Managing cash onboard

[Jungle Jane]

Just wanted to share our method for handling our cash while on our 1st cruise the week before last. (Cruise itself and ship excursions were paid for via credit card.) I had done tons of homework on each port and figured out any extra costs involved in what we would be doing on each excursion such as photos, souvenirs, etc... I took the amount figured for each day and put it in an envelope marked with the day it was for. I had different amounts in each envelope and the money was broken down into different smaller denominations so I wouldn't be asking for change-I had heard that the locals will often claim not to have any small bills in an effort to get you to let them keep the change. When each day arrived we'd open our envelope and have our money for the day. My 13 y/o daughter very much looked forward to opening each day's envelope and seeing what our budget was for the day. Doing this kept us from overspending, it's so easy to just keep peeling the bills off a big wad, this way we had just the amount we needed, no fear of losing a big wad or overspending. In fact a few days we actually had money left over and we just put it into the next day's envelope.

 

This method worked very well for us, so I just figured I'd share our idea here.

[jcruise67]

Just wanted to share our method for handling our cash while on our 1st cruise the week before last. (Cruise itself and ship excursions were paid for via credit card.) I had done tons of homework on each port and figured out any extra costs involved in what we would be doing on each excursion such as photos, souvenirs, etc... I took the amount figured for each day and put it in an envelope marked with the day it was for. I had different amounts in each envelope and the money was broken down into different smaller denominations so I wouldn't be asking for change-I had heard that the locals will often claim not to have any small bills in an effort to get you to let them keep the change. When each day arrived we'd open our envelope and have our money for the day. My 13 y/o daughter very much looked forward to opening each day's envelope and seeing what our budget was for the day. Doing this kept us from overspending, it's so easy to just keep peeling the bills off a big wad, this way we had just the amount we needed, no fear of losing a big wad or overspending. In fact a few days we actually had money left over and we just put it into the next day's envelope.

 

This method worked very well for us, so I just figured I'd share our idea here.

 

Hi Jane...I can understand your method, but what you haven't factored in to the equation is spontaneous spending. Its OK to have a budget or a spending allowance for the day in port, but there are certain expenses you may not count on like taxis, a special gift or piece of merchandise you didn't plan on purchasing etc. I've been on 18 cruises and about to embark on my 19th next week. I know from experience its easier to have too much than to budget exact dollars and cents. I don't know what your budget was for the days you spent in port but I can assure you that it hardly works out to what you intend to spend versus what you spend. I see it worked out for you and thats great! Excursions, alcohol, casino expenses, spa, duty free shops on board and supper clubs can be put on your sail & sign account. That is usually where most of your expenses are. Port expenses can vary from high to low depending what you do as far as shopping, ventures, beach day, etc. It depends on what you choose to do on your own versus organized expenses using your ship board account. I know I personally could not say I'm spending only this amount while in port. Once in St.Maarten, I rented a Harley and rode the entire island. It was spontaneous but it cost me $400.00 I didn't plan that, it just happened.

 

jcruise

[Jungle Jane]

Wow, I would have LOVED to ride a Harley around St. Maarten! I think the difference is that this was my first cruise and I was traveling solo with a teenager. We knew what we would be doing at each port, didn't do anything spontaneous other than decide where to have lunch when we were there and where to shop. We also didn't take any taxi's, our excursions were all pre-planned and already paid for, were either ships tours or private tours, and all included transportation. Everything that could go on our Sea Pass card did, I'm just talking about things that needed to be paid for cash in ports. We didn't have exact dollars and cents, our daily envelopes contained the expected amount rounded up plus a $20 or so buffer, which is why we ended up with extra a few times. And for instance I knew that Grand Cayman in general is a more expensive place than Cozumel and did my research and filled my envelopes accordingly. I did have all tips, meals, gifts and souvenirs accounted for.

 

I would LOVE to just go on a whim and do whatever but being just us girls and on a budget, not familiar with any of the ports and no daddy with us to protect us and hold our money and take care of us this is the plan I came up with, and it worked very well for us :) I was actually pretty proud of myself for being that responsible with the money because when hub is with me I don't think about the money or where to get it or how much I need, I just tell him how much I want and he hands it over LOL! He actually bought a Harley this past summer, which is why he sent us girls on a cruise-to keep things fair at home :) He wants nothing to do with cruising and he knew we were dying to cruise so he sent us :)

 

Glad for you tho' that you can be so spontaneous-I bet you have a great time :)

[amapola]

I think it's a great system and will be helpful for other families. Very creative of you! I've heard of people using the envelope system for the monthly household expenses, and though I don't use it myself, I think it's an effective system to keep track of things. Thanks for sharing! :)

[jmort]

Just wanted to share our method for handling our cash while on our 1st cruise the week before last. (Cruise itself and ship excursions were paid for via credit card.) I had done tons of homework on each port and figured out any extra costs involved in what we would be doing on each excursion such as photos, souvenirs, etc... I took the amount figured for each day and put it in an envelope marked with the day it was for. I had different amounts in each envelope and the money was broken down into different smaller denominations so I wouldn't be asking for change-I had heard that the locals will often claim not to have any small bills in an effort to get you to let them keep the change. When each day arrived we'd open our envelope and have our money for the day. My 13 y/o daughter very much looked forward to opening each day's envelope and seeing what our budget was for the day. Doing this kept us from overspending, it's so easy to just keep peeling the bills off a big wad, this way we had just the amount we needed, no fear of losing a big wad or overspending. In fact a few days we actually had money left over and we just put it into the next day's envelope.

 

This method worked very well for us, so I just figured I'd share our idea here.

 

 

So typically how much money did you spend at ports...on average. What kinda stuff did you spend it on.

 

In april I will be going on my first cruise and I am wondering how much money to bring for port spending.

[Jungle Jane]

We did Western Caribbean on FOTS, ports were Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios Jamaica, Georgetown Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. I'll do my best to remember all we bought/paid cash for, I'm sure I'll leave stuff out...

 

Keep in mind this is just me and my teenage daughter. Had there been more kids or adults we would have needed more cash. Also all of our excursions included transportation.

 

Labadee was a beach day, no excursions planned, just roaming the penninsula, a bit of shopping and a lot of relaxing. Lunch was included, floating mats and drinks (love that Labadoozie!) went on our SeaPass card. We spent about $30 in the shops on shot glasses, small metal lizzards, artisan jewelry, post cards, stuff like that. It was all stuff we could live without but after reading some of the threads about the poverty in Haiti I figured it was the least I could do. We also spent about $10 in various tips for getting our chairs, taking pictures, playing music, etc. So $40 in Labadee. $50 was in my envelope.

 

Ocho Rios: we did a ship's excursion to climb DRF and play with the dolphins. One 4x6 dolphin pic was $16, we only bought one. Tipped guide at each place $10 so that's $20. Bought t shirts $18 each and a shot glass $5, some wood carvings and beaded jewelry, about another $15...although I know I spent more like $70, just can't recall on what right now...LOL! We skipped lunch in this port, our driver was in a rush to get us back to the pier and once we were there we just went back to the ship for lunch rather than walk around looking for someplace. $80 was in my envelope.

 

Grand Cayman, did a private tour, tipped guides $10 so there's $20, lunch was included. Bought 4 t shirts and a shot glass-about $80 (the t shirts were not cheap here!) I spent more like $150 here so I am forgetting stuff... $125 was in my envelope but I had extra from the days before.

 

Cozumel, did a ship's tour, did include snacks and a drink but not lunch. Lunch was $10 plus 2 extra drinks $10 plus $5 tip plus $10 tip to our guide. So $35 so far. Our excursion included free drinks at Senior Frogs and we got some snacks there too so we spent about $15 there in tips and snacks. This is where it gets hazy because shopping in Cozumel is nuts. We LOVED it. We haggled our fannies off! We bought jewelry, shot glasses, t shirts, candy, purses, small stone carvings, on and on and on. While Cozumel in general is cheaper than Grand Cayman, I had heard the shopping was better so this is where we brought the money. $150 was in this envelope, we ended up with $20 leftover.

 

Had we been buying alcohol or big ticket jewelry we would have needed a lot more. For us the shopping was just a bonus and we focused on souvenir type stuff.

 

I hope this helped some, enjoy your cruise!!

[jmort]

We did Western Caribbean on FOTS, ports were Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios Jamaica, Georgetown Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. I'll do my best to remember all we bought/paid cash for, I'm sure I'll leave stuff out...

 

Keep in mind this is just me and my teenage daughter. Had there been more kids or adults we would have needed more cash. Also all of our excursions included transportation.

 

Labadee was a beach day, no excursions planned, just roaming the penninsula, a bit of shopping and a lot of relaxing. Lunch was included, floating mats and drinks (love that Labadoozie!) went on our SeaPass card. We spent about $30 in the shops on shot glasses, small metal lizzards, artisan jewelry, post cards, stuff like that. It was all stuff we could live without but after reading some of the threads about the poverty in Haiti I figured it was the least I could do. We also spent about $10 in various tips for getting our chairs, taking pictures, playing music, etc. So $40 in Labadee. $50 was in my envelope.

 

Ocho Rios: we did a ship's excursion to climb DRF and play with the dolphins. One 4x6 dolphin pic was $16, we only bought one. Tipped guide at each place $10 so that's $20. Bought t shirts $18 each and a shot glass $5, some wood carvings and beaded jewelry, about another $15...although I know I spent more like $70, just can't recall on what right now...LOL! We skipped lunch in this port, our driver was in a rush to get us back to the pier and once we were there we just went back to the ship for lunch rather than walk around looking for someplace. $80 was in my envelope.

 

Grand Cayman, did a private tour, tipped guides $10 so there's $20, lunch was included. Bought 4 t shirts and a shot glass-about $80 (the t shirts were not cheap here!) I spent more like $150 here so I am forgetting stuff... $125 was in my envelope but I had extra from the days before.

 

Cozumel, did a ship's tour, did include snacks and a drink but not lunch. Lunch was $10 plus 2 extra drinks $10 plus $5 tip plus $10 tip to our guide. So $35 so far. Our excursion included free drinks at Senior Frogs and we got some snacks there too so we spent about $15 there in tips and snacks. This is where it gets hazy because shopping in Cozumel is nuts. We LOVED it. We haggled our fannies off! We bought jewelry, shot glasses, t shirts, candy, purses, small stone carvings, on and on and on. While Cozumel in general is cheaper than Grand Cayman, I had heard the shopping was better so this is where we brought the money. $150 was in this envelope, we ended up with $20 leftover.

 

Had we been buying alcohol or big ticket jewelry we would have needed a lot more. For us the shopping was just a bonus and we focused on souvenir type stuff.

 

I hope this helped some, enjoy your cruise!!

 

 

This helps a TON!!!! Thanks. I think your budget plan works for myself and my husband also. We don't plan on spending on jewelry, art or anything expensive like that. We are just looking for maybe a few souvenirs for our daughters(tee shirts, nic nacs, etc)

 

I heard that Grand Cayman is expensive. My docter told me her and her husband went there on their cruise and when they ordered lunch someplace (2 sandwiches and 2 drinks) it cost them 80 dollars. I think I will be eating lunch on the boat.

We are also going to ocho rios, and we have reserved the dolphin touch excursion. In cozumel we are going snorkeling. Grand Cayman we plan on doing some shopping. Our last island is Princess cays and that will be our beach day....where we also get a free BBQ. So i'm thinking that 500 for port spending is good....ya think?

[Jungle Jane]

If you're spending habits will be similar to what ours were then $500 should be fine. If your girls are older maybe give then an allowance, especially in Cozumel where there is so much to choose from.

 

Another thing I did for the purpose of haggling or just buying small ticket items here or there is to put $5 in each of my pockets (I wear board shorts) and also a few singles in each side of my bathing suit bra, aside from the wad of bills I had in a water wallet under my swimsuit cover. That way when haggling I'd say "I only have $5, see?" and they'll take it. If think you have more they'll keep at you. My daughter had 6 wet $1 bills in her hand and she HAD TO HAVE a silver ring with dolphins on it. We went cart to cart, finally ended up the stairs on the 2nd level of the shopping near the pier and some guy took the $6 for the ring after starting the asking at $22!

[KC_fn]

Jane: Our method was similar to yours.

 

Before we left, I made a budget spreadsheet, broken out per person per day, which I took along on the cruise and checked each evening. Each person made their own spending decisions, and we were allowed to "borrow" from future days, or carry forward unspent cash (for example, my DD cut back on her Coke consumption for several days so that she could buy a hoodie in the gift shop). For ports, each person could spend all or part of that day's allotment, and I also took along a little extra spending money for each port -- in separate envelopes, just like you.

 

I brought enough cash along to cover all spending, plus a little cushion (which I didn't tell anyone about :D ). As it turned out, we got so good at finding "free fun" that we didn't even spend our entire budget. On the last night, I paid off the balance on the S&S account. This was a welcome relief when the next credit card bill arrived, and a marked contrast to our first cruise.

[Travel Angel]

I am amazed at how meticulous some of you guys are, and while I commend you for your suggestions...spread sheets, envelopes, etc..... You are on vacation and taking this expense issue planning to the max !!!

 

Don't get me wrong.... I am all for planning, but I have always found that by simply using a per diem of approx. $50.00 per person per port for those little extras that I have not already prepaid for i.e. shore tours, has always worked out for our 25 + cruises. And if on a whim, I decide to do something way outside the expected/planned.... I always have a c.card with me in case I decide to go a little wild. FYI....I learned this method over the years and have adjusted accordingly based on the itinerary of various cruises, but in almost every case have always come back with cash from the original amount brought using this method.

 

I work with #'s all day long and the last thing I want to do is to have to stress over such intense planning and then worry if I am meeting my projections while on the cruise...ARGH !!!

[KC_fn]

I am amazed at how meticulous some of you guys are, and while I commend you for your suggestions...spread sheets, envelopes, etc..... You are on vacation and taking this expense issue planning to the max !!!

 

It's the OCD. :D

[Travel Angel]

It's the OCD. :D

 

You got that right !!!

 

<----looking for an asprin from everyones pre planning and analizing tactics !

[Jungle Jane]

KC you took the words right outta my mouth, it's a healthy outlet for the OCD and I don't find it stressful at all :)