What is your biggest expenditure while on a cruise ship?

[Joebucks]

12 hours ago, clo said:

I'm just going to tack this on here.  Just cause. Reading these last few posts about drink packages it's a real wake-up to the privileges of Oceania. All the non-alcoholic drinks, including fancy-dancy coffees, are included. And I can bring on hard liquor and wine to our hearts content. Pay $25 corkage if we have it outside our cabin. Reading that "$2895" number above really got my attention. Wow.

 

Pros and cons to each. From what I've seen, HAL fare + drink package still costs a few hundred less than Oceania's fare for the similar cruise. Nice to have that option if you don't want a lot of drinks

[flyingron]

Depends on the line.   The last trip most of our shore stuff was included, but I had to tip the crew and the cruise director (the purser handled this for us).   On the next one, the gratuities are largely included, but the excursions cost more.   We don't end up spending too much extra on alcohol (the standard offerings of wine were sufficient for us) or food.   My wife did end up buying several hundred dollars of printed silk scraves in Lyon so I guess that was one of my biggest challenges.   

[Nebr.cruiser]

We spend very little on board.  Gratuities would be a big expense, but often are covered by whatever special we booked under.

 

Shore excursions are our biggest expense but we almost always do independent excursions, not ship excursions.

 

I might buy a picture or two; otherwise unless we have a lot of non-refundable OBC, we seldom buy anything on board.

 

 

[donaldsc]

49 minutes ago, flyingron said:

Depends on the line.   The last trip most of our shore stuff was included, but I had to tip the crew and the cruise director (the purser handled this for us).   On the next one, the gratuities are largely included, but the excursions cost more.   We don't end up spending too much extra on alcohol (the standard offerings of wine were sufficient for us) or food.   My wife did end up buying several hundred dollars of printed silk scraves in Lyon so I guess that was one of my biggest challenges.   

 

Why would you tip the cruise director.  The cruise director is management and not staff.   You do not tip management.  

[Hlitner]

Our biggest expensive on HAL cruises would be drinks.  We have never gotten the Signature Beverage Package because it made no sense for our drinking habits.  We get 50% off of the wine packages and generally drink half a bottle of wine at dinner.  So are total cost (for 2) for wine is generally about $20 to $25 per day (depending on the package).  If we then add our usual drink habits which include a pre-dinner cocktail and after dinner drinks are total cost averages about $80 per day (total for the 2 of us) or $40 per person/day.  The Signature drink package generally costs more then that price so makes no sense.  If we could get it as a promo when its real cost (to us) was in that $40 per person/day range then it would be a good deal.  On other cruise lines such as Princess and Celebrity we will often get their beverage package since it is often discounted (in a big way) as part of a promotion.

 

Our excursion costs, on cruises, are generally zero since we have no interest in cruise line excursions (except on those rare occasions when it cannot be avoided such as when we were in Murmansk).  We handle most ports on our own (trains, buses, rental cars, feet) or with an occasional private tour often done on the CC Roll Call board.  Why do we avoid cruise line excursions?  Perhaps that is best answered by a question.  Why would we pay too much money to be packed into a large tour bus with many other strangers?  We prefer to do what we want, when we want, with whom we want.

 

Hank

[Vexorg]

For my wife and I our biggest expense on cruises is usually shore excursions, either booked through the line or otherwise.  Aside from that, on most cruises our biggest expenses tend to be gratuities and whatever non-alcoholic beverage package is offered since we don't drink alcohol.  On a couple of occasions I've actually purchased art on the ship, but that tends to be rare.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Vexorg

[Husky61]

Room cabin and casino.😀

[Krazy Kruizers]

Gratuities.  They seem to keep going up and up.

 

I would have said specialty restaurants but being as we are 5 stars on HAL, we 50% off them.

[MicCanberra]

We normally have our gratuities included in the fare, so for us it is excursions from the ship when we do them. This varies depending on the itinerary as some cruises we do not use the ship's shorex at all. Next would be drinks but again this would depend on the cruiseline.

[GUT2407]

Mrs Gut, by miles. Haven’t done a shore tour for years, don’t drink, but I always get a soft drink package, Mrs G may get a coffee card, we have bought some art, because the price was right, we liked it and had somewhere to hang it. Mrs G has blown some dough on handbags and makeup, but always knows her prices so usually saves on what she would pay at home. I bought a watch once. Glad they don’t sell high quality pens or cameras or I might be in trouble.

 

we frequently have enough OBC to cover everything and even have a bit left over sometimes, Mrs Gut is still upset about the $1.24 non refundable OBC we left behind “Should have put it through the 2c poker machines”.

[flyingron]

On 12/30/2019 at 11:42 AM, donaldsc said:

 

Why would you tip the cruise director.  The cruise director is management and not staff.   You do not tip management.  

 

They are not "management."  They are not in the chain of command anywhere on board and nobody reports to them.    They followed the pre and post tour as well.

 

[lenquixote66]

On 12/7/2019 at 2:45 PM, lenquixote66 said:

Gratuities and $10 tee shirts

I have to amend my response after my last cruise to donations to the casino,more than any other cruise .

[calliopecruiser]

5 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

the $1.24 non refundable OBC we left behind

Crystal (which has gratuities included) has a "crew fund" that allows passengers to tip the crew, as a whole.......I always leave the crew fund a tip at the very end of the cruise so that I can use up any remaining OBC to the penny. 

[pacruise804]

21 hours ago, flyingron said:

 

They are not "management."  They are not in the chain of command anywhere on board and nobody reports to them.    They followed the pre and post tour as well.

 

Not to get too off topic, but doesn't some of the entertainment staff report to the cruise director (unless you are on a line with both an ED - entertainment director - and CD)?  

[flyingron]

Not on the cruise we are on.  

 

[ilikeanswers]

Since the argument is brewing is everyone sure they are discussing the same job? 

A Cruise Director's Calling

 

[JPFR]

On 12/7/2019 at 7:43 AM, ilikeanswers said:

What amenities, products, services and/or facilities do you find yourself spending the most for on board a cruise ship? And does it differ depending on the cruise ship? 

We are loyal to Viking which is an "all-inclusive" line, but we do purchase (or are "comped"), the expanded drinks package (around $150 pp for the entire cruise). Additionally, an included shore excursion is provided in each port, but we sometimes add a special interest excursion that is usually priced well under $100. But for travelers on more mainstream lines, the answer would be determined by your interests. Obviously, those who like to gamble could probably drop quite a bit in the Casinos. People who enjoy fine wines and spirits can run up quite a bar tab. Shore excursions will also add a hefty sum to the bill they slide under your door the final night. Some folks love the spa and all the services they offer. So, it really depends on your personal interests.

[soonernstlouis]

Interesting read above & helpful for budgeting.  My last cruise had 5 ports and only 1 sea day so I budgeting about $200/day for port days and maybe $200 total for the onboard expenses (grats were prepaid).  We probably spent $400-$500 onboard due to:

•change in port location-basically had to use Carnival excursion or stay on ship in unfamiliar port

•Wife bought more pictures than expected 

•Lack of quality entertainment led us to gamble more than I prefer 

 

Our next cruise is 3 ports and 3 sea days but we selected a room in the Havana area so relaxing should be priority one & Horizon has more free dining options.  Already reserved 1 specialty dining and likely will pick 1-2 more.  Hope to keep non-cruise budget around $1,000.

[crystalspin]

On 12/7/2019 at 9:20 PM, crystalspin said:

On HAL, our preferred line, for a 28-day cruise with LOTS of sea days:

two Signature Beverage Plans: $2895

HSC for two: $812 + extra we will no doubt add

Ship's Excursions: $480 + tips to guides/drivers

Private Excursions: $300 (this may go up, even on the spot) + tips to guides/drivers

one Premium Wifi: $264

 

This is the Hawaii-Tahiti So.Pacific that has had no specials (since I found it), so I am just happy I got the cabin we want, when I got it. Also what with all those expenses, we will make 4* with this cruise!

I found out yesterday that I could get the Elite Beverage Plan pre-sailing for $5pppd and increase the wine choices by eleven additional wines. So the details are now $3216.64 for two Elite Beverage Packages, or ~$115/day. That's alot! But it used to be $15pppd more, bought only on the ship, and we never were tempted by that. OTOH we were never on board for 28 days with only one or maybe two wines we individually cared for!

 

@ldubs This increase will not change our drinking habits! Just our choices. As HAL makes you pay full price for drinks over the package limits, the added price for both of us amounts to less than one glass of wine overage, per day.

[ilikeanswers]

45 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I found out yesterday that I could get the Elite Beverage Plan pre-sailing for $5pppd and increase the wine choices by eleven additional wines. So the details are now $3216.64 for two Elite Beverage Packages, or ~$115/day. That's alot! But it used to be $15pppd more, bought only on the ship, and we never were tempted by that. OTOH we were never on board for 28 days with only one or maybe two wines we individually cared for!

 

Wow these drink packages sound expensive to me. I have had whole holidays that cost as much as that drink package😆. Then again I drink rarely so I'm not familiar with average drink cost but I guess if people are buying it must be alright value.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I found out yesterday that I could get the Elite Beverage Plan pre-sailing for $5pppd and increase the wine choices by eleven additional wines.

That was supposed to be "for $5pppd MORE" than I'd already paid for the SPB, or 49.95 instead of 44.95 -- both with 15% service added on payment.

 

@ilikeanswers It *is* expensive. We never used to buy a package, but after getting it as part of promotionals on our last two or three HAL cruises, I figured out the value of what we would reasonably drink (alcoholic and non-) if pre-paid -- and the pre-sailing price on HAL's Signature Beverage Package was right at the tipping point. At $15pppd, the Elite BP was way over. But at $5pppd additional, and with the winelist provided by @Crew News, I can rationalize that!

[c-boy]

12 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Wow these drink packages sound expensive to me. I have had whole holidays that cost as much as that drink package😆. Then again I drink rarely so I'm not familiar with average drink cost but I guess if people are buying it must be alright value.

I had sticker shock slid under my door the night prior to disembarkation.  The only thing they didn't charge for was a pot to piss in. Since then it's been packages for 14 days or more. On Princes PBP includes anything from specialty coffees, fresh squeezed juice, H2O, 25% off bottles of wine ... all with friendly service. 

Edited January 6, 2020 by c-boy

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I found out yesterday that I could get the Elite Beverage Plan pre-sailing for $5pppd and increase the wine choices by eleven additional wines. So the details are now $3216.64 for two Elite Beverage Packages, or ~$115/day. That's alot! But it used to be $15pppd more, bought only on the ship, and we never were tempted by that. OTOH we were never on board for 28 days with only one or maybe two wines we individually cared for!

 

@ldubs This increase will not change our drinking habits! Just our choices. As HAL makes you pay full price for drinks over the package limits, the added price for both of us amounts to less than one glass of wine overage, per day.

 

For a 28 day cruise I think you made a wise decision grabbing that upgrade deal.   Enjoy! 

[ldubs]

13 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Wow these drink packages sound expensive to me. I have had whole holidays that cost as much as that drink package😆. Then again I drink rarely so I'm not familiar with average drink cost but I guess if people are buying it must be alright value.

 

I am kind of like you and usually get comped more bar drinks that I would buy (gosh I sound kind of boring).  Anyway, I was thinking the same thing about the package cost.  One thing I failed to recognize is that a couple of fancy cups of joe in the morning might be $25 for two folks.  Add to that $15 or more for bar drinks before the 18% - 20% grat charge.  Then there is the "convenience" and "luxury of options" factors.  I can see how a package would be appealing.   

[DarrenM]

Drinks package and gratuities all included. So we will spend nothing on board. Unless we use a speciality restaurant. But that's not that much of an expense. So its classic drinks package which covers our wine cocktail whisky and beer needs.

 

Never been in a casino in my life so spend nothing there. Walked through the one on edge and even the slot machines look too complicated for me.

 

Spend a bit onshore but again not a lot.

 

A few gifts for home is probably it.

 

Oh and all excursions are paid for before we go.