How much extra money should I put away for extras (i.e.tipping and drinks) on a 4 day cruise?

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Just a guy

I'm going on my first cruise next week. I'm excited as well! You can prepay your gratuities (that's what I did), but in general I've been told to budget about $10 per day. It doesn't include the maitride (sp?) or the porters who handle your luggage (about $1 per bag).

Don't forget Carnival allows you to bring 1 bottle of wine per person on board, checked in your luggage. You can bring your own corkscrew, and it will be free, and if you bring it to the dining room, there is a $10 corking fee. Check with your cruiseline if it's not Carnival to see what their policies are.

You can also charge drinks to your room card (which in turn charges it to your credit card). I'm budgeting about $200-$250 for drinks, and am bringing another $200 for anything I want to spend on land (restaurants, trinkets, etc). I plan on drinking quite a bit, but plan on taking it slow throughout the day, and switching gears at night, if that helps.

Barkley Hound

The basic cruise fare includes your room, meals in the regular dining rooms and buffets, room service, shows, and most ship facilities. Many ships also have free pizza, ice cream at various times. sushi, and hot dogs and hamburgers.

The extras are first tips. Figure about $10 per day per person for the tips to the room steward and wait staff. This is optional and some cruise lines automatically charge you. It can be adjusted or reversed at the end of the cruise. You should also tip a few dollars if you use room service. All bar drinks will have 15% added for a tip.

Many ships have alternate dining facilities that have a service charge of $15 on up. It may be a steak house or an Italian restaurant for example. There are also specialty coffee bars that have a charge. All bar drinks including sodas have a charge. The only free bar drinks are at the Captains Reception and the Repeat Cruiser Reception. Do not assume that the drinks being offered when you board are free. They are not. Bar drinks are $6 and up. Some ships are even charging for juice at any meal other than breakfast.

Some cruise lines sell a soda card for about $4 a day. It is only for fountain soda. Unless you have 3 sodas a day it is not worth it. You can also buy a specialty coffee card which gives you 15 for about the price of 12.

There is a charge for any personal service such as laundry, salons, private trainers, etc. Spa treatments are very expensive, $50-$100. There is also gambling which includes the casino, bingo ($10-$20 per session), and sometime deck games such as horse racing. A ship photographer will be taking pictures all over the ship and at special occasions. They cost over $10 each. Phone calls in the room are about $8 a minute. Some ships have cell phone service. You are charged for international roaming by your phone service at about $2.50 per minute. There is also a charge for using internet service on a ship but it is cheaper than phone calls.

Sundries are very expensive. Figure at least double the normal price. If you need a watch you will find no better prices anywhere.

Off ship excursions are expensive. They start at about $30 and can be in the hundreds. You can book them on the ship or go on your own. The ship will not leave without you if a cruise excursion is late. With one you did on your own they will not wait.

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Chris

$200

1Cheapcruise

Cabin gratuities are $10.00 pp per day.
NCL is now $12.00 pp per day.

Drinks -- 12-15% tip ....
cost - $6.00 - $12.00 range

jrceja21

i wouldnt worry about tipping its already deducted from your account per day. the house keeping staff usually goes way out of their way to accommodate you but other than that its already taken out. Your servers and house keeping get 10 a day, the bar tenders get tipped every time you get a drink. i wouldnt tip the maitre' d at all, he never shows up till the last night anyways.

as for drink money, the wife and uuall average about 500 for a 5 day cruise. the drinks are not outrageous but we do drink a lot. Plus when youre out to sea theres not much else to do and youre on vacation. also nothing gets rid of that hangover like more booze!

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