On board Ship Charges - How little did you bring?

[vesw01]

I know this is somewhat of a loaded question - each person's version of little is all different. We had this cruise planned and had prepaid for everything other than our pre and post cruise transportation. My husband was downsized the other day and we really have no extra funds to go on the cruise with. I know that there is a $10 per day pp tips and that everything else is subjective to spend. If we just put a couple hundred dollars in cash on our account is that acceptable at the Pursers desk and no credit card? I hate to lose all of the money we already spent. We have a balcony so I know we can just sit and enjoy just relaxing. Do you think we would be highly disappointed if we were really short on cash - we aren't big drinkers or shoppers.

[Darcy03231]

If you set up a cash account I believe Carnival requires $250/pp. On my last cruise I had a credit card linked to my account but decided to pay off my account with cash as I had taken quite a bit with me and used a lot less than I thought I would. I went to the Pursers Desk on the morning of the last sea day and paid it off without any problem. I ended up having a drink that night so I think the grand total charged to my credit card was about $5.50.

[Luvsdaislands]

Sorry to hear about your husband's downsizing but don't worry and don't give up hope!!!

I put a $200 cash deposit on my S&S account and I also received a $50 ship board credit so that made $250 on my account, $70 was immediately deducted so that left me with $180 and at the end of 7 days I was refunded $25. I spent most on the pictures (they just made me look more beautiful than I already am :D). And the rest was on drinks and shipboard souvenirs.

One of my friends only spent about $80 for the entire week.

Things up for purchase is: drinks, souvenirs, perfume, jewlery, clothing, food at the cafe (coffee and desserts), casino.

I witnessed a person taking pictures of their pictures that the ship took and then they left....but I wouldn't recommend it that is is tacky!

Luvsdaislands

[themoon]

I don't know to where you are cruising but one year my husband and I booked a last minute west-carib cruise even though we were leaving two weeks later on a south-carib cruise. The price was too good to pass up so went but planned to spend as little as possible. We had a great time. We brought our own snorkle gear and just walked from the ship to a good spot...and some were outstanding. We packed our own drinks to have in the room. We bought only our favorite photo of the week. We relaxed and enjoyed the dining room and the shows. We even took the city bus from the airport to the cruise pier (we always travel light). It was a great holiday and we didn't feel deprived for a minute. Go and enjoy the cruise despite the bad news.

[tommygirl31700]

I too am in a similar situation as you, I emailed Carnival to ask about their policy about using cash instead of a credit card, it is required to put $200 down per person for a 5-8 day cruise. Hope this helps.

[tommygirl31700]

I am also in a similar situation as you and emailed Carnival about their policy about using cash. They said it is required to put $200 down per person any money left over will be given to you in check form. If you start getting close to your limit they will let you know.

[Cotton]

I don't deprive myself of anything on a cruise, but I don't see any reason to overspend either.:D In all, including what I spend in ports, I don't spend over $50 a day while I'm on a cruise. It can be done, easily, unless you get really carried away. (That is, of course, in addition to the automatic tips on the S&S account.)

[musicmansmom]

i cruise solo so i am in a different situation than you but this is my money critiria - i take $200 in a travelers check for the ss card which they take out $70 for the tips. that leaves me $140 for anything extra on the ship. i always get money back the last night. i dont buy any pictures ( i hate to see photo's of myself ) or play bingo, i can easily leave the casino alone ( i have 3 casino boats within 25 miles of my home i dont go too ), i have already bought 'on the carnival site' 3 bottles of wine for the 7 nights at dinner and i am not a huge foo-foo drinker. i do take on a bottle of champaigne in my carry-on that i mix with orange juice for a nice refreshing drink in the cabin plus a 12 pack of pepsi because i dont like cola. for the ports i figure around $300. i seldom spend that much but i always find something on sale i just cant live without. my tours consist of walking around the ports and investigating free things or getting a good deal from a local vendor for a tour. and the main thing where i save is that i have a closet full of clothes that are very nice and acceptable for the cruise so i dont have to go shopping for new things. i can easily do my whole cruise spending money on $600 and have some left over .i always stash away at least $30 for airport layovers and emercencys. not eating in the ports saves tons of money. just go back to the ship and have lunch for free. i hope this helps you.

 

i am also on a tight budget when i cruise but i have a wonderful time even though i have to count my pennies. have a wonderful cruise and i hope things get back to normal for you soon.

[CruiseFever]

Just to see if we could do it, we tried to spend nothing other than tips on the Fantasy. We didn't make it but came close.

 

My purchases were $28.80:

• $10.30 in the casino, mainly because I wanted to see how the Ocean Players Club system worked where you can charge slot play to your account. Dang dangerous is all that is.
  
• $5.00 for two Diet Cokes. I had tried to make myself believe that I could live on Iced Tea for a week. Yeah right. Next time buy some on the way to the ship.
  
• $13.50 for a shot glass I bought for a friend that collects them and was reimbursed for so this really doesn't count
  

About your cash situation...I don't know if it's an option or when you cruise but maybe between now and then you could get a credit card to guarantee your purchases and just not use it. If all you want to have on there is tips you can or you can have the automatic charges taken off and just pay out cash. You can also pre-pay gratuities and have nothing on your account to settle up.

 

As far as guaranteeing your shipboard account, if you by chance know someone else who is also sailing on your cruise, they could use their card to satisfy the guarantee requirement for your account.

 

Point is, I think you can have a fabulous cruise, yes FABULOUS, without spending a dime. Heck, you've already got a balcony cabin; it doesn't get much better than that!

[salty dingo]

Here's an idea... not sure if you would like it but worth a try. You have a balcony, which is a premium cabin. Balconies are nice, but you can have a fantastic cruise with a less expensive inside cabin.

 

Call Carnival and ask if you can "downgrade" to a less expensive cabin, and have the difference applied to your onboard account. If they have reduced the price to sell the cabins at the last minute, there could be a big difference. You may get a credit of $500 or more.

 

That could pay for all your drinks, excursions, photos, and other stuff. You may even come home with a refund!

[JulieMcCoy]

That's a great idea about downgrading cabin.

 

I agree that you can have a fabulous time without spending a dime once you're onboard. Depending on your ports, you can walk to free beaches, or stay onboard and enjoy the less-crowded ship. Enjoy every free towel-folding class, show, etc. You can go to clubs in the evening without buying drinks. Have fun!

[caseyfan]

After reading through everyones posts I had to jump in and give my 2 cents worth:D . For me going on vacation and especially a cruise is a time to rest, relax and do nothing I don't want or have to do. I love going on cruises, but I have found that spending money is not a requirement for me to have a good time!:D As others have written their are alot of free things to do both on ship and off......one of my favorites is to people watch.....I love to see everyone all dressed up on formal nights. I'm not going to say I don't spend any money when I cruise I do, but that is by choice...and not because I am rich....those rum cakes are just to good to pass up!!!!!:D I think you should go and have a great time...with all you have gone through...with the husbands job being downsized and all I am sure you both could use some time jsut to be together and not think about work. No one will judge you because of what you do or don't spend......and who cares if they do .................I hope you have a great cruise and that everything works out for your family!!!!:)

 

Carla

[vesw01]

Thank you to everyone for responding!! I tried to respond a couple of times, but my posts never showed up due to the overloading of the system. My DH and I decided to go unless he gets a job offer that won't let him. We found out there was a little money in his old 401k that wasn't enough to really roll over into anything so we are going to bank that money to take with us - should cover the tips.

 

We rcvd a military rate to start and rates have gone up so even if we downgraded into an inside cabin we wouldn't save any money - but that was a GREAT idea!! I keep checking prices just in case.

 

I am planning on packing a picnic dinner for the hotel as a surprise. I thought it was a great idea to start the trip off romantically - sets the right tone.

 

All in all, I am really looking forward to the trip now. Some time alone to decompress and just enjoy one another. We won't have any extra money to spend on distractions - so it will be the two of us (maybe a smuggled bottle of rum and coke) and our balcony!

[gatrbait]

I'm so very glad you are still going and recognize the fact that together you can get thru anything!! I wish you the best of luck in the future, but ya know good thinks happen to good people and you sound super good!! Enjoy the picnic as sometimes the simplest things mean the most!!

Micky

[cruisin_in_my_dreams]

I was worried when we took our first cruise this past June. We took about $500 cash with us and left about $700 in our account. Even though I wanted to pay cash towards my S&S,but since I filled out the credit card portion of the ticket for the S&S, they said i had to use my debit card. To make a long story short, for the 2 of us for an 8 day cruise, our S&S bill came to a little over $500. And yes, we did buy pictures(the first "good" formal pictures). We used the pocket money for bingo,etc. and bought a soda card which saved us plenty cuz both of us drink way to much soda.

 

You can have a great time on a budget...trust me..we did!

 

patty

[JerseyGrl]

I think you can have a very enjoyable cruise without spending a lot of money. Especially if drinking isn't on top of your list of enjoyable activities. My boyfriend and I just got back from a Southern Caribbean cruise in which we went on an execursion in 3 out of the 4 ports. Something that we decided we would never do again. There is so much fun free stuff to do in port that you don't need to book an exercusion. Browse the shops and markets, go to free beaches... We feel going on so many exercursions limited our time to enjoy each port on our own. And there is a lot to say about being one of the few people left on the ship while everyone eles is in port. Bring a camara take your own pictures and go with a positive attitude and you will have a FANTASTIC time. Enjoy!