How much did you spend on the ship?

[peargirl]

I will be going on a 5 day cruise on Carnival Ectasy. I'm trying to get a fill for how much money I will be spending on the ship.

 

I don't plan to buy much on the ship .....maybe a some drinks.

 

So roughly how much was your tab at the end of the cruise?

 

Also I know they put a hold on your card, how much is the hold? Is the hold per card or person. My husband and I will be using the same card, so just need to make sure neither one of us goes on a shopping spree without telling the other :eek:

 

Thanks

[EngIceDave]

Does the casino count?

[Leo Jay]

I will be going on a 5 day cruise on Carnival Ectasy. I'm trying to get a fill for how much money I will be spending on the ship.

 

I don't plan to buy much on the ship .....maybe a some drinks.

 

So roughly how much was your tab at the end of the cruise?

 

Also I know they put a hold on your card, how much is the hold? Is the hold per card or person. My husband and I will be using the same card, so just need to make sure neither one of us goes on a shopping spree without telling the other :eek:

 

Thanks

 

Hmm, first time around, I think our tab was gratuities only. Even this time around, it won't be much -- the excursions are booked and paid in advance, and we don't drink, so maybe just the gratuities and two nights at the specialty restaurant. I can't imagine what else. There are really not that many opportunities to spend money on the ship -- other than drinks, I don't know how people manage to rack up huge tabs.

[Guest YesitDonna]

You don't know how people rack up big S&S accounts? Lets see.. ok drinks, casino, shopping for... gifts, cigarettes, alcohol, perfumes, jewelry.... shall I go on?

[texas greeneyes]

... There are really not that many opportunities to spend money on the ship -- other than drinks...

 

There are also photos, the dessert/coffee bar, and gift shop purchases, even if you don't drink or gamble. :) As you said, you can book & pay for your excursions in advance, but if you don't, that will also go on your S&S card.

[Leo Jay]

[dupe]

[Bunkie103]

We didn't find drinks to be that expensive, but then we probably don't drink as much as some. We bought liquor (4 bottles) and had a shore excursion and a few little souvenirs on our card, gratuities were prepaid. We were on a 5 day on the Fantasy and as I recall our bill was less than $200. We didn't buy any pictures this time either which can add up, especially at $20 a pop! :eek:

[Vidimom]

They will place a $200.00 per person hold on the credit card if that is what you are asking. If you didn't prepay your tips, there will be $100.00 charged right away on your account. If you drink, like to shop and any excursions, allow for those in your budget.

 

Our last 5 night cruise our Sail and Sign bill was about $500.00 including 1 excursion each, cocktails, a couple pics and a few goodies from the gift shops. We didn't prepay our tips either.

 

Have a great cruise

[star10]

Our bill generally runs about $800 - $1000. I'm not a big drinker... maybe a Pina Colada and another drink a day... my husband probably has around 4 beers a day... then the excursions, the casino and the gift shops... and child care for the late night uses and the big slumber party... There are 5 of us, including the kids.

[LHP]

5 day (assuming 2 people) equals $100.00 for tips. Plan on about $40.00 for some pictures (embarkation and maybe a port). $55.00 for a bucket of beers a day and then another $50.00 for a couple of drinks at night. Plan on $25.00 for incidentals at the gift show. Total $270.00.

 

I am not certain what the hold amount is for a 5 day. We could never reach our limit on a cruise...so it doesn't matter.

[Lurkyloo]

For a family of 3 on a 7 day cruise, we had about $1,400 on our card - this was for drinks, knick knacks, tee-shirts, photos, the DVD, the auto tips, arcade (son had a $20 budget per day for smoothies and arcade), etc...

 

Sadly, this did not even include any of our excursions which we booked online!

 

But you know what - I don't regret one penny! We had a blast and I love every picture, tee-shirt and knick-knack we bought on board! Everytime I see something I bought, it brings a big smile to my face! :D

[rvrgirl]

For us............let's just say you don't want to know:eek: :eek:

[mrdood]

It is impossible to gauge your spending off other people, nobody is in the same financial boat (pun), and your habits are different than mine, I have spent as little as $60 and as much as $1500.

 

Budget what you can, find out what things cost, decide how you want to spend your budget, and dam(n) everyone else and what they do...

[GoinCruisin]

Hmm, first time around, I think our tab was gratuities only. Even this time around, it won't be much -- the excursions are booked and paid in advance, and we don't drink, so maybe just the gratuities and two nights at the specialty restaurant. I can't imagine what else. There are really not that many opportunities to spend money on the ship -- other than drinks, I don't know how people manage to rack up huge tabs.

 

Not that many opportunities??? ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The drinks are comparable to any nice bar or restaurant's prices... I still manage to rack up a hefty S&S bill, then again, it's vacation and I don't care :p

[yogimax]

Tips - $100 (5 days)

Onboard stockholder credit - $50

Total Cost - $50

[NeptunesGoddess]

Our S&S almost matched what we paid for the cruise. There were 4 of us. It included drinks, souvenirs, bought some bottled duty-free booze, splurged on some spa treatments, photos, gambling (3 of us) and some video tapes. We didn't limit ourselves..as you can see. lol.

 

It just depends on what you want to spend it on. I know we really enjoyed the casino, so a large portion of our total came from there.

[Leo Jay]

Not that many opportunities??? ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The drinks are comparable to any nice bar or restaurant's prices... I still manage to rack up a hefty S&S bill, then again, it's vacation and I don't care :p

 

Just doesn't seem like that much to me. A basic moderately-priced gift shop (OP said she's not planning to shop), maybe a specialty restaurant (quite inexpensive), maybe some gambling and bingo, and photos. They're really not all over you to spend a lot of extra money, and you don't really have to unless you have a particular inclination for one thing or another. Then again, I spend most of my time in NYC, where you're besieged with opportunities to part with your cash, so I guess it's all relative. :p

[lovncruzn]

Last cruise we took was on the Imagination in 11/04. It's a five night and there were 4 of us. Two adults and 2 small children. Our bill was $474.56. That included $200.00 in tips. One swimming with the stingrays excursion for 4. A soda card, airport transfers, a photo and afew frou-frou drinks! Next time hoping for half that. No airport transfers, and no kids!:D

[GoinCruisin]

Just doesn't seem like that much to me. A basic moderately-priced gift shop (OP said she's not planning to shop), maybe a specialty restaurant (quite inexpensive), maybe some gambling and bingo, and photos. They're really not all over you to spend a lot of extra money, and you don't really have to unless you have a particular inclination for one thing or another. Then again, I spend most of my time in NYC, where you're besieged with opportunities to part with your cash, so I guess it's all relative. :p

 

You said there really are not that many opportunities to spend money other than drinks, and I was just disagreeing with you. There are PLENTY, and they are ALWAYS telling you new ways you can part with your money, LOL!!! I'll say that 98% of my bill is drinks... just because I don't get suckered :D Wait, I guess by the size of my tab, I do get suckered... but in a good way :D

[mrdood]

You said there really are not that many opportunities to spend money other than drinks, and I was just disagreeing with you. There are PLENTY, and they are ALWAYS telling you new ways you can part with your money, LOL!!! I'll say that 98% of my bill is drinks... just because I don't get suckered :D Wait, I guess by the size of my tab, I do get suckered... but in a good way :D

 

I gotta go with Chris on this one...

 

December we spent $120 on pics, $400 casino, $100 at Harry's, $300sh on drinks (several bottles of wine plus all the regular stuff), $250sh on souvenirs, bought everyone sweatshirts and some other stuff, $50 on the internet, $50 bingo, $250 spa.... and the list goes on!!!

[Leo Jay]

Ok, I guess there are plenty of places to spend money on the ship.

[sirlostalot]

My wife and I try to budget $100 per person per day and that would include everything. On our 5 day cruise we only spent $700. It all depends what you will do. If this is your first cruise try to budget as much as you can, only you will know what you will like to do.:)

[lagbunch8]

My tab for my 4 night Fantasy was $280 for just little old me. I had fun.:D

[bubbles1209]

On our 7 day, we spent 1800 for the week. This included pics, casino, drinks, a shore excursion for all 3 of us, a full body massage that was just for me, sodas, bingo games, gift shops, private island spending, for 3 people. To have covered all of that, I didn't think it was too bad for a 7 day between 3 folks. :eek: And I'm ready to do it again!:D P.S.-That's not including what we spent in ports for souveniers, eats, drinks, also counts the $210 in gratuities at the beginning of the trip.

[centralcalicruzer]

We just got off the Ecstasy (8/21-26). Our Sign and Sail for the four of us for five nights was $466.00. That included $200.00 for tips, $23.00 for one child's soda card, $17.00 for a Build-A-Bear, about $50.00 in purchases at the stores on board and the rest in, shall we say, "adult beverages". I have a glass of wine with dinner each night (we bought a bottle one night and had them save the rest til the next night), and usually one frosty drink each day by the pool or at the show, sometimes both. We did bring two bottles of wine on board, (Yellowtail at Wal-Mart, about $7.00 each) and enjoyed a glass while getting ready for dinner. Hubby can drink a little more than me... But I have to say that I thought the drinks were a little more expensive than on RCI last year, beers were $4.50 as compared to $3.50 and DOD was about $7.50+ as compared to $5.95. Still I thought we did all right for four people on a five nighter. However I have to qualify that we didn't buy any photos, our daughter is getting them for us with her staff discount. And we did get to visit the crew bar with our "Crew Family Passes", you can drink pretty cheap in there and pay cash, so those drinks aren't on our Sign & Sail. And we booked our excursions privately and paid for them in cash. So it's all pretty individual and depends on what you like to do.