First time cruiser

[newbiecruzer45]

Hey everyone,

 

Just booked my first cruise for my girlfriend, myself and my 3 kids (12, 13, and 17 at time of travel) on Harmony of the Seas for the end of November.

 

Question, what expenses can I count on that aren't included in my initial cost and how much more (estimate) will it cost me? I know some of the restaurants are extra (avoiding those). Also know about the drink packages and think I know which ones I'm gonna choose. Just really trying to budget and plan ahead. Any input will really help!!!

 

Tips for avoiding hidden charges? Are the drink plans worth the price?

 

Excursions, yea or nea?

 

Also, I'm kind of nervous about letting my kids do there thing on the ship. I know it's common practice, but could use some reassurance that if my girlfriend and I want to sit by the pool and have some adult beverages that they will be okay doing some of the other activities without me having to be at their side.

 

Any other helpful tips would be really appreciated!!!

 

Thanks in advance!!!

 

 

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[markannab]

Hi, Regarding costs, the bill for drinks can be a bit of a shock but if you're conscious of the cost each time you buy, you won't be caught out. Drink packages are fine . . . if you drink a considerable amount!

 

If you want a free drink, watch out for the "Welcome Aboard" event which I believe is always held on R.C. ships. I think this is the first or second night. Waiters walk around with free champagne, etc while music plays.

 

In Australia, if you had gratuities removed at the time of booking, I understand they will then start to add them day-by-day once onboard. If you want them on your bill, that's fine. If not, go to the service desk upon boarding and request that they not be added. You can then tip staff at your own discretion. Opinions on who to tip, when to tip, and how much vary widely. We usually tip our room steward ($20-$30), our food waiter and drink waiter ($10-$15 each). If someone else gives outstanding service, then we may tip them too. Generally, we do so soon into the cruise but after we've experienced the quality of their service.

 

We rarely pay for excusions. In fact, in eight cruises, we've paid for one! We research what we want to do before we leave. Then, we either wing it upon arrival searching for buses, taxi's, etc., or book third-party suppliers (often found on FB) before we go. Far cheaper. However, ships will not wait for you if you're late due to break-downs, etc. if you're not with a ship-organised tour. To avoid problems, we do such tours early in the day and do near-by activities closer to boarding time.

 

We don't have kids. But friends who cruise do. Any safety issues, such as young ones trying to sit up on railings on the edge of the ship, etc., tend to occur later at night or at nightclubs. During the day, things are generally pretty calm and safe. A practice my wife and I have which could be applied to other family members is to plan a time and place to meet before parting ways. That way, you can specify half an hour, an hour, etc.

[vacationlover_mn]

Some extra costs: gratuities are per day, per person. So with you guys, it would be around $50 per day. If your kids drink lots of soda, a drink package for them would make sense. If you drink at least 5 drinks a day, a drink package makes sense for you. You can research ports of call on CC and decide if you want to do excursions on your own, or with the ship- we do a combination of both. There is also a charge for the arcade.

 

 

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[papaflamingo]

Tips are added daily. They are $13.50 per day per person. You can prepay them if you want. As mentioned, you can remove them and tip as you wish, but then you'll have to carry cash. If you really don't want any surprise bills, prepay them.

Watch for "deals" on the drink packages. We just got off Oasis and the drink package, if purchased before cruise, was 30% off. You can get any drink $13 or less. You can do the math to see if you'll drink enough each day to cover it. Keep in mind that any drink, food purchase, bottle of wine, massage, etc. has an automatic 18% tip added.

Shore excursions are personal. We don't do them in the Caribbean as we've been many times. There are lot's of third party excursion companies. Review them on Tripadvisor or the Port of Call section here. They may not be cheaper, but are usually much better excursions. Just keep in mind that it's YOUR responsibility to get back to the ship before it sails. IT WON'T WAIT unless you're on a Royal Caribbean Excursion. So if you want that "insurance" book through the cruise line.

If you have Room Service, they aren't part of the automatic tip. Take some $1 bills and tip a few bucks to the room service person.

Obviously, there are lots of things to buy in the ships store. Photos are taken everywhere and sometimes are worth purchasing. Also if you are driving to the ship, Duty Free liquor is a good deal (at least where we live).

Most the stuff is included. Zip line, slides, flow riders, etc. all free.

Enjoy your cruise.

[oldmom]

First time cruiser-how old are the kids?

[JoyMouse]

First time cruiser-how old are the kids?

 

 

 

12, 13, and 17

 

 

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[Grandma Dazzles]

[quote name=markannab;52276672

In Australia' date=' if you had gratuities removed at the time of booking, I understand they will then start to add them day-by-day once onboard. If you want them on your bill, that's fine. If not, go to the service desk upon boarding and request that they not be added. You can then tip staff at your own discretion. Opinions on who to tip, when to tip, and how much vary widely. We usually tip our room steward ($20-$30), our food waiter and drink waiter ($10-$15 each). If someone else gives outstanding service, then we may tip them too. Generally, we do so soon into the cruise but after we've experienced the quality of their service.[/quote]

 

Realizing that tipping is such a controversial subject, and not always popular with Australian and/or British cruisers, but to give the original poster an honest answer they should plan to leave tips in place and have billed to their account.

 

 

Not sure if your personal amounts are per day, or per week; but if per week, they are very, very, low.

 

 

To the OP, your tips are $13.50 per person, per day. This covers all dining areas, cabin steward, and miscellaneous workers. Drink tabs, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, have an 18% tip automatically added. Drink packages have the 18% tip added to the price of package. Room service is separate and you should tip for delivery ($2-5 depending on the size of the order).

 

 

Any time, any where, you can always tip extra, but you don't have to if you leave the automatic gratuities in place.

 

 

Do not want to turn this into another tipping thread, but tips are part of the crew wages and should be left alone. Very similar to how many US workers in service industries are paid.

[Grandma Dazzles]

To OP - glad you found this board. Answered some of your other questions on the Ask a Cruise question forum. Enjoy planning your trip!

[Kmangel]

My husband and I don't drink a lot, so we are not getting a drink package. We will take our two bottles of wine on board to the MDR and without incurring a corkage fee, that will save us $50 right there! Then any other drinks we purchase we will pay as we go. We will buy additional bottles of wine for us to enjoy with our dinners at night in the MDR and any cocktails outside the MDR we will just pay for as we go. In the end, it will be cheaper than purchasing a drink package up front.

 

We did purchase a coffee card to use on board the ship, though. My husband likes to drink a lot of coffee normally and I like a good cup of coffee once a day myself, so we decided to purchase the card which will make the coffee half off what it normally would cost without the card. The card can be shared by the two of us which is nice.

[Grandma Dazzles]

My husband and I don't drink a lot, so we are not getting a drink package. We will take our two bottles of wine on board to the MDR and without incurring a corkage fee, that will save us $50 right there! Then any other drinks we purchase we will pay as we go. We will buy additional bottles of wine for us to enjoy with our dinners at night in the MDR and any cocktails outside the MDR we will just pay for as we go. In the end, it will be cheaper than purchasing a drink package up front.

 

We did purchase a coffee card to use on board the ship, though. My husband likes to drink a lot of coffee normally and I like a good cup of coffee once a day myself, so we decided to purchase the card which will make the coffee half off what it normally would cost without the card. The card can be shared by the two of us which is nice.

 

 

 

Assuming that you are wanting "specialty" coffee - regular coffee, decaf, etc. is available free of charge.

[thrifty99]

You can make the extra costs for the trip as expensive or inexpensive as fits your needs.

 

As first time cruisers if all you did on the Harmony was the included items at no extra charge you would have a great trip. There are plenty of things to do and keep you busy that are included.

 

 

I would recommend you pre-pay gratuities so you don't need to worry about them later.

 

 

If you are on a tight budget then I would spend your extra $$ on things to do when in port. While you could stay on the ship and save on excursion costs or just walk around the port for free, I would try to do something more fun at each port of call. The most convenient way is to go through the ships excursions. You don't have to worry about getting back in time. But it is cheaper if you want to do the research and plan your own excursions.

 

 

Here are some other things on the ship that you may want to budget for:

 

 

- Escape Room: I believe they are charging $10 a person for this now. This could be a fun family activity.

- FlowRider: this is free but they do have semi-private lesson time that your teens may find fun. I forget the charge... around $50 for a 1-2 hour lesson I think.

- Internet package: If you want to have internet access there is a charge for this. Before your cruise watch for special offers (30% off). They have different pricing depending on speed and how many devices you want connected at once. Weekly rates for one device at a time are around $100.

- Drink packages: others have already discussed the alcohol packages. There is complimentary iced tea, water, flavored water in the restaurants around the ship. If you don't want to buy soda packages for kids ($8.50 per person per day), consider bringing water bottles and individual drink mix packets for the week.

- Casino: if you want to gamble at all, bring a set amount for this.

- Dining: You will have great food without visiting any of the specialty restaurants. For an inexpensive extra family meal there is Johnny Rockets: There is an upcharge of around $5 per person for all you want to eat on the menu except for the shakes which are about another $5 each.

- Room Service: if you plan on having snacks / meals in the room at all, bring a some $1 bills for tipping.

- Souvenirs: There is a shop where they sell souvenir items of the ship. You / your kids may want to get something to remember the trip. They have the typical shirts, bags, etc. If I recall correctly, later in the week they may have some sales on selected shirts. You may also want to bring some $$ if you want souvenirs at each port.

- Shopping: either on board or at port, you may want to buy some items. The ship and each port has sales on things such as jewelry, watches, clothing. Not sure if there are any real good deals as we don't go to these places.

[newbiecruzer45]

You can make the extra costs for the trip as expensive or inexpensive as fits your needs.

 

As first time cruisers if all you did on the Harmony was the included items at no extra charge you would have a great trip. There are plenty of things to do and keep you busy that are included.

 

 

I would recommend you pre-pay gratuities so you don't need to worry about them later.

 

 

If you are on a tight budget then I would spend your extra $$ on things to do when in port. While you could stay on the ship and save on excursion costs or just walk around the port for free, I would try to do something more fun at each port of call. The most convenient way is to go through the ships excursions. You don't have to worry about getting back in time. But it is cheaper if you want to do the research and plan your own excursions.

 

 

Here are some other things on the ship that you may want to budget for:

 

 

- Escape Room: I believe they are charging $10 a person for this now. This could be a fun family activity.

- FlowRider: this is free but they do have semi-private lesson time that your teens may find fun. I forget the charge... around $50 for a 1-2 hour lesson I think.

- Internet package: If you want to have internet access there is a charge for this. Before your cruise watch for special offers (30% off). They have different pricing depending on speed and how many devices you want connected at once. Weekly rates for one device at a time are around $100.

- Drink packages: others have already discussed the alcohol packages. There is complimentary iced tea, water, flavored water in the restaurants around the ship. If you don't want to buy soda packages for kids ($8.50 per person per day), consider bringing water bottles and individual drink mix packets for the week.

- Casino: if you want to gamble at all, bring a set amount for this.

- Dining: You will have great food without visiting any of the specialty restaurants. For an inexpensive extra family meal there is Johnny Rockets: There is an upcharge of around $5 per person for all you want to eat on the menu except for the shakes which are about another $5 each.

- Room Service: if you plan on having snacks / meals in the room at all, bring a some $1 bills for tipping.

- Souvenirs: There is a shop where they sell souvenir items of the ship. You / your kids may want to get something to remember the trip. They have the typical shirts, bags, etc. If I recall correctly, later in the week they may have some sales on selected shirts. You may also want to bring some $$ if you want souvenirs at each port.

- Shopping: either on board or at port, you may want to buy some items. The ship and each port has sales on things such as jewelry, watches, clothing. Not sure if there are any real good deals as we don't go to these places.

 

 

Thanks so much!! That's a really good reply with specifics that I've been looking for!!!

 

 

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[Carolrd]

One other thing you might consider is the 10 drink punch card. This is usually offered for sale on the 3rd or 4th day of your cruise and can be purchased at most bars. I paid $78 plus tax on the Oasis in Oct. Definitely worth it since I was drinking mojitos!!:)

[cruzgryphon]

With kids that age if you like a particular brand of potato chips (e.g. Pringles) bring it with you from home or else pick it up from a grocery store your embarkation port as they, along with gum, chocolate bars are quite expensive to buy on the ship.

[Grandma Dazzles]

One other thing you might consider is the 10 drink punch card. This is usually offered for sale on the 3rd or 4th day of your cruise and can be purchased at most bars. I paid $78 plus tax on the Oasis in Oct. Definitely worth it since I was drinking mojitos!!:)

 

I wish this were offered on all cruises. I have never been lucky enough to take advantage of this. Usually cruise twice a year, last year on the Independence and Serenade, and was not offered on either cruise. It's not offered all the time, on all the ships, so not a good idea to assume it will be offered.

[thrifty99]

With kids that age if you like a particular brand of potato chips (e.g. Pringles) bring it with you from home or else pick it up from a grocery store your embarkation port as they, along with gum, chocolate bars are quite expensive to buy on the ship.

 

 

They do have free chips in snack size bags (can take as many as you want) at the Park Cafe in Central Park at lunch.

 

There is also a nice selection of treats at the Cafe Promenade.

 

And of course the free soft serve ice cream all day.

 

All of that is included free.

 

 

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[kimala]

One thing you may want to inquire about is putting a monetary limit on your kids set sail card...these cards serve as your room key as well as a credit card for extras while on the ship. On Harmony there is an arcade on the boardwalk that costs extra so you should definately set limits.