fault you for trying to save some money. We work too hard and need to stretch when we can.

[navybankerteacher]

One of the attractions of cruising is the fact that so many routine things are included in the fare. But since it is a vacation we enjoy a few drinks - traditionally some frou-frou thing with a paper parasol for sailaway. We usually have a glass or two of wine with dinner at home, so if would not make sense to do without that nicety when on vacation. We hit the casino once or twice - no serious betting - never losing more than $20 to $30 per week - and actually coming out ahead on a couple of cruises. We might try a specialty restaurant once on a cruise - but certainly never a specialty coffee - our being happy with our home brew and shunning places like Starbucks is a major element in our being able to afford cruising in the first place. We occasionally book a ship's tour but usually go on our own or with a group we join from our roll call.

 

I'd estimate that we wind up with somewhere between $600 and $900 (including service charges) in on board spending per week of cruising. It is just a part of the cruise - and by making money on discretionary spending by passengers the lines are able to hold down fares.

[Talisker92]

On the other hand, this was our longest cruise-32 days on the Golden Princess. Our bill came to about $3000!

Of that $750 was the "hotel charge" (tips). We dined 4 times in the specialty restaurants, which we enjoyed thoroughly. We enjoy wine with dinner, and bought the wine package, which saved a lot.

We had a mix of ship's and private excursions on the cruise.

We never buy photos, and do not hit the casinos.

We enjoyed the cruise thoroughly, but we were very fortunate that we did not have to worry about running over budget.

[psychtobe]

We generally don't do shore excursions, or if we do we arrange privately. Don't think we will do any this time around; might take a taxi.

 

specialty dining - will do one time in 14 nights.

 

gambling - we do gamble a little, but have won all 3 times; that said we also withdraw cash from an ATM and would never charge to our on board account - we mentally account for this from a different fund.

 

spas - don't use

 

drinks - about 1 each per day. We bring 2-3 bottles of our own wine on board and that is plenty.

 

photos - don't buy

 

gratuities - on this cruise they are prepaid

 

with all that said we will also have $500 OBC on this next cruise so we anticipate we will not have any additional out of pocket expenses when all is said and done. We could afford to buy little things here and there but don't like big surprise bills at the end. We plan to zero out our OBC this time and that's about it.

[BobTroll]

I have had a zero cabin account twice.

 

The first occasion was on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, operated by the Australian company, Scenic Tours. The price was all-inclusive, so we did not have to pay for gratuities, specialty restaurants, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks (at any time) or the internet. Shore excursions were offered free of charge at every port. Consequently, it would have been difficult to rack up any other expenditure, because we did not send anything to the laundry and we did not make telephone calls from our cabin. There were no unexpected costs or other nasty surprises. However, we did pay indirectly, because the all-inclusive nature of the cruise was reflected in the price. Although it was not cheap, the cruise was superb - and good value.

 

The second occasion was a cruise on Azamara Journey from Mumbai to Athens. Azamara promote their cruises as "more inclusive", so there was no need to spend a lot on board. We chose not to purchase photographs or use the casino, although we did pay in advance for several shore excursions. We could have purchased premium drinks or paid a supplement to dine in the specialty restaurants. However, there was no hard sell, and those aspects were optional.

 

This raises the question of whether cruise lines overcharge for drinks, photographs, shore excursions, etc. I accept that ships must make a profit and as a shareholder in Carnival, I am happy to receive their regular dividends. However, wine prices on many cruise ships are outrageous and it is difficult to justify a price of $30 or more for a bottle, which the cruise line can purchase for around $3. Similarly, how can they justify charging $25 for a 7 x 5 photograph?

 

I am usually happy to pay for good value, but I object to being ripped off. So if prices are excessive, I prefer to go without. I wonder whether cruise lines would sell more and generate higher profits, if they reduced some of their prices.

Edited September 24, 2014 by BobTroll