How much have you SPENT on a cruise?

[cruiserbryce]

for a one week cruise we budget about $1000...more depending on whether shore excursions are paid for in advance or charged to on board account:rolleyes:

[SoFLCruiser]

Normally, I never spend more than $300 on a 7 day cruise...

We don't want for much....,

but we're doing a Christmas cruise this year and I'm sure my S&S card is going to be up there with the rest of you!

 

:eek:

[momofmeg]

Normally, I never spend more than $300 on a 7 day cruise...

We don't want for much....,

but we're doing a Christmas cruise this year and I'm sure my S&S card is going to be up there with the rest of you!

 

:eek:

 

This last cruise we booked several excursions and were not charged for them until we boarded ship-so they were not pre paid- I guess NCL does not do that, other lines do-so instead of our usual $300 charge we had a $700 charge. I still say we are cheap compared to most of these other posts here.

[EPFudbutter]

A couple of years ago we had some time on our hands and all of a sudden there were huge bargains for NY based cruises. It seemed to good to pass up, $699 for a balcony for 11 day cruise. All we had to do was take Metro North to Grand Central and get housed and fed for less than $65/day. Surely a bargain. We had just come back from 2 long grueling bank account draining vacations, but were still in travel frenzy so we figured that we'd try a cruise. Gotta be relaxing, no?

 

We had noooooo idea.

 

When we checked in, they asked for a credit card. Why? we ask. Oh in case there are any charges. In case. Yeah right.

 

A shore excursion here, a glass or bottle of wine there (and there and there and there). Specialty restuarants most nights (those $10-20 charges add up don't they?) and before you know it, the cruise is over and they slip a $1,800 bill under your door. Well, we expected an $1.8M bill (I keep track) but we got a $4,300 bill. GASP !

 

Turned out that the art gallery charged us for someone else's $2,500 winning bid on a piece of art. The front desk's solution was that they'd just charge the $4,300 and credit me if what I was telling then turned out to be true. Suffice it to say, perseverance won out and the bill got adjusted after a few hours.

 

Why bring this up? Because it is YOUR FAULT

 

A day or two before we sailed, we discovered this wonderful board. We weren't allowed to post yet, but we learned a lot about cruising and got quite a few valuable tips. One of them was that at the art auction, you would get free champaign. Turned out that we loved the art auction. we learned a lot and had a great time with every aspect of that part of the cruise. The waiter turned out to be the same guy at the nightly trivia and refused to let us have any empty champaign glass while we were there. We even won a bid on a piece that hangs on our wall to this date.

 

If we had never gone to the auction, we wouldn't have had the issue with the bill.

[BroncosFan2010]

The most we spent on one item was an emerald ring we bought in St. Thomas. It is still very special to me when I wear that ring and remember our honeymoon!

Other than that, we are not big drinkers, so our bar tab is not really that big. Maybe $100 for the week between the 2 of us. We do like to spend money on excursions. Our upcoming cruise we are spending more on excursions than we paid for our balcony (We did have a cruise credit from our Visa card).

[jenphan]

I spent $900 for excursions and pictures + the boutiques alone. but now that i'm 21 and getting ready for my cruise ... i'm scared to see the bill this time. but fortunately i have learned my lesson in terms of pictures and alaskan excursions were not cheap; however, i am now able to gamble and purchase alcoholic drinks and fear that i may go overboard with my spendings. :(

[ranquet91]

Would you walk into a store pick up an item and walk out without paying for it? Same thing...you are stealing. The store is a big company too...do you feel they owe you a free ride too???

 

If it was meant to be shared soda cards would be a family plan.

 

FYI one of the "billion dollar cruise line's" stock is at a real low thanks in part to people like you...RC stock is $20.56 today so thanks for taking money out of my pocket!

 

You go on board with $4000 and can't buy separate cards...then you brag about it here like stealing is something to be proud of...how pathetic you are! I hope the powers that be at the cruiselines are reading this and keep a watchful eye on you on your next cruise.

 

People like you deserve to be caught and dropped off at the next port...no refund!

 

Geesh! Someone needs a few drinks and some fresh air... I seriously doubt that sharing soda cards led to the demise of RCL stocks. I mean realistically it costs about 48 cents for a 16oz fountain drink when purchasing the syrup from coca-cola. So let's say a couple "shares" a soda card and they each have 3 soda's a day. That would cost RCL $20.16 cents to supply the soda and since a soda card is $48 that would give RCL and nice $28 profit. I would not say these people need to be kicked off at the next port... Stuffy people like yourself are who make cruises less enjoyable and keep people from cruising thus hurting RCL's stock.

[yakdaddy42]

On our baltic cruise last year for 3 of us with airfair hotels and car rental, shore excursions and yada yada yada. for just over 3 weeks was close to 26,000.00. and we used frequent flyer miles. we spent a week in the UK after the cruise.

 

The only place we took shore excursions was in St Petersburg, no on your own in Russia.

 

It was a great trip, but never cruise on a brand new ship,Too many thing not ready for travel.

[Hellolost]

Should I be scared!!! We have spent between two of us $3,734 and we haven't even set foot on the boat yet! It is our first cruise to Alaska for 10 days. That included an excursion in each port :eek:

 

How the heck much spending money should I be bringing on the boat to cover tips and drinks!

[arlee]

It's our first time cruising - we kind of know what to expect about certain costs and will try to keep our spending to a minimum (easier said than done). After all, it's a vacation and you don't want to have to watch every cent that you spend. We definately won't get caught up in buying silly souvenirs and taking photos. We have our own camera. As far as St. Thomas is concerned, we won't be buying any liquor - although a nice diamond would be nice (just kiddling)! We've booked some excursions and I've set aside a limit for the casino/per day. When you first book a cruise, you don't realize how many extra costs there are - tipping, excursions, etc. etc.

[mwne2nks]

we spent $557 on our first cruise and that included tips,pictures, drinks and a trip to each of the specialty restaurants. We won about $300. in the casino and left with 200 in cash for the trip home. We didn't play bingo and i probably had a couple beers a day. DW had a soda card.

[kf657]

Well, to tell the truth, the first cruise we went on several years ago we went nutz. The bill on the ship was many pages and totaled over $3000.00 for the 6 of us...and two were kids!

 

Now,though, we are much more carefull. We try to keep the cost over the excursions to about $1000.00 for the group of us.

 

I now stay away from Diamonds international and try only to purchase momentos on the last night of the cruise at the sale tables...

[bqkali]

I feel like a cheapskate! :eek:

 

On my last cruise, we had a bill of $170 for a 7-day cruise for 2 people

That included:

$140 tips (2 people @ $10pp per day)

$81 spa (2 manicures)

$48 photos (3 8x10s with a coupon)

$1 postage stamp

-$100 onboard credit from my travel agent

 

Admittedly, we spent a TON on shore excursions but those were booked independently and were paid for before we stepped ashore. We also spent about $50 total on souvenirs in port. But there was no gambling, no drinking, no art auctions, no bingo, and no jewelry so we kept the budget down by avoiding anything too costly. We wouldn't ordinarily hit the spa either but that was a Christmas gift from my sister and the photos were Christmas gifts to bring home for our parents/grandparents.

 

My next cruise, I don't intend on spending anything on spa/photos but DO intend on hitting the martini bar every night. I figure for a 10-day cruise, that's a $250 bill for 1 person ($125 in drinks and $125 in tips). Again, shore excursions are pre-paid with independent operators but are costing me $800+!!! Yikes Alaska is expensive!!

[ariel23]

My boyfriend and I spent about 400 dollars on our 4 night cruise in May on Majesty of the Seas. We didnt do the excursions we are saving them for our upcoming cruise :) We had alcohol onboard, gambled and bought a few souveniers. 400 is pretty good for a cruise hehe

[collegecruiser346]

My on board account usually ranges from $500-$750 for a 7 night cruise. That includes shore excursions, bar tab, service charges, specialty restaurants and usually a thing or two from a shop on board.

[Miss Tracey Lacey]

It is hard to keep it down I think, after paying for the cruise, we still have to pay for our hotel for 3 nights, meals in FL before and after the cruise, $850 for shore ex, some drinks, tips, shopping on the ship and off... I am thinking $3,000 not including the price of the cruise itself for our ten day in Nov.

[tinamaria_1999]

Luckily I'm such a tight wade we have never spent over $400 on even a 7 night cruise.

It can be accomplished by having a DH that doesnt drink alcohol or soda, he-he, no spa treatments for me.....and a set amount for gambling each night. I always win the same amount my husband looses anyway, so it offsets that money. We stick to nickle and penny slots.

We have never done an excursion. We get off ship and take taxi to what we want to do. (researching ports before cruise helps this). We are just beach people and dont spend much on land.

We have never bought a souvenir off ship. We never purchase anything from ship store and we limit ourself to one photo (formal night).

I have free reign on my alcoholic beverages from hubbie, but am always so full from eating it's hard to drink much.

I guess we are just the type of cruisers that get on to relax, eat good "free food", and splurge only on a couple of little things.

 

My point, if you are on a budget and want to cruise several times a year, it can be accomlished for a little amount of money.

 

Dont get me wrong, I wish we were loaded and could splurge like alot of people on this post......but no such luck for us. We still have a fabulous time and just enjoy what we can afford to do. Great conversation w/ people onboard, the fresh air, the beautiful sun beating down on us, watching everyone else also having the time of their lives. Now that's a good cruise no matter how much we all spend.....

 

7th cruise coming up in 4 days.....YOOOHOOO!:D

[FireMonkey]

I dont see how some people think that sharing a soda card is stealing. What's the difference in sharing a soda card versus buying a 6 pack or 24 pack at the grocery store and sharing it with your friends or family? You still pay for it. Note: I have never bought a soda card, not a big soda drinker. However my DBF is a big Diet Pepsi fan so we will be brining our own on board which is allowed.

 

Back to topic, I tend to spend more on the shorter cruises for some reason. On a 4-5 night cruise I tend to spend $350-$400 where as on the 7-8 night trips I only spend around $300. However, most of that is my tips and excursions. I prepaid my excursions and tips for my upcoming cruise and am taking my own wine and soda so I dont anticipate my bill being much over a couple hundred.

[reeran]

I posted a while back and have to apologize for what I posted to some extent.

Let me preface with the fact that we travel on Royal Caribbean exclusively and their soda cards are issued by the day so in other words the cards are issued to each individual passenger and are priced $6.00 day or $42.00 for a 7 day cruise for an example. So you can drink as much soda as you want on the soda card unlimited but just for that individual. My statement was that if you share a soda card it is stealing and with this soda set up on Royal Caribbean I still feel it is because the pricing is based on one person, unlimited to what they consume individually.

 

It was brought to my attention that some of the lines issue a soda card that has so many sodas for a certain price like a punch card. If that is the case and if there are no stipulations on the card I don't see why you couldn't share it as you have paid for that many sodas. So if I insulted someone who uses this card, I apologize, I was simply referring to the card that I am used to.

[downsized]

We were on the POA, so luckily, no casino.

We booked shore excursions for each day, and ate in specialty restaurants for 5 days.

$1600....$1000 of that was for excursions.

Don't even ask about the cash spent while ashore, or the airfare, or the hotel, or the cash spent after the cruise.....or the cruise itself!

[reeran]

Normally we do not worry about spending, if we do need to worry about what we spend we wait until we can afford not to worry:). However last October we had a cruise booked and right after final payment all H*** broke loose with the stock market and the financial markets. We were a little concerned to say the least. We could not cancel as we would loose everything we paid. On top of it we really needed a rest. I have to say for the first time ever we were careful. Luckily we had a $100.00 on board from another cruise and it was our first as a diamond club member so we got to take advantage of the lounge from 5-8. We had already booked and paid for our excursions so for a 7 day cruise our shipboard was $130.00 :eek:.

 

We spent about $300.00 on the islands plus $350.00 for some silver in Cozumel. We had one of the best times ever too! I have to say in reflection that I would rather cruise and watch my budget than to wait!!!!

[Fred&Lily]

Tips, drinks and excursions etc seem to average out at $100 per day for my cruises. Some sea voyages back in the early 70's had no extra costs and no cards. Ship photography is a particular sore point with me. 8x10" glossies look awful and I've often suggested they should do digital pictures and just email them to you (for a small fee). Soda cards seem to be part of the cultural sugar addiction in society now - but I prefer to eat and drink things that are totally different from what we have everyday at home. Isn't that the purpose of travel? My one big indulgence is to buy a painting or two in Caribbean Island ports, roll them into a tube and Fedex or DHL them back home. When we get back the cost of streaching and framing art is always more than what was paid for the canvas. But as a meaningful cruise souvenir, nothing beats a locally haggled and bought primitive canvas - not the cruise ship art. Also, shopping in Caribbean ports for jewellry only benefits a certain group in New York, likewise buying T-shirts that are made in China doesn't do anything worthwhile for the locals. Something else: I like to take pictures of market stalls and pretty girls - always ask permission and always give them $5 rather than buy their beads and stuff. So basically enjoy your cruise, spend your money and know what goes out comes back to you!

[fredman]

Tips, drinks and excursions etc seem to average out at $100 per day for my cruises. Some sea voyages back in the early 70's had no extra costs and no cards. Ship photography is a particular sore point with me. 8x10" glossies look awful and I've often suggested they should do digital pictures and just email them to you (for a small fee). Soda cards seem to be part of the cultural sugar addiction in society now - but I prefer to eat and drink things that are totally different from what we have everyday at home. Isn't that the purpose of travel? My one big indulgence is to buy a painting or two in Caribbean Island ports, roll them into a tube and Fedex or DHL them back home. When we get back the cost of streaching and framing art is always more than what was paid for the canvas. But as a meaningful cruise souvenir, nothing beats a locally haggled and bought primitive canvas - not the cruise ship art. Also, shopping in Caribbean ports for jewellry only benefits a certain group in New York, likewise buying T-shirts that are made in China doesn't do anything worthwhile for the locals. Something else: I like to take pictures of market stalls and pretty girls - always ask permission and always give them $5 rather than buy their beads and stuff. So basically enjoy your cruise, spend your money and know what goes out comes back to you!

 

Great points, I like the idea of spending money this way. What a great way to encourage local artisans and invest in their economy. :)

[Atlastalady]

I posted a while back and have to apologize for what I posted to some extent.

Let me preface with the fact that we travel on Royal Caribbean exclusively and their soda cards are issued by the day so in other words the cards are issued to each individual passenger and are priced $6.00 day or $42.00 for a 7 day cruise for an example. So you can drink as much soda as you want on the soda card unlimited but just for that individual. My statement was that if you share a soda card it is stealing and with this soda set up on Royal Caribbean I still feel it is because the pricing is based on one person, unlimited to what they consume individually.

 

It was brought to my attention that some of the lines issue a soda card that has so many sodas for a certain price like a punch card. If that is the case and if there are no stipulations on the card I don't see why you couldn't share it as you have paid for that many sodas. So if I insulted someone who uses this card, I apologize, I was simply referring to the card that I am used to.

 

So, are you tell telling me that the OUTRAGEOUS prices the cruise lines charge us for an alcoholic drink is not stealing? They get their booze cheap and pay their labor pennies on the dollar.

I don't do soda cards because I don't do soda, but, if I did, I would buy one and share it with my hubby or whoever.

 

Airfare from Alaska, approx $700. Cruise approx $600 per person. Money spent on excursions paid before arriving on ship $200. Money spent on shore approx $200. Ships bill at end of cruise approx $350, which would include drinks, t shirts, perfume and always some kind of jewelry to take home. These are the times I traveled single with friends. I ALWAYS had a fantastic time and never felt like I was "going without" or deprived.

 

My upcoming cruise I am planning one excursion and the other stops I plan to spend on a beach with a beach bar nearby. I do however want to pick up a new watch on the ship. Last time I bought a Citizen watch which has been a wonderful watch for me. My only complaint is that as I am getting older it is getting harder to see where the hands on the watch are because the hands are almost the same color as the face of the watch. I am budgeting $500 for my sale and sign card. OH, and I usually take 100 in bills for tips and another $100 for the casino. I know it doesn't sound like much, but, I am not a big gambler as I never seem to win...........I just do it to pass a little time once in awhile.

[Atlastalady]

I made a typo....... that would be $450 for the sale and sign card and not $350.