Is $1000 enough spending money for a 10night cruise?

[bigbigbear28]

Hey Everyone,

 

I'll be sailing on the pacific dawn in less then 2 weeks, and i wanted to ask if $1000 spending money would be enough? im not much of a drinker so i don't think i will spend alot on that. So do you think $100 a day will be enough just for me.

 

 

Thanks

[arxcards]

Hey Everyone,

 

I'll be sailing on the pacific dawn in less then 2 weeks, and i wanted to ask if $1000 spending money would be enough? im not much of a drinker so i don't think i will spend alot on that. So do you think $100 a day will be enough just for me.

 

 

Thanks

This is a good estimate.

Things that affect spending the most are:

Drinking volume

shore tours

art auctions

spa treatments

bingo and casino

specialty dining

duty free alcohol purchased onboard for bringing home

autotips of $7.50 pp 13+ are charged each day (but not compulsory)

[bigbigbear28]

This is a good estimate.

Things that affect spending the most are:

Drinking volume

shore tours

art auctions

spa treatments

bingo and casino

specialty dining

duty free alcohol purchased onboard for bringing home

autotips of $7.50 pp 13+ are charged each day (but not compulsory)

 

Thanks for that, we are only doing the 1 tour in vila which is $59 from memory, not into art so i won't be taking part in that, not sure about spa treatments i will have to see what they offer, i may play a pokie so will have to be careful there, we have decided not to eat at the steakhouse purely because of the $35 cover charge, i will purchase my alcohol duty free from vila, i would like to pay bingo but probley only a couple of times again because of the cost and i will be leaving the autotips on my account. Oh and i will also bring a case of cans with me to save abit there too. Im going more to just relax and am hoping to come home with some cash but ill also have my mastercard on hand just incase i need abit extra.

[Brossy]

This is a good estimate.

Things that affect spending the most are:

Drinking volume

shore tours

art auctions

spa treatments

bingo and casino

specialty dining

duty free alcohol purchased onboard for bringing home

autotips of $7.50 pp 13+ are charged each day (but not compulsory)

 

Thanks for that, we are only doing the 1 tour in vila which is $59 from memory, not into art so i won't be taking part in that, not sure about spa treatments i will have to see what they offer, i may play a pokie so will have to be careful there, we have decided not to eat at the steakhouse purely because of the $35 cover charge, i will purchase my alcohol duty free from vila, i would like to pay bingo but probley only a couple of times again because of the cost and i will be leaving the autotips on my account. Oh and i will also bring a case of cans with me to save abit there too. Im going more to just relax and am hoping to come home with some cash but ill also have my mastercard on hand just incase i need abit extra.

Hi

Take cash for the casino/poker machines otherwise you will be charged a fee of about 3% on your cruise card to withdraw cash (there are no ATM's onboard).

Have a great trip!

[Gratz]

Oh really brossy? so take coins? $1's and $2's?

[arxcards]

Oh really brossy? so take coins? $1's and $2's?

The machines take Aussie notes and $1 coins.

 

The 3% fee is a bit expensive, but is not transacted as a cash withdrawal to your credit card. Any cash you withdraw in the casino becomes part of your onboard account which is settled in one purchase transaction at the end.

[Sonyac]

For someone who has just come off the Dawn :D:

 

Spa treatments vary but if you wait for specials then it depends on what you want done. For example, I had the Ladies Night special which was $119. It entailed a 2 hour session which included a sit in the steam room and sauna for however long I could stand to be in there, a full body massage, a frangipani treatment in my hair that was part of my massage to the head, a facial and fruit with champagne. I felt like a goddess afterwards (actually wanted to go to sleep it had made me so drowsy) and was not under any obligation to purchase the products used even though Tamara wrote them all down for me.

 

I also had my hair done in an upstyle for the second formal night to go with my brand new frock and I had a very good idea of what I wanted which helped as my hair turned out gorgeous, see attached picture. I basically said that I wanted it curled all over apart from my fringe, which I styled myself and pinned to my head to make my face proportionate to my head, and pinned up. This cost $89 but included the time and effort to straighten and curl my hair, the bobby pins, the time it took to do and the hair clip put in afterwards. It was the only spoiling of myself I did.

 

We took $1000 cash each to spend and came home with several hundred. However, we did register our credit card and the bill went onto that. I went a little crazy on souveniers and photos (they are professionally done with lighting and look amazing) but I hardly drank and did take cans with me although I didn't drink them all as I had also taken powdered cordial which I made up with water in a 1.25L pump water bottle that I purchased from Woolies in Sydney. All water in your room is drinkable so you could technically take powdered tang or similar in sachets and use it to make up cordial which is a cheaper solution that quenches your thirst instead of soft drink.

 

The Steakhouse is $25 each not $35 as I had stated but if you eat the 4 course dinner in the Palm Court Dining Room or the Cafe Del Sol Buffet which is all you can eat then you don't need the Steakhouse or any other dining options which charge as the food is wonderful.

 

Just watch out what you purchase on the islands themselves as certain items are subject to quarantine regulations. Declare anything you are unsure of when you get back to Sydney.

 

Bingo is $10 for a 5 game, 1 box book, $20 for a 5 game, 3 box book and $30 for a 5 game, 6 box book if you understand this ie. you play with either 1 box of 3 lines, 3 boxes of 3 lines or 6 boxes of 3 lines booklets.

 

Alcohol is best bought on board, compared the prices and it is much cheaper to buy from the ship but place your order early as the Jim Beam was sold out in 2 days.

 

Any money you convert to Pacific Francs for the islands onboard can be converted back or if you only have a little bit left then you can donate it if you wish to the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

 

Basically we had anticipated only spending $1000 but with alcohol, souveniers, spa treatments etc. our total bill between 2 of us for 8 nights, 9 days came to $2300.

[karmac]

My son and 6 of his friends are goung on a 10 nighter in Jan and when they asked us how much they should take, we told them to aim for $1000. As many have said before, $100 per person per day is a good estimate & should be plenty (more than enough if you don't drink much;))

[GundyGirl]

i will purchase my alcohol duty free from vila, i would like to pay bingo but probley only a couple of times again because of the cost and i will be leaving the autotips on my account. Oh and i will also bring a case of cans with me to save abit there too. .

 

 

I was under the impression that you were not permitted to bring your own alcohol onto the ship, and that any purchases in Vila were stored until your final night.

Could someone please verify which is true.

 

Kristina

 

Hi bigbigbear, we are cruising at the same time, see you on board.:)

[bigbigbear28]

Hi Gundygirl,

 

Thats right you can't consume any of the alcohol you purchase duty free onboard or from a port. Sorry i should of been more clear i meant i will purchase my duty free quota of alcohol from vila to bring home. See you onboard in 12 days :D

[steve1970]

Hi, I would say yes.

It really depends on how much you drink. We dont really drink a great deal, maybe one a day each. The shore tours, have a look at what you want to do, research the ports, I always do that and usually we do our own thing. As an example in Savusvu we got a taxi to the beach, it was $40Fijian return. We shared between the 4 of us. People from the ships tour paid $69Australian each, the beach was no good. There were a lot of unhappy campers that day. We always budget for more than what we use, last cruise was 10 nights and we only spend about $800 for a family of four, but we took our own soft drinks etc and the kids did paint t-shirts and had ice creams etc etc.

Have a great time!

[Wilkono]

As a relatively poor student, I'll be taking around $500 for my 10 day cruise next year. Without participating in art auctions, gambling, spa treatments and expensive shore tours, I hope to save a bucketload and still enjoy myself. Since it's my first cruise, I'm excited enough as it is, without needing to think about affording all the above 'extras'.

 

I just hope that sitting by the pool is still free :p

[oysterfiend]

my husband and I did a 9 nighter on the Pacific Dawn in August,

my bill was 2100 -2200 Aussie and his $254 Aussie - came to about 2800 Plus NZ

I had not anticipated that much but we had 2 shore tours each (Amedee Island and Snorkelling at Vila) and a his and hers spa package, teeth whitening for me and 2 months aftercare,

Hair salon cut Colour and highlight, some alcohol purchases at meals ,

$12 wine testing each,

little souveneirs (swipe key thingees)

BUT BIGGEST EXPENSE is PHOTOS if you don't like them leave them on the shelf- the photos were $30 each photo and I bought way too many,

Now we hardly even look at them

[karmac]

As a relatively poor student, I'll be taking around $500 for my 10 day cruise next year. Without participating in art auctions, gambling, spa treatments and expensive shore tours, I hope to save a bucketload and still enjoy myself. Since it's my first cruise, I'm excited enough as it is, without needing to think about affording all the above 'extras'.

 

I just hope that sitting by the pool is still free :p

 

And you will do just fine:). I know of families that have gone & spent not much more. On our first cruise of 11 nights we only bought one photo and didn't do any shore tours but still managed to spend about $3000 for the 5 of us. We were paying auto tips for 3 of us. DH doesn't drink alcohol but he did get into the mocktails, as did the kids towards the end of the cruise:eek:. I drink (probably too much;)) and whenever I felt like one I had one, including a few cockails. We don't generally gamble but DH did put a few dollars in the pokies. We'd saved some coins thinking the kids would need them for the video arcade and they didn't so hubby donated them to the casino instead. We also played bingo every day. Whilst we didn't buy photos or do shore tours, we did lash out as we always do on holidays. If we want something, we get it. We could spend much less if we really wanted to but figure....what the heck?:D

[oysterfiend]

And I have to say NEXT year we have cruises booked and I intend to be way more restrained and check my balance regularly to keep us in check.

On the US carnival cruises you can check you sail and sign balance on you room tv screen- we are doing some in April/May and I'll work out how to do that on my first full day

[dogboy53]

And you will do just fine:). I know of families that have gone & spent not much more. On our first cruise of 11 nights we only bought one photo and didn't do any shore tours but still managed to spend about $3000 for the 5 of us. We were paying auto tips for 3 of us. DH doesn't drink alcohol but he did get into the mocktails, as did the kids towards the end of the cruise:eek:. I drink (probably too much;)) and whenever I felt like one I had one, including a few cockails. We don't generally gamble but DH did put a few dollars in the pokies. We'd saved some coins thinking the kids would need them for the video arcade and they didn't so hubby donated them to the casino instead. We also played bingo every day. Whilst we didn't buy photos or do shore tours, we did lash out as we always do on holidays. If we want something, we get it. We could spend much less if we really wanted to but figure....what the heck?:D

 

I might go home tonight and give myself a fright and look up our bill from last November. From memory it was around $2500 for the two of us. I know I had a few VB's:D and KA had some massages and medical bills. If I add up the VB's I might be shocked...

[sailawaysally]

I had one lady on one of my cruises tell everyone she brought $300 to put on her cruisecard and was going to collect it at the end of the cruise. She wanted to prove you can cruise for nothing except your fare.

[Skyrules]

In 16 nights on Pacific Dawn we spent $4100 between the two of us!! BUT that included about $1300 worth of shore tours as we did a couple of expensive ones (the Amedee tour and the helicopter flight in Port Denarau).

 

Some of the other more expensive things were 16 days worth of tips for 2($240), duty free was more expensive because we didn't go to Vila so had to buy it on the ship, we spent way too much on internet time, we brought lots of photo's, I brought myself an mp3 player, we both bought aftershave, belts, souveniers, etc....

 

So really we didn't go that much over $100 pp per day, if you take out the "extra's" that we treated ourselves to or normally wouldn't be charged to the on-board account.

[arxcards]

I had one lady on one of my cruises tell everyone she brought $300 to put on her cruisecard and was going to collect it at the end of the cruise. She wanted to prove you can cruise for nothing except your fare.

That is a great sentiment, and something I want to try next year.

 

Thankfully, this will only be on the 2 nighter!!;)

[dogboy53]

I might go home tonight and give myself a fright and look up our bill from last November. From memory it was around $2500 for the two of us. I know I had a few VB's:D and KA had some massages and medical bills. If I add up the VB's I might be shocked...

 

Well, just checked our statement from last November.

 

Total was $2671.50 between the two of us over 14 nights.

 

My VB's only $193.50 (just 43 cans or three a day, seemed like so much more, have to try harder next time):D

Shore tours $356.00

Medical $113.00

Photos $235.40

My watch $143.00

Lotus Spa $215.00

 

Plus various other daily things, it does tend to add up but didn't think it was that bad.

 

Mine was $1374.59 and Kerry-Anne $1296.91

[karmac]

Mine was $1374.59 and Kerry-Anne $1296.91

 

 

You owe her, Don:)

[Diddles62]

DH & I are booked on the Pacific Dawn mid Jan 09, we dont drink or smoke, have allowed for the 2 shore tours (booked) one on Noumea the other on Vila $316 in total. We are allowing $1500 (cash)for our holiday. Hope it will be enough I am taking my credit card but I dont want to use it unless I have too I like it with a nil balance LOL.

[Lizard©]

That's what we (2) spent on a 9 nighter so I think you'll be ok,

We don't drink a lot of alcohol but did have plenty coffee and hot chocolate, soft drinks too, would like to grab a slab and take next time though.

This amount didn't include our tours which we budgeted separetly for.

Didn't feel we missed out on anything, bought some jewellery and duty free usuals.

 

 

Lynda.......who desperatly wants to cruise again but has to wait until 2010 :(

[NevadaHiRoller]

My last S&S was 8K, but I'm crazy. :eek: