Creating a Budget

[niciediva007]

I would certainly need Cheers!

 

Well when you put it THAT way!:halo:

[niciediva007]

OP-

 

I don't think anyone answered your question about juice for the kids. In the buffet, at breakfast they will have OJ, Apple and Guava punch; plus milk. Hot cocoa, hot tea and coffee are available 24/7, along with a water dispenser. At lunch and through dinner, it switches to unsweet ice tea and lemonade. You can take sports bottles and fill them and have extra of any throughout the day. The MDR (where we much prefer to eat breakfast) will also have pineapple, tomato and prune juice at breakfast.

 

My oldest doesn't like soda and my youngest is fine with juice, milk, lemonade and tea, so we never get the soda package on Canrival. Now on Princess, yes, we get the non-alcoholic package for them as it is about $8 per day and includes the milk shakes and non alcoholic drinks like strawberry daiquiris.

 

Okay now I’m leaning towards not getting B.B. How does it work if they go to the kids camp? Will they have access to lemonade? They also drink water and milk but I wasn’t sure if it was free anywhere without the package.

[coevan]

Have you looked into going to the steak house the first night, just you and your hubby, for the free bottle of wine and 1/2 price for other bottles of wine. If you purchase 4-5 bottles of descent wine that could get you a "free" steak dinner.

 

 

That is a new one, free steak? Carnival? The only free steak dinner we ever got is from a T.A.

[Tiger0613]

Okay now I’m leaning towards not getting B.B. How does it work if they go to the kids camp? Will they have access to lemonade? They also drink water and milk but I wasn’t sure if it was free anywhere without the package.

 

Milk is free in the Lido buffet and the MDR. You can allow your kids to sign themselves in and out of camp. They can go to the buffet to get lemonade and then go back to camp.

 

I don't like the chocolate milk in the MDR. The last time I had it, it tasted like chocolate syrup milk.

 

On most ships, the buffet has milk cartons. The cartons are only out at breakfast. You have to ask for milk at other mealtimes. You can take extra cartons at breakfast and store them for later in the refrigerator/cooler in your suite.

[Lottacruises]

Beer and wine will really add up without cheers

[ricew001]

We’d have to buy the package for my MIL who will have one glass of anything the whole trip (she’s a holy roller:)). So that’s $750 versus about $525 or so. For the two of us I would have gone and done it, but since they require all adults to buy one, it won’t make sense.

 

Edited to add that cheers is listed as $56.95/day so that’s actually $854 for three, but really two of us.

 

If you buy Cheers ahead of time it's less than the 56.95. It's 51.95. I use the 10% off gift cards I purchased to buy it so with that discount it's $46.76....so that's another savings. :-)

[Melissalcsw]

Kids might want to hit the arcade or the candy store; at least mine do lol :p

[niciediva007]

If you buy Cheers ahead of time it's less than the 56.95. It's 51.95. I use the 10% off gift cards I purchased to buy it so with that discount it's $46.76....so that's another savings. :-)

 

That’s still $779 total. Not exactly equal to 400-500. And our $400-500 estimate is with us deciding to throw all caution to the wind. We drink but we’re not planning to walk around wasted every second of every day. If I were 25 and could recover faster...maybe. My poor kids would be like, “why is mommy still sleep?? It’s not morning anymore!”

[Nevada Jen]

Two ports in a 5 day cruise and 2 medium drinkers? Don't get cheers for 3 people. I am a medium drinker and by day 3 of trying to get my money's worth, I never wanted to see another alcoholic drink in my life. Really don't second guess it. You need to drink at least 18 drinks a day for 5 straight days between the 3 of you and two of those days, you won't even be on the ship. If you are flying, really do not underestimate tips and transportation to and from the airport on both ends. That is what always ends up surprising me.

[niciediva007]

If you buy Cheers ahead of time it's less than the 56.95. It's 51.95. I use the 10% off gift cards I purchased to buy it so with that discount it's $46.76....so that's another savings. :-)

 

And where are these 10% gift cards you speak of??

[ricew001]

And where are these 10% gift cards you speak of??

 

1. Verizon just quit carrying them but AARP does. (search the Cruise Critic boards for complete instructions. Allstate does too but they aren't my insurance. For AARP you do NOT have to be a member!)

2. I see someone else tells you how many "alcoholic drinks" you need to "break even" - don't forget it's sodas, water, coffees, milkshakes, etc. And you can use the estimator to figure it out for you. And when I use it I use the price I pay with the discount of purchasing before the cruise and with the discounted gift cards. I love the pre-pay part. No surprise at the end of the cruise.

[mkmaj]

Allstate insurance has 10% cards! Just ordered them to pay for our cruise & cheers. It adds up - saved $270.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Forums mobile app

[pacruise804]

A non-budget tip: check the fitness area/locker rooms for additional showers. On the Pride the showers were larger than in-cabin and there were plenty of towels in the locker room. Showers had the body wash/shampoo dispensers, but I don't remember seeing wash cloths. It might help some with cabin congestion.

 

I agree with not getting Cheers, and probably not getting Bubbles. Many of us have different opinions of "moderate" drinking so it is hard to advise sometimes, but it sounds like you would do better with buckets of beer ($2 off 4 beers, should be able to do a mixed bucket). Rough numbers of $800 for the 3 adults and an average of $7/drink (wine will be more, but coffee would be less), the three of you would need to drink a combined 114 drinks over the course of the cruise (or 22/day).

My husband and I consider ourselves moderate drinkers, had as much as we wanted on our 7 day cruise (mostly cider and wine, but also a rum sampler and some mixed drinks). Our total beverage costs were less than the cost of 1 Cheers.

 

The Fun Times lists special hours for the arcade - this could be a way to help the kids stretch their budget.

[salty dingo]

I always have a budget before the cruise. I'll create a spreadsheet showing all the expenses, and whether or not they will be cash-only or can be charged.

 

Depending on what the total amount comes to, I will whittle down the list of activities until the total gets to something I can live with. I also will know how much cash to carry with me so I do not run out or have to hit an ATM somewhere along the way.

 

Unless there is plenty of discretionary money in the bank, it would be very dangerous, in my view, to go on a vacation with an attitude of "you only live once" with no pre-planning. Sounds like a way to spend a whole lot of dough.

[Joebucks]

No offense, but you don't see too many budgets that include everything. You have a cabana, internet, spa, drink packages, more drinks, fun shop decor, casino, etc. You seem like the type of person that wants to have fun (nothing wrong with that). Doesn't sound to me like you'll see something and say "it's not in the budget!"